‘Mythic Quest’ Recap: ‘Playpen’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 305 of ‘Mythic Quest’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.
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When each and every one of us set out to forge a career in the world, there is a plan we have in mind to get where we want to be. One that sees us reaching certain milestones by a certain age and of course, there is an endgame goal in mind as well as to what we want to accomplish in our careers and how we want our work to be viewed from a legacy standpoint and what’s amazing… is that once we set out to execute that plan do, we quickly learn… that nothing will go according to it. For life throws us curveballs at every turn and sometimes our career path takes us places we never expected to go and well, the big question is when that happens… how do we deal with such a surprise? Because… the plan! It’s important and it matters because without it we wouldn’t even be on this path.
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But the fact of the matter is, pivots and surprises and new opportunities are simply part of the journey and we should embrace them at every turn because they can in fact, lead us to great happiness and fulfillment and the twists that careers send our way, and the need to embrace them is top of mind today, simply because they served as the focal themes of this week’s episode of Mythic Quest on Apple TV+. For when we caught up with everyone in ‘Playpen’, surprises were everywhere to be found. For instance, Ian and David actually found common ground on how to handle the upcoming MQ movie. Courtesy of a weird moment in David’s office that quietly helped them to understand they needed one another to make the film great, giving rise to the reality that sometimes the path to success in life involves working with folks we’ve struggled with because they complement us in ways we never knew.

Not to mention, the whole NFT debacle led to some stunning new opportunities for everyone involved. For once Montreal got word that Carol was the brains behind the whole thing, she received a promotion for her innovative thinking, and that prompted her to bring together a staff. Which gave Brad a fresh start in this business and helped him to recognize a new path for Rachel. Since it became clear that she had a real knack for ideation and monetization. Which brought her back into the fold at MQ, and once again… this plot spoke to the surprise paths our careers sometimes take. Because not one person in this trio expected to find promotions and meaning from a simple idea. But that’s what came their way, and they embraced it because this opportunity will undoubtedly do so much for each of them and what’s incredible, is that there was still more to explore regarding all this.

Because one floor down in the world of Grimpop, Poppy had concerns about some of Dana’s actions with the code that was being written. In that, she was scooping it up in a hurry and when confronted about it… Poppy was presented with an incredible surprise. In that, the Playpen software that she’d written to give Dana more to do while she waited for more code to work on for Hera, was eagerly in Dana’s hands for the most wondrous of reasons. Because Playpen offered players stunning freedom and it was fun through and through and people were eagerly embracing it and enjoying it and well… that too created a pivot for Poppy. Because this was what she wanted to accomplish as a game designer, she wanted people to enjoy what she’d created, and she could spend a lifetime working on Hera and never replicate the joy that Playpen provided… so it was best she embraced that.

Which was, another perfect way to hammer home the show’s central themes and really… all of these vignettes really did a wonderful job of making it clear that living in the moment when it comes to our careers and enjoying whatever surprises come our way, is just as fulfilling as we believe the original plan to be. Not to mention, doing so also informs us that we are capable of more than we thought and that too brings forth joy and wonder and motivation, and fulfillment and once again, this series deserves a round of applause. For finding ways to explore the workplace in a positive manner and for looking at something that happens often in life but is rarely addressed and the series once again leaves us eager to see where this season is headed. Because it just continues to offer up all kinds of wonderful moments and commentary on an environment that we perhaps tend to lament, more than we should. Until next time.  

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