Ep 1. Episode 1

In the first episode of The English Game, viewers are transported back to the late 1800s to witness the beginning of the world's most popular sport and the class divide that initially characterized it. The episode opens with an idyllic countryside scene of wealthy landowners playing a match of football (as it was known at the time) while their workers look on. This scene sets the stage for the central conflict of the show: the upper-class gentry's control over the sport and the working-class players struggling to be taken seriously.

The episode's protagonist is Fergus Suter (Kevin Guthrie), a Scottish stonemason who moves to Darwen, Lancashire, to work in the local mill and joins the town's football team. Darwen is not a wealthy town, and the football club struggles to compete with other teams in the league. When club president James Walsh (Craig Parkinson) brings in English footballer Arthur Kinnaird (Edward Holcroft) to coach the team, Suter is initially wary of the Englishman's condescending attitude toward the working-class players. However, as Walsh introduces Suter to the pleasures of the upper-class lifestyle, including attending a fancy ball and meeting Arthur's sister Alma (Charlotte Hope), Suter warms up to Arthur as a coach and mentor, at least on the pitch.

Suter's fellow working-class footballers, on the other hand, are suspicious of Arthur's motives and resentful of his wealth and privilege. One of them, Jimmy Love (James Harkness), even challenges Arthur to a fistfight after a particularly rough practice. This interchange highlights the escalating tensions between the players and underscores the class struggle that colors every aspect of their lives.

The episode also introduces viewers to more of the historical context of the time, including the Football Association's (FA) initial reluctance to allow professional players to join their teams and the growing awareness of gender inequality and workers' rights. When Suter and his teammates attend the FA Cup final in London, they are shocked to discover that most of the players on the winning team, Old Etonians, are from elite schools and are not paid to play. This realization leads Suter and Walsh to petition the FA to allow professional players to compete, setting the stage for the conflict that drives the rest of the show.

Overall, The English Game's first episode does an excellent job of introducing viewers to the central conflicts and themes of the show while also providing historical context and character development. The acting is strong across the board, particularly the performances of Kevin Guthrie as Suter and Edward Holcroft as Kinnaird. The show's production values are similarly impressive, with beautiful cinematography and period-appropriate costumes and sets. While the first episode does feature a few slow moments and some exposition-heavy dialogue, it lays enough groundwork for the rest of the mini-series to be compelling and engaging.