‘American Auto’ Recap: ‘Passion Project’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

AMERICAN AUTO -- "Passion Project" Episode 210 -- Pictured: Jon Barinholtz as Wesley -- (Photo by: Greg Gayne/NBC)

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 210 of ‘American Auto’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.
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There are a great many reasons to love the NBC series, American Auto. Such as the fact that it is a smart series, one that offers up stunning commentary and satire on the corporate world, and sometimes the modern world, and of course… explores the various questions we have about corporations and whether or not they are in touch with the real world. Plus, it features dynamic characters that we genuinely care about and are presented as human beings that experience moments that we can actually relate to, and they’re played by a magnificent set of actors that know comedy and know how to land jokes. And speaking of the humor, that is definitely of note since this show is genuinely funny through and through and often leaves us gasping for air with its quality jokes. 
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If anything, taking a moment to reflect upon what makes this series such a delight to watch is quite relevant and important to today’s discussion of the show, simply because this week’s tale put all of those wondrous elements on display. A feat that ‘Passion Project’ accomplished, by plunging us into a day in the life at Payne Motors, where a bet took place between Jack and Sadie. For Jack wasn’t certain that the new artificial intelligence system that Katherine purchased was viable and could genuinely hold a conversation with a person, and Sadie thought otherwise. So, they deployed it on Elliot to see if he could tell the difference and to settle the bet, and well, things got weird. Simply because he fell in love with Jessica and spoke with her night and day. Making this bet something of a pyrrhic victory for Sadie since she hadn’t anticipated that and wow, did this make for one funny sequence since Elliot fell HARD. 

But that wasn’t the only wild sequence present in this story. For while Elliot lost himself in Jessica’s soothing voice, Cyrus was pondering. Because there was a spirit of looseness in the office since Katherine was in reinvention mode, courtesy of her divorce, and he saw this as a chance to put forth a revolutionary car design that he had been working upon for years… but he wasn’t sure if it would land with Katherine. So rather than just risk it, he decided to manipulate Katherine into agreeing to the design by having him help her ‘craft’ the new car. Which of course… backfired, since she enjoyed the creative process and thought she could improve the ‘baseline’ design that she was given and that just broke Cyrus’ heart. For he really thought this sneaky plan would work and he outright erupted in frustration. A move that didn’t cost him his job. Because Katherine realized that keeping him working on designs that didn’t captivate his imagination… was a crueler punishment than termination… all because Cyrus didn’t approach this with honesty. 

As for the very human moments in this story, well those were handled by Dori and Wesley. For part of the reinvention mantra at the office, was to revamp the art and look of the office. Which in Dori’s eyes, meant pulling down the images of former Payne leaders that were on the wall and replacing their visages with calming art. A move that unsettled Wesley, since he revealed that his lineage meant a lot to him, and he tried his best to try and get Katherine to overturn that decision to no avail. In fact, anything he did here to get people behind him simply didn’t work and that led to a surprise ending. One where Dori believed that Wesley was trying to tug on her heartstrings to get her to change things back by making claims that his grandfather had passed… but it turned out… he was telling the truth. Adding a somber air to his journey in this story, one that humanized Wesley like never before and in a manner, we can relate to. Since family legacy is important to a lot of us, and the loss of a grandparent always stings.

All of which made this… a perfect episode. One that really did offer up a unique, day in the life setup for the show and of course celebrated what makes this show great. Because there was indeed plenty of satire on the corporate world here through Katherine and Cyrus’ shenanigans. Not to mention… the comedy came hard from that story and from Elliot’s storyline involving that A.I. love affair, and the humanity really was on display in Wesley and Dori’s story and well… you can’t ask for much more from a show than perfection, and this really did make for one entertaining half hour of television. One that leaves us eager for more of course, since every single time we tune in, we are treated to a wonderful story that provides us with meaningful moments and plenty of reasons to smile. Until next time.

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