Now that Mythic Quest Season 3 is really rolling, there might have been some thoughts that fans and viewers would finally find out just what Hera is that Poppy and Ian have been working on for the last few months. However, while "Crushing It" has some hilarious scenes and great interactions between characters that don't normally share a screen, the series is moving far away from what made Mythic Quest great from the beginning.
If there's been a worry about a Season 3 of Mythic Quest, it's that it felt like the show was going to need a departure from the first two seasons of the Apple TV+ show in order to stay fresh and new. While this season has certainly been a departure, it feels like it might be a bit too much of a departure. That was especially the case with "Crushing It" where game development was more of an afterthought than the show's focus. "Crushing It" goes even further away from actual game development, while at least giving some winks and nods to what Mythic Quest was about. To the show's credit, even if the focus seems off, the characters are lovable enough that in the moment, it's easy to look past that things aren't quite as good as they used to be.
Mythic Quest And The Brunch
While it was a bit frustrating to see that "Crushing It" wasn't going to be spending much time on actual video game development, this episode of Mythic Quest did some very good things and the brunch with Rachel, Poppy, and Jo was certainly a fun bit. These three characters haven't really spent time together on screen in the first two seasons. Maybe the best part of the episode is that it really does show that they haven't been on screen together. They're feeling each other out while they eat brunch and feeling each other out when they go to Jo's favorite spot after the meal.
One of the really great things about this episode is that it did allow some of the characters that have had bit parts in previous episodes and it feels like for the first time since the show debuted, the audience got a real look at what makes Jo tick. The best part is that while the viewers are supposed to feel like she's just misunderstood, that's not true. If Mythic Quest does its divergent storyline this season, it could focus on Jo and what made her the way she is.
Until the show does that, this glance into what makes her tick, including that she's not like either Poppy and Rachel and that's a good thing was a nice little departure. There was also some pretty funny nods towards Rachel and Poppy being "woke" and how they tend to take it too far from time to time. The bonding, wailing, and learning what drives these women was a great little plot, even if it would have been nice to see more focus on what the show is supposed to be about.
The Return Of Sue
One of the best parts of "Crushing It" was the return of one of the best characters in the show. Sue didn't make an appearance in the first two episodes and there was some concern that she had gone the way of C.W. Longbottom but it turns out the showrunners were just waiting to drop her into the story at the best possible time, and they certainly did pull that off.
Sue's part was also the only part where the show really spent any amount of time on actual video game development and it should surprise no one that Brad wanted to take Mythic Quest in the direction of NFTs. Sue's reaction was both graphic, entirely Sue and the best part of the entire episode. There's just nothing like that Wisconsin accent dropping some explicit language. Finding out what she thinks about NFTs and why is worth watching the rest of the episode even if it wasn't all that great. One of the absolute best parts of her character is that she actually knows what she's doing. She might be one of the most competent team members at MQ and yet, she's never really taken seriously. And then there's David Brittlesby.
Brittlesby Alone
Over the course of Mythic Quest's run there have been some times when it felt like they made David Brittlesby just a little too cartoonish, but the showrunners did hit it out of the park with "Crushing It" thanks to his being "trapped" in Poppy and Ian's office. There's a whole montage of things he's doing while he waits for someone to come rescue him. There was singing "76 Trombones" and then crying on the floor but the coup de grace was when he made a Candy Brittlesby. And then the cherry on the cupcake is when he tells candy Brittlesby that he's going to die in that office.
And then of course, there's the part where it turns out that he could have gotten out of the office the whole time with just the push of a button. The bottom line is that "Crushing It" is a very good and very funny episode of Mythic Quest that also happens to be the third installment this season that just doesn't quite click the way the previous seasons did. There is a method to getting this thing back on track and it's possible thanks to clips in the trailers that it could eventually get there. But for now, a show that was supposed to be about game development has gone quite a ways away from that. Until it gets back there in at least some regard, it doesn't feel like the Apple TV series is going to be as good as it was in the first and second seasons. It's still a great show, but there is some concern that the further it diverts from the correct path, the closer to the end it might end up getting.
New episodes of Mythic Quest debut every Friday on Apple TV+