Apple TV+’s Mythic Quest Storms the Office Again in Season 2, Now with Post-Pandemic Glow

In the somewhat-Purgatorial, somewhat-Hellish realm that is pandemic television, Mythic Quest somehow thrives. The video game workplace comedy (which has a niche audience, to say the least) landed on Apple TV+ about a month before the world shut down, a faint artifact of the forgettable February 2020. And Mythic Quest could have faded away after that, as a show that only stood out because of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’s Rob McElhenney. It could have held out for the pandemic to be over, like other workplace hits Succession or Apple’s own Ted Lasso. It could have ramped up on pandemic imagery, like Superstore or This Is Us. But, no. Mythic Quest has done none of those things. Somehow, perhaps thanks to the genius of creators McElhenney, Megan Ganz, and Charlie Day, Season 2 of Mythic Quest strikes a brilliant, lighthearted balance of pandemic living with humor.

After two epic pandemic episodes bridging the gap between Seasons 1 and 2, this new season plops the MQ workers back into the office, finally—a feat most of us will face in the months to come. Poppy (Charlotte Nicdao) and Ian (McElhenney) face a task even greater than the Raven’s Banquet expansion: a second expansion. Though the pair are more agreeable than in Season 1, as David teases, they tiptoe on the brink of a creator’s divorce. Not exactly fighting, but not exactly collaborating, the pair exchange passive-aggressive bickering through leadership conferences, a brainstorming sesh or two, and in their new shared office (which, naturally, doesn’t last too long). As a whole, the second series is all about duos: from Rachel (Ashly Burch) and Dana’s (Imani Hakim) budding relationship to Brad (Danny Pudi) and Jo’s (Jessie Ennis) eschewed mentorship. That’s not to say that the scrappy outliers, like lone wolf David (David Hornsby) or exhausted HR head Carol (Naomi Ekperigin), don’t try and steal every scene, though.

While McElhenney blesses the screen as the stand-offish Ian, Nicdao’s Poppy emerges as the show’s true star. She is furiously flawed—a stubborn workaholic with no social life but a knack for designing games—but a perfect foil to Ian’s charismatic ego. The two share a friendship with off-the-charts chemistry, hurling insults that sound like compliments and compliments that sound like insults at each other with such ease. Alongside them, both actors who play Longbottom at different ages (F. Murray Abraham and Josh Brener) shine especially bright this season. And who could forget Pudi’s wonderful performance as Brad, the know-it-all? A visit from his zany brother allows for more time with Brad, leading to one inevitable conclusion: Danny Pudi should be cast in every comedy series.

The series hits a high point halfway through the new season with “Backstory,” its fifth episode, which follows the saga of a young Carl “C.W.” Longbottom (Brener). The aptly-titled chapter takes a risky leap into 1970s Los Angeles, a locale completely unfamiliar with video games, much less Mythic Quest. Carl earns an apprenticeship of-sorts at a publishing house in the city, teaming up with his co-workers to become a real writer. But, true to C.W. and the antics of Mythic Quest, he strays from the course. C.W. was a stand-out in the first season, and although he rarely rears his problematic head in the office in Season 2 (He Zooms in, because he’s just like us!), the show dedicates a hearty chunk of time to his downright masterful backstory.