This article contains spoilers for Welcome to Wrexham Season 3 episodes 1 and 2

Highlights

Wrexham's preseason tour in the USA shows that Americans are warming up to the Red Dragons.
A gruesome injury suffered by Paul Mullin puts the star striker on the sidelines.
Keeper and YouTuber Ben Foster starts feeling his age on the pitch.

Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney’s Wrexham dragons are back, and the Welsh team is moving forward faster than ever as season 3 of Welcome to Wrexham continues to play catch-up with the current English football season. Judging from the way this third has kicked off, one can tell season 4 will only get better.

Last year, the Welcome to Wrexham season 2 finale culminated with the team’s long-awaited return to EFL League Two, English football’s fourth division, with the Hollywood duo finally delivering on the promise of rescuing Wrexham from the lowly National League. This time around, the FX hit series is premiering with nearly perfect timing, as Reynolds and McElhenney get used to new challenges.

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Episode 1 – "Welcome to the EFL"

Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney talking up close

The promotion hangover doesn’t leave much room for rest, as the growing trend in world football is for players to have very little downtime before having to return for preseason duties each year. This is even more marked in non-Premier League clubs due to the sheer number of matches and potential play-offs they have to play.

Fortunately, the Reynolds and McElhenney effect is starting to show, and Welcome to Wrexham’s viewership in the U.S. means that the team has unlocked the American market. For anyone that doesn't have a European soccer team to root for, why not pick Deadpool’s?

Wrexham’s USA tour sees them play Europe’s finest, classic EA FC 24 darlings like Chelsea or Manchester United, as well as the LA Galaxy reserves. Of course, competing against top teams puts Wrexham way out of their depth, which is why the coaching staff, the players, Reynolds and McElhenney are not shocked to be on the losing end of a 5-0 drubbing versus Chelsea.

Wrexham star Paul Mullin lying on the ground with broken rib injury

The preseason tour does a great job showing Reynolds and McElhenney the exact level of play that Wrexham will have to reach in the coming years if they are to fulfill the Premier League dream. For anyone invested in the club right now, it’s also the perfect showcase of why the actors’ Welcome to Wrexham pitch was so brilliant: Wrexham AFC is now a global brand, one that can’t match the top soccer teams in performance just yet, but surely so in pop culture appeal.

That said, preseasons have their detractors for one reason; they put players at risk, and the horrific injury suffered by star goalscorer Paul Mullin here leaves Wrexham without their ace for a few weeks. Not only that, Welcome to Wrexham viewers who have come to know Mullin’s family by now will feel shocked by the brief scare given by those 4 broken ribs and punctured lung, captured perfectly by a show that continues to mix humor, drama, and wholesomeness with ease.

Wrexham would make their English Football League Two debut on August 5, 2023, losing 5-3 to Milton Keynes Dons, with the team’s defense looking even shakier than it did during the preseason. Like Reynolds and McElhenney say here, Wrexham’s promotion might not have been exactly what they asked for.

Episode 2 – "Goals"

English goalkeeper Ben Foster kneeling in Wrexham goal

Despite all the familiarity in these two episodes, some things are changing in Welcome to Wrexham. Gone are the feel good beats that usually accompany the show’s intro, as the documentary seemingly has more things to focus on. So, despite a couple nods to Kings of Leon in episode one, there are no musical cues to be found in “Goals.”

Episode 2 does honor its namesake quite well though, except that Wrexham’s start to the 2023/2024 season sees them concede goals left and right, as their defense is not looking nearly half as capable as before. Although Shaun Harvey and the rest of the management staff secured some key signings like James McClean, Wrexham’s bad defensive run does bring time for reckoning.

A 10-goal thriller against Swindon Town, where Wrexham barely managed to rescue a late draw puts the team’s resilience in the spotlight, but also exposes a newfound frailty at home on the Racecourse Ground. Thanks to the great camera work and editing, even casual soccer fans might be able to tell Ben Foster looks like he could have done a little more on some of the goals conceded.

Scotland striker Steven Fletcher in Wrexham debut

Indeed, while keeper Foster was instrumental in helping Wrexham secure promotion in dramatic fashion, at 40 years old, his reflexes and overall performance level caused him to step aside from the team after seeing his own dip in form. In comes substitute Mark Howard, whose performances drew much ire from some fans last year.

Mullin’s recovery process reminds viewers of how instrumental he has become for Wrexham. Remember that Mullin joined Wrexham after already establishing himself as an EFL Two star, meaning he’s probably still a tier above in quality. Luckily, his return coincides with the signing of former Scottish international Steven Fletcher, whose talents start to show from day one.

The Welcome to Wrexham premiere wraps up with the team facing Grimsby Town, the same rivals that surprisingly cursed them to another year of National League football two years ago. It’s also the match that puts the “Goals” title in the spotlight as Mullin, Fletcher and Ollie Palmer’s might teases the kind of striking power Wrexham have this season.

3-0 to Wrexham and Ben Foster is officially retired, but like Reynolds and McElhenney say, athletes have to know when to call it quits, unlike actors and movie sequels. Rest assured, Reynolds' nod to Deadpool 3, proves both men know everyone is hyped about seeing Deadpool and Wolverine in theaters.