TV Recap: The Adoption Scandal Deepens in "Good American Family" Episode 3

Kristine Bennett is questioning the authenticity of her adopted daughter’s age in the third episode of Hulu’s Good American Family. After discovering that 7-year-old Natalia Grace has pubic hair, Kristine’s life begins to spiral out of control as she searches for answers. Here is a recap of the third installment of this dramatic adaptation of a true story.

Episode 3: “Ghosts Everywhere" - Written by Sarah Sutherland

The events of this episode are based on Kristine and Michael Barnett’s version of events.

2019

Hours after her arrest, Kristine Barnett (Ellen Pompeo) is out on bail. She returns to the hotel with pizza for her sons, finding them all tuned into the news, which is broadcasting a story about how Kristine was arrested on charges relating to abandoning a child she had adopted. She tells her sons that the story is false, something their father pinned on her. But Jacob (Aaron Potter) smartly asks how they could make an arrest without evidence. The boys ask if their dad will be arrested too. Kristine speculates that he took a plea deal.

We see Michael Barnett (Mark Duplass) also enjoying pizza, watching the news with his wife Jennifer (Kim Shaw) and their kids. He seems excited to see that his ex-wife got arrested, but his enjoyment is interrupted by a phone call. Detective Drysdale (Dulé Hill) didn’t call to celebrate, but to warn Michael that he, too, should expect felony charges. Michael is confused and angry, thinking they were friends and that he had immunity.

2010

After giving Natalia Grace a physical examination, Dr. Stephen Lawrence (David Paymer) meets with Kristine and Michael in private. He’s never seen pubic hair on a 7-year-old before and asks if she’s having periods. Kristine and Michael don’t know, and Kristine doesn’t think Natalia would tell them if she were. He suggests that an endocrinologist assess her hormones. Michael worries about the cost since they haven’t met their deductible yet, but Kristine mentions his promotion, and that shuts him up. Dr. Lawrence also mentions that Natalia will need surgery for her clubfoot and hips, which surprised Kristine and Michael because they paid First Path $7,000 to recoup Natalia’s previous family’s losses for those same procedures. Dr. Lawrence says that if Natalia had those operations, there would be scars, and she has none. Kristine tells Michael that she found out that First Path closed and is part of a class action lawsuit for numerous infractions, including forged birth certificates. Mike gets angry that she didn’t tell him sooner, and Kristine’s claim that she was trying to protect him doesn’t make him feel any better. “If First Path lied about the surgeries, what else are they lying about?" she asks, as she continues to speculate that Natalia is older than 7. Dr. Lawrence doesn’t push back; instead, he brings up how she was right about Jacob so that he would take her concern seriously.

Natalia Grace (Imogen Faith Reid) goes through a series of medical evaluations, which we see in a quick montage that culminates in an appointment with Dr. Randi Burch (Tracie Thoms). Kristine tells her that because of Natalia’s rare form of dwarfism, the usual metrics for age determination aren’t precise. Dr. Burch shares that if Natalia is over the age of 18, she could be clinically determined to have sociopathy. However, if she’s still a child, she seems to have Reactive Attachment Disorder, a rarity found primarily in children abandoned as infants. Dr. Burch’s advice is to treat Natalia like a baby, giving her the infancy bonding period she missed. Kristine scoffs at the treatment, which includes bottle feeding Natalia, but Michael is eager to try it.

Natalia’s evaluation period has taken over a month. By now, the article about Jacob’s success has spread far and wide, and Kristine is so busy with requests from parents of children on the Autism Spectrum that she needs to create a website as a resource to field some of the most frequently asked questions. She leaves Michael to follow Dr. Burch’s advice, but she isn’t helpful as she watches Natalia reject the baby treatment. However, she doesn’t mind intervening when Natalia needs to be reprimanded, sending her on a walk around the block with her walker when she throws the spoon across the kitchen.

While Michael deals with the last day of operation at his Circuit City store, Kristine fills out a FOIA request for Natalia’s immigration documents. She gets excited when she gets a phone call requesting an at-home interview. She sings as she goes about her household chores, putting laundry away in Natalia’s room. But when she opens her closet door, she is shocked to find a series of bloody socks on the floor.

Kristine waits outside of school to pick up the kids. Dr. Wachter (Kyle Bornheimer) sees her and tells her Natalia is doing much better in class, but he’s worried that she isn’t making friends her own age. He shares that Natalia prefers to eat lunch with the teachers, and they’re getting frustrated by that. He asks if her brothers can take turns eating lunch with her. Val (Sarayu Blue) sees Kristine, who brags about her interview, and Val invites her friend over to celebrate tonight. When Natalia walks over, she is more excited to say hi to Val than to Kristine. When Val tells Natalia about her mom’s big interview tomorrow, she asks, “Why would anyone put her on TV?" The comment seems to upset Kristine.

Michael sits on the floor of his empty office, talking to Jennifer as they clear out the store for the last time. Kristine tries to call him, but he lets it go to voicemail. Mike reveals to Jennifer that he hasn’t told his wife about the store closing yet. She is surprised his wife hasn’t heard about it on the news since it’s been 3 months since Circuit City announced they were closing all stores. He tells her that Kristine doesn’t watch the news. Jennifer advises him not to lie, pointing to her pregnant belly and citing that as the reason she’s about to be a single mother. She tells him to buy some flowers and break the news to her tonight.

On the drive home, Kristine asks Natalia about the bloody socks she found in her closet. “I dunno," Natalia answers, humming and kicking her legs in the backseat. Kristine asks if Natalia knows what a period is, offering to show her how to use a tampon. “I don’t need you to," Natalia says. Kristine interprets this to mean that Natalia already knows how to use one, but Natalia asks her to leave her alone. Kristine keeps talking as they approach the driveway, a boy playing basketball in the street. Natalia leans forward and covers Kristine’s eyes, causing her to almost hit the child.

Michael, who was sitting on the front porch with a bouquet waiting for Kristine, rushes to the car and opens Natalia’s door. She cries, saying she was so scared, as he consoles her. Kristine tells him what Natalia did, but she cries to Michael that mommy is mean to her. “You’re the only one who understands me," she tells him. Kristine is furious, announcing that she is taking the boys to Val’s, and he can stay and feed Natalia from a bottle.

Kristine and Val drink wine in Val’s closet as Kristine tries on an outfit to borrow for the interview. As they chat, Val likens Kristine’s situation with Natalia to the movie The Orphan, about a serial killer with dwarfism who poses as a child. The thought seems to scare Kristine, who agrees that it sounds similar to her situation with Natalia. Val tells Kristine about a therapist who specializes in troubled teens whose services are all conducted online via video.

Kristine and Jacob (Alas Dalman) are surrounded by cameras in their living room as JT (Kelly Sry) interviews them. Kristine brags about trusting her motherly intuition and not accepting results from doctors who told her Jacob would never have the life he leads today. The conversation is mostly centered around Kristine and her heroism, but she gets thrown off when she notices a bloody tampon on the floor behind the interviewer. She asks that the conversation shift to Jacob.

As Kristine makes dinner, Jacob goes to the kitchen to tell her he doesn’t want to do any more TV interviews. Kristine thinks it’s because she got distracted, but he tells her he doesn’t like the way she talks about herself. “Your voice gets different," he says, “You just don’t seem like yourself." Kristine promises they won’t do any more TV interviews.

Michael and Natalia return home, asking how the interview went. Kristine meets them in the atrium. “I found what you left me in the living room," she tells Natalia, who giggles. She demands that Natalia tell her father what she did. “I have a period and I’ve been hiding it," she tells Michael, who asks how long she’s been having them. “I dunno," she responds, “Mommy said it, ask her." Michael tries to clarify if Natalia is actually having periods, or if her mommy just thinks she is. “I don’t know what’s going on," Natalia tells him. Kristine is outraged, calling Natalia a liar as she brings up the bloody socks, the accident Natalia almost caused her to get into, and thinks the bloody tampon was an attempt to sabotage the interview. “Children don’t know how to manipulate like this, Michael," Kristine snaps at him before directing her attention to Natalia. “You are not 7 years old, admit it!" she yells at the girl. Kristine tells them she will no longer pretend that Natalia is a kid.

Kristine uses the teachings she learned from the website meant for troubled teenagers. She informs Natalia that everything she has is a privilege that must be earned by completing daily chores, which will change daily. Today’s chore is cleaning the kitchen, and when Natalia stands there unsure of what to do, Kristine punishes her to stand with her nose against the wall. She pulls out her phone to record the incident. Natalia tells Kristine that she’s not afraid of her, but her father is. “He didn’t tell you he lost his job, did he?" Natalia asks. Kristine stops recording, accusing her daughter of lying and punishing her to walk around the block for it. While Natalia is out, Kristine looks it up online and sees the news. All Circuit City stores have closed.

Michael comes home, bringing in the mail, which includes a manilla envelope from Homeland Security. Kristine eagerly opens it as Natalia comes back from her walk, saying she’s ready to clean the kitchen now. Kristine’s face is flushed as she sends Natalia to the kitchen. Michael asks what’s going on, and she tells him they will talk later. Her phone rings.

Kristine enters the kitchen excitedly, having just received an offer to be on the Glenn Beck Show in New York City! Jacob reminds her that she promised they wouldn’t do any more. Kristine says it’s just an honor to get invited and they won’t do it. She picks up her coffee mug and takes a sip, watching Natalia spray cleaner on the kitchen table. And then she spits out her drink, thinking she tastes cleaner in it. Jacob is about to drink a glass of juice, and she knocks it out of his hands, too. She accuses Natalia of poisoning their drinks as Michael enters the kitchen. Natalia says it was an accident; she was cleaning around the cup, and some spray got in it.

As Michael takes Natalia’s side, Kristine pulls out the mail she just received. She has a copy of Natalia’s immigration papers, and there’s a picture attached, which Kristine says doesn’t look like Natalia. Michael says it’s probably a bad photocopy, but Kristine says no. Natalia is scared, seeking comfort from Michael and asking him to take her to her room. Left alone, Kristine notices Natalia’s previous address was in New Jersey, not far outside of New York City.

Jacob is upset as Kristine and Michael check into a nice hotel in New York City for the Glenn Beck interview. Michael is worried about how they’re going to pay for the stay, and Kristine again brings up his promotion. As soon as they check in, she rushes out, saying she has a family to counsel before the interview.

Kristine took a cab to New Jersey, knocking on the door of Natalia’s previous home. Mary Leones (Nicholle Tom) tries to close the door in Kristine’s face when she tells her why she came, but when Kristine threatens to call the police over falsifying information, Mary steps outside and takes Kristine to the curb to talk so her husband doesn’t hear. They wanted the adoption closed for a reason. Kristine brings up the $7,000 First Path charged them for Natalia’s previous surgeries, something Mary knew nothing about. “You should ask Natalia about it, she’s very smart," Mary tells Kristine. Mary is tight-lipped, and Kristine demands some answers about why they gave Natalia up. “I had to protect my family," she says. “From what?" Kristine asks.

Kristine and Michael fight in their dressing room while waiting to be called for the interview. “She’s an adult," Kristine declares, speculating that Natalia is scamming them into paying for her medical care. Kristine tells Michael about visiting Natalia’s previous mom and learning that the birth date on Natalia’s paperwork is the same as Mary’s son’s birthday. Michael doesn’t feel like any of this is adding up, and says they need to provide Natalia with a loving home where she can blossom. He brings up the idea of Kristine going to therapy, and she points out that the last time he said that was when she refused to accept the doctor’s assessments of Jacob. She tells Michael that he is letting Natalia pull them apart. He accuses Kristine of lying to him and she calls him shameless, revealing that she knows he got laid off instead of a promotion. “Natalia told me," she adds, telling him he’s in denial about her. Kristine declares that they are putting Natalia in a psychiatric hospital when they get home, which turns their fight into a shouting match. “This is still our daughter, honey," he says. “She’s not our daughter," Kristine snaps. Michael points out that the world thinks she is, and that they’re about to go on TV with a story about parents who refused to give up on their disabled child. “What’s Glenn Beck going to say when he finds out that you gave up on another one?" Michael asks, which makes Kristine feel threatened. She comes up with a new plan: Michael is solely responsible for Natalia when they get home. They will not pay for surgeries, nor will they send her back to school, where kids could get hurt. Michael is now a full-time stay-at-home dad.

Kristine and Michael present a different side of their marriage to the cameras, sitting close and smiling as Glenn Beck (Mike Hart) introduces them on his show. “Proving once again that a good American family is the solution to all of our nation’s ills," he concludes his introduction.

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Next Episode: “Right There in Black and White" - Premiering Wednesday, April 2nd

Michael and Kristine’s marriage reaches a breaking point as their differing perspectives on Natalia threaten to tear them apart. When the stakes become dangerous, Kristine draws a line.