TV Recap: Natalia Grace Seemingly Gets a Guardian Angel in "Good American Family" Episode 6

Christina Hendricks brings warmth and strength to a story still haunted by abuse.

In the previous episode of Hulu’s Good American Family, during Natalia Grace’s interview with Detective Drysdale, he poked his head out of the room to talk to someone who seemed to be there on Natalia’s behalf. It wasn’t revealed in that episode who he was talking to, but we meet her this week - Cynthia Mann, played by Christina Hendricks. Let’s recap.

(Disney/Ser Baffo)
(Disney/Ser Baffo)

Episode 6: “Not Today Satan" - Written by Jaquén Castellanos

The events of this episode are based on Natalia Grace’s version of events.

Late 2013

(Disney/Ser Baffo)
(Disney/Ser Baffo)

Natalia Grace (Imogen Faith Reid) continues her second interview with Detective Brandon Drysdale (Dulé Hill), describing an encounter she had with her adoptive mother, Kristine Barnett (Ellen Pompeo), two years prior. Kristine was convinced that Natalia had been menstruating and using socks to hide it. On this occasion, Kristine entered the bathroom while Natalia Grace was going potty, bringing her a package of tampons. “Are these for feet?" Natalia Grace asked. Kristine was frustrated, reminding Natalia that she told her she knew how to use them. Kristine closed the door to show Natalia how to use them. Drysdale asked Natalia Grace if she had menstruated before that incident, and Natalia confirmed that she hadn’t. He asks for more information. “You don’t wanna know," Natalia tells him, feeling uncomfortable talking about this.

April 2013

Natalia Grace barely gets a sentence done of her essay for her GED class. While she’s legally 22, she has nothing in common with her classmates, and she’s sad about not making any friends at school. It’s a long walk back to her apartment, and we see how grueling this is for Natalia Grace through a montage. Her mind seems to be constantly burdened by Kristine’s harsh warnings. We see some of Natalia Grace’s lowest moments, including finding a partially eaten bag of potato chips that missed the garbage bin and finishing the snack.

On one of her routine breaks on the long walk home, Natalia Grace peeled off her socks to let her bloody feet breathe. That’s when a woman, Cynthia Mans (Christina Hendricks), drove past, saw what she assumed was a child alone in an alley in an unsafe neighborhood, and decided to stop. She approaches Natalia Grace, offering her a bandage from her purse for her feet, saying she has a ton of them for her kids. Natalia Grace is hesitant to talk to Cynthia, fearing this will lead to trouble for her with Kristine. She turns down Cynthia’s offer to give her a ride home, but changes her tune when they hear gunshots nearby. "Not today, Satan," Cynthia says.

During the drive, Cynthia probes Natalia Grace with questions, seeming to question her age. She learns that Natalia Grace has been living in Lafayette for a few months, and laughs when Natalia says it’s nice there. “It’s the hood," she tells her, saying she likes Natalia Grace’s sunny disposition. She asks about her family, and Natalia Grace reveals that they’re in Canada. “They call me every day to check up on me," Natalia lies. “We’re super close."

(Disney/Ser Baffo)
(Disney/Ser Baffo)

Watching Natalia Grace struggle to carry her heavy backpack up the stairs, Cynthia gets out of her car to take it for her. A mailbox attached to the wall outside Natalia’s door is overflowing because she can’t reach it. Cynthia grabs Natalia’s mail and glances through what she received. She asks Natalia Grace if she can come in to use the bathroom. Natalia Grace tries to encourage Cynthia not to go in, saying her place is a mess, but Cynthia says her place is too, and begs. Natalia reluctantly lets Cynthia in. She notices that the wired phone is off the cradle, testing it to confirm that it’s not active. She asks Natalia Grace if she has a cellphone, and realizing she doesn’t, Cynthia asks how her family can check in with her daily. Natalia lies again, saying she uses a neighbor’s phone. Cynthia opens Natalia’s refrigerator after noticing an expired jug of orange juice on the table. Asking the girl about her last grocery store visit, she learns that Natlia Grace’s landlord took her a while ago. Cynthia offers to take her to the grocery store, but Natalia tells her she doesn’t have money. “Yeah, you do," Cynthia explains, showing her the EBT card that came in the mail, sharing that she has one too. She offers to show her how to use it, adding that because it’s unused, it should have a lot of money on it. Natalia is fearful of leaving in case Kristine shows up, but Cynthia begs, sharing that her kids are sick of eating the same thing every night. Natalia Grace agrees after confirming that Cynthia doesn’t know Kristine.

(Disney/Ser Baffo)
(Disney/Ser Baffo)

Cynthia has seven kids, most of whom are godbabies. She describes being a mother as her calling, and Natalia Grace tells her she wants to be a mom someday, too. “So I’ll never have to be alone," she explains. The grocery total comes to $250.82, more than Cynthia has on her EBT card. She invites Natalia Grace to dinner on the condition that she pay for what her card won’t cover, saying that she can keep the leftovers. She promises to take Natalia home right after dinner, and she agrees.

Natalia Grace meets Cynthia’s kids at their house behind a church. The kids are nice to Natalia, although Zachary (Jahaan Ebanks) mentions how bad Natalia Grace smells. While most of the kids help Cynthia unload the groceries, Natlia Grace is left alone with one of her godchildren, Jordan, who goes by the nickname Jelly (Rupali Redd). Jelly is making a birthday card for her biological mother, asking Natalia not to tell “Mama-C," which is what all of the godchildren call Cynthia. The kids are excited about all the food, and Cynthia coaxes Natalia into helping her cook by offering to bake her favorite M&M cookies. And she gives Natalia her own nickname - “Tally-Boo."

(Disney/Ser Baffo)
(Disney/Ser Baffo)

Antwon (Jerod Haynes), Cynthia’s husband, arrives home mid-dinner, impressed by the feast. As a pastor, he shames them for not saying grace first, having them all say the prayer mid-meal. He instantly questions Natalia Grace’s age. After the meal, she has her kids go take turns bathing, offering a bath to Natalia Grace. “I hate baths," she freaks out, and Cynthia drops it. She tells her the family usually watches a movie after dinner, offering her the chance to pick one out if she wants to stay. Natali Grace giggles with excitement, getting up to select Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest.

(Disney/Ser Baffo)
(Disney/Ser Baffo)

Having fallen asleep on the couch mid-movie, Natalia Grace ends up sleeping over at Cynthia’s. We get a hint that Jelly’s mom has been giving Cynthia and Antwon trouble and that Antwon is nervous about taking in Natalia Grace for the same reason, warning his wife that she doesn’t know the full story. Cynthia believes Natalia Grace was sent by God to help their family.

Natalia Grace slept through breakfast. Cynthia wakes her up for church, an activity the family does every day of the week. She promises to take Natalia to breakfast after. Natalia watches Antwon preach about how everyone has a place in God’s kingdom. He calls his parishioners up to testify, and Natalia watches the other kids do it. He refuses when Cynthia offers her the opportunity.

After breakfast, Cynthia doesn’t take Natalia Grace home; She takes her to Urgent Care. Natalia protests, saying she hates doctors. Cynthia says she’s worried about Natalia’s feet, promising to stay with her the whole time, but saying the only way she will give her a ride home is if she sees a doctor.

“You said you’re 22?" Dr. Anastasia Meehan (Stacie Greenwell) asks Natalia Grace as she looks in her mouth. She asks when Natalia’s last period was. “A few years ago," she lies. Dr. Meehan is confused that Natalia’s available medical records only go back a few years. She butts heads with Cynthia, who wants Dr. Meehan to just focus on Natalia’s chronic pain, which prompts the doctor to ask how they’re related. “I’m her mother," Cynthia lies. Dr. Meehan offers to do some imaging on Natalia Grace and set up a follow-up appointment in two weeks, saying she needs to know more about Natalia’s medical history in order to properly treat her. In the meantime, she recommends getting Natalia a walker and custom shoes, saying if Medicaid won’t cover them, disability should.

On the drive back, Cynthia speculates that Natalia Grace’s parents are receiving her disability checks since she hasn’t seen any. “I think we should get your SSDI benefits reassigned," she suggests. Natalia worries that it will make her mom mad at her. “Then let's have the checks sent to me," Cynthia suggests, saying she can be the one Kristine is mad at. When Cynthia suggests that Natalia Grace get cleaned up before going to the SSID office, she freaks out and slaps Cynthia’s hand, accusing her of trying to steal her money. But she almost instantly regrets this, apologizing and quietly muttering, “Look what you made me do." Cynthia says it’s OK, sharing that she gets mad like that sometimes. Natalia Grace seems upset that Cynthia told the doctor she was her mother. “In there, you needed a mom," she explains. Natalia reminds her that she’s 12. “I’m 42, I still need my mama," Cynthia says, revealing that her mother has passed. Cynthia asks Natalia Grace to continue living with her until her next doctor appointment, suggesting that they check in on Natalia’s apartment in case her mom shows up. “Everything’s gonna go great, I promise," Cynthia suggests.

We see a montage of Natalia Grace accompanying Cynthia on errands, including stops at Natalia’s apartment to check the mail. Natalia waits in the car, anxiously ducking as cars pass in case Kristine or someone she knows drives by. They visit the SSDI office and get Natalia’s disability checks transferred to Cynthia’s name and address.

Natalia’s follow-up visit is on Halloween, and she attends the meeting in a Minion hoodie, with Cynthia and Antwon chaperoning while their kids wait in the lobby. Dr. Meehan shows an X-Ray of Natalia’s hip bones and joints, showing that Natalia Grace would be a candidate for surgery if it weren’t for the fact that she’s still a child, pointing to her growth plates as proof. Dr. Meehan tipped off the authorities, and in walks Detective Drysdale from the Child Trafficking Division of the Indiana State Police Department. He insinuates that Cynthia and Antwon have fabricated Natalia’s age, and he informs them that he has a letter from the mother of Jordan Clark. “I saved Jelly, that is my baby," Cynthia protests.

Addressing Natalia directly, Drysdale asks if Cynthia and Antwon are telling the truth about just trying to help her. He shares that he stopped by her apartment. “Did someone leave you there?“ He asks. “Abandon you? Who did this to you?" Natalia Grace begins to freak out, repeating the phrase “I’m fine." He tries to calm her down, telling her she’s safe. “I’m 22, I just look young. My parents love me. They take care of me." Natalia cries as Dr. Meehan points out that she still has baby teeth. “I’m a liar, it’s all my fault," Natalia says. After Antwon confirms with Drysdale that they’re not under arrest, he announces that they’re leaving, helping Natalia down from the table. Before they leave, Dreysdale gives Natalia Grace his business card, asking her to reach out when she’s ready to talk.

The Mann family goes “trunk-or-treating." The events of the doctor visit have dampened Natalia Grace’s favorite holiday, but things get even worse when Cynthia finally answers a persistent call from an unknown number that she’d been ignoring. “Is this Cynthia?" we hear Kristine ask on the other end of the line. When Cynthia doesn’t answer, Kristine begins to warn her about Natalia. Cynthia has Antwon stop the car, and she steps out. We hear her begin to yell at Kristine before she gets out of Natalia’s earshot. Freaking out, Natalia gets out of the car and runs away through a throng of trick-or-treaters.

Natalia Grace recalls what is, perhaps, her most abusive encounter with Kristine. It was nighttime, and she was already in her nightgown. Kristine was following Natalia up the stairs, yelling at her, accusing her of pretending to be a child. Natalia had fallen on the stairs, and Kristine began to beat her. “Stop hitting me, “Natalia Grace begged. Kristine did stop. “Look what you made me do," she told the child. She further punished Natalia Grace by making her take her usual walker-free walk around the block. But when the girl reached for her shoes, she told her she needed to walk in just her socks. “I want this lesson to stick." When Natalia returned from the painful nighttime walk, she went back to her room, sat down, peeled off her bloody socks, and hid them in the closet with the others under a toy box.

In the present, Natalia Grace sits on a tree stump, watching happy kids living their normal lives, enjoying trick-or-treat. Cynthia finally finds her and sits by her. “There’s still plenty of trunk-or-treating to do," she says, trying to cheer Natalia Grace up, offering her a box of juice. But all Natalia Grace is concerned with is what Kristine told her. After trying to deflect, Cynthia is honest with her. She tells her what we already know - that Kristine believes Natalia is an adult who lied about her age, that she was a danger to her boys, and that she attacked a librarian. But there’s one detail that shocks Natalia Grace - that she tried to steal Kristine’s husband from her. “What? No! That’s so gross. Why would she say that?" Cynthia tells Natalia Grace that she knows she’s telling the truth, but Natalia Grace worries that Kristine is right, that she is inherently bad and unlovable. “I’ve only known you a couple of weeks and I already love you," Cynthia tells her. Natalia Grace has heard this before, so it’s not easy for her to believe. But Cynthia promises to make an “unbreakable holy promise" with Natalia Grace, saying she’s done this with all of her godbabies. They use the box of apple juice like holy water.

And like a baptism, Natalia Grace allows Cynthia to give her a bath in epsom salts that will help her feet. The scene is in sharp contrast to Natalia’s bathtime with Kristine.

(Disney/Ser Baffo)
(Disney/Ser Baffo)

Some time later, Natalia Grace sits next to Cynthia in church while Antwon preaches. She watches one of her new siblings, Aiden (Carson Everage), testify. She glances at Detective Drysdale’s business card as Cynthia asks her if she wants to testify. “I’m ready," she says. “I’m ready to testify."

Songs Featured:

Next Episode: “If You Tell a Story Well Enough" - Premiering Wednesday, April 23rd

Just as the Barnetts think they've distanced themselves from Natalia, Detective Drysdale takes up her case to challenge her re-aging.

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Alex Reif
Alex joined the Laughing Place team in 2014 and has been a lifelong Disney fan. His main beats for LP are Disney-branded movies, TV shows, books, music and toys. He recently became a member of the Television Critics Association (TCA).