Mythic Quest 3×09 “The Year of Phil” gives fans a much-needed emotional break before what’s sure to be an emotional finale. This penultimate episode captures so much of what makes this series just so darn loveable. This is a return to roots, and it’s beautiful to see. We’re heading for resolutions that are going to make us cheer and make us cry. This is the Mythic Quest way.
MQ’s Movie Mania Continues
Joe Manganiello is back to film MQ: The Movie, and he’s a delightfully terrible actor. More specifically, he’s just terrible at taking direction and wants to keep his mask on all day (relatable, honestly). There’s something incredibly sweet about seeing Joe and Ian (Rob McElhenney) bro out together. This is the perfect antidote to toxic masculinity.
Jo (Jessie Ennis) continues to have a phenomenal season coming into her own. She knows exactly what David’s (David Hornsby) weaknesses are. A lesser character would simply exploit these. Instead, Jo shows that she truly has her powers under control, by compelling David to do the same. Jo is so confident in herself that she’s able to see David’s potential, even when he can’t see it himself.
Carol’s Triumphant Return
Carol (Naomi Ekperigin) has been bidding her time. Clearly, she’s been using that time wisely to further develop her powers. Watching her become the victim of her own DEI success is as hilarious as it is oddly heartwarming. She has truly created the best possible modern workplace. If ageism is the last -ism that MQ needs to conquer, Carol can be counted on to stamp it out. Ever the champion of elders everywhere, Carol’s solution is appropriately genius.
Mythic Quest 3×09 “The Year of Phil” is also further proof that Carol has always been training Rachel (Ashly Burch) and Brad (Danny Pudi) to be her faithful minions. They’ve both been trained incredibly well. It is true that Carol took them from nothing, and into a force for good, whether they want to be or not.
Choose Your Friends Wisely
Poppy (Charlotte Nicdao) and Dana’s (Imani Hakim) budding friendship remains one of the sweetest stories ever featured in this series. Poppy has gone from a terrible and unsure boss, to someone who is just beginning to appreciate her inner strength. It’s devastating that she has just been abandoned by a friend who got uncomfortable with her success.
By contrast, there’s Dana. Dana not only accepts but celebrates Poppy and all of her accomplishments and potential. This is the friendship that Poppy needs. So often, we are warned of fair-weather friends, who will abandon us in times of crises. I submit that perhaps the greater danger is foul-weather friends, like Ian, who run away at the first sign of a friend succeeding.
GrimPop at a Crossroads
After that bombshell, GrimPop is about to face a moment of reckoning. Poppy and Ian both have critical decisions to make. For Ian, it’s a question of whether he is able to stand out of his own way and let himself be happy for his friend. For Poppy, it’s if she can recognize her own value in time to know what she needs from her friendships. These are tough questions, but they’re ones that set up the season finale pretty perfectly.
As Mythic Quest approaches the end of the season, this series continues to prove why it’s such a relatable, heartwarming, and at times emotional workplace comedy. In the span of one season, these characters have come so far. As far as they’ve come, there are evidently more stories to tell. As much as it’s sad to think about the season ending, the finale honestly can’t come fast enough.
Mythic Quest streams Fridays on Apple TV+.
