Diksha Sundriyal
Hulu’s ‘Good American Family’ follows the story of Natalia Grace and Kristine and Michael Barnett, who adopted her and then abandoned her in the span of 2-3 years. There are different versions of each story, and each person involved in the case has given a different perspective on it. The first four episodes of the show capture the Barnett family’s point of view, but the spotlight finally turns on Natalia in the fifth episode, which completely rewrites her image as a villain, as painted by the Barnetts, and presents a very heartbreaking picture of events which makes one wonder what kind of monsters the Barnetts treat a person like that. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Natalia is Left to Her Own Devices
The previous episode of ‘Good American Family’ ended with Michael agreeing to his wife’s accusations about Natalia being a psychopath, leading them to have her age changed legally and leaving her in an apartment to live by herself. They were scared that the intrusion of CPS and other law agencies might lead them to face legal action for not taking care of a minor under their guardianship. But with her being an adult, they are free of this responsibility, and sure enough, once they close the door, they don’t return to check on their adopted daughter for a long time. Natalia is heartbroken, to say the least, but it quickly changes into acute discomfort when she discovers that the apartment she is in is not fit for someone like her.
Everything she needs is on the top shelves, but she cannot reach there easily. She cannot get into the bathtub and cannot open the taps to bathe herself. She doesn’t know how to cook or open the can with peach slices. She does not know how to patch up a cut on her hand and whom to call for help. She spends her days and nights either obsessively watching television or spending entire days in her bed. She slowly descends into a bad mental state, but no one is there to witness her fall or help her through it. Eventually, she finds you help from an old lady who is her neighbor. From her phone, she tries to call Kristine, but it goes to voicemail, where she discovers that the entire family’s name has been mentioned in the greeting message but not her.
If she had any doubts about being excluded from the family, it becomes clear to her in Kristine’s book, where she sees herself cut out of a family portrait. She is devastated at this discovery, but there is nothing she can do about it. One time, Michael comes around, and she thinks he is there to take her back. But it turns out that he came only because Natalia’s visit to the library raised some alarms, resulting in the Barnetts getting a call from CPS. During his visit, Michael stocks up Natalia’s groceries, pays the power bill, makes a video of her as proof to show that she is being taken care of, and leaves. As he leaves, he tells her that Kristine would want her to clean up and get her act together, so that is what she decides to do as much as she can.
Natalia is Villainised by Everyone She Knows
Over time, Natalia develops a friendship with her neighbor, who takes pity on her. She introduces herself as a 22-year-old, claiming that she looks young for her age, which is what Kristine taught her to say. Later, she meets the woman’s grandson, who is there to spend some time. When he discovers that Natalia has been unable to reach out to her parents, he offers to take her to them by bus. He believes that a 22-year-old would know her parents’ address, but he doesn’t know that Natalia is not a full-grown adult but a little girl, quite like himself. While looking for the house, they get lost because she doesn’t know the real address, and the boys are dejected to realize that this will cause trouble when he gets back home. Eventually, Natalia spots the Barnett house but is shocked to discover that it has been put on sale. She is happy to see Valika, who doesn’t share her emotions. She asks Natalia what she is doing there and is horrified to see that she has dragged along a young boy with her.
Valika reveals that the Barnetts have moved to Canada and are better for it. The boy also expresses his anger towards her, revealing that she claimed to be a child even though his grandma told her she is a full-grown adult. Valika takes pity on the boy and puts him in a cab that takes him back home. His grandma is relieved to see him, but at the same time, she also lashes out at Natalia for putting him at risk. The entire neighborhood has the same feelings towards her, and soon, she is evicted from her place because no one wants her there. It is now that Kristine has finally shown up. At first, Natalia is happy to see her, believing that she has finally come to take her back. But it doesn’t take much for her bubble to burst. She receives Kristine’s constant hatred, but what really shows her contempt once they are at the apartment.
A new home has been found for Natalia, but clearly, not enough thought has been put into it. The place is on the first floor, which is difficult for Natalia to manage on her own. She also sees that the new place is not nearly as good as the last one. Still, she is so desperate to be accepted back into the family that she agrees to tell the world things like she poisoned Kristine’s coffee, threw her on an electric fence, and talked about burying the three boys in the backyard. (A while later, when Natalia is interviewed by Brandon Drysdale, she repeats the same things to him.) To drive her point home, Kristine pepper sprays the little girl, leaving her to deal with the pain on her own. Now, she can’t help but accept that she has been abandoned for good. She will have to learn to take care of herself, and it begins with getting a GED, even though she is grossly unprepared for it. Even though she has no idea what to do with it, she has no other option and must go through with it.
Read More: Good American Family: True Story of Natalia Grace, Explained
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