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| Its like looking through some kind of bizarro mirror. |
A heart attack forces Grampa to think about things, which results in him telling Homer about an illegitimate son he and a carnival woman had a couple of years before he married and had Homer. Determined to find his long-lost brother, Homer goes to the Shelbyville Orphanage where he was raised, and learns that his name is Herbert Powell and he lives in Detroit. Homer is able to make contact with Herb, and the two agree to meet up at Herb's place. It isn't until the Simpsons reach Detroit, however, when they learn that Herb is the head of an auto company and super rich. In a moment of foreshadowing, Grampa, hoping to cash in, pleads with Homer not to screw anything up until the old man gets there.
Frustrated both at the then surge of Japanese automobiles and his executives being unable to come up with any ideas he likes, Herb eventually gets a crazy idea: under the impression that Homer is "the average Joe", he'll give complete priority to a new car design with Homer having complete creative control. Its a move met with great resistance within the company, but Herb insists he doesn't even want to see it until the grand showing. Homer is initially unable to contribute much to the project, but after Herb gives him a pep talk, Homer goes back into the design room full of energy and ideas, and ultimately "The Homer" is ready.
Homer's car, a tacky green design with Jetsons-like glass bubbles for seats and multiple horns, along with those silly-looking ridges in the back, is an immediate failure, and given the price of the monstrosity (over $80,000), Powell Motors is bought out by a Japanese automaker and Herb himself goes bankrupt. As the episode ends, Herb now hates Homer's guts, Grampa arrives too late and chastises Homer for messing it up, and Bart admits that it was a pretty cool car Homer came up with.
Quick Review
The ending might've been a bit harsh (enough to where a happier concluding 'sequel' episode was written for Season 3), but overall the episode was great. The little "McBain" part at the beginning, anything involving Grampa, Homer throughout, there is plenty to like here.
Final Score: 8.0
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