Tag: Cobra Kai

When it comes to long-form storytelling on the small-screen, it isn’t unusual for shows to lose their steam after multiple seasons. This is, of course, in part due to the typical 20+ episode order received by most primetime network, and the ability to stretch out a story over a long period of time. While miniseries are becoming more normal and networks (finally) welcoming 10 to 13 episode seasons, most shows are able to tighten the grasp on their stories. For Cobra Kai, the 10-episodes often worked in its favor. However, by the start of Season 4, most of the drama felt rehashed. Thankfully, Cobra Kai easily set itself up for a new story by season’s end while still offering a sense of closure to what came before.

For the past three seasons of Cobra Kai, the drama has focused on Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence. They, of course, were the stars of the Karate Kid films from the 80s, and despite thirty-years having passed, the duo are unable to let go of their differences. After coming face-to-face with LaRusso, much to his chagrin, Johnny makes it a point to bring back Cobra Kai and teach kids to be “badass.” It’s a plot point that worked for the first few seasons, however, after four seasons, it does become a bit stale – especially with the continual sliminess of Kreese. The re-introduction of Terry Silver, however, makes it so Cobra Kai is able to start anew, in a sense.

After attacking a Cobra Kai “student” – and the term student is used lightly here as Stingray is an adult – Terry begins crafting a plan to overthrow Kreese and make Cobra Kai his own. Does it sound familiar? Yes, because Kreese managed to steal back Cobra Kai from Johnny after Season 2. The difference here, however, is that Kreese was finally on the verge of character development at the end of Season 4. There was a sense he was finally beginning to comprehend everything Johnny had been desperately trying to tell him, only to find himself behind bars due to Terry. As it turns out, Terry worked out a plan with Stingray, ensuring him he’ll become a Cobra Kai if he tells the police it was Kreese that put him in the hospital – not Silver. It’s a huge turning point for the series as it impacts numerous characters moving forward.

Sure, Johnny and LaRusso are bound to fight back against Silver, but this is no longer solely about these two characters any longer. Stingray has become so desperate to belong he’s willing to become someone else just to appear cool, while Kreese is on the verge of being more than a one-note villain as he’s thrown behind bars. More importantly, though, Silver is here to wreak havoc on Cobra Kai as a hole. He’s worse than Kreese ever was. Not only did he bribe a referee to ensure a win at the All Valley competition during Tory’s fight, but he also put a student in the hospital just to get rid of Kreese. He’s willing to go to extremes the series has not yet touched upon; Silver is the terrifying variant that the series needed moving forward.

As the series moves into its fourth season, with Season 5 having already filmed, it’s time Cobra Kai acknowledges people do grow from their mistakes. The amount of character development crafted over Season 4 is honestly impressive and makes for a promising Season 5. The best part, though, is for the first time since the series started? There’s no telling where things go from here, and the series can only be better for it.

When Cobra Kai was first announced as a YouTube Red series in 2017, many were curious to see how the series would go about redeeming Johnny. After all, he was a huge bully as a member of Cobra Kai in the Karate Kid films – films that hadn’t exactly done a great job of making him more than a one-sided villain. Thankfully, Cobra Kai offers more of a morally gray area to explore Johnny Lawrence as a character. The series has never shied away from his faults in the past. In fact, Cobra Kai seems to embrace his mistakes, allowing him to truly grow as a character.

He’s a screw-up. There’s no denying as much. Johnny will never be Daniel LaRusso. The temper is still there, although he’s more capable of holding it back these days, and he loves his Coors. Over the course of three seasons, though, Cobra Kai has turned Johnny from a one-note villain into a fully-realized character. He’s no longer merely a combative drunk looking to pick a fight. He’s a man determined to right his wrongs, even if he ultimately goes about doing things incorrectly.

The Johnny Lawrence we meet in Season 1 of Cobra Kai is a down on his luck man who is simply trying to make ends meet. When he finds himself before LaRusso again, though, things take a turn for the worse and he ultimately decides to reopen Cobra Kai – much to LaRusso’s chagrin. Enter Season 2: Johnny and LaRusso are still bitter enemies, who unknowingly impose their issues with each other onto their students, resulting in a massive fight that nearly kills one of the show’s main characters: Miguel.

Miguel, of course, is presented as a do-over for Johnny, who failed to be there for his son, Robby. While both characters are the same age, Miguel willingly accepts Johnny’s help and cherishes the time with his Sensei as he doesn’t have a father figure to look up to. Whereas, Robby is unwilling to look beyond the past and accept that his father wants to make things right. This is something we see further explained in Season 3 when Kreese steals Cobra Kai from Johnny and seeks to turn the students into trained fighters against Johnny’s will.

Johnny doesn’t want Cobra Kai to be what it was when he was younger. He wants it to be better; he wants the students to be better than him because he knows what Kreese taught them was wrong. He tries to be the good guy, but he can’t seem to get it right, no matter what he does. Thankfully, Season 4 of Cobra Kai looks ready to let Johnny grow beyond Cobra Kai as the trailer shows him working alongside LaRusso.

While Kreese, a war hero, is unable to let go of his past, Johnny wants nothing more than a chance at a future with those he hurt in his past. He wants what is best for Robby, even if he keeps screwing up trying to make things right with everyone else. He knows he wasn’t there for Robby in the past, but he wants to be there now, if only Robby would let him. It’s also clear he’s trying to move beyond his issues with LaRusso, knowing his own personal grudge against the man has done nothing but hurt those around him.

Johnny Lawrence has shown more growth throughout three seasons, while LaRusso often feels as though he has regressed. In a franchise that once feared allowing Johnny to be more than the bad guy, Cobra Kai has allowed him to be more than his past self: he’s a mess, sure, but he’s trying to clean up his mess. After all, as he showed by cutting off his step-father, we are more than what lay behind us.