Mythic Quest: Raven's Banquet started off on shaky ground with Episode 1: Pilot, but Episode 2: The Casino is a pretty big improvement. With Episode 1 laying the groundwork for the general premise of the show and introducing all the characters, Episode 2 is allowed to focus more on actually being funny, and it's hugely successful in that regard. Anyone who came away from Episode 1 unimpressed should definitely consider giving Episode 2 a try, as it delivers the laughs far more consistently.

Mythic Quest: Raven's Banquet Episode 2: The Casino, as its title suggests, tackles the video game industry's obsession with microtransactions and monetization. The main plot thread revolves around a casino being added to the game by the head of monetization, Brad Bakshi, and how the development team's creative types are against it. While ground level game developers are often the ones that come under fire for their games featuring predatory monetization, those decisions actually come from executives like Bakshi, and it's quite likely that there have been situations like this where developers have spoken out against these kinds of things.

Something funny about the whole "casino" concept is that a year ago, it would seem a little bit exaggerated. After all, most video games try to paint their monetization as being innocent, with EA comparing things like loot boxes to trading card packs. There once was a time where putting a literal casino in a legitimate video game would have sounded ridiculous, but in the time since Mythic Quest: Raven's Banquet was filmed, we've had things like GTA Online's casino, and NBA 2K20's slot machines. Games are far less discreet about monetization and the connection to gambling than they ever were before, and that may have actually taken some of the bite out of the casino gag.

One of the best lines about the casino gag comes from Danny Pudi's Brad Bakshi, where he says that the casino is "a fusion of art and commerce." This calls to mind some of the absurd justifications that members of the video game industry have given about loot boxes, like when EA referred to loot boxes as surprise mechanics when testifying about the practice to the UK government.

Regardless of the ethical ramifications behind predatory monetization, the episode eventually comes to the conclusion that it is a necessary evil. It's true that monetization is a necessary evil for some games, especially live service-style games like the Mythic Quest video game, but they don't have to be predatory in nature, and that point was kind of lost in the storytelling. Regardless, adding a casino to Mythic Quest is still a nice bit of commentary on video game monetization, even though it's not quite as sharp as some of the satire from the first episode.

Poppy and David agonizing over the casino helped that storyline stay entertaining, with David continuing to be one of the show's standout characters. Even so, the A plot was outdone by the hilarious B plot, which saw auteur Ian Grimm and writer CW Longbottom have to come up with the identity of a mysterious NPC they created called The Masked Man. The Masked Man's identity had yet to be revealed a whopping two years after he was introduced in the game, and the development team was starting to feel pressure from social media icon Pootie Shoe.

Pootie Shoe, Mythic Quest's obvious PewDiePie parody, is much better in smaller doses. The character was used a little bit too much in Episode 1, but was used sparingly in Episode 2 for great effect. David's assistant Jo (who really worships Ian) takes offense to Pootie Shoe's criticism of Mythic Quest and starts cyberbullying him, shockingly sending him a meme that tells him to kill himself. Ian's reaction to this revelation is great, especially as it becomes clear that Jo is far more sinister than the innocent girl she seems to be on the surface. The cyberbullying conversation between Ian and Jo was the funniest thing the show has done so far, and definitely gave off some serious It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia vibes.

The Jo/Ian dynamic and the Pootie Shoe feud were the big highlights of this episode. As for The Masked Man dilemma, it was eventually decided to just rip off Star Wars. Longbottom coming up with the Star Wars twist was one of the bigger laughs of the episode, with there being noticeable chemistry between Longbottom and Ian.

Elsewhere, the QA testers that we were introduced to in Episode 1 are still not treated very well by the development team. The testers are Rachel, played by Life is Strange's Ashly Burch, and Dana, played by Imani Hakim. In the last episode, we learned that they are subjected to eyeball trackers to ensure that they are constantly working on the game, and in this episode, they are forced to work an overnight shift so that they can properly bug test the new casino.

Between Episodes 1 and 2, Rachel and Dana are mostly used as commentary on how QA testers are treated poorly in the video game industry. However, there's an extra wrinkle to their characters, and that is the budding romance between the two of them. The tired Sam and Diane "will they or won't they" trope is made a little more interesting in that it's known to the audience that both characters are into each other right off the bat, with Dana's affection for Rachel revealed as the cliffhanger for Episode 2.

As far as video game references go, Mythic Quest Episode 2 continues to lean heavily into Ubisoft nods, which makes sense as Ubisoft Motion Pictures helped produce the show. Episode 1 saw a classic Assassin's Creed leap of faith, and in Episode 2, we get to see an Assassin's Creed hidden blade prop. Mythic Quest gameplay clips are also interspersed throughout the show that feature combat quite similar to Ubisoft's For Honor game.

With plenty of video game references, funny dialogue, and great character interactions, Mythic Quest: Raven's Banquet Episode 2: The Casino is leaps and bounds better than the pilot episode. As long as the show is able to keep this momentum in subsequent episodes, it may very well be the first must-watch show on Apple TV+ - for video game enthusiasts, at least.

Mythic Quest: Raven's Banquet is available to stream now, exclusively on Apple TV+.