Welcome to Wrexham Season 2 Episode 7 “Giant Killers” Recap & Review

Giant Killers

Back inside The Turf pub, the stage is set for the FA Cup, which is a tournament open to all teams in England and Wales, from the premier league down to the National League and even below. It’s a great stage for underdog upsets and for the sport in general. Wrexham has a successful history of taking down some major teams. Wrexham AFC legends recount their experience over footage of past FA Cup games.

Now may be as good a time as any to comment on the recurring opening credits of the show. The various footage of workers, destruction and creation, past and present coming together, over Jon Hume’s gorgeous song, Don’t Forget, is truly something to look forward to every week.

The FA Cup commences. The rules are explained by various talking heads, players, and fans. While smaller teams inevitably come up against the bigger ones, the smaller teams go through qualifying rounds. If you know this, the explanation drags a bit. If you don’t know about this stuff, it might be a little confusing. Wrexham, after qualifying over a few other National League teams, draws Coventry for the third round of the cup. Coming from the Championship League, Wrexham is the underdog in budget and more.

Hyped-up or Hardcore?

Wayne Jones and a few Wrexham players talk about the reputation Wrexham has gained across the world of football and hope that they can rise to the challenge. Despite being underdogs, the pressure is really high for them to perform given all the recent popularity. Coach Phil Parkinson, as always, keeps the team’s heads focused, albeit with a lot of f-bombs.

Anticipation builds and our featured fan is there to relive the experience. Wrexham scores in the twelfth minute against Coventry with an epic header by Dalby. They score again in the eighteenth minute. By the 58th minute, it’s 4-1 Wrexham. However, Coventry starts pulling back late. It’s 4-3 during “squeaky bum time,” or crunch time. With less than a minute to go… Rob and Ryan explain that the feed was disrupted during the live broadcast. Based on the footage, it was the worst possible second for it to happen because Coventry had just crossed it into the box. The feed returned just before the final whistle. Wrexham wins 4-3, and they retain their title of giant killers. “This is the stuff dreams are made of, innit?”

In the next round, Sheffield United, another Championship League team, will head to the Racecourse. Rob and Ryan take an interview at Sports Center. Ryan, in Wrexham, comments on Rob’s multi-branded outfit, sporting many Philadelphia teams as well as Wrexham gear. “One brand away from being a NASCAR,” Ryan jokes. Rob and Ryan’s chemistry was probably something few people saw coming, but it’s crucial to the success of the show.

David vs Goliath

Fans get hyped up all over again for the home game. The common prediction is 2-1 Wrexham. So common in fact, that one of the fans actually marvels at it. Then, John Green shows up out of nowhere. Ryan sought his advice about whether or not to buy the football club. Ryan quotes John, who was quoting Pope John Paul the 2nd, “Of all the unimportant things in life, football is the most important.”

Before the game, the sentiment is shared that some believe many of the Wrexham players, in choosing to play for them, sold out for money or for easy fame. Perhaps this is their chance to prove them wrong. Kaitlyn Olson (Dee in It’s Always Sunny) joins Rob to watch on TV. Sheffield scores in 63 seconds. Jordan Tunnicliffe is injured, followed closely by Aaron Hayden. That’s two center defenders down. Expectations are lowered, and being down by only one at halftime seems like an achievement. Coach Phil speaks at the halftime break about energy and momentum. It’s moments like these where a bit of deeper football jargon may do better.

There’s a great scramble and near goal, followed by Wrexham equalizing in the 50th minute. Ryan’s tension and genuine excitement are palpable and easily felt through the screen. The game footage throughout this episode shines with a longer runtime. Wrexham scores again via a corner kick. This is as close to watching real football as the show has ever gotten, and the best it’s ever looked. Sheffield United ties the game with just over 25 minutes to play. Wrexham catches a break with a man advantage after a red card. After a scintillating montage, Mullin nutmegs a defender, and scores!

Stress and Glory

In the final, added minutes of the game, Sheffield United manages to claw a draw from the clutches of a historic upset. A draw in the FA Cup means a rematch at Sheffield. Despite an understandable dejection from the team, Ryan delivers a choked-up speech about how special the performance was. “Of all the games to miss, Rob…” he says on the phone afterward.

Jacqui and Julie recount the game at a coffee shop. Their commentary is, frankly, of the quality one would expect of a local, professional correspondence. Without skipping a beat, it’s time for the rematch. “It was the most honorable 3-1 defeat, I think, you can imagine.” Despite glazing over the game, the focus is on the fact that a National League team caught the imagination of a sizeable chunk of the global population, playing against a Championship League team. At the very least they got under the skin of Shefflield’s Billy Sharp.

The Episode Review

While the episode may have gotten off to a bit of a slow start, Welcome to Wrexham cut straight to the core and delivered a true football spectacle. Granted, if you watched the FA Cup as it happened, this episode may not have had the same exuberance. It’s always helpful to keep in mind the intended audience for this show is not necessarily avid football fans. After watching an episode like this, it’s likely to make a true footballer out of someone.

Wrexham will head back into league play going forward. It’s time to see if they can achieve the goal set out at the very beginning of this show: promotion. This FA Cup break was, if nothing else, motivating. In the passionate words of coach Phil, “game f****** on.”