Charlie Day’s ‘Mythic Quest’ Monologue Was An Emmy-Worthy Tear-Jerker

At long last, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia star and Mythic Quest producer Charlie Day has made his grand entrance on the latter comedy show — so why are we crying?

Last night, AppleTV+ released the eighth episode from the fourth season of Rob McElhenney’s second cult-beloved comedy series Mythic Quest, a one-off episode titled “Rebrand” that explored the inner life of a side character, as is the show’s yearly tradition. Brendan, the controversial streamer and estranged son of the Mythic Quest founder Ian Grimm who is better known by his screen name Pootie Shoe, had the honor of starring in this season’s standalone special, where we saw the young gaming sensation struggle to redefine himself and shake off his immaturity against the wishes and warnings of his parents, his sponsors and especially his manager, Spencer, played by Day.

In Brendan’s desperate and reckless attempt to grow up too fast, life (and LOL_Trevor) knocked him on his ass, and when Brendan barged in on Spencer during his manager’s day off, Day delivered a life lesson that hit harder than even the most jacked-up Twitch streamer:

In “Rebrand,” Brendan, whom Mythic Quest viewers haven’t seen since Season One, returned to the show on his 17th birthday as a surly teenager on the cusp of adulthood who wanted to shed off the childish persona that made him a massive gaming celebrity. Among the many changes that Brendan wanted to make to his life and his immensely profitable brand is to age-up his very title, which he planned to shorten to “Pootie,” because, apparently, it was the “Shoe” part that made the moniker so immature.

Spencer responded to his young client’s rash decision to destroy his child self and youthful brand by reminding the streamer formerly known as Pootie Shoe that he had a massive contract with game company Cold Alliance under his previous title and image, and that backing out of the deal would cost them $10 million. Brendan briefly considered approaching his rich asshole dad about spotting him the money, but he resolved to man up and raise the cash the adult way — by competing in a Jake Paul-style celebrity MMA match against another teenage streamer, LOL_Trevor

Despite Brendan embarking on an old-school training montage with MMA legend Cowboy Cerrone, LOL_Trevor immediately knocked Brendan out cold, but the physically and emotionally bruised e-celebrity still managed to scrounge up the funds for his rebrand despite his embarrassment. When Brendan dropped by Spencer’s house unannounced to inform his manager of his windfall and to seek some mature counsel, he found that Spencer’s life is soberingly adult in ways that Brendan never considered, and, on Spencer’s devastatingly delivered advice, Brendan ended the episode having resolved to hold back on his rapid personal and professional rebrand.

The young artist who plays Brendan, Elisha Henig, also wrote “Rebrand” along with starring in the episode, and while the 20-year-old’s exceptional voice and vision deserve recognition, the stand-out from the standalone Mythic Quest plot line was undeniably Day’s performance. Day’s long-awaited debut on Mythic Quest ranged from the shrieking comedic heights that we expected in the early scenes to the devastatingly dramatic monologue that opened up the waterworks in the third act and made for the most hard-hitting and memorable moment of the ongoing Season Four.

Accordingly, if Day’s exceptional performance in “Rebrand” isn’t serious enough to earn him a nomination (at the very least) in the category of Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series from the Television Academy that has historically shafted It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia actors while rewarding “comedy” shows that have the levity of a sledgehammer, then I know exactly which song I’ll have on repeat during my Emmy party at the end of the year.