Welcome to Wrexham Season 4, Episode 6 Review: ‘Red Dragons’

Bookended by a history lesson on the Welsh Dragon, Welcome to Wrexham Season 4, Episode 6, “Red Dragons,” addresses some of the season’s – for both Wrexham AFC as a football club and this docuseries – biggest questions. A common thread becomes familiar figures stepping into new roles at the club. Most notably, though, forwards Paul Mullin and Ollie Palmer come off the proverbial bench and out of the shadows. Likewise, Welcome to Wrexham turns the spotlight on the evolution of the organization’s charitable efforts.

In a season about incremental progress ahead of a history-making promotion, “Red Dragons” explores how smaller changes in football add up to mean something bigger for individuals around the world.

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Football’s Reality and Resonance

One of the season’s biggest mysteries is Paul Mullin and Ollie Palmer’s absences from the pitch and the docuseries. Welcome to Wrexham leans into that with footage of fans and commentators wondering the same. It feels huge when “Red Dragons” finally pulls back the curtain to hear Mullin and Palmer’s vulnerable thoughts about these changes. It’s important to show Mullin and Palmer with their respective support systems. On the other hand, it’s to the docuseries’ benefit that the episode reiterates the reality of the game – 18 players, 7 subs – through Wrexham AFC manager Phil Parkinson’s comments. 

Welcome to Wrexham paints a more complete picture of how complicated football’s many moving parts are when it includes more perspectives from across the club. Therefore, “Red Dragons” doesn’t need to uncover a headline-making story. Instead, it’s more than enough to follow Mullin and Palmer as they outline very different next steps at Wrexham AFC. For Palmer, those include working hard to take advantage of opportunities at the club in the face of factors that work against him. For Mullin, it means finding a sense of self-satisfaction on and off the pitch – perhaps somewhere other than this club.

It’s tough to see Mullin’s opinion contrast with community director Humphrey Ker’s on Mullin’s future at the club, but it’s honest. “Red Dragons” finds optimism by insinuating that Palmer and Mullin will move forward, wherever they are, with a prioritization of mental and physical wellness. Welcome to Wrexham’s continued dedication to valuing the overall well-being of Wrexham AFC’s team and staff is one of its strongest traits. “Red Dragons” follows that path to Mullin’s relationship with Archie White, a young Wrexham fan battling leukemia.

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Wrexham’s Worldwide Community

Ultimately, this episode’s greatest strengths arise from football’s reach in people’s lives. Mullin’s impact on Archie is undeniable; Archie’s mother, Sarah White, details what Mullin’s presence means to her son. Still, “Red Dragons” ensures that it represents the mutual resonance of their dynamic. Regarding that, Welcome to Wrexham never draws any false comparisons but holds all of these people as they are when football brings them together. It’s moving to watch people show up for each other through any change, let alone Mullin incidentally finding joy while trying to bring some joy to Archie and his family. 

It’s also nice to see director Shaun Harvey show up for Ker at the 2025 New York City Half Marathon – the perfect event to lead into understanding shifting roles at Wrexham AFC. Ker’s position at the club shifting to focus on its charitable arm makes so much sense given the serialized story of him running the marathon in benefit of the Wrexham Miners Project. Harvey being at the half marathon helps the edit lead into defining his new role, which has fewer day-to-day responsibilities. Welcome to Wrexham uses the flexibility of that schedule to bring Harvey to Lesotho to check on a partnership with Kick4Life.

MORE: If you want to learn more about Kick4Life, you can do so here.

The episode’s – and, honestly, the entire docuseries’ – efforts to present football as a vehicle for positive change are more than a success here. Hearing from Maphoka ‘Puky’ Ramokoatsi, Director of Programmes, and Motlatsi Nkhahle, Country Director, is more than informative. Their stories and the significance they know Kick4Life has in their community are paramount to understanding the importance of football. “Red Dragons” is an inspiring reminder that the world’s most beautiful game has incredible potential and success in extending advocacy and building community. That can’t be understated.

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What did you think of Welcome to Wrexham Season 4, Episode 6, “Red Dragons?” Let us know in the comments below!

New episodes of Welcome to Wrexham Season 4 air on Thursdays at 9/8c on FX and stream the next day on Hulu.