The holidays kick off at MQ with Mythic Quest 3×06 “The 12 Hours of Christmas.” It’s the first holiday season since Poppy (Charlotte Nicdao) and Ian (Rob McElhenney) left the company. The severe lack of Naomi Ekperigin is perhaps the only drawback of this otherwise near-perfect episode. Carol would have had much to say about the HR-violating party that just brought so much joy. The holiday season brings out the best in worst in all of us. The MQ family is no different.
David Brittlesbee, The Worst Santa Ever:
While David Brittlesbee (David Hornsby) continues to make the case that he is the worst boss ever, he may be an even worse Santa. His attempts to bring holiday cheer to MQ are completely misguided. It’s both hilarious and pretty depressing that even over the holidays, he feels the need to completely exploit his workers and disregard their needs.
David’s transformation into Scrooge is an apt one. His Victorian costume just adds to the aesthetic. All he really needed was three ghosts and a small adorable child to teach him about the error of his ways. This entire attempt to bring Christmas to MQ really just serves to show how lost David is without Poppy and Ian. At least he recognizes this.
Friendship: It’s (Really) Hard
If the theme of Mythic Quest this season has been about the importance of friendship, Mythic Quest 3×06 ‘The 12 Hours of Christmas’ is about its challenges. Female friendships are uniquely beautiful and devastating relationships. The fact that Jo (Jessie Ennis) just wants to recreate the magic of brunch makes her all the more relatable. Anyone (hi) who has ever experienced the deep-seated fear of “doing friendship” wrong will see their experience reflected here.
In this vein, Jo represents the experience of so many (again, hi) who just want to be a friend. Her attempts to keep her friendship may ultimately be misguided, but her heart is clearly in the right place. Poppy, Dana (Imani Hakim) and Rachel (Ashly Burch) are such a fun, dynamic group, and it makes sense that Jo wants to see herself in their ranks. With perhaps a tiny bit less intensity, this could, as they say, be the start of a beautiful friendship.
Dana and Rachel: Entering the Boss Era
There are hardly two people better to ring in the High Holy Day of Capitalism than Dana and Rachel. They have more than put in their time putting up with everyone’s shenanigans. Now, it’s their time to shine. They stand to gain, even if the ethics are more than a little questionable. This is absolutely a we-support-womens-rights-and-womens-wrongs situation. These two have just been in the background biding their time. Now is the time for action.
Mythic Quest 3×06 ‘The 12 Hours of Christmas’ really leans into the fact that Dana and Rachel have always been the two to cheer for in this entire story. If Dana is destined to become a game developer and artist extraordinaire, it makes sense that Rachel’s path is to become MQ’s Head of Monetization. Rachel can more than hold her own against any crypto bro. In fact, she’s crypto bros’ worst nightmare. With all that Dana and Rachel have had to put up with, they deserve a very Happy Holiday.
Brad and Jo…Together Again?
We all need to collectively keep our eyes on Brad (Danny Pudi) and his continued quest to personally cause as much chaos as he possibly can. The only person who can truly make him unstoppable is Jo. Has she really moved on in her assistant role, or will she come back to help an evil genius work? One wonders if this is a temporary holiday truce so that Brad can put in more time to plan his endgame.
Brad shows a lot of sweetness here, which is frankly as alarming as it is heartwarming. There are the quiet moments of connection with Jo, accepting his place serving Dana and Rachel, and of course, his caroling. Again, it can’t be emphasized enough that this could all be an elaborate ruse to lull everyone into a false sense of security. Even if it is, it’s nice to see a nice version of this character for a change.
The Mythic Quest family may look a little bit different, but they’re doing just fine. Like all families over the holidays, they have to constantly battle expectations. In the end, they come together in such an endearing way. This crew will be okay, even if they’re more than a little dysfunctional. This is the type of episode that makes this series standout. Heartwarming relationships, killer one-liners, and the power of love and friendship are a perfect way to start the holidays.
Mythic Quest streams Fridays on Apple TV+.
