Considering that Mythic Quest sort of wrapped up the first half of its third season last week, the choice for the plot for this week's episode, "Sarian" made total sense. Last week's episode of Mythic Quest was the first time the series has done a Christmas episode. That seemed to be an enjoyable way to bring the show to a stopping point and do a kind of reset and take the plot of the show in a different direction for this week. The direction that the showrunners decided to go was somewhat similar but also completely different from what's been done before and turned out to be a kind of origin story for the two main characters in Ian and Poppy.
This particular direction, which involves a one-off story mostly unrelated to the rest of the show, is something that Mythic Quest is now known for as a kind of palate cleanser. As has been the case with these episodes before, they're actually tied to the series more than they seem at first and that's especially the case when it comes to "Sarian." In little bits and pieces, the audience has learned about Ian and Poppy's upbringing and why they are the way they are, but this episode finally gave viewers some real insight into why the way they are. In doing so, there were quite a few "Easter eggs" from this episode that tie back to previous installments that should have devotees of the program nodding their heads or even "ooing" at different little nods to the series as a whole.
Mythic Quest Origin Stories
Previous seasons showed how the game inside the television series got started by showing viewers "back in the day" stories that served to introduce fans to the studio behind Mythic Quest and one of the writers who put the story of the game into place. This time around, the origin story as all about Poppy Lee and Ian Grimm and how they got to where they are. This episode of the Apple TV+ series focused on young Ian and young Poppy who were both obviously very smart and talented and also a bit troubled. Just how troubled was a bit more obvious when it came to Ian, though the extent and cause of his struggles weren't obvious right at the beginning and the episode does a great job of gradually unraveling that as the installment goes on.
Ian is having trouble at school mainly because he doesn't seem to be interested in doing things the way his teachers and school administrators want him to do. At the beginning of the episode, it seems like Ian's origin story is really just about a mom who might be a bit too permissive. That's especially the case when Ian and his mom take a trip to a hobbyist store and while she's showing that she understands and supports her son, she's also doing things that simply aren't acceptable. And then, as the next scenes unfold, it becomes very obvious that her permissiveness and support are absolutely born out of love and understanding that her son is both brilliant and different, but it's also born out of some kind of tragedy that absolutely colored Ian for the rest of his life. It's the subtlety that then isn't all that subtle when the puzzle pieces really fit together that makes this episode of Mythic Quest so touching, poignant and heartbreaking.
While Ian is having some real struggles at school, Poppy seems to be a bit of a child prodigy, though she doesn't necessarily really want to be or care about what her parents care about. Like Ian's story, Poppy's is all about the special relationship she has with one of her parents. For Ian it was his mom, for Poppy, her dad. And as the show goes on the Mythic Quest audience gradually sees that the relationship isn't quite what it appeared at first glance.
This episode of Mythic Quest also shows how the two characters deal with their respective troubles. Ian has the decision-making taken out of his hands in the end and the audience finally gets to see at least the beginning of why he isn't really a "family guy" as he stated in the last episode. It makes some sense why it wouldn't be an important part of his life, even if that is an incredibly sad statement as to how he grew up. It also colors in the character in a way where the viewer is still able to be happily annoyed at his behavior, even if comes from a place that makes people feel sad.
Meanwhile, Poppy basically fools her parents into thinking that she's become someone she's not in order to allow them to stop worrying about her. By doing this, the episode of the hit Apple TV+ series shows why she too, doesn't have much of a relationship with her family and also allows the audience to be uplifted and feel sorry for her at the same time. That is the overriding theme of this episode. The viewers see the show's heroes being formed and while there's room to feel happy that they got where they are now, there's also room to legitimately get a bit teary-eyed at the journey they had to take.
Grimm Quest
The culmination of this "offshoot" episode of Mythic Quest was a bit different than some of the other episodes like this mainly because the reveal wasn't that surprising. The show details just how Poppy and Ian come together to form the team that would eventually create Mythic Quest. There is at least one twist, though it's not a particularly huge one, it does show that the two's relationship isn't quite what the audience might have through at first. And no, that doesn't mean there was ever any kind of romance between the two.
On the whole, this episode of Mythic Quest was different than others because it never really went for laughs. That doesn't mean that the way it told the story was somehow lessened. For the third straight season, this kind of standalone episode is one that should have viewers glued to their devices seeing how everything plays out.
New episodes of Mythic Quest Season 3 debut every Friday on Apple TV+