The Republic of Sarah Review: Pilot (Season 1 Episode 1)

We meet the residents of Greylock on The Republic of Sarah Season 1 Episode 1, “Pilot,” and most of them are awesome.

Sarah Cooper is a high school history teacher who is obsessed with badass females, clearly passionate about the subject she teaches, and in love with her town. 

She also is not afraid to talk back to her students when they’re jerks, which is entertaining to watch. 

Her potential love interest, Grover, has a name that’s so cool it’s hard not to smile when we hear it. We also learn that he’s a widow, which is why he won’t just give in to the obvious chemistry he has with Sarah and ask her out. 

Sarah has a cool queer roommate named AJ who is having an affair with the mayor’s wife that is easy to support and there is a diner owner named Luis struggling to raise his bitter teenager Maya.

She is mad that her dad left L.A. when he realized he was gay, and her mom is in prison so the court forced her to move to Greylock. We don’t blame her. 

But all of these compelling characters plus a horrible brother and an alcoholic ex-senator mother do not make up for The Republic of Sarah‘s biggest flaw — it’s hard to care about the central premise. 

Sarah’s brother Danny works for Lydon Industries, a mining company that found lots of coltan in Greylock and wants to dig it up. 

The townspeople are mad, and we can understand that to a point. But The Republic of Sarah never tells us what makes Greylock so special to its people beyond the fact that it’s quaint. 

We also never learn why anyone at all desperately needs to stay in town so much that they have no choice but to refuse Lydon’s settlement offer when the company gets to the point of digging up private property. 

The Republic of Sarah goes from zero to 100 to Sarah getting arrested for treason against the U.S. government for finding the loophole that allows Greylock to declare itself an independent nation way too fast. 

At the end of “Pilot,” it feels like we have actually been hit by one of the bulldozers that Sarah so bravely stands in front of.

Instead of being indignant about it, I’m indifferent because I haven’t been told the extra “why” that would fully propel a new series forward. 

No one’s child is fighting cancer at a nearby hospital that they refuse to move far away from. No one else is so poor they are living on Sarah’s couch out of desperation. 

Grover is the only person who has somewhat of a good reason to be attached to Greylock — his wife’s grave is there, and he tells us he built his house from scratch.

Even though I like Grover, I haven’t had enough time to love him yet. So his reasons for needing to stay should be bigger. He can build a new house in a neighboring town and visit his wife regularly. 

All series need time to grow and The Republic of Sarah deserves that. But it has not proven it has staying power. 

Right now it’s just a poor man’s Everwood that has taken on a huge burden by trying to sprinkle elements of The Society (with zero grit) into its premise. 

As unique as they might be, I’m not sure any of the residents of Greylock have what it takes to fight whatever “man” is in their way. 

Sarah is brave and a little bit quirky and she can definitely handle a classroom full of obnoxious teenagers. But leading a small nation and a new TV show is a lot to ask.

It’s sad to type this, but she fails both tasks judging from the pilot alone. Characterization alone is holding The Republic of Sarah up, but it is one element of storytelling that is bound to get tired soon. 

What did you think of this episode of The Republic of Sarah? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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The Republic of Sarah airs Mondays at 9/8c on The CW.

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