Mythic Quest Season 4, Episode 9, “Telephone,” is a snapshot of characters’ lives as (nearly) everything descends into chaos and childhood games. This episode, written by Asmita Paranjape and directed by Danny Pudi, plays with point of view through different lenses, like FaceTime. “Telephone” creates an immersive experience long before it briefly switches to a handheld camera.
Every creative aspect of this episode makes it easy to feel like a part of MQ. Those choices make it much easier for the company’s missing pieces – missing people – to be all the more apparent. From script and production to performances and editing, it is a task for Mythic Quest to find a better penultimate episode for Season 4 than “Telephone.”
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The Game(s) of Telephone
The layers to this episode’s title alone are a storytelling treasure trove. “Telephone” doesn’t milk it for all it’s worth; it relishes in all the tangled webs of miscommunication. Consequently, Mythic Quest exercises how vital these characters are to one another, let alone MQ’s business.
From the opening scene, “Telephone” utilizes its multifaceted title to its advantage. Theoretically, using a cellphone to bridge the gap between Poppy and Storm works well. Admittedly, it would have been better if Mythic Quest had highlighted more of their communication before this episode. Nevertheless, “Telephone” makes the phone’s camera the episode’s camera, inserting the audience into their phone call. This choice of perspective makes Poppy and Storm’s conversation more intimate, and the things they choose not to say – to hold back on – are louder. It does a lot of heavy lifting for that relationship.
From there, Mythic Quest takes off with a game of old-fashioned telephone when the wires get crossed about Ian taking a leave of absence and Poppy moving to the Netherlands. “Telephone” can pick at Poppy and Ian’s complex dynamic while exasperating David’s leadership skills by putting him in the middle. It’s productive and chaotic and perfectly Mythic Quest. The same is valid for how “Telephone” amplifies the conflict between Andy and Mikey. Their drama doesn’t have the biggest stakes in Season 4, but this episode finds believable tension when Mikey’s phone gets passed around the room.
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Mythic Quest Works Because of the People
This episode does an excellent job of demonstrating how information travels among MQ employees. As much of that realistically comes down to the electronic devices that connect them, “Telephone” also emphasizes David as a point of communication. Without him, these characters would not be talking to one another. More often than not, they speak through him during “Telephone.” While that underlines David’s importance to the fragile workplace ecosystem, Mythic Quest also utilizes it to pull to highlight the strain that puts on David.
David Hornsby plays David’s stress from being the eye of MQ’s hurricane so well that it’s a challenge to feel anything but sympathy for him. “Telephone” puts him, a notoriously indecisive character, in the impossible position of trying to do what’s decisively and supposedly best for MQ – a clean slate. However, a clean slate isn’t sufficient. Mythic Quest and its in-story workplace work because of the big, chaotic, strong personalities pushing and pulling each other to frequently co-dependent and often uncomfortable lengths. Therefore, “Telephone” finds fascinating cliffhangers – Brad potentially wiping one of the company’s largest revenue streams and Poppy possibly returning to the company without Ian.
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What Is MQ Without Poppy and/or Ian?
The former suggests a slower revelation as the money gradually hemorrhages MQ – if Brad goes through with it. On the other hand, the latter will result in immediate changes. Again, this company – this show – is a fragile ecosystem of larger-than-life characters that thrives on chaos. Mythic Quest captures that essence in Poppy and Ian made Elysium – some of their best work – in direct conflict with their boss’s orders. Their chaos creates masterpieces, and MQ can’t stand to lose that, not with all of the financial setbacks it continues to face.
Intriguingly, David is willing to compromise in keeping Poppy and losing Ian, who formally resigns from MQ. It’s so good and entirely on-theme that this episode doesn’t reveal Ian’s motivation for quitting. Of course, those details get lost in the broader miscommunication. After an episode of David’s attempts at a clean slate, “Telephone” ends with MQ’s best chance at one.
However, that new era seems to mean splitting up Poppy and Ian. With the company already dissolving as familiar faces pull further apart and financial backing remains precarious, it’s undoubtedly a propulsive cliffhanger to imagine that Mythic Quest may never look the same again after its Season 4 finale.
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What did you think of Mythic Quest Season 4, Episode 9, “Telephone?” Let us know in the comments below!
New episodes of Mythic Quest stream on Wednesdays on Apple TV+.
