TV Recap: Michael Chooses a Side in "Good American Family" Episode 4

Hulu’s Good American Family reaches its midpoint with the 4th episode. Whether her childhood is biologically over or not, Natalia Grace reaches the end of her time living under the same roof as her adopted parents. This episode is really Michael’s story of being swayed into believing that his daughter might be everything Kristine thinks she is. Let’s recap.

Episode 4: “Right There in Black and White" - Written by Eoghan O’Donnell

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

1995

Through an inception moment, we see Young Kristine (Sofia Hublitz) driving on a dark night looking for Young Michael (Zach Tinker), who stands on a bridge, seemingly contemplating ending his life. Feeling helpless, Kristine told Michael she needed him, asking him to ask her to marry him. That got him off the bridge. He proposed. She said yes.

September 2019

Kristine Barnett (Ellen Pompeo) tells this anecdote to her good friend Valika (Sarayu Blue) over coffee. Val can’t get over the fact that Michael talked to the cops about Kristine. His ex-wife believes Jennifer put him up to it, resulting in Michael’s own arrest. Kristine brags about being the only woman who knows how to help Michael recenter, showing Val an example of one of the sexy lingerie pics she used to take for him when he was having an episode. When Val asks, Kristine says she would never send him one now, but she thinks his new wife needs to do something to make him feel like a man again.

2011

Michael Barnett (Mark Duplass) seemingly feels demasculated as a stay-at-home dad to Natalia Grace (Imogen Faith Reid). Kristine is busy tidying up the house for the arrival of a ghostwriter, who the publisher has assigned to fulfill Kristine’s lucrative book deal, money the Barnetts won’t see until it’s authored. The publisher told Kristine to make her feel like a member of the family, but when he suggested taking her to Kristine’s favorite coffee shop, that became Kristine’s sole plan.

The doorbell rings, and Kristine orders Michael to keep Natalia quiet upstairs. But it’s not the ghostwriter; It’s Ted Jones (Peter Holden) and Melinda Aguilar (Olivia Sandoval) from Child Protective Services. They’ve received a number of complaints and need to meet with every member of the family.

In the end, Ted determines that CPS will do a follow-up visit once Natalia has had surgery on her clubbed feet. Kristine is upset that Natalia told him she needed surgery, accusing the girl of calling CPS to begin with to force the family to pay for her operation. Michael defends Natalia, believing their nosy neighbor, Mrs. Murphy, is the more likely caller since she has already complained about the noise to him.

The ghostwriter, Myra (Aida Turturro), arrives and meets Kristine’s sons, Jacob (Alas Dalman), Wesley (Liam Anderson), and Ethan (Azriel Dalman), in the entryway of the home. Kristine doesn’t let Myra linger, whisking her away to her favorite coffee shop.

We see flashes of Kristine’s other three meetings with Myra, who has a lot of questions about how she and Michael can have such a strong marriage when a disabled child usually causes a lot of strain on a marriage. Kristine talks about how Jacob’s diagnosis actually helped solidify her bond with Michael. Interspersed with Kristine and Myra’s sessions are scenes of Natalia recovering from her procedure. At the final meeting, Myra asks to see more of Kristine’s home, saying it will help give the book color. Kristine sends Michael a warning text to take Natalia out before bringing Myra home.

In the living room, Myra asks Kristine how she and Michael are paying for Jacob’s college tuition, presuming Michael is the breadwinner. Michael happens to be around the corner in the kitchen, overhearing the conversation, as Kristine paints a picture of an overly supportive husband. Kristine brings up her wedding vows to Michael, where she told him he makes the impossible possible every day. Kristine has an idea for this to be the book’s dedication. This seems like a perfect final moment with the ghostwriter, but Jacob rushes in, yelling for his dad. When Kristine asks what’s wrong, he yells, “Natalia!"

Myra follows Kristine outside to the end of the street where Natalia is throwing Ethan’s toy cars into the busy road. Kristine rushes to save her youngest son from an oncoming truck. Michael arrives too late as Kristine scolds him for not watching Natalia.

Kristine comes clean to Myra on the porch. “This book is supposed to be an inspiration for families, and if I write about Natalia, it might discourage people," she laments. Myra can’t name names, but she tells Kristine that as a ghostwriter, Natalia won’t be the first child she keeps a secret. However, she offers Kristine some wisdom: “If this is the version of the story you’re going to tell, make sure everyone around you is telling it too, or it might come back to bite you."

That night, Kristine packs up her bags and takes the boys to stay at her mom's. Michael tries to reason with his wife, who refuses to stay in the home unless Natalia is sent to an institution. She tells Michael it’s been 2 years, and he has to choose Natalia or her and the boys. He quotes her book dedication, asking her to give him a chance to make the impossible possible. “I said that for the book," she responds. “It’s not true anymore."

That night, Michael looks for a specific necktie and can’t find it. After putting Natalia to bed, he calls Kristine and leaves her a voice message, reminiscing about how this is his lucky tie, one she bought him in Chicago before Jacob was born, when he spilled wine on the tie he wore at their wedding. He wants to wear it for a job interview he has tomorrow. But he then tries to act like everything is fine and ends the call. We see him punish himself for this, having an emotional breakdown.

The next morning, we see Michael set Natalia up with snacks and entertainment in the furnished garage, telling her he will be busy for an hour during his interview. He tells her it’s important, and if he gets the job, he thinks the rest of the family will come back. Doing a Yoda voice and pretending Hercules is a puppet, he asks her not to do any funny business. Natalia wishes him luck.

The T-Mobile interviewer, Travis (Gregory James Cohan), asks Michael how he deals with conflict. In the middle of his answer, his doorbell begins to ring repeatedly, followed by loud knocks that turn to pounding. He answers the door to find Officer Halloway (Rey Herrera) responding to a 9-1-1 call that Michael knew nothing about. Natalia comes into the house, saying she called because she wanted pizza. Michael begs the officer to let this go, oversharing details about his situation. When the officer leaves, Michael rushes back to his laptop to find that Travis ended the call, having heard enough of the chaos in Michael’s life. Michael is frustrated with Natalia, who confesses to calling 9-1-1 not because she wanted pizza but because she got bored. Feeling sabotaged, Michael asks Natalia if she really is the one who called CPS, which confuses her. He says the interview was important for getting the family back. “I don’t want them to come back, I want them to die," she responds. Michael backs away from her, seeming to doubt everything.

While the boys play outside, Kristine talks to her mother, Almeda (Jenny O’Hara), who accuses her daughter of having an arrogance that drives people away. She brings up the book, feeling like it’s Kristine’s way of proving she’s a better mother than her own mom. This starts a fight about Kristine’s father, who Kristine says was unsafe to be around kids. Almeda says she fought hard to keep her family together. “You should’ve fought to keep us safe," Kristine responds.

The boys rush in, having found a turtle, and because their dad just pulled up with Natalia. Kristine rushes out, telling Michael she’s going to talk to the girl, who is playing alongside Almeda’s electric fence. She asks Natalia what it will take for her to leave them alone, offering money. “Why would I want money?" she asks, and Kristine accuses the girl of torturing the family. Natalia tells Kristine that she hurts her feelings when she says things like this.

Michael goes inside to try to connect with his sons, who are much more interested in the turtle. When he tells them how much he missed them, they tell him it’s only been one night. Kristine calls for help, so Michael rushes out.

An EMT (Brandon Shaffer) bandages Kristine’s left arm, telling her she was lucky to have fallen on a spot in the fence where the current was weak. When he leaves, she tells Michael that she didn’t fall, Natalia pushed her, trying to kill her. Michael cries, apologizing for not believing his wife and begging her not to leave him. “You were just trying to keep us together," she comforts him. Michael now agrees to Kristine’s plan of putting Natalia in an institution. He tells her to take the boys home while he puts Natalia away.

The place Michael tried to send Natalia was full, so he returned home with his adopted daughter in the middle of a thunderstorm. He and Kristine decide to lock Natalia in the furnished garage, with the door removed from the track so she can’t get out. They use a camera to watch her while they cuddle in bed, watching Ice Age with the boys. Natalia screams and bangs on the doors and shouts things like “I’m going to kill you" as the storm rages on.

When the power goes out, things seem quiet for a time. But then a knock on the front door causes Kristine and Michael to have to deal with the situation. Detective Taylor (Geoffrey Arend) arrives, responding to a call about a child screaming. Kristine tells him about Natalia, describing her as unwell and needing to be separated from the rest of the family. She shares her theory, that Natalia is older than she claims and has forged documents. Michael goes to get them while Kristine lets him into the garage to see Natalia.

At the kitchen table, Detective Taylor bonds with Kristine over their shared memorization of James 1:27, which talks about helping orphans, which Kristine and Michael feel they’ve tried to do. “Seems to me she took advantage of your faith and generosity," he says, sharing that he has Tazmanian in-laws who had a clerical error on their documents that had to be adjusted for Social Security purposes. He tells them how they can legally have Natalia’s birthdate changed with a doctor’s recommendation and a lawyer, offering to introduce them to one he knows from church.

While Natalia is in an institution, Kristine and Michael follow Detective Taylor’s orders. Dr. Lawrence (David Paymer) signs off that Natalia is an adult, and her birth certificate is changed. Kristine and Michael rent an apartment that they will pay for, stock it with food, and get Natalia a bus pass and EBT card. “If anyone asks, you can tell them you look young, but you’re actually an adult," Kristine tells Natalia. At the entrance to her apartment, Kristine asks Natalia if she has anything she wants to say. “No," the girl responds. Kristine and Michael close the door on Natalia Grace, who is now on her own.

“We’re gonna be ok," Kristine tells her husband.

Songs Featured:

Next Episode: “Too Hurty Without It" - Premiering Wednesday, April 9th

Left to her own devices, Natalia faces her new circumstances and how the world sees her.