Note: This story contains spoilers from “Good American Family” Episode 8.
“Good American Family” ended its eight-episode run with a harsh verdict in Natalia Grace’s trial, but the young girl still found some poetic justice by the end of Hulu’s limited series.
Episode 8, titled “Blood on Her Hands,” followed as Natalia (Imogen Faith Reid) and her new family braced for the trial against Michael Barnett (Mark Duplass) in an effort to get justice for he and Kristine (Ellen Pompeo) abandoning her, as well as correcting her age so she would once again be recognized as a child by the courts. Though damning evidence against the Barnetts seemed to signal a win for Natalia, a legal technicality stopped her lawyers from using any evidence or testimony that referred to her as a child — giving Michael an easy win in court.
“That’s the scariest thing about the show. Even with something that feels empirical (evidence that Natalia did not lie about her age), it was not enough,” series creator Katie Robbins told TheWrap. “This is a story that I hope will allow for questions of bias, and how truth can actually be this incredibly elusive thing … I hope people will wrestle with that question as they watch.”
After the verdict, Natalia lashed out at her new mother Cynthia (Christina Hendricks) for stopping her from appealing the court order about her age change, which lead to the verdict going against her favor. But as Kristine celebrated the outcome of the trial, she started noticing the public turning against her — and friends and family soon followed.
Valika (Sarayu Blue) was one of the first people in Kristine’s life to call her out for the injustice against Natalia. Then her son Jacob (Aaron Potter) told her he could not live with himself knowing he had not spoken up.
That night, Natalia stops by Michael’s home to talk through the verdict in hopes that he will admit what he did to her and apologize. She does not get what she wants, but when Kristine and Jacob arrive seeking a place to stay, both Michael and Jacob side with Natalia and Kristine is left alone — with only her mother to take her in.
“What happened to Natalia would not have happened to her had she not had dwarfism. I think it really shines such a profound light on the way that people with disabilities are seen in this country and the world. It’s really devastating,” Robbins said. “This is a form of bias that doesn’t necessarily get as much attention as it should, even though it’s like an incredibly pervasive form of bias and prejudice. Getting to talk a little bit about that in a way that hasn’t been seen as much in film and television was really exciting.”
As she got back home after her conversation with the Barnetts, Natalia was met by her siblings who shared many notes from people online expressing support for her.
Natalia’s story continues in real life, as the show noted in an end message that Natalia was granted a U.S. passport in 2024 that restored her real birthdate, making her legally 21 by the time the show was released. Robbins noted the update on the case happened after filming had wrapped, so the note feels like justice to wrap up the series.
“A theme that’s especially top of mind right now is this idea that a lot of the worst things that happen in life and in the world are not done by exceptionally evil people, it’s easy for ordinary people to do evil things,” showrunner Sarah Sutherland told TheWrap. “This is sort of an incredible example of that.”
“Good American Family” is now streaming on Hulu.
