The Republic Of Sarah Season 1 Review – How not to run a country

Episode Guide

Episode 1 – | Review Score – 3/5
Episode 2 – | Review Score – 2/5
Episode 3 – | Review Score – 2/5
Episode 4 – | Review Score – 3.5/5
Episode 5 – | Review Score – 2/5
Episode 6 – | Review Score – 2/5
Episode 7 – | Review Score – 2.5/5
Episode 8 – | Review Score – 2/5
Episode 9 – | Review Score – 2/5
Episode 10 – | Review Score – 2/5
Episode 11
Episode 12
Episode 13

The Republic Of Sarah is not a good show. It’s a series that aims high, has a few nice ideas but completely bungles its execution. Broadcasting on the CW network, Republic of Sarah is another series that falls by the wayside into forgettable disappointment.

The story revolves around a small town called Greylock. Its diverse residents all find themselves thrust into an action when a mining company called Lydon show up. They promise new jobs, infrastructure and prosperity for all – but with a catch. This mining will see residents displaced from their houses and potentially be relocated permanently.

School teacher Sarah Cooper is having none of that and steps up to enact a cartography loophole that effectively sees Greylock establish itself as an independent nation. You see, Greylock happens to sit on a lot of land that’a neither owned by America or Canada, leading to Sarah establishing her own nation.

Naive and completely out of her depth, most of the season sees Sarah faced with episodic issues to try and make Greylock a prosperous nation. From crime and immigration through to the threat of a flood, no stone is left unturned. Except for the one that matters – logic.

In this show’a hastiness to push its social ideas, it complete negates the reality that in order to become an established nation one needs the UN’s approval. This isn’t information that’s hard to obtain either. One quick google search for “how to become a country” pulls up numerous detailed reports on exactly what it takes to do this. But yet Republic Of Sarah ignores that in favour of gaining US approval – which is the only nation needed to see Greylock establish itself as a country.

While that sounds like a minor grievance (hey, it’s a TV show after all!), this change is akin to writing a series with a President serving their third and fourth term and claiming that’s gospel. Sure, that can happen but it destroys any semblance of reality – especially when it’s not even addressed.

To be fair to Republic Of Sarah, the subplots are actually not too bad. You’ve got your obligatory love triangle, daddy issues, a rebellious daughter and her estranged father, along with the evil corporation and government officials. All the usual suspects are here, with tropes abound, but the execution is actually not too bad.

Bella is likable enough as the rebellious daughter while Sarah’s brother Danny and his love triangle woes have good depth and progression across the season. Sure, it’s a little predictable but it’s written a whole lot better compared to the main plot involving Greylock.

The most interesting player here though is Grover. He has a decent amount of screen time to shine including a therapy angle that unwraps his difficult past. All of this is pretty good but not enough to save this show.

The Republic of Sarah is a lazy, ill-thought out show with an unbelievable premise and an unbelievably bad plot arc. While the acting is quite good and the characters themselves likable, everything else around that is not worth your time.

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