'Mythic Quest: Raven's Banquet' Season 1 Review: Wacky take on video game industry is filled with sly humour
Deliciously wacky and bizarre, Apple TV+ latest offering 'Mythic Quest: Raven's Banquet' is a lot more than what it seems like in the promos. The 'It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia' scribes Rob McElhenney, Charlie Day, and Megan Ganz decide to explore an unchartered territory in television: the booming video game business. And that's the premise of 'Mythic Quest: Raven's Banquet', which is a keen examination of drama and comedy that goes behind the scenes of a popular online video, that is quite similar to 'World Of Warcraft'. It's a tough profession and the protagonists are up against toxic masculinity, sexism and the ready sexualisation of women characters in video games, as well as....Nazis.
The beauty of the show is that it finally doles out justice to gamers that they deserve, rather than what popular culture has constantly portrayed them to be. Thanks to shows like 'The Big Bang Theory', gamers have been stereotyped as bespectacled (most probably) souls, 'living in mom's basement', and who have no interaction with 'popular kids'. So it's always a novelty when they find love, and it's a bigger shocker if the girl is a gamer. A girl, a gamer? What is this sorcery? That's where 'Mythic Quest' turns the cliches on their head.
In this chaotic office, you have various character archetypes, including the narcisstic boss Ian Grimm (played by McElhenney), who has no interest in whatever anyone else has to say, much to the chagrin of lead engineer Poppy (Charlotte Nicdao). She has the best ideas and is right about a lot of things, but unfortunately is stuck in a world of narcisstic mansplainers. But does that stop her? Hell no. Just to note, Poppy isn't some perfectionist who always knows whats up. She's absolutely wonky and weird, making her a fit for the absurd office crew. The chemistry between Poppy and Ian is perfect and they're a joy to watch in every scene. There's no hint of a romance between them (please let that be), and it's quite refreshing.
There's the hassled project manager David (David Hornsby) and F. Murray Abraham as the head writer CW, who has never actually played the game. There's more to this strange bundle of characters, there's corporate shark Brad (Danny Pudi) and David's unstable assistant Jo, who seems to believe she's actually Ian's assistant. It's a unique mesh, and yet each and every character brings their plate of crazy to the table, and this is what makes the show so absolutely enjoyable. While the pattern of a workplace comedy involving rivalries and angry fights is not new, the show still has a very fresh feel to it. Many jokes are sharp and sly, you need to pay full attention to this brand of humour.
But beyond the arena of gaming and ideas, the show tackles issues facing the world in quick, sharp and sly jibes. In the third episode, there is an influx of 'Nazi' players on 'Mythic Quest', and nobody is sure how to tackle the problem at hand. The show also addresses how marginalized women are in the world of gaming. And in the fifth episode, we find out why exactly Ian is such a pest. 'Mythic Quest' extends beyond the arena of simple gaming and delves into the complications of it. It takes a little while to warm up, but after the first three episodes, the show hits the right key.
