Just as I expected, Good American Family switches from Kristine’s point of view to Natalia’s in the 5th episode. This episode is definitely much more sympathetic towards Natalia than the rest of the show has been so far. It gives us a broader perspective of everything that’s happened so far and the consequences of what the Barnetts did back in 2013. Most of this episode is focused on Natalia and her struggle to live by herself. It’s definitely hard to watch and leaves you wondering what to believe. We’re left in the dark about what the family is up to at this time, just like Natalia, and it definitely feels frustrating not knowing what’s going on in the outside world. Of course, the episode also begins with a disclaimer stating that this is Natalia’s version of events. With that said, though, let’s jump straight into episode 5.
Spoiler Alert
How Does Natalia Get Found Out?
Good American Family episode 5 begins with the FBI agent interviewing Natalia about the Barnetts in November 2013. He asks her what it was like living with the Barnetts back when she first came in, and she talks about how she enjoyed it, but then she got kicked out because she was hiding knives and talked about killing her brothers by rolling them into blankets and burying them in the backyard. The agent thinks this interview is quite a disaster as he steps out of the room, and we flashback to early 2012, when the Barnetts first left Natalia to fend for herself in a flat of her own. It’s stocked with food and supplies, but the Barnetts don’t even stop by to check if Natalia’s able to manage in this big house by herself, with no additional help. What makes no sense to me is that if they leave her alone, there’s a chance she’ll be found out as an abandoned child and they’d be in trouble, but they seem to think it’s all good because they fixed up her new birth certificate.
At first, Natalia is a disaster. She lashes out as usual, breaking things, yelling, and making a scene. When she gets hungry, she tries to open the canned food stored away, but she’s unable to get the can open, so she gets whatever she can and watches TV. The cycle continues, but what’s worse is that Natalia can’t turn the tap on, which means she can’t shower or clean herself at all. Soon, she starts to eat pasta and noodles raw because she doesn’t know how to use the stove, and the house becomes a complete disaster because she doesn’t take out the trash or do any of the “grown-up” stuff. You can’t really say the house is disabled-friendly either, because she can’t even get into the tub, and she has to reach the top shelves by standing on top of the kitchen cabinet. Finally, a day comes when Natalia wants to eat the canned peaches, but she accidentally cuts her hand with a knife because she can’t use the can opener.
Natalia doesn’t know what to do and runs out of the house. One of the other houses has the door open, and she runs inside, asking for help. No one answers, but she sees a box of donuts, which she grabs immediately. This is when a middle-aged woman named JJ steps out and asks her who she is. Natalia tells her what Kristine told her to say when she meets new people, that she just looks like a kid, but she’s actually 22. JJ apologizes for treating her like a child but then wonders if she should call the cops. This freaks Natalia out, and she tries to fix the situation. JJ says it’s all good and then tells her about her own daughter, who is a little older than Natalia, and about her grandson.
Natalia asks the woman if she can borrow her phone and make a call to her mom. Of course, she doesn’t have the number, but the lady’s able to find it online easily when she looks up Kristine Barnett. But as you can imagine, nobody answers. When Natalia goes back home (with the donuts) and watches TV, she notices Kristine on the screen, talking about her new book. She talks about how every kid deserves a chance, and while some might be different, they all deserve love. Natalia decides to go to the library to find this book.
Natalia asks around about the book, and a 22-year-old is somewhat of a prick to her, but she ends up finding the book in the new release section. When she notices that she isn’t in the picture taken at Jacob’s Place, Natalia spirals and decides to run away with the book. The 22-year-old then tries to stop her, but she gets mad, becomes violent, hits him, and runs away with the book. But this is when someone calls the CPS again.
Where Do The Barnetts Move?
The next day, Michael comes to see Natalia and is shocked by the mess. He’s a completely different person to her now, acting as if he doesn’t care about her and that he’s disgusted by her. There’s a disgusting smell in the house because the power’s been cut and the fridge needs to be cleaned out. Michael simply restores the power, tells Natalia to clean up, gives her some new supplies, and leaves. So much for being a guardian, eh? Michael also finds the book and notices that Natalia has scratched the family’s faces out, which makes him even more upset. Before leaving, Michael takes a video of the place and Natalia, just as proof that he’s left her with everything she needs and she’s doing okay. Clearly, the girl needs some help, but he just leaves her, telling her to clean up and behave. This actually does work, though, because Natalia gets her act together, cleans up after herself, and does the household chores for the approval of her parents. Finally, she tries to shower, but she still can’t turn on the tap. She looks in the mirror and tells herself, just as Kristine would, that she has to earn a place in the family, and it won’t just come to her for free. She then puts on some lipstick and heads to JJ’s place.
JJ introduces Natalia to her grandson, Keaton, who is staying over for a bit, but JJ’s exhausted, so she wants to get to bed immediately. Natalia asks to borrow her phone again, but this time, the number doesn’t even go through, so Natalia’s left with basically nothing. JJ goes off to bed, but Keaton and Natalia get talking. Keaton suggests Natalia should go meet her mom if her phone’s broken. He suggests she take a bus and offers to teach her how. Just like that, the two of them decide to get out, but they end up lost because Natalia didn’t realize they went to the North instead of the South. The thing is, Keaton and Natalia did get along for a bit, and she even admitted to him that she was just 8 in a game of 2 truths and 1 lie, but this whole situation gets messed up when they end up in the wrong place. When they find the right neighborhood, it turns out the family’s moved out, and the house is being sold. Valika happens to be there, and Keaton tells her that Natalia tricked him into coming with her, saying there’d be snacks when they found her mom. Valika takes Keaton and Natalia back, and JJ is furious, calling Natalia names. Finally, when Natalia gets home, she prays and wishes for her family to come back to her.
At the end of Good American Family episode 5, Kristine shows up at the house, not because Natalia’s prayers have been answered, but because Natalia’s been kicked out of the old spot (for obvious reasons). The family’s already moved to Canada by this point for Jacob, but Kristine had to come back halfway to fix the Natalia problem. Kristine sets Natalia up for school and tells her that she’s only allowed to go to school and back. This time, the house is even worse for Natalia because she has to take the stairs to get up to it. She tells her that she’ll tell everyone the truth about how she threatened her family. Kristine even gets her to say that she’ll tell people everything she’s done, i.e., poison Kristine, told Michael that she wanted to kill the boys, and that she’s an adult who lashed out at a poor family that took her in. Before leaving her at the new apartment, Kristine pepper-sprays Natalia to teach her a lesson. The episode ends with Natalia in school, with the marks of pepper spray still around her eyes. She’s writing an assignment where she has to tell her own story, but she knows now that nobody will believe her. All this time we saw Natalia being cruel to Kristine, but in this episode, it definitely looks like Kristine went way too far with the pepper spray. If she really did hate the child (or no child), why didn’t they just give her up? Guess Natalia will be leading a regular adult life by herself from now on, but I wonder what gets her in trouble.
