Where exactly do you find an ending? The final chapter of ‘Natalia Grace’

The Strange Case of Natalia Grace debuted in two parts, nominally “seasons,” about a year ago. Now we have a “final chapter” of a third season – but in this story, a final chapter and a conclusion are two very different things.

Case in point: the documentary project ended at the end of the second season, with what executive producer Eric Evangelista called a “happy ending”. Natalia Grace Mans, a young woman with dwarfism who was adopted from Ukraine as a child, had now been adopted by a loving family. This after enduring a horrific level of neglect and abuse as a child with her former adoptive parents, Kristine and Michael Barnett. The Barnetts had her age legally changed from about seven years old to 22 years old and then left her in an apartment.

The Barnetts’ part in this is a tangled web in itself, told over the course of the first two seasons – and with some truly irresponsible storytelling on the part of the documentary. The first season’s momentum rested on teasing ‘What if Natalia is actually a murderous adult masquerading as a child?’ (If this sounds familiar, it is the plot of the highly fictional horror film Orphan.)

Unfortunately, the happy ending at the end of the second season wasn’t all it seemed from the outside. Natalia’s new adoptive family turned out to be violent fundamentalist Christians who exercised extreme control and brainwashing over Natalia. When she finally escaped, she believed that her adoptive father, who insists on being called “Bishop” (because he’s decided he is one?), is a miracle worker and prophet … who, you know, also makes a living Natalia’s disability benefits while he leaves her holding the bag for the taxes she then has no money to pay.

The story of the third and hopefully final season is the slow, difficult and painful journey of Natalia’s recovery from that life situation. There are revelations about the so-called “bishop” and the Mans family’s exploitation of the children they foster – exploitation of which Natalia is a cookie-cutter example – but the bulk of these last four episodes is an emotional tale. At the heart of it is the struggle of the DePaul family, and especially the mother Nicole, in trying to help Natalia find safety and security, both logistically and mentally.

The DePauls tried to adopt Natalia years earlier, but the adoption did not go through. The DePauls are a family of little people well-acquainted with the daily challenges of dwarfism, whose available amenities in their home are a whole new world for Natalia. The family is also keenly aware of the medical and financial side of being disabled, including a real risk of paralysis if Natalia does not get the necessary surgery.

The family befriended Natalia when she was a child – hence the attempted adoption – and when Natalia in the Mans’ house managed to communicate with the outside world via her boyfriend Neil, Neil knew she was going to DePaul’s.

If you’ve ever had a friend or loved one who is in a dangerous or harmful relationship, and who is the only one unable to recognize the danger and harm of it when it is painfully visible to all who care about them, then this story will feel very familiar. You can physically pull that person out of a life situation, put distance between them and their abuser, but if that person is still living in the distorted reality that they have been taught through their abuse, no one can save them from that but themselves (with the help of psychiatric professionals).

The documentary ends on a high note with Natalia doing a photoshoot and interview for PEOPLE and visiting New York for the first time. It’s certainly a deliberate storytelling maneuver for a positive and empowering story. It’s hard to say how much of Natalia’s happiness is performative for the cameras and interviewers. But the series also does not claim to tell the whole story, as it did at the end of the second season; recovery doesn’t happen neatly at the end of a season’s arc.

I also think the storytellers are struggling with the fact that the story they told in the second season – the happy ending offered – was ultimately a cover for even more abuse. And if they aren’t, they should be. Because as soon as they started asking questions, they started hearing about abuse and coercion from the men, especially against children. They should have asked these questions sooner, but at the time they were focused on the Barnetts and the depth of their cruelty as Natalia’s guardians.

Everyone looked the other way to make the story they wanted to make out of Natalia’s life – including the documentary crew who told us, the viewers, where and how to look for a story.