Mythic Quest: Raven's Banquet

The show maybe not the best comedy right now but they got me with its two episodes; A Dark Quiet Death and Quarantine.

I've started the show thanks to Danny Pudi and until the 5th episode (A Dark Quiet Death) the show was trying to find its pace. But, 5th episode is one of the best standalone episodes I've seen that is touching lots of elements throughout 30 minutes.

Again, with the Quarantine episode, they turned their disadvantage into an advantage and made a great episode.

Other episodes had their ups and downs but this show still worths a try no doubt.

I hope they will keep their trajectory still because they have a good cast and an opportunity.

Edit: These last episodes "Backstory!" and "Peter" have been such beautiful experiences. Just brought me tears as we witnessed the past of C. W. (Wonderful Murray Abraham) and bringing closure to it in the very next episode.

The series was fantastic in season 1&2, but, like many reddit reviewers, season 3 was weak and pointlessly drawn out.

Season 3 focused too much on Ian and Poppy's dysfunctional relationship. Seasons 1&2 were more of a light hearted comedy unlike season 3. Ian and Poppy become too codependent on each other to work or function in season 3, it's a shame they strayed from the template of season 1 and the dynamics between the team. Of course this comes down to writing, which ultimately brings forth changes and not always for the better. The show is still good with a great cast, but too much splintering has occurred in season 3, on top of CW being removed from the show.

It's like watching your favorite music group break up and later on either reforming with some new members, which is almost never as successful, or them all getting back together after changes have occurred, realizing what once worked and made them great was each other and their dynamics with each other.

It took me until the DQD episode (ep 5) to start falling in love with the show and its characters. I don't know what was going on in the first 4 episodes, but I only stuck with the show because I love the entire Sunny crew (David Hornsby is perfect casting *chef's kiss*, and it's good to see Rob and Charlie working together again) as well as Aparna Nancherla and Naomi Ekperigan.

I don't know what it was about the writing, but the second half of the season brought a little more harmony among a cast that seemed to lack chemistry + initial plotlines that seemed to lack any depth/stakes. The 5th episode was so good (an amazing palate cleanser) and provided a tonal shift that made me feel slightly more aware of the themes of the show as a whole.....

but anyways THE QUARANTINE EPISODE DESERVES AN EMMY. Quarantine episodes for other shows have been hella cringe and forced, but this one was honest in a seemingly effortless way.

I binged season 1 and was absolutely engaged from the first episode. The comedy around an MMORPG is spot on, and the character interactions are spot on in a hilarious way. Big shout out to Charlotte Nicdao (Poppy) for her excellent performance alongside Rob McElhenney. If you are a fan of gaming in general I think you will enjoy this immensely.

Then I watched season 2 and to me it's a different show. The focus goes almost entirely away from gaming (except for bits here are there), and instead focuses on the inter-office relationships almost exclusively. The humor I enjoyed in season 1 was mostly gone, although the cast's performances we're still great, the writing direction just changed entirely and it's soured my opinion on the show a bit. Maybe COVID affected production plans (as the cast seemed a lot smaller), because the overall tone of the show is just off.

I really hope they turn it around in season 3 and stop with the lovey-gushey (the whole thing between Rachel and Dana seemed so forced). Please focus on a company making or running a game and the hilarious things that can happen around that, and please leave the unnecessary drama out of it. It's called Mythic Quest and not The Office for a reason.

Season 1 - 9/10 Season 2 - 5/10.

I always liked (ahem love/hate) this show from the start, but the most recent episode. S2 E6 Backstory (and I HATE backstories) pulled a throwaway character out of the dust bin and made him one of the most import cornerstones of Mythic Quest. Perhaps the emotional content of this episode means nothing to anyone born after say, 1990, but this episode cleverly tied in Mythic Quests, its entire reason d'être, the main character in this episode, and the entire history of online gaming in what - 40 minutes? While the actors of this show deserve a nod for sure, the writers.... I am in awe, and thank you for throwing Michael Bay as an inspiration into the dust bin of history.