The Republic of Sarah Review: Sanctuary (Season 1 Episode 7)

Storytelling takes a huge stumble backward on The Republic of Sarah Season 1 Episode 7, “Sanctuary,” as Corrinne and Danny’s affair officially begins.  

Don’t get me wrong, they are MFEO and have big OTP energy, there is no disputing that. But this is the second affair storyline on The Republic of Sarah‘s debut season.

Plus, there is also a traditional love triangle taking shape. There is just no need for a double dose of infidelity — the choice is lazy. 

It’s such a shame that Corrinne is even married at all. Single motherhood would make more sense, but neither Josh nor Adam are on-screen enough for either of them to really matter at all. They don’t heighten the stakes of the storyline as I think they’re meant to and neither does Danny’s fiancée. 

Just because AJ and Alexis are (thankfully) over, for now, does not mean we are yearning for a carbon copy situation with a straight couple, even if they are high school sweethearts. 

It’s incredibly frustrating to watch because The Republic of Sarah is telling truly unique stories with most of its characters. I don’t understand why the creative team thinks it needs so many affairs. 

Even Danny’s monologue about why he left Greylock and Corrinne all those years ago is captivating. Details matter so much.

So, I love that we know that slightly burnt brown butter chocolate chip cookies matter to them and that they made out behind haystacks and she helped him get glass pieces out of his arm. These little things make them a couple worth rooting for without the sex we know is coming. 

Danny should get a referral to Grover’s therapist, though — the reason he left town in the first place doesn’t exactly make sense. He still has a victim’s mindset and should work to change that. 

Domestic abuse of any kind is wrong, so I’m not exactly saying that Danny should have hit Ellen. But, his instinct to hit her was in self-defense, which is understandable. 

He basically tells Corrinne, “I had to leave because I almost hit my mother in self-defense and that makes me a monster. I did not want you running away with a monster so I did not tell you where I was going.” 

It is perhaps admirable that any violent tendency he had scared Danny — but his logic then didn’t make sense and it doesn’t make sense now if he still believes it. He’s not a bad person for having the urge to hit someone back as they were hitting him, he’s human. He needed therapy and safety more than anything else. 

So, it’s hard to “buy in” to his reason for leaving, but it may be a symptom of his abuse that’s worth exploring. We just don’t know The Republic of Sarah long enough to know if it will be addressed in the future. 

However, we can look to Grover’s journey to accept therapy as a part of his life for hope. 

I don’t remember ever meeting a character who is widowed before their story begins on screen and following them through their grief in as nuanced a way as we are walking alongside Grover. 

Sure, we could be seeing more and his pain is not manifesting in a traditional way because he is past the first stages of grief. But Grover is still in pain and I appreciate that. 

So many shows use tragedy for drama and then move past emotional pain as quickly as possible to get on to the next dramatic arc of the story. The Republic of Sarah has not done either of those things and the choice is effective. 

I especially love seeing Grover in his therapy session, not just learning about it through dialogue. People need to see that it can be literally hard to speak during therapy but eventually that changes. 

It’s also a subtle but powerful statement to have Grover make up lies about where he is going during his therapy time until the very end of the episode. It’s time society drops the stigma behind treating our mental health. 

AJ finds a unique way to motivate Grover by introducing him to her father at the long-term care facility he’s in. Speaking of dropping things, I’m glad that without Alexis around there is actually time to learn about AJ.

Managing care for a parent who cannot really communicate must be hard on her. Knowing her responsibilities makes it easier to understand the logic (or lack thereof) behind her romantic decisions. 

It is a little bit difficult to believe that she hasn’t told either Sarah, Corrinne, or Grover about her dad before, but now she has. Plus, it’s hard to call anything retcon on the first season of a show. 

Parents are an unexpected theme of “Sanctuary” because we also meet Sarah and Danny’s father who has been MIA for about 10 years. 

There really isn’t anything unique or annoying about the “long lost parent” storyline yet, beyond the fact that it is helpful to get two different perspectives on Paul from Sarah and Danny. 

Plus, it’s admirable that Paul is a fugitive of the U.S. for trying to do good in the world. Like father, like daughter as they say. 

Even though her tiebreaker vote technically means Greylock is still a dictatorship, kudos to Sarah on following in her dad’s footsteps and passing immigration policy even though she hates one of her country’s newest immigrants. 

Notes

• I was hoping we would see more of the process of writing the constitution. 
• Two weeks seems like a very short time in which to write a country’s governing document — what is Danny talking about? 
• I guess Corrinne is an English teacher. 
• The kids are still superfluous. What was the point of introducing Bella if she is going to be away at school, anyway? 

—

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

Critic Rating:

User Rating:

 

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

 Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram!

Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!

20 Women Changing TV’s Narrative