The pilot episode ofMythic Quest: Raven’s Banquetdidn’t live up to expectations, but the show has been consistently good since then, with the subsequent two episodes delivering a lot of laughs and entertainment.Mythic Quest: Raven’s BanquetEpisode 4: The Convention keeps the momentum going, proving that while the show didn’t necessarily give the best first impression, it’s definitely worth sticking with and maybe even worth subscribing to Apple TV+ to watch.
Mythic Quest: Raven’s BanquetEpisode 4 starts with a surprising plot development. The show’s PewDiePie parody, Pootie Shoe, has decided to stop streaming theMythic Questgame, which leads to a crisis at the development studio. Pootie Shoe makes the announcement in a segment that is a clear nod toPewDiePie’s PewNews videos, which is a nice touch that should amuse PewDiePie fans and is a testament toMythic Quest’s attention to detail if nothing else.
With Pootie Shoe now dedicating his time to streaming a science-fiction game instead of the high fantasyMythic Quest, the development team need to woo a new streamer. A real world example of this includesEA paying streamers like Ninja to stream Respawn’sApex Legends, so this is something that is actively happening in gaming/streaming culture. Whether or not it’s right or wrong isn’t really tackled by the show, which is good as its attempts at “lessons” have not really landed as much as the humor so far.
The quest to find a newMythic Queststreamer leads Ian, Poppy, and Brad to StreamerCon, an obvious riff onTwitchCon. There they find a blue-haired streamer who is likely a parody of Ninja, though instead of cash, he wants a percentage ofMythic Quest’s weapon sales. Brad was taken aback by this, and watching him struggle with the streamer negotiation was the most interesting that his character has been to date. It gave him a little more humanity, whereas before he was painted as a bland, money-obsessed person and was just very one note.
Toxic work environments were another big theme inMythic QuestEpisode 4, particularly when it comes to how male-dominated the video game industry is. Brad and Ian initially shot down the idea of using a female streamer, and at one point had even considered using a sexualized AI streamer instead. At theMythic Questdevelopment studio, it was made clear that the vast majority of employees are male, with only a handful of female developers.
This male/female dynamic was the center ofMythic QuestEpisode 4’s B-plot, which saw the organization Girls Can Code visit the studio. Unfortunately, there weren’t many female game developers for the girls to talk to, with David desperately trying to find a female staff member. He eventually found himself in the basement, introducing the girls to the unhinged Community Manager Pam, who we met inMythic QuestEpisode 3. Pam’s character was more effective here, and it was made clearer that it’s not just that she’s overly positive, but that she’s neurotic and generally disturbed, which makes sense considering she’s the sole target of player criticism.
Poppy being away at StreamerCon made it especially difficult for David to find a suitable female role model for the kids to meet. He finally realized thatMythic Questemploys two female QA testers, and he goes to introduce them to the Girls Can Code visitors in a last-ditch effort. However, he finds Rachel and CW Longbottom in the testing area instead, as Dana went to StreamerCon with Ian, Brad, and Poppy. The out of context conversation that the group hears implies that Longbottom and Rachel were showing each other their private parts, though in reality they were sharing each other’s passions.
The Longbottom/Rachel C-plot saw Longbottom attempt to explain why he prefers cut-scenes for storytelling versus Rachel showing why she thinks gameplay is better. The argument between gameplay and cut-scenes is a compelling one, andMythic Questhandled it well. For examples of great storytelling, it pointed toThe Last of Us,Red Dead Redemption 2, andAssassin’s Creed(it should be noted that the show is produced byUbisoft’s film division), and for gameplay, Rachel simply played with Longbottom. There were some pretty bigRed Dead Redemption 2spoilers in this episode, though, so anyone that has yet to complete Rockstar’s western epic should keep that in mind.
As far as in-game images go,Mythic Questwas light on gameplay in this episode. However, what we did see was more close-up shots on characters, and footage that looked likeFor Honorcombat. What’s weird is that this art style doesn’t necessarily mesh with the look of the game from Episode 3: Dinner Party, which is a bit strange. Maybe it can be explained away by different graphics settings, though.
Regardless,Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquetcontinues to be funny, especially for those who follow the video game industry. It still seems unlikely that someone who isn’t a gamer will get all that much enjoyment out of the show, but they’re arguably not the target audience anyway. It’s definitely one of the better all-around programs available onApple TV+so far, and since there’s only nine episodes total, fans of Rob McElhenney’s past work may want to consider shelling out the $4.99 for a month subscription or taking advantage of any free trial offers that they may have available to them.
Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquetis available to stream now, exclusively on Apple TV+.
