Last week's episode of Good American Family on Hulu was a difficult one to watch, seeing Natalia struggle all alone living by herself now. And even when she tries to make things right, somehow they get worse. Well, that continues in episode 6 this week. However, there's a bit more hope when we reach the end. Here's our review of the episode. SPOILERS BELOW.
The last time we saw Natalia, she was having trouble with the day-to-day including getting the shower on, preparing food, and taking care of herself in general. And now that she's in the new home with so many stairs, something difficult in her condition, things are even worse. Plus she needs to walk to school, and it's not an easy trek.
The most difficult part is the blisters and injuries she gets from walking so much, which causes her feet to bleed. Then there's the fact that she's stopped in a rough part of the neighborhood, but that's when it seems like there's a saving grace.
Natalia gets some help from Christina Hendricks
Christina Hendricks' character finally shows up in this episode, and she plays Cynthia Mans! As she's driving by, she spots Natalia and her bleeding feet and offers to help. She clearly has a lighthearted and fun personality, and Hendricks plays her so well. There's obviously something suspicious about Natalia and her situation so she comes into her home and looks around. It's obvious she needs help. And so spotting the EBT card, offers to take her to the market.
Now this is where things start to get a little murky when it comes to Cynthia. She invites Natalia to dinner at her home with her husband and kids and rings up a bunch of food and items. Then she tells Natalia since she's coming over, she can pay for it with her EBT card. This is one red flag. Now I don't know if Cynthia is trying to take advnatage of a vulnerable Natalia, or if she sees it more of a win-win situation. Natalia gets food, but so do her other kids. As we learn later, money is tight for the Mans family and Natalia may actually be their saving grace. Hmm.
When Natalia sees the warm and loving home, it's clear this is what she years for. You can see it all on her face. And I once again praise Imogen Reid's acting here! Cynthia takes Natalia to the doctor and it turns out she gets disability checks too, but right now they're going to Kristine and Michael. They get it changed to go to Cynthia. Again, another red flag or truly a way to help?
But the doctor's visit confirms that Natalia really is a child based on her x-rays. And the doctor thinks that Cynthia and her husband are taking advantage of Natalia so she calls in the investigator. And that's how he gets involved in her case in the first place. Finally, it's Halloween and Cynthia answers the number who keeps calling her. I think we all could guess it was going to be Kristine. And lo and behold, it is. She's warning Cynthia about Natalia and trying to turn her against them.
The poor girl clearly has PTSD. Natalia gets out of the car and runs away, and we see flashes of Kristine slapping her. Which are hard to watch. Then she's told to go walk it off, but without shoes. When she comes back, Natalia takes her socks off and hides the blood on them, and that explains the bloody socks in her closet. So my question now is, did Kristine make her walk all the time on purpose to "prove" she was menstruating and fabricating lies?
Eventually Cynthia finds Natalia, and the two have a really sweet moment where they connect and make a promise to each other. Then, even though Natalia doesn't like baths, she agrees to one and it's a really nice one between what a mother and daughter should look like. The episode ends on a hopeful note with Natalia smiling at her new family's church, declaring she's ready to testify. Not only at church, but against the Barnetts as well.
Good American Family episode 6 review
This was another really strong episode of Good American Family. Episode 6 brought even more devastating emotion, moved the story along, but also ended on a bit of a hopeful note that we needed after all the heaviness of the past five episodes.
I'll be honest but the story being told from Natalia's point of view from the sphere of a television series is much more intriguing. And it's being done well. Also Hendricks as Cynthia? So good! She's one of my favorite actresses so I'm excited she's now a part of the story. What is going to happen next? We'll find out next week! Episode grade level: A.
Good American Family releases new episodes Wednesdays on Hulu.