‘Cobra Kai’ Made Me Feel Like A Kid Again
If the title of this article seems vague, I can clear it up for you: that sentiment is the highest praise I can give the live-action medium. Cobra Kai is something special. I suspect the same folks who found nostalgic nirvana in Stranger Things will take a shine to this. This is the lost Karate Kid film. William Zabka and Ralph Macchio reprise their roles and are joined by a stellar cast of all ages and stories. It came online May 2nd, as I’m writing this I’ve completed the series in less than twenty-four hours. If you’re ready to hear a Karate Kid fanboy gush, keep reading, but beware the spoilers.
This is the moment – and every one before it since Daniel and Johnny met on a beach in Southern California – that defines Cobra Kai. For each of these characters, it couldn’t possibly hold more opposing perceptions. This was Daniel LaRusso, who we’d seen brutalized physically and emotionally throughout the film, triumphing over his attackers. I’ve seen The Karate Kid countless times, and there’s never a viewing where I don’t smile when Daniel hoists that trophy. This moment – as we learn in the series’ first minutes – was the beginning of the end for Johnny Lawrence. I’ll never look at this moment the same after Cobra Kai.
Johnny Lawrence was the first villain that truly scared me. Sure, Darth Vader is frightening, but the character is so monolithic and otherworldly, it’s not as intimate as a bully. As a friend of mine said when I mentioned this series to him, “We’ve all known a Johnny Lawrence.” Children can be very cruel, and sometimes that callousness carries on into teenage years, and Johnny was a classic example of that. The punishment he and his Cobra Kai buddies put on Daniel in the original film is just awful. Johnny Lawrence could be anywhere in real life, and that’s why he’s so chilling. I’ll warn you, though, be prepared to have your perceptions of Johnny challenged with Cobra Kai.
In case you’re uninitiated or need reminding, Cobra Kai was the name of the dojo where Johnny and his jerk buddies learned karate. Their instructor, an even more chilling John Kreese (Martin Kove), teaches them to be the attacker always – and the infamous “No mercy” mantra. The dojo appears and plays a major role in two of the three Karate Kid films. At the end of the third and final film, we are lead to believe they are disgraced and going to go out of business. It’s also mentioned in this season that John Kreese is dead. The Cobra Kai are gone, but when a wrecked Johnny Lawrence goes looking for himself, their spirit is what he finds.
After being given a final check from his stepfather (Ed Asner) who declares he’s cutting Johnny off, the former karate prodigy has hit rock bottom. He’s near over-the-hill, broke, and fired from a job right off the bat. He’s clearly got a drinking problem and has no problem getting shitfaced and hopping behind the wheel. I doubt anyone is terribly sympathetic that Johnny turned out to be kind of a loser, and not to mention, a pretty big jerk. On top of all the other problems Johnny’s accrued over the last 35 years, he’s estranged from his only son, Robby (we’ll get to Robby in a bit).
Daniel LaRusso is doing pretty good when we catch up with him in 2018. Life’s been good to Daniel, who owns a successful car dealership, is happily married, and has two kids. He’s quite different than the awkward, shy Daniel of the original films. Daniel’s more confident and almost suave. He’s still good natured, but there’s a darker side to him. He’s willing to go pretty low to trying to keep Johnny from bringing back the Cobra Kai dojo to their old haunts. I’ll be honest, you’re going to be surprised how many times you feel like Daniel is a jerk. The great part of this series is it keeps you on your toes by presenting both sides of each conflict, not just protagonist versus antagonist. This is a human story, and like all humans, Daniel is flawed in some obvious ways you’ll catch pretty quick.
The role reversal that happens between Daniel and Johnny, episode-to-episode, is handled incredibly well. In some episodes, Johnny is a downright tragic character you want to succeed. We learn more about his childhood and that he’s not so different from those he bullied in high school. Johnny was a shy, introverted kid who stumbled upon the Cobra Kai dojo, finding a teacher and role model in a very bad man. Daniel verbalizes Johnny’s situation very well in the last episode, that he was lead down a very bad path by a very bad man. There’s no such thing as a bad student, only a bad teacher, from the wisdom of Mr. Miyagi – and Daniel really believes that about Johnny. In a way, as Daniel learns more about Johnny, he seems to come to the strange conclusion the man may be beyond redemption, but that is probably not Johnny’s fault. William Zabka does a great job of bringing the script to life and Johnny is someone I guarantee you will grow to be more sympathetic toward, even if he is still a jerk in some aspects of his life.
The catalyst to bringing back the Cobra Kai is a young man named Miguel (Xolo Maridueña). Miguel lives in the same apartment complex as Johnny and isn’t really sure what to think of his borderline alcoholic, shut-in neighbor. One night, while Miguel is out picking up medicine for his grandma, he’s harassed and assaulted by a group of the more popular, rich kids in his high school. Johnny’s scarfing down a slice of pizza in the same parking lot, not paying any thought to the beating Miguel’s taking until it ends up denting the hood of his precious Pontiac Trans-Am. Johnny intervenes on behalf of his car, but also finds an eager student, who he first shuts out. When Johnny manages to take out the bullies, we see something awaken within him, and this is what prompts him to not only take on Miguel as a pupil, but also revive the Cobra Kai. It’s like if the grown man who was the star quarterback in high school suddenly through a 90-yard touchdown pass and was given the option of entering the NFL combine. The Cobra Kai mantra is what wakes up Johnny and revives him from the dismal repeat-mode his life has been on for a while.
Miguel has his own journey in Cobra Kai. He’s presented in a very similar context as Daniel was in the original film: new kid at school, shy, and not at all someone who would roll with the alpha crowd. There’s a sweetness in everything Miguel does and he seems quite self-aware he lacks the courage to stand up to the alpha crowd that bully him. Maridueña gives a great performance as this kid who starts the season out as someone looking to better themselves so they can protect what they believe is good and important; to someone – who by the end of the season – seems to have a dubious hold on their newfound strength and abilities. You’ll find the compelling characters and their motivations are what are front and center of each episode of Cobra Kai, and Miguel is just as compelling as the two familiar stars of the show. Where his story goes, should there be a season two, will be very interesting.
Where Daniel found Mr. Miyagi in a sensei, role model, and friend; Miguel has found Johnny, so the lessons he gets on morality are not as apparent as the ones Daniel got. That’s what makes the relationship so compelling, is that Johnny is realizing the basic fundamentals of what it is to be a good teacher and a good person as he watches Miguel grow. The student is the teacher in so many ways here. The bond between Johnny and Miguel is solid and they each benefit from it, but by the end of the series, I think Johnny’s not sure about what he may or may not have created with Miguel. Miguel is fully Cobra Kai by the season’s conclusion, and the person who seems to have the biggest dilemma about that is Johnny Lawrence himself.
Daniel’s daughter, Samantha LaRusso (Mary Mouser), is also a teenager trying to navigate the waters of whether you join the bullies or be the bullied. Samantha has it all, but she’s in moral purgatory because she’s recently joined a rather nasty clique that engages in online bullying to whomever doesn’t fit their status quo. Think Mean Girls on steroids. Samantha seems to accept that being part of this popular crowd means staying silent, as she shrugs off a very mean online campaign to mock a childhood friend. She’s also dating the bully that gives Miguel so much trouble, but when she discovers the bullies true colors and stands up to him, a nasty rumor mill about her gets started. We see how slut-shaming and sexist rumors can spread like wildfire in our society and how women endure a whole other level of bullying that’s not often portrayed with the execution we see here in Cobra Kai. Samantha is a great example of how difficult it is for teenagers to recognize complicity in bullying or know exactly what to do about it as it happens. Once the “friends” turn on her, Samantha strikes up a relationship with Miguel that starts out as platonic, but their connection leads to romance very quick.
Samantha has a problem, though. She knows how much her dad despises Cobra Kai, and as Miguel becomes more and more defined by the Cobra Kai way and his burgeoning martial arts skills, she doesn’t know what to do about it. She demonstrates quite a few karate skills of her own, as we learn Daniel’s been teaching her karate since she was a small child. The only thing I was disappointed about with Samantha is that we didn’t get to see more of her views on martial arts and what they mean to her. Everyone else on the show is defined by the balance and purpose karate brings to their life, but Samantha doesn’t really get to express herself in that regard. They do tease that we will see more of her karate in a potential second season, but I feel like they really could have added to her dynamic on the show. This doesn’t detract from the great character and performance by Mouser.
The character I think viewers will be surprised by the most is Johnny’s son – Robby Keene (Tanner Buchanan). As mentioned above, Robby and Johnny are estranged, and our introduction to Robby is when Johnny gets a call from his school about narcotics being found in his son’s backpack. Estranged is probably too clinical a term to use: Robby hates his father and thinks he’s a bigger loser than probably anyone watching this show. Robby starts off in the cookie-cutter mold of the troubled kid who never had a role model. He seems pretty rotten and unredeemable at first, but as the season progresses, we learn Robby’s had a pretty tough life. Johnny’s absence casting a father figure shaped void in Robby’s life doesn’t help the fact that he’s dealing with an emotionally vacant alcoholic mother who he wants to be closer to and running with a bad crowd.
Close to midway through the season, Johnny reaches out to Robby’s mom and offers to take his son in and play a role in raising him. Robby’s mother rejects the offer, but when Robby hears about it, he decides to approach his father about the offer. Who knows what would’ve come of it, because when Robby arrives at the dojo and sees his father passing down his Cobra Kai gi to Miguel, Robby doesn’t even bother to approach Johnny. Instead, he decides to spite his father and get a job working for Daniel’s auto-dealership.
Robby’s story coincides with Daniel’s rediscovery of karate, and the two both benefit from the teachings of Mr. Miyagi. Daniel’s conscience and moral guidance come from a person who has replaced Mr. Miyagi as that mirror – his wife, Amanda LaRusso (Courtney Henggler). Amanda is very much the rock of the LaRusso household, co-managing the family business, raising two kids, and keeping life in order as she sees her husband triggered and slipping into unstable patterns when Johnny Lawrence and the Cobra Kai re-enter his life. After Amanda lays some tough love talk on Daniel, he visits the grave of his old mentor and remembers that every lesson Mr. Miyagi was underlined with balance. Daniel clears out his home dojo that has become more of a makeshift storage space and makes his way back to the practice that changed him for the better so many years ago when he faced Johnny and the Cobra Kai.
When Robby makes a delivery to his house with some paperwork from the auto dealership, he’s pulled into an impromptu karate lesson, which begins their relationship as student and teacher. We realize pretty quick that Robby has a good heart – and like his father and all kids – is a victim of circumstance and just needs a teacher to help him wake up the better qualities inside. Robby picks up Daniel’s teachings, and you’ll be feeling those goosebumps as a familiar montage and musical score from the original film pops-up during the tutelage. Side note, Cobra Kai does a great job of inserting musical cues from Bill Conti’s iconic score at just the right time, and it’s not cheesy or too much fan service at all. Robby finds the friend he needs in Daniel, but things don’t exactly go over too well when Daniel discovers who his father is. Again, this goes back to a fundamental flaw of Daniel: his blind hatred of Johnny and the Cobra Kai cause him to act out irrationally and hurt people who are merely bystanders to the old rivalry of he and Johnny Lawrence.
One of the shining attributes of Cobra Kai are the fantastic young actors that compose the new class of ‘cobras’. When Miguel finally stands up to the bullies at his school and takes out the entire crew of them – other kids see this and want to be a part of whatever training he’s going through. It’s not exactly what Johnny expected for pupils and he’s not at all warm to these kids. It really isn’t until close to the season that you feel Johnny even enjoys teaching these kids – who by all measure of unfortunate social ‘norms’ are outcasts. Not until Johnny realizes that before karate he was not much different, and when he’s explaining to a panel about why the Cobra Kai should be allowed to compete again (the events of The Karate Kid Part III lead to a lifetime ban of the dojo), he verbalizes the good he feels he’s been doing.
I’ll warn you that these scenes where he’s training these kids walk the fine line of comedy-to-offensive. The writers seem to abandon any convention of culturally sensitive vernacular when writing Johnny Lawrence. If you are sensitive to that (I say this because I am), brace yourself, as I’m sure this is the writer’s way to establish Johnny as a dinosaur of the 1980’s. He uses a flip phone, watches 80’s films, listens to 80’s music, drives a Trans-Am, and talks just like you’d expect an alpha male to. He uses a litany of misogynistic and offensive terms when talking down to these kids like a drill sergeant or mean gym teacher you may have had if you’re a child of the 80’s or 90’s. Johnny Lawrence is unapologetically Johnny Lawrence, taken with the good and the bad.
It’s not all derogatory slang and verbal abuse, as these kids who have been taunted start to find self-confidence through their skills. This isn’t Revenge of the Nerds. The kids are treated with great respect and their problems are very real. My favorite among these is the first female Cobra Kai pupil, Aisha Robinson (Nichole Brown), who steals pretty much every scene she’s in. If you’ve seen the trailer, you know she embraces the Cobra Kai mentality of ‘strike first, strike hard’, but she’s often the most thoughtful of the class and tries to help her fellow students through their own struggles. Aisha also has a history with the LaRusso family, as she and Samantha were good friends until the latter started to climb the social staircase. Nichole Brown delivers a great performance and she’s another character whose story I’m looking forward to continuing, should there be a season two.
It wouldn’t be a Karate Kid story without all roads leading to the All Valley Karate Championship. It becomes quite predictable that once Robby starts a friendship with Samantha – just as her relationship with Miguel is becoming rocky – that the two pupils of Johnny and Daniel are bound to collide. Johnny’s able to convince the board of the tournament to reinstate the Cobra Kai as eligible contenders. His students do well, but Miguel makes it to the finals. The tournament plays out for Miyagi-Do Karate eerily similar to the way it did in 1984. Robby initially enters the tournament of his own accord – since being brushed off by Daniel – but sensei and student reunite. Daniel realizes he’s just a kid and stands by Robby as his coach. Unfortunately, after a particularly heated match, a Cobra Kai pupil takes a cheap shot at Robby, causing him to dislocate his shoulder. Similar to Bobby cracking Daniel’s knee, it creates a weakness for Miguel to exploit. You might think this would be hard for Daniel to watch, but it’s Johnny who is really in the hot seat here. He has to agonize over backing his student or his son – who he has realized he very badly wants to reconnect with. Between flashbacks to when his own sensei commanded him to go out and simply hurt his opponent and the fight playing out in front of him – Johnny Lawrence is not enjoying his return to the world of karate tournaments.
There’s no other way to say it than Miguel starts the match as a skilled, formidable competitor but descends to fighting dirty. Johnny tries to tell him that’s not the way he was trained and that to win they don’t need to fight dirty – but it can’t work, because all throughout the Cobra Kai training Johnny has pounded ‘no mercy’ into Miguel’s head, as well as the need to win at all costs to the opponent’s well-being. By the time Miguel walks away with the victory, Johnny seems to realize he may have started the vicious cycle that lead to his and the Cobra Kai’s downfall all over again.
Daniel reassures Robby that he may have gotten second place only, but that he fought with honor, so he’s the real winner. In their final scene, we assume Daniel’s driving Robby home, but he ends up taking him to a familiar place. The last time we see teacher and student, they are standing in the very same backyard Daniel studied karate. With the prospect of the Cobra Kai returning en masse after Miguel’s victory, Daniel informs Robby that they are going to need more students to deal with the possibility. Mr. Miyagi’s backyard looks just as you remember it. Major compliments to production designers Ryan Berg and Moore Brian for this recreation. It’s another cue for those goosebumps. We also see Samantha return to her home dojo and start practicing some moves – hinting that her martial arts will play a more prominent role in the potential next season.
The big shock is one I don’t think I should state. I didn’t see it coming, but when it arrives – in the final shot of the season – there’s little doubt that everyone involved is planning on another season of Cobra Kai. Let’s just say it’s a VERY important person that was crucial to the events that formed both Johnny and Daniel. This person has chosen to return, and if there is a second season, it’s going to be one hell of a ride.
Everything that was good about the original film is found here in this series. Also, it’s VERY funny. With each emotional moment, there’s usually a pallet cleanser of something comedic, but don’t worry, it’s very intelligent and dry humor. Cobra Kai seems to be very self-aware that it has the potential to be a cheap, silly, cash-in on nostalgia, but it doesn’t go anywhere close to that. Sure, there’s a bit of fan service in each episode, but it’s done respectfully and in the right dose so it really means something. There is an entire episode dedicated to the memory of Pat Morita, and you’ll see why when you watch it. Though Mr. Miyagi is not physically present in Cobra Kai (Morita passed away in 2005), the spirit of the man is embedded in the virtues of Daniel’s karate and lessons to Robby. Mr. Miyagi isn’t evoked in every lesson, but when he is, it matters and is a testament to Morita’s performance and a classic character of cinema.
If you can’t tell, I’m over-the-moon on Cobra Kai. If you have someone in your life who has never seen The Karate Kid,show them the trilogy and then this show. The films still hold-up and they are great for any age. Watching or re-watching the trilogy is worth the price of admission, because this is episodic television at it’s finest. Creators Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg have done something very special with this. If you think this review is just fanboy gush, Cobra Kai is sitting comfortably at 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. Whatever your expectations are – and mine were pretty damn high – I am willing to bet you will find something to like in Cobra Kai. There are plenty of moments that will surprise you I didn’t touch on, and I’m jealous of those of you watching for the first time.
Cobra Kai is currently streaming on YouTube Red. Pro-tip, there is a 30-day free trial if you’re nervous about the $12.99 subscription fee – and I can guarantee you that you won’t need thirty days to burn through this series. Bonsai!
Kyle Larson lives in Portland, Oregon. He’s also a contributor to Star Wars News Net. When he’s not writing about Star Wars and movies; you can find him trail running, roasting coffee, or working on his science-fiction novels.
