As the episode begins, Fergus Suter (Kevin Guthrie) watches as Jimmy (James Harkness) is examined by a doctor. While Jimmy is going to be okay, he will likely not be able to play football again. Fergus blames himself for Jimmy’s current predicament. After that, James Walsh (Craig Parkinson) tells Cartwright (Ben Batt) that the newspapers are ridiculing their teams for fighting. Walsh and Cartwright argue a bit before they’re encouraged to stand together when Francis Marindin (Daniel Ings) comes around. We jump over to The Football Association and see the board draw teams and put together the next matches.

We learn that Arthur (Edward Holcroft) and Alfred (Henry Lloyd-Hughes) will be playing against Notts County. The Old Carthusians will be playing against Blackburn. After that, Arthur promises Alfred that he won’t miss another game before they practice. Francis tells them about the fight in Blackburn. Francis believes a lot of the problems stem from teams buying players. He is convinced that they need to cut that problem out as soon as possible. Meanwhile, Fergus and Jack Hunter (John Askew) run together. Cartwright shows up moments later and says that everyone is feeling downbeat because of Jimmy’s injury.

He encourages his players to rise above that since winning will be the best remedy. Cartwright also reveals that a portion of Sunday’s gate will go directly to Jimmy so he can pay his medical bills. Once the speech ends, Cartwright pulls Fergus aside and asks him about Martha Almond (Niamh Walsh). Cartwright asks about the little girl and wants to make sure that she is not going to suffer. Fergus explains that Martha is not going to let her suffer even if she is out of work. After that, Martha returns home and tells her brother that she didn’t get the job. Then, she finds out that Mrs. Cartwright is with her daughter and she knows that she belongs to her husband too.

Mrs. Cartwright offers to take the girl but Martha doesn’t want that to happen. Next, Arthur sits down with his father. Daddy ridicules him for not growing up and becoming a serious individual. Moments later, Jimmy gets a visit from Tommy (Gerard Kearns). Doris (Kerrie Hayes) arrives moments later and wants to know why Tommy is there. He apologizes and admits he never meant to hurt Jimmy. Doris isn’t happy but Jimmy offers to invite him in. When Fergus returns, he finds Tommy there. Tommy says he has no excuse for what happened and Jimmy is willing to accept his apology. Jimmy wants Fergus to win and his friend promises that they’ll win even if he has to die to do it.

Fergus tells Jimmy that Cartwright is going to cover his expenses. After that, Fergus tells Martha that Cartwright asked about her and Jenie. Martha tells Fergus that Cartwright is the baby’s daddy. Fergus wants to do something about it but she encourages him not to. Meanwhile, Arthur and Alma (Charlotte Hope) have dinner with their friends. They discuss supporting the Brockshall Refuge before chatting about the upcoming game against Notts County. Then, the conversation turns to Arthur saying his wife from the wicked woman with Betsy’s baby. Laura (Kate Phillips) makes sure to paint Arthur as a superhero but he doesn’t like that much. After that, Alfred asks Arthur about that in private since he knows Arthur lied about being sick and missing the game.

Arthur says there was no guarantee that the baby would make it through the night so they had to act quickly. Alfred is upset with his friend because he lied to him and his teammates. Alfred decides to leave with Laura a few moments later. Once they’ve gone, Arthur tells Margaret that Alfred didn’t know why he missed the game and the lie upset him. He suggests going to bed before offering to meet with his father to see if he will support the refuge. The following day, Arthur meets with his father. Arthur tells his father about the refuge and trying to raise funds for it. He tries to encourage his father to support the good cause. He doesn’t want to be at war on every front either.

Arthur suggests that Ted’s shirt business is doing well but his father isn’t impressed with that either. Arthur wants to talk about their discussion yesterday. He explains that his outside interests may serve the work they do there. He says his father will have to accept him as he is. He says he needs to finish his preparation for the McAndrews meeting. Meanwhile, Martha visits Betsy at the refuge and checks on her baby. Martha asks about Mrs. Cartwright before she joins them. Martha apologizes for yesterday and how she reacted. She says she can never let them take her baby and Cartwright understands where she is coming from. She breaks down because she doesn’t have a child of her own. Martha says she is the only person she has ever wronged and she will carry that with her every day.

Next, Fergus visits Jimmy and tries to get him out of bed. He ends up taking him down to the pub on a dolly. When they arrive, Fergus tries to cheer Jimmy up and give him encouragement that things will get better. Jimmy tells his friend that he needs to be grateful for the things he has because you never know when you might lose them. Tommy and the others arrive moments later. Tommy asks Fergus to stay for a drink but there is somewhere he has to be. Then, we join the McAndrews meeting and learn that the figures aren’t adding up. The returns are not going to cover the loan and the building cannot turn a profit. Arthur reminds them that the Metropolitan Railway extension will pass through this area in a few years.

Arthur has suggested putting a station within the development. He shows them what the city of London is willing to invest in it. Fergus visits Martha and apologizes before they share a hug. They go inside, sit down, and discuss Mrs. Cartwright taking the news. Fergus says he can’t play for Cartwright now but Martha wants him to. They kiss a few seconds later. Next, we jump over to The Cotton Masters’ Club and see Cartwright and Walsh bicker over the trouble they’ve found themselves in. Cartwright says everything will change if they win and it’ll change for everyone. Meanwhile, Doris and Jimmy share drinks with Martha’s brother, Tommy, Ted, and the others. Doris speaks to Ted in private about getting work for Jimmy. She explains he is good with his hands.

Arthur checks on his wife and tells her that he agreed to support the refuge. Arthur explains that he is going to be honest with everyone from now on. They share romantic time together. Then, Fergus is asked to sit down with Walsh and Tommy at the mill. Walsh learns that Blackburn is down one man so he thinks they should take Tommy Marshall. Neither Tommy or Fergus like the idea. He explains that the other teams are so strong because they’re all on the same side. Tommy doesn’t want to but Walsh forces him to play for Blackburn and he tells the others about it immediately. The following day, Cartwright stops Fergus as he prepares to take the field. Cartwright thanks Fergus for bringing Marshall there but Fergus explains that it was Walsh’s idea.

Cartwright says he will make Fergus the captain if he can get them to the final. He also says talent should be rewarded as long as Fergus wins. After that, we jump forward to the day of the game and Fergus says goodbye to Martha. As the train pulls away, Mrs. Cartwright approaches Martha. She offers Martha work and says she can bring her daughter whenever she wishes. Meanwhile, Arthur and the others prepare for their game. Arthur refutes Francis and Alfred by saying people are trying to get by on circumstances that are extremely difficult. He also says they deserve to be heard. Francis accuses him of going soft. Arthur doesn’t want to fall out with him but he admits he has changed. He tells the other why he missed the previous game.

He says he understands if they want him to step down since Dunn will make a great replacement. Nobody wants him to go so he puts his shirt back on. Francis tells Alfred that they have a problem and they’ll need to find out what to do about it. Meanwhile, Fergus rides on the train before we jump forward two days to the FA Headquarters in London. Blackburn has won their semi-final but Francis and Alfred want to talk about it before putting their name on the schedule. Francis tells Munro to shut up. They sit down and begin discussing Darwen and Blackburn.

 

The English Game Review

Again, I’ve been super busy but managed to squeeze in recapping this episode. So, there may be some minor mistakes above and you’ll have to forgive me for that. Anyway, this was an excellent episode of The English Game. We can see that Arthur and Fergus are going in opposite directions. Fergus is determined to win the Cup while Arthur has figured out that other matters are more important. Now, we have a showdown between Arthur’s team and Fergus’s team once again.

But, Francis and Alfred want to put a stop to that. We have one episode left so it should be very exciting. I figured Fergus would go back to Darwen before winning the cup but I was wrong. Nevertheless, it’ll be fun to see it happen. This episode was very good so it scores an 8 out of 10. Previous recaps of The English Game are available on Reel Mockery right now.