Cobra Kai 1×06: “Quiver” Review

Johnny circa 1979 hops on his bike, listening to his Walkman, and cycles into town. He watches the students of Cobra Kai with envy.

Present day, Johnny gets ready to teach his new ‘Quiver.’ Miguel’s friends Demetri and Eli are there, but Demetri is already regretting it, saying it’s just extra gym class for no reason. He walks around a little before saying that he’s seeing losers and nerds, unsure if these students are Cobra Kai material. Since he wasn’t expecting much from Miguel and Aisha, he says that maybe there are more ‘miracles’ upon them.

Sam scrolls through Miguel’s Facebook until she gets an Instagram notification. Obviously we know the rumors about Sam aren’t true, but even if they were, why are we slut shaming her and bullying her over it? I’m so glad I’m not in high school. Honestly, who cares?

Daniel asks Sam, his wife, and his son all if they want to go to the dojo with them, but no one has any interest.

Robby’s friends come over, eat his cereal, and ask if he’s down for some thievery. He tells that that he can’t because he has to go to work. They laugh at Robby’s work clothes, and Robby explains that his father hates Daniel LaRusso, and he’s hoping to anger his father by working for him.

Over at Cobra Kai, Johnny continues insulting the kids. When he calls Eli ‘Lip’ because of the scar on his lip, Demetri speaks up, saying that you shouldn’t make fun of people for their physical appearances. Johnny says that that may be the rules at school, but in the real world, you can’t rely on people to follow the rules. After Demetri’s rant about how Johnny can’t punish them, and he technically works for them, since they’re the ones paying him, Johnny approaches Demetri and tells him to hit him. Johnny easily blocks the hit. After challenging Demetri to hit harder, the next block includes flipping Demetri.

Daniel asks Anoush how the new kid has been doing at work. Anoush says that Robby is awesome and that he knocked out so much stuff that needed done within one day. Daniel jokes that he should fire Anoush and give Robby his job, making Anoush say that Robby is actually the worst employee ever.

Anoush approaches Robby and Robby asks when he’d be able to get one of the LaRusso shirts with his name on it. Anoush and Louie say they’ll get him one, but then it becomes clear that they’re being sarcastic, as they ask if he also wants two weeks vacation at the company’s timeshare. Louie advises Robby that if he wants to impress the bosses, he should take the initiative to switch out the cars on the display floor.

In biology, someone leaves a blowpop on Sam’s desk as a lame innuendo. Sam’s lab partner is absent, so when it’s time for a lab, her teacher asks another group to take Sam. Miguel volunteers himself and Demetri. She thanks Miguel for sticking up for her with the fight, and then critiques his form.

Robby starts the Porsche in the showroom, startling some shoppers. Daniel runs out and stops him, angry that Robby would have the nerve to do that. Robby, alarmed at first, and then angry at the prank pulled on him, storms out. Daniel looks at Louie, who guiltily giggles, and follows Robby out. Daniel goes to grab Robby, and Robby makes a threatening fist. Daniel shows him the proper way to make a fist, with your thumb on the outside. He apologizes for the way he reacted about the car, blaming his own temper.

The next day, Johnny walks into the dojo and notices several people (whom he refers to as insulting names) have quit. He sees, however, that ‘Lip’ hasn’t quit. Eli asks Johnny to please not call him that, but Johnny says if he doesn’t want people to see him as a nerd with a lip scar, he needs to flip the script. Eli storms out.

Amanda makes Louie handle Robby’s work for the rest of the day as punishment for his prank. Louie monotonely apologizes, and Amanda gives Robby a shirt with his name on it. After Amanda leaves, Louie tells Robby that Daniel likes to have a physical copy of the sales reports delivered to his house every night. Robby is skeptical, but agrees when Louie seems sincere.

Johnny finds his old Walkman and we see a flashback of young Johnny excitedly telling his mom about the fighting he saw at Cobra Kai. His father-in-law, however, says that Johnny gets in enough fights in school as a social reject.

Robby walks into Daniel’s dojo to deliver the sales reports. Daniel opens it and shows Robby that it’s an adult magazine. Louie was playing another trick. Robby asks why Daniel’s karate didn’t involve punching, and Daniel explains that it’s a different style. He asks Robby if he’d like to stay and learn some, and Robby agrees.

At the beginning of the next class, Johnny gives a speech. He says “Just like a Cobra, I had to shed my loser skin to find my true power.” Someone walks in, and Johnny welcomes him to Cobra Kai. It’s Eli with a purple mohawk. Johnny didn’t even recognize him at first. Instead of calling Eli ‘Lip,’ he calls him ‘Hawk.’