Episode 6 of Good American Family begins again with a disclaimer that these events are depicted based on what Natalia Grace alleges was done to her at the hands of the Barnetts. The first 4 episodes of the show were shown to us mainly through Kristine’s eyes. In them, we saw Natalia try to hurt her brothers, kill Kristine, and possibly lie about her age. In the two most recent episodes, we see Natalia describe the events that transpired after the Barnetts left her in a house of her own and moved to Canada. We might’ve had a glimpse of Cynthia earlier in the show, but now we get to see who she is and how Natalia got assimilated into her family. So, with that said, let’s jump straight into episode 6.
Spoiler Alert
How Does Cynthia Find Natalia?
Good American Family episode 6 begins with Natalia talking to Detective Brandon about what happened in 2011. In a flashback, we see Kristine give Natalia tampons because she doesn’t want to keep finding bloody socks in her wardrobe. Natalia tells her she doesn’t know how to use them, but Kristine tells her she’ll teach her right then and shuts the door. We’ll get to the sock thing at the end of this article, but basically, Natalia says it’s gross talking about menstruation with the detective and that the last time she had it was 2 years ago. Natalia is talking to the detective in August 2013. After the title credits, we see the events that took place in 2011.
While Natalia goes to school, she finds it hard to make friends because everyone is much older than her, not legally though. Natalia goes to school every day because she becomes a little bit traumatized by what Kristine did to her with the pepper spray. Though Natalia was diligent, her conditions worsened, and she hurt herself more and more as time passed, even eating from the trash. One fine day, a woman named Cynthia Mans finds Natalia bleeding from her feet. Cynthia offers Natalia some Band-Aids, but Natalia tries to send her away, thinking about everything Kristine will do to her if she knew she spoke to a stranger. But Cynthia is persistent, and even though Natalia tells her she’s 22 and looks young for her age, Cynthia doesn’t take no for an answer. Finally, when the duo hears the sound of gunshots in the distance, Natalia goes with Cynthia.
When they get to Natalia’s place, Cynthia claims she needs to use the washroom, but she just wants to see the conditions in which Natalia is living. Things aren’t great, and she hasn’t cleaned in a while. Walking up the stairs to her house is excruciatingly painful for Natalia, and Cynthia keeps offering help, but Natalia refuses it. Cynthia checks the phone line, which is dead, so it doesn’t make sense that Natalia’s parents talk to her every day because she doesn’t even have a cell phone. Cynthia notices that Natalia has an EBT card in the mail. When Cynthia asks Natalia when she went to the grocery store last, she says her landlord took her a while ago. By this time, Natalia straight up asks Cynthia what she wants from her, and the latter says she just wants to take her to the grocery store. Natalia tells her she doesn’t have any money, but Cynthia explains how she has the EBT card.
At the grocery store, Natalia finally seems to be a little more at ease while Cynthia shops for a family dinner for her family. She has 7 children, though not all her own. When it’s time to pay at the counter, though, Cynthia tells Natalia to come over for dinner. She says that since she’ll be cooking for Natalia, she should pay for the groceries. Though she’s hesitant, Natalia ends up paying, and they head to Cynthia’s place.
Why Were There Bloody Socks?
Cynthia’s house is at the back of her husband’s church, and it’s quite a crowded place. Natalia is jittery at first, but when she meets all the kids, she feels okay. She even becomes friends with one of them, who tells her that she’s making a card for her biological mother but that Natalia shouldn’t tell Cynthia about it. We already know there’s something odd about Cynthia with the way she basically forced Natalia to go with her. So it seems she’s been kidnapping kids under the claim that their parents are treating them horribly. Anyway, by the end of the night, the same kid from earlier asks Natalia if she can stay over for film night. Natalia thinks it’s okay to stay back just a couple more hours. But, the next thing we know, Cynthia’s talking to her husband about how Natalia might be godsend to them because they’ve got no money and she paid for the groceries. The next day, instead of taking her home, Cynthia takes Natalia to the hospital, where the doctor is really annoyed by Cynthia trying to answer for Natalia.
The doctor then says she’ll take some scans regarding Natalia’s pain and then see her after 2 weeks. Cynthia claims she’s Natalia’s mom, which makes Natalia uncomfortable, but she goes along with it. Finally, back in the car, Natalia ends up hitting Cynthia when it seems she’s not taking her home again. But Cynthia’s reaction isn’t one of anger; she’s understanding of Natalia and claims that she gets that way sometimes too. Finally, Cynthia tells Natalia honestly that she doesn’t want to drop her off at her place. She tells her that for the two weeks before she has to go back to the hospital, she should stay with them, and then what happens after that can be decided later. Natalia agrees because Cynthia says she’ll check if Kristine’s been by and will make sure Natalia won’t get in trouble.
Within those two weeks, Cynthia gets Natalia to transfer the funds that are meant for her to Cynthia’s account from Kristine’s. Since the papers say she’s legally 22, she’s able to do this pretty easily. Natalia’s also quite paranoid while she’s with the Mans family. She keeps seeing a green car with tinted windows, which scares her because she thinks it’s Kristine. Finally, it’s time to visit the doctor again.
This time, it’s not just Cynthia, but her husband comes along with Natalia too. The doctor tells them that Natalia can get a surgery done to get rid of the pain she has in her hips. When Cynthia says they should go ahead, the doctor brings out a detective because she says the surgery is only possible if the patient is a child. She thinks this is a case of trafficking and that Natalia’s papers have been faked. It’s Detective Brandon who has come to see Natalia, and he asks her if someone abandoned her. She starts to panic then, while images of Kristine cross through her mind. Finally, she begins to cry, saying she didn’t do anything, that she’s fine, and that she’s 22 and just looks young for her age. Before leaving her, the detective says he’s there to help her and gives her his card.
On the way home, Cynthia picks up the call from an unknown number that she’s been avoiding, thinking it’s spam. It’s Kristine, and Cynthia’s phone is connected via Bluetooth to the car. Kristine asks Cynthia if she’s taken Natalia in, and when she says yes, Kristine immediately says that Natalia’s dangerous, and that if she has other kids in the house with her, she should take Natalia back to her old house. Cynthia gets her husband to stop the car and gets out to talk to Kristine. By this time, though, the damage is already done, and Natalia runs out of the car, freaking out.
Cynthia finally finds Natalia sitting under a tree. Natalia asks to know what Kristine told her about her, and Cynthia tells her that Kristine said Natalia hurt her kids, tried to kill her, and tried to steal her husband. Natalia says that’s gross and she’d never do such a thing, which Cynthia believes. Cynthia tells Natalia that she loves her, to which Natalia says that all moms say that but never truly mean it. Cynthia then tells her that they should make a promise of love forever, like she’s done with her other kids. She uses the juice she’s bought for Natalia as holy water and makes the promise with God as witness.
At the end of Good American Family episode 6, we get the full picture of why Natalia had bloody socks in her wardrobe. In flashbacks, we see that Kristine used to tell Natalia to go for walks around the block without her shoes on to teach her a lesson. Every time Natalia came back home, her socks would be bloodstained, and she’d hide them so she wouldn’t get in trouble. At the end of episode 6, Natalia’s been living with Cynthia’s family for a while, and she’s much happier, cleaner, and seems to have more control over herself too. They’re at church, and Natalia tells Cynthia, i.e., her mom, that she’s ready to testify about the Barnetts. I suppose it’s Detective Brandon who really helps Natalia’s case because it seems he really believes her. But, on the other hand, I wonder if Cynthia and Natalia just have a secret understanding that helps the both of them.
