Side Quest Review: I Was Blown Away By The Final Episode Of This Appealing Yet Inconsistent Mythic Quest Spinoff Series
I’ve been getting exhausted by Mythic Quest season 4. The show has one more episode left to go, but it seems like it will be hard to recover from some of its forced storylines and implausible character choices. With the exception of the Pootie Shoe one-off in season 4, episode 8, “Rebrand,” Mythic Quest has also been lacking the self-contained episodes that have been the highlights of previous seasons.
That is, until the franchise put out Side Quest. Side Quest is a four-episode Mythic Quest spinoff that features stories inspired by the flagship series and its lore. Expanding beyond Poppy, David, Ian (though he does make an appearance) and the MQ headquarters, the series looks at the stories of those involved in distributing spinoff comics, making the music and art of the fiction MMO, and even those who play the games.
And much like its series of origin, Side Quest is far from perfect. Even with only four episodes, its quality fluctuates greatly from moment to moment. Still, I was left impressed with several aspects of the spinoff series, which left me with positive feelings overall.
“Pull List” Is The Weakest Of The Lot
The Episode Feels Like An Unsuccessful Pilot
After Side Quest’s debut episode (more on that later) followed one of the main series characters, the second episode spins off in a completely different direction. “Pull List” introduces us to a comic book store owner and her most loyal customers. The episode is seemingly more tangentially related to nerd culture until it is revealed that the owner is expecting copies of a coveted Mythic Quest spinoff comic book.
“Pull List” includes a lot of important themes that are not as emphasized in the main series. The main store is a Black-owned business whose patrons are excited to see the first Black character in Mythic Quest. In this, the episode makes a good attempt to explore issues relating to diversity that are usually more centered around women in the gaming industry in the show at large.
This makes the episode successful in its ideas, but the Side Quest installment falters on a dialogue level. Characters really lean into their supposed celebration of nerd culture, but the writing feels disingenuous as the episode sees them mispronounce “manga” and they seem to play Magic: The Gathering as if it is Go Fish. The camaraderie between the leads seems to soft-launch its own potential spinoff series, but I’m not sure whether it would be a successful one given this uneven episode.
“Song & Dance” Gives Phil A Deserved Moment To Shine
But It Wraps Up A Little Too Quickly
As mentioned, the Side Quest premiere focuses on a Mythic Quest character. The spotlight is given to the canonically underappreciated Phil, who is the head of the video game’s art department. As is a theme throughout much of season 4, “Song & Dance” heavily features an overbearing Ian Grimm as he fails to understand boundaries, asking Phil to do work on his Hawaii getaway, thus ruining Phil’s planned marriage proposal to his girlfriend.
Its weakest moment comes at the very end, when the plot seems too neatly resolved and one of the episode’s most anticipated moments ends up happening off-screen.
Derek Waters is the highlight of this episode, including hilarious facial expressions in his performance as Phil. There is a fun comedy-horror approach to the episode, which I found to be one of its most appealing qualities, as the lead experiences the overwhelming dread of not being good enough for his girlfriend while also being pressured by Ian. The episode is also a great portrait of the immense (and often after-hours) pressure faced by those in artistic fields.
I do wonder how the episode would have read without actually featuring Ian onscreen, as it eventually did. Its weakest moment comes at the very end, when the plot seems too neatly resolved and one of the episode’s most anticipated moments ends up happening off-screen. Still, “Song & Dance” is a worthy extension of the Mythic Quest universe, and I hope to see more of Phil in a potential Mythic Quest season 5.
“Fugue” Is A Cheesy But Strong Mythic Quest Drama
It Takes Inspiration From Other MQ One-Offs
In a slightly self-indulgent celebration of the music of Mythic Quest, Side Quest’s third episode follows the story of a concert cellist, Sylvie, who performs in an orchestra of Mythic Quest in a concert touring company. Well-played by Annamarie Kasper, Sylvie undergoes the trials and pressures of being a professional musician, all the while experiencing the thrilling “spark” of music. Throughout its duration, “Fugue” is a story told more through its soundscape than dialogue, a creative choice I found to be effective overall.
The episode is cheesy at times, but it is overall a strong dramatic entry that takes tonal inspiration from the likes of Mythic Quest season 1’s “A Dark Quiet Death” or season 2’s “Backstory!”. Sylvie is a compelling lead, and while the intensity of her relationship with her roommate seems a little less earned than the dramatic heights of Ian and Poppy’s relationship, there are interesting dynamics at play. None of these characters are likely to appear again in any future iteration of the series, but the screen time they do get is welcome.
“The Last Raid” Blows The Other Episodes Out Of The Water
This Is What Mythic Quest Should Be
The artistic achievement of the lot is found in Side Quest’s final episode, “The Last Raid.” Unlike much of the flagship series itself, which borrows visuals from existing video games like For Honor, this sees the creators actually making ample original video game simulated content to tell a story of a group of high school friends whose MMO raid group is falling apart. The majority of the drama happens in-game, with only occasional onscreen appearances from the actors in a faux-Discord video-sharing space. It even relies on voice acting and is a moving narrative.
“The Last Raid” is what more of Mythic Quest should be as a whole: a celebration of gamers and video game content. Overall, Side Quest waxes and wanes in quality, carrying some writing flaws while achieving moments of dramatic greatness. But luckily, it ended on a high note with an episode that is a touching tribute to the gaming community.
Side Quest is set within the Mythic Quest universe, delving into the lives of players, comic book shop owners, touring orchestra musicians, and art department members. The series explores themes of community, success, and love through four standalone stories. Released on March 25, 2025, it expands the series' narrative.
- Network
- Apple TV+
- Cast
- Derek Waters, Anna Konkle, Ramon Reed, Bria Samoné Henderson, Leonard Robinson, Rome Flynn, Shalita Grant, Rob McElhenney, Michael C. Mahon, William Stanford Davis, Rahvaunia, Trisha Simmons, Kalena Ranoa, Ryan McAllister, Henry Witcher, A.J. LoCascio, Gary Kraus, Annamarie Kasper, Esai Morales, Van Crosby, Melanie Brook, Alice Wen, Justin Jarzombek
- Creator(s)
- Ashly Burch, John Howell Harris, Katie McElhenney
- Side Quest brings back the standalone epiosde, one of Mythic Quest's best qualities
- The show celebrates multiple aspects of the gaming industry
- Its last episode is incredibly strong
- The episodes are inconsistent in quality, with occasional writing flaws
