Welcome to Wrexham Season 2 Episode 8 “The Grind” Recap & Review

The Grind

In February of this year, Wrexham trailed Notts County in their league by just three points. Jacqui and Julie remind us that with enough points on top, League promotion would be automatic nearing the end of the season. Unfortunately for Wrexham, it seems it’ll come down to a grind through the end of the season. For various reasons, including doing so well in the FA Cup, many Wrexham games have been postponed until February. It’ll make things extra hard.

Will Ferrell comes to town. Coach Phil and others enjoy his presence and sing his praises. He jokingly gets the team to admit they might like Rob more than Ryan. He also offers to massage a few “ham hocks.” However, he gets caught on his phone while Mullin scores a goal. Wrexham wins despite the dishonour.

Superfan Shaun levels with us: he kinda hates his job. He reminds us that unless you’re a footballer or someone like Rob or Ryan, you probably hate your job too, and that’s okay. The show has made Shaun a celebrity of his own, locally at least. Not all of his attention has been positive though. He talks a bit about his regrets, and getting sober.

Wrexham vs Woking ends in a draw. In a grind for points, that’s never desirable. Anthony Forde recounts how he met his wife, and muses about his journey with her and their son. They both have loved their time in Wrexham. Tragedy struck suddenly when Anthony’s brother was diagnosed with leukaemia, and Laura was diagnosed with a brain tumor. They have both stepped away from football for a bit, with the full support of their friends, family, and the club.

Wrexham has a bit of a winning streak, and Ryan reminds American audiences that football is a contact sport. With Wrexham’s passion and their packed schedule, there’s been a lot of injuries. They still manage to top the league, though. Luke Young, the team captain, leads by example. He runs 8.2 miles (13.2km) per game on average. Rob and Ryan sing his praises.

Shaun steps in as coach for his younger son’s football team. His greatest accomplishment is being there for his kids. Wrexham draws against Maidenhead, but still leads the league by one point. They beat Dag & Red 4-0. A massive snowfall threatens their final game of the busy month, but the community steps up to clear the thick snow from the frozen pitch. Wrexham beats Southend United 1 nil. They have a steady lead going forward.

The Episode Review

“The Grind” does an effective job of displaying the dominant play of Wrexham in the latter half of the season. It’s hard to tell if the highlights are getting better, or if it’s just the team doing better. However, it is clear that allowing bits of the game to play out for longer tends to feel better than just showing goals and tackles. The shorter episodes overall, have a harder time letting the play footage flow.

The quick displays of football’s brutality are great in this episode. From blows to the head to intense tackles, to one player literally streaming blood from his nose like a fountain, it’s safe to say America needed to be reminded that footballers falling down is not always a ploy to draw a penalty.

The community members who show up regularly, start to feel like members of your community. It’s a genuine treat to get Jacqui and Julie’s take on everything Wrexham in that same coffee shop, in those same seats. This show knows how to cultivate that nice, familiar feeling. Shaun’s confessions feel like an important if not all-too-common story in the world of ardent, male sports fans. His story of addiction was a bit chopped up in bits, around other stories and game footage. Still, it’s good to see the showrunners regularly refuse to shy away from the darker realities surrounding the glamour.

There was a random and surprising revelation in this episode. The players may have picked up on something this reviewer was wondering: whether Rob seems a little more suited for his role as an owner than Ryan does. It’s kinda mean to say, but there’s something under the surface to suggest this. Perhaps it’s the fact that, in season one, it seemed like buying the club was Rob’s idea, and he convinced Ryan to join to help with the cost.

The pacing of this episode is a bit jagged overall. There’s a bit of emotional whiplash happening, going from winning football to family tragedy, back to winning, to struggling with addiction etc. However, the stories told, as usual, are unflinching in their honesty, and that’s hard to throw criticism at. Learning more about the players is a treat, even when the picture gets tragic.

The community vibes are turned up to 11 during the field cleanup. The fact that no one is there for money likely helped melt the snow with that warm fuzzy feeling only a mutual love of football can give. Even Coach Phil is there shoveling. Their final win of the regular season was one of their hardest fought, especially because the fans literally worked for it as well. The team having a snowball fight in the stadium parking lot, Phil talking with drenched hair- it feels somehow like a core memory.