As we saw in the pervious episode, episode 7 of Good American Family last week, the court ruling to change Natalia's age did not go in her favor. And once again in Good American Family episode 8, "Blood on Her Hands," the court system let Natalia down once again. Here's a review of the season finale episode on Hulu. SPOILERS BELOW.
In the past couple of episodes it's been alluded that Kristine is not telling the truth, but it shows the most in the finale. Every witness that could testify on her and Michael's behalf, she comes up with an excuse why they can't use them. We see as they speak to Natalia and the state it's because the Barnetts were lying. There's also so many incriminating text messages between Kristine and Michael that definitely shows they're guilty. And Kristine was physically abusive.
For whatever reason, these two continue to have luck and a court system that isn't fair. Since the state had the chance to appeal the past decision of not changing her legal age - her adoptive mother Cynthia didn't want to put her through the courts again. Though this comes back to not working out for them because they couldn't use any of the school evidence against the Barnetts. It was truly so sad to watch.
Kristine also proves to be the true manipulative person here, not Natalia. I don't know how many times she repeated the same lines and excuses. Though if you say something enough times, people begin to think it's true. It worked for her for years. Unfortunately, those around her started realizing the truth too late.
Ellen Pompeo has truly embodied this role so well! I can't wait to see what other projects she decides to take on next. Michael is a big disappointment, honestly. He has some sort of weird weakness towards Kristine, no matter what she puts him through. Honestly, I don't know what Jennifer sees in him.
The final few scenes are really powerful and tug at your heart. Natalia tries to go to Michael to get him to admit that he and Kristine let her down, big time. Though Kristine and Michael won the case in court, in a turn of events that is a little satisfying, her favorite son and who she's made a living off of, Jacob, sort of turns on his mom. He apologizes to Natalia and chooses to stay with his dad for the night for the first time in years.
Overall I think Good American Family episode 8 was a strong and powerful one, especially for a finale. Sometimes court-centric episodes can be tedious and boring, but this one was really interesting the way it was written and the scenes were edited together. It was also nice to end the series on a lighter note with Natalia hearing all the supportive comments online.
As someone who wasn't familiar with the story, despite the documentaries about it, I thought it was a good look at all the accounts that are out there and the fact it was told from different perspectives. If you're coming across this now and wondering whether you should watch, I do think Good American Family on Hulu is worth your time. Season grade level: B.
The full season of Good American Family is now streaming on Hulu.