Hello again! We are back to talk about Cobra Kai. As a kid, I watched The Karate Kid movies with Ralph Macchio and Pat Morita as Mr. Miyagi, and I loved them. Well, I watched one and two, but I am not sure if I watched three. However, I did watch The Next Karate Kid with Hilary Swank and Pat Morita. It was good but not as good as the original. I have not yet watched the one with Jackie Chan as the teacher.
Now I was excited that Cobra Kai brought back Ralph Macchio as Daniel LaRusso and his bully Johnny Lawrence, played by William Zabka. I wanted to see what became of Daniel. Does he still do karate? Did he open his own dojo? Does he get married? All that stuff. I didn’t know that I wanted to see where Johnny landed, but I found out I did. I was curious how they were going to include Mr. Miyagi with Pat Morita having passed on.
The first episode opens with the final fight of the first movie between Daniel and Johnny. Daniel’s final move was extraordinary. In the present day, Johnny doesn’t appear to be doing very well. He looks like he got beat up and to be poor. Johnny and Daniel still live in the general vicinity of each other. Daniel keeps popping up for Johnny. Johnny just isn’t in a good place. A kid ran into Johnny in the morning, ran into him again that night, and witnessed the kid get beat up. Johnny stands up for the kid after he is thrown onto the car. The same idiots that were bullying the boy took on Johnny. Johnny ends up getting arrested, but the boy is impressed and wants Johnny to teach him. Johnny looks to be hitting rock bottom.
Daniel, on the other hand, is thriving. He has a successful auto sales company, a beautiful home, a loving wife, and beautiful children. He seems to have it all. Unfortunately, Daniel is a thorn in Johnny’s side, and he doesn’t pay him any mind. Johnny has been taking loads of trips down memory lane. It ultimately leads Johnny to open a new dojo, Cobra Kai. When Daniel sees this, he takes his own trip down memory lane. Johnny treats his first student, Miguel (Xolo Mariduena), as John Kreese (Martain Kove) trained Johnny. Unfortunately, he finds out that to open his dojo, he has a list of requirements to meet first.
Daniel, while not facing the same problems as Johnny, he is facing his own challenges. His kids are two of them. His daughter Samantha (Mary Mouser) is a typical teenager trying to figure stuff out and testing boundaries. She is trying to figure out who her friends are. Miguel and Samantha see each other, and he goes to talk to her but loses his nerve because of the boys who beat him up. Johnny has a son Robbie (Tanner Buchanan), and they Do Not get along.
The story is unfolding slowly. It’s a little bit too slow for my taste. I do like how they bring moments from the movie into the show. Daniel spoke to Mr. Miyagi’s spirit wishing he were here for guidance, but so far, there were no other references to him. So far, the show centers a lot around Johnny. The writers did an excellent job. I feel bad for Johnny at the same time as seeing him as a loser. He really is. He is a washed-up, peaked in high school, and is stuck in high school. At moments he seems teachable, but he has learned nothing in the years since that final fight with Daniel. It really is sad.
So, to answer the question, would Andie watch it? Meh. I am not going to complain when my son and husband watch it, but it isn’t something I will seek out to watch. It seems like a good show and is full of nostalgia for Gen Xers or older Millennials. Watching further in, they make it a family show. They mix in drama with the teenagers and drama for the adult and the two splash into each other.
Have you watched Cobra Kai? You can find it on Netflix. What are your thoughts? Did you watch the original movies? Let me know in the comments below. I am eager to hear your thoughts.
