Name: Mythic Quest season 3 episode 10
Director: Heath Cullens
Released: 2023-01-06T10:30:00

In the season 3 finale of Mythic Quest, Ian and Poppy analyze their partnership while several others contemplate what is in store for their futures. The episode is streaming on Apple TV+.

Recap

Similar to the beginning of the season, the scene shifts seamlessly between three scenarios as Poppy wallows in sadness because her game wasn’t picked up by any VCs, Brad is in front of the parole board which informs him that his sentence is officially complete, and David is told that the MQ movie is dead because they’ve had a drop in player engagement.

Poppy buries herself into her work, perfecting the code as much as possible while Ian and Dana watch on wondering what to do. Dana asks Ian how they can fix it but he says that for the first time, he doesn’t know.

David is also feeling miserable about the death of the movie and Jo walks in to cheer him up. She gives him her termination notice and tells him that he needs to “fire” her. She says that his standing up to Ian and Joe has given him something of a reputation and he needs to build on it.

Despite how strange the exchange is, it ends up being quite effective as people get to work at the mere sight of David. Brad walks into the monetization office as Rachel admires her first bonus check as HOMIE.

He tells her that in the past year, he has accomplished so much including manipulating her into letting go of her morals in the pursuit of capitalistic gains. He believes he needs a new kind of challenge to face.

Ian watches Poppy from across the hall and remembers all the good times they’ve had with each other and suddenly gets an idea. David tells the office that they’re going to come up with a new expansion to improve engagement.

He opens up the floor for everyone to come in and suggest their ideas, asking them all to put their names down on a signup sheet. Dana visits Rachel and tells her that she doesn’t want to work for Ian and Poppy anymore because they have a lot of issues to work through.

Rachel tells her to take some time off and figure out what she wants to do while Rachel supports them. Jo and Brad find themselves in the lift together with their stuff packed up and Dana joins them.

All three of them speak about going through significant changes in their work lives and how they want to do something where they have the power and control that they constantly crave. Dana suggests they work together and Brad and Jo immediately say yes.

All the employees pitch their ideas to David but they are all ridiculous and don’t inspire much confidence in David’s mind. Poppy finds a lone table with a present in the main hall and Ian walks up and tells her that he got her something.

She opens the box and finds a Buffalo chicken pizza from the gas station around the corner, with the toppings that she likes. He then goes into a spiel about how what they thought were their individual weaknesses are actually what makes them work together so well.

He says that they should just lean into it because they love each other and whenever they argue, they just make up and move on which is the best course of action. To prove his commitment, she asks Ian to eat a piece of the pizza and then drink from her soda.

Rachel visits Dana at the GrimPop office to tell her that David is looking for a new creative director and she’d be the perfect person to design a new MQ expansion. Dana says that she’s done working for dysfunctional people like David or Ian or Poppy and has something else on her mind.

She then changes the backdrop of the office to say “Studio/Dana” instead of “GrimPop” and tells Rachel that she’s going to do her own thing. Rachel says that she’s happy and jokingly suggests that Dana hire her when MQ goes under.

Dana says that she already has a HOMIE and Brad sneaks up behind her to say hi. Dana says she needed people who are ruthless and stone-cold killers in business and that’s when Jo sneaks up on Rachel, surprising her once more.

As Brad walks Rachel out, he tells her that he’s going to help Dana take down any competition that stands in their way, and when Rachel says that Dana isn’t that kind of person, he reminds Rachel how he manipulated her.

Ian and Poppy walk into David’s office to find him lying down on his couch completely dejected. They fumble their way initially but ultimately reveal that they’ve figured out a way to incorporate Poppy’s Playpen into MQ and that they’re coming back to the company.

Review

It is such a wonderful and smart touch to start this episode the same way the first episode began. The flawless transition in dialogue from one scene to the next creates a harmonious sequence that is just as impressive as the first time.
Ian and Poppy’s dynamic is wonderfully explored in this episode and is the perfect depiction of a man and a woman who love each other and deeply care for each other without there being any particular romantic notions between them. They show that it’s completely normal and possible to have a friend like that.
Multiple characters see their stories resolved and their next steps are established satisfactorily. The intrigue in whatever follows is built up brilliantly.