Cobra Kai 1×03: “Esqueleto” Recap

 

Miguel’s grandmother makes dinner for the family. His mother asks what Miguel wants to dress up as for the Halloween dance. She’s willing to make him whatever costume he wants.

At the Cobra Kai dojo, Miguel practices punching a dummy. Johnny needs more students to sign up in order to stay open. Miguel asks if he’s thought about advertising.

At casa LaRusso, Amanda stresses over cousin Louie not showing up for work again, leaving them short staffed. Daniel is distracted by Sam and Kyler in the driveway. Amanda realizes that her husband isn’t listening, and tells him that Sam is going to be fine.

Louie suggests that Daniel snoop in Sam’s phone to keep an eye on her. Anoush advises against that, saying this is how the daddy issues that breed porn stars is created.

At school, our teen characters get lectured on cyber bullying. The school counselor says a mother has called to complain about her child being bullied for his facial deformity. Everyone can tell that the boy mentioned is Eli. Miguel tells Eli that if he’s interested in stopping bullies, he should sign up at Cobra Kai. The counselor goes on to mention the Halloween dance, and Aisha tells Sam that she thought they could go as the compounds for salt. Same tells Aisha that her and her new group of friends are going as Laker Girls, and Yasmine uses the opportunity to tell Aisha that she wouldn’t be able to fit in the same outfit.

Johnny hires a homeless woman to hold a sign up advertising for Cobra Kai, and then proceeds to hand out fliers.

While Sam is in the shower, Daniel hears a notification sound from Sam’s laptop. Curiosity gets the best of him, and he clicks on a potentially risqué message from Kyler. Amanda catches him snooping, but he says he was just checking her wifi connection.

Miguel shows Johnny the website he set up for Cobra Kai. There’s a sign up page, and graphics of the Cobra emblem sticking its tongue out. Johnny, who previously was discouraged, seems touched by Miguel’s interest (and also his change of ringtone to old school rock). Johnny tells Miguel to meet him at the high school at midnight.

Over dinner, Sam tells her family about her day, including the interaction with Aisha over the costumes. She feels bad for matching with Aisha, but says she doesn’t want to be a molecule compound. Her mom reminds her that she can still hang out with Aisha at the dance even if they aren’t dressed together. Daniel dives in to say that the school is looking for chaperones and that he signed up.

At the high school pool, Johnny uses a rope to tie Miguel’s hands together and pushes him into the pool. The goal is for Miguel to un-learn the first instinct of using your hands. It’s time to learn to kick. He sinks for a minute, but then manages to keep kicking himself above the water. Soon enough, Miguel is able to kick through boards.

Miguel’s grandmother handmade a costume for him, but when Johnny sees it, he suggests something else. His own skeleton costume from The Karate Kid.

The guidance counselor thanks Daniel for reaching out to chaperone. She says she was hoping he’d show up in a karate gui. Miguel catches Daniel’s eye in the skeleton costume, and then Daniel sees Johnny hanging up fliers. Daniel doesn’t understand why Johnny would want to bring Cobra Kai back, and says he won’t let Johnny fill these kids’ heads with the ‘strike first, no mercy’ lesson. He abandons Johnny when he sees Kyler leading Sam down an empty corridor. Daniel catches his daughter and her boyfriend alone together in a classroom, and says that he knew Kyler was bad news. Kyler pulls out his grandmother’s bracelet and says he wanted Sam to have it.

Yasmine sends out a video, school-wide, of Aisha at the buffet table with a pig filter.

In the boy’s bathroom, Miguel and co overhear Kyler telling his friends that he gave Sam the same cheap bracelet that he gave his last girlfriend to see if Sam would fall for it too. When Kyler notices Miguel, he starts to make fun of him. Miguel kicks Kyler in the chest, and then all of Kyler’s friends go after him, beating Miguel up together. After they’re done, Johnny sees them leaving the restroom, cheering each other on. Johnny checks in the restroom and sees Miguel lying on the floor.