'Good American Family' Episode 4 Recap & Ending Explained: Does Michael Believe Kristine?

In episode 4 of Good American Family, things escalate much quicker than what we’ve seen earlier. This time, we’re taken back to the year 2011 to see what went down before Michael decided he was on Kristine’s side, too. In this episode, we get a few hints to Michael and Kristine’s past, which helps us understand their dynamic a little bit. We also see the main event of this story unfold: Natalia being moved into her own apartment. In this episode, we see a bit of Natalia’s facade break as she tries to get the Barnetts in trouble. The show is definitely presented through Kristine’s lens and, by association, a little bit of Michael’s point of view, but for the time being, we’ve not seen anything from Natalia’s perspective. I wonder if the show will turn around at some point or wants to stay concretely on the side of the family. It would be quite interesting if we were pushed in one direction until we got to see a little bit of the other side. But that’s expecting too much, so let’s get straight into episode 4.

Spoiler Alert

How Did Kristine And Michael Get Married?

Good American Family episode 4 begins with a flashback to 1995, when Michael and Kristine were dating. According to Kristine, Michael was always needy and clingy and did a lot of things to frighten Kristine or get her attention. In 1995, he climbed up onto a bridge to scare her; that’s when she finally made the decision to hold onto him for the rest of her life. She asked him to propose and promised to marry him. In the present day (2019), Kristine tells her friend Valika that she always made Michael feel needed, even though he was the one who always needed her. Before the title credits roll in, Kristine tells Valika that she used to send Michael saucy pictures back in the day, almost to control him. He was so needy, so it always worked in her favor. I wonder what she plans on doing with those pictures now that Michael’s married to another woman. 

Why Does Kristine Go To Her Mother’s? 

Back in 2011, Kristine is receiving loads of attention after the TV interview. She even gets a new book deal with Random House, which sends her a ghostwriter to spread her message. At the beginning of the episode, Kristine is speaking on the phone to one of the people at Random House who tells her to make the ghostwriter Myra feel like a Barnett over her four visits. He tells her to introduce her to her friends, make her feel at home, and take her to Kristine’s favorite cafes. But while Kristine is getting ready to speak to Myra, Michael’s meant to get Natalia out of the house. Someone rings the doorbell earlier than expected, which freaks Kristine out, but it turns out it’s a bigger problem. It’s the CPS, who have shown up regarding Natalia. The boys think they’re going to be taken away from their mother, and if Natalia says anything too harsh, that could definitely happen. After they’ve done their check, they conclude that they’ll have to be back after Natalia gets her foot surgery. The thing is, she’s the one who told them about a surgery to get the Barnetts to pay for it. Sure, Kristine’s got an advance for the book, but it’s not enough to keep the family going if they have to pay for Natalia’s surgeries. 

The second the CPS leave, Kristine is sure that it was Natalia who called them. On the other hand, Myra shows up right after all that chaos, and Kristine immediately takes her to a cafe rather than allowing her time to get to know the family. She’s determined to keep Natalia a secret for the book. The foot surgery goes well, but recovery is hard and requires a lot of time to get adjusted to. In the meanwhile, the ghostwriter wonders if the strain of looking after Jacob has caused problems between Michael and Kristine. Kristine says they’re perfectly fine, though the whole Natalia situation has definitely done exactly that and more. For the book, Kristine talks about Michael as if he’s the best thing that ever happened to her, which might’ve been true a long time ago, but at the moment, it’s the opposite of how she feels. Especially after the surgery, Michael basically becomes Natalia’s nanny, while Kristine looks after the rest of the boys and does her other work. 

Finally, Myra asks Kristine at the end of getting to know everything if she can take her home to meet the family. It would be the first time they’d be speaking since they were introduced. Kristine tells Michael to take Natalia out so that Myra doesn’t end up seeing her, but he comes back home briefly when they arrive to find something of Natalia’s. Myra realizes that Kirstine’s career’s taken off while Michael’s lost his job, and he also never found his spark. It’s definitely something hard to tackle, ego-wise. Michael overhears Kristine telling Myra that he was the guy who made the impossible possible, making him feel somewhat accomplished and happy, even though clearly he and Kristine are having a hard time. 

A bit later, Jacob comes home, running and calling for his mom. When she follows him, Natalia’s throwing out the boys’ toy cars onto the street while they try to bring them back. Kristine saves one of them from nearly being run over, and this is the last straw for her. She takes her sons and goes to her mother’s, because it’s the only safe place for her. 

Why Does Michael Believe Kristine? 

Before she leaves, Myra tells Kristine that she’s happy to write her story without Natalia in it because she’s hidden children for many a politician, athlete, etc. But she warns her that everyone’s got to tell the same story then, because clearly Michael and she are not on the same page. On the other hand, we already know that Kristine and her mum have a terrible relationship, and though she doesn’t like Michael, Kristine’s mum gives her advice on how to win him over. She tells Kristine that she makes him feel too small. Kristine reminds her mum that she has no right to give her advice because she didn’t manage to keep her safe. Kristine’s dad was hallucinating and could’ve harmed them more than once, but her mom only ever fought to keep the family together. Michael immediately regrets not having Kristine around, especially because he has an interview the next day, and calls her to ask her for his special tie. She doesn’t pick up, but he leaves a voice note, which she listens to. There’s still love between these two for sure, because Kristine listens to it with love, but Michael needs to choose her over Natalia. 

The next day, when Michael has an important interview, he leaves Natalia in the room with a TV, asking her to be good because he has a very important interview that will help him win back the family. Natalia promises to be good, but when he’s giving the interview, someone’s at the door, and Michael has to leave the call for a bit. Turns out it’s the police, and Natalia called them herself because she wants pizza. Michael convinces the officer by saying that he’s in trouble because his wife’s left him and he has no job, so he should cut him some slack. The second the officer is gone, Michael confronts Natalia about the situation, and she acts all nonchalant about it. Finally, he yells at her, saying this would’ve been an opportunity to bring the family back, and she says she doesn’t want them to come back; she wants them dead. This is when Michael realizes Kristine was right the whole time. 

Michael takes Natalia to Kristine’s mum’s place, and as soon as they’re there, Kristine rushes towards Natalia, saying she wants to talk to her. She asks the girl straight up what she wants and what will make her walk out of their lives. Natalia asks Kristine why she always says such hurtful things to her, but before we can hear an answer from Kristine, the next thing we know is that she’s screaming for Michael while on the floor. Turns out Natalia pushed her, and she got electrocuted by the fence. Kristine tells Michael that the girl tried to kill her again and asks if he’s going to wait till one of them dies to believe her. Michael tells her that he believes her and that he’s sorry. They decide to commit her to a psychiatric clinic and then figure out what to do. The family returns home, but Michael has to bring Natalia home too because Providence is too full and it’s a stormy night. They lock her up in the garage and watch her through the baby monitor. But, Natalia won’t stop banging on the doors. So, the neighbors end up calling 911 just as the power goes out. The officer that comes by is more empathetic to the Barnetts than we could imagine, though. Kristine explains the whole story to him, and after speaking to Natalia, he thinks she’s older than she says she is. He then tells Michael and Kristine that he can give them a contact that’ll change the dates on her birth certificate so they could call her an adult. He thinks it doesn’t make sense that she hasn’t grown in the last few years because if she were a kid, she would. Additionally, Kristine appeals to his Churchgoing heart too, making it all perfect for them. 

At the end of Good American Family episode 4, Michael and Kristine get all the proof they could get from doctors to prove that Natalia is an adult. They stay on as her legal guardians because she’s got a disability, but they get her an apartment of her own and handle all the payments. Kristine tells Natalia that she’s 22 and she needs to start acting like it now. The Barnetts think this is a new beginning for Natalia, but the kid seems to be able to handle things herself, meaning she might well be older than she seems. The episode ends with Kristine telling Natalia to stay out of trouble and then leaving her by herself. 

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