"Strike first, strike hard, no mercy." Cobra Kai is nostalgia done right and a dream come true for those of us who are on #TeamJohnny!
Originally debuting on the streaming service known now as YouTube Premium (formerly YouTube Red), Cobra Kai has skyrocketed in its popularity since the recent move to Netflix. With this series, we see the legendary rivalry between Daniel Larusso and Johnny Lawrence of the 1984 classic, "The Karate Kid" continue. This sequel is full of nostalgia but serves much more of a purpose than simply reminding people of their youth.
I couldn't be more thrilled about this show moving over to Netflix because aside from the obvious, YouTube Premium didn't offer a single thing that had me interested enough to pay for yet another streaming service and it's clear that a lot of people felt that same way, too.
So being the diehard fan of the first Karate Kid movie that I am, I happily binge-watched both seasons one and two for the first time since YouTube briefly offered them up for free last year. And in preparation for the third season which we, unfortunately, will not see until some point in 2021, I thought I'd take the time to offer up my thoughts on the series thus far!
The Positive
Taking place thirty-four years after the events of the All Valley Karate Tournament in 1984, Cobra Kai follows a down on his luck Johnny Lawrence (played by William Zabka) who is encouraged by his new teenaged neighbor Miguel (Xolo Maridueña) to open up his own dojo after Johnny saves him from a group of bullies by using some of his old karate skills.
While hesitant at first, Johnny soon makes the decision to reopen the infamous "Cobra Kai" dojo, reigniting the old rivalry between him and his enemy Daniel Larusso (played by Ralph Macchio) in the process.
The first movie in "The Karate Kid" franchise was focused solely on telling the story from the perspective of Daniel Larusso where Cobra Kai, gives us a much closer look into the life of Johnny Lawrence, (who by the way, disappeared following a brief cameo in The Karate Kid Part II) and his perspective on what went down after their rivalry began, showing us the negative impact that his loss to Larusso has had on his life.
Being that the first Karate Kid has always been one of my all-time favorites movies, I couldn't be more thrilled that this series exists. Especially because of it focusing so much on Johnny, who I have always preferred to Daniel. If you ask me, Larusso is the true bully in this story and if you don't think so, go rewatch the movie and come back to me, because you just might see that Daniel's lowkey a bit of a jerk, which we see more of in this series.
For example, as I mentioned earlier, Johnny wasn't doing so well at the beginning of the first season. It's been made clear from the start that he has developed an alcohol problem at some point in his life, and in the first episode was fired from his job as a handyman. He's struggling more than ever to make a living; where Daniel has the picture-perfect life. A wife, two kids, a successful car dealership, but guess what? As soon as Johnny starts to see some success with his dojo, Daniel starts to act a little bit crazy. I'm telling you, it's him, he's the bully.
But placing my fan theories off to the side for a moment, I have to praise the show's creators (Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg) for doing such an incredible job of using Cobra Kai to explore both sides of this legendary story. Reminding you that both of these characters, genuinely do view each other as the problem in this feud and that neither of them is really right or wrong per se, they just view things differently.
The show also highlights both of their individual struggles, giving us a glimpse into Johnny's childhood and seeing how things were for him at home with his step-father, as well as the issues he faces now with his own son, Robby. (Tanner Buchanan) Meanwhile, we're also shown that Daniel's life at home, may not be all that perfect after all, as he struggles through his relationship with daughter Samantha, (Mary Mouser) his rivalry with Johnny, and continuing on in his life without the guidance of his mentor, Mr. Miyagi.
It's been such a pleasure to watch Ralph Macchio and William Zabka go head to head as these characters once more. The two have terrific chemistry together and you can really feel their hatred for one another all throughout season one; the writing for Johnny and Daniel has been nothing short of phenomenal.
Even with the more mature route, slightly pushing the envelope of their new TV-14 rating at times, they have done a spectacular job of connecting this series to the movies. I truly do believe that these are the same characters all grown up and following different paths in their lives, and I know that for me if the writing felt even slightly off, it wouldn't have felt as if the movie and the show were properly connected but instead, I've always felt that I could watch The Karate Kid then go into Cobra Kai with them fitting together almost seamlessly.
But in addition to the brilliant writing for our original characters in the franchise, the show has also added several new characters such as Miguel Diaz and Robby Keene, who is the son of Johnny and the protégés of Daniel. Not to mention Samantha Larusso and Tory Nichols all of which who have started rivalries of their own. I've really enjoyed the new characters as well as the actors, not to mention the fact that we see them doing a fairly decent amount of their own stunt work as well, which is always very impressive.
While Cobra Kai has been a welcomed addition to the Karate Kid franchise for me, there has been one thing that I have taken a slight issue with; that being its TV-14 rating. Containing language, mild sexual themes, underage drinking, crude humor, and of course violence, this series isn't quite as family-friendly as the original movies were.
I myself, am not personally too bothered by the more mature direction that the series has taken. There were a few moments and lines that I could have lived without but they ultimately didn't affect how much I enjoyed the show as a whole. That being said, I'm still not typically a fan of making a show or movie that's connected to a more family-friendly franchise, less family-friendly.
My father was the one who first introduced me to The Karate Kid back when I was around nine or ten, and I can't help but think about how disappointed I'd have been if I were that age now, realizing there was a series connected to the movies that I wasn't old enough to watch yet. I mean, that'd be kind of a bummer, right?
For that reason alone, it would have been nice to see Cobra Kai take even just a slightly more family-friendly approach so that parents would feel more comfortable showing their older children the series. It'd have been awesome to introduce a whole new generation of fans to The Karate Kid saga, but that's one unfortunate thing that was missed out on.
If you couldn't tell by now, I've become quite the Cobra Kai fangirl over this past couple of years, and with good reason, this series couldn't be more deserving of every bit of praise that it has received from fans all over the world and I'm happy to see it gaining such a massive amount of popularity since making the transition over to Netflix!
So being the diehard fan of the first Karate Kid movie that I am, I happily binge-watched both seasons one and two for the first time since YouTube briefly offered them up for free last year. And in preparation for the third season which we, unfortunately, will not see until some point in 2021, I thought I'd take the time to offer up my thoughts on the series thus far!
The Positive
Taking place thirty-four years after the events of the All Valley Karate Tournament in 1984, Cobra Kai follows a down on his luck Johnny Lawrence (played by William Zabka) who is encouraged by his new teenaged neighbor Miguel (Xolo Maridueña) to open up his own dojo after Johnny saves him from a group of bullies by using some of his old karate skills.
While hesitant at first, Johnny soon makes the decision to reopen the infamous "Cobra Kai" dojo, reigniting the old rivalry between him and his enemy Daniel Larusso (played by Ralph Macchio) in the process.
The first movie in "The Karate Kid" franchise was focused solely on telling the story from the perspective of Daniel Larusso where Cobra Kai, gives us a much closer look into the life of Johnny Lawrence, (who by the way, disappeared following a brief cameo in The Karate Kid Part II) and his perspective on what went down after their rivalry began, showing us the negative impact that his loss to Larusso has had on his life.
Being that the first Karate Kid has always been one of my all-time favorites movies, I couldn't be more thrilled that this series exists. Especially because of it focusing so much on Johnny, who I have always preferred to Daniel. If you ask me, Larusso is the true bully in this story and if you don't think so, go rewatch the movie and come back to me, because you just might see that Daniel's lowkey a bit of a jerk, which we see more of in this series.
For example, as I mentioned earlier, Johnny wasn't doing so well at the beginning of the first season. It's been made clear from the start that he has developed an alcohol problem at some point in his life, and in the first episode was fired from his job as a handyman. He's struggling more than ever to make a living; where Daniel has the picture-perfect life. A wife, two kids, a successful car dealership, but guess what? As soon as Johnny starts to see some success with his dojo, Daniel starts to act a little bit crazy. I'm telling you, it's him, he's the bully.
But placing my fan theories off to the side for a moment, I have to praise the show's creators (Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg) for doing such an incredible job of using Cobra Kai to explore both sides of this legendary story. Reminding you that both of these characters, genuinely do view each other as the problem in this feud and that neither of them is really right or wrong per se, they just view things differently.
The show also highlights both of their individual struggles, giving us a glimpse into Johnny's childhood and seeing how things were for him at home with his step-father, as well as the issues he faces now with his own son, Robby. (Tanner Buchanan) Meanwhile, we're also shown that Daniel's life at home, may not be all that perfect after all, as he struggles through his relationship with daughter Samantha, (Mary Mouser) his rivalry with Johnny, and continuing on in his life without the guidance of his mentor, Mr. Miyagi.
It's been such a pleasure to watch Ralph Macchio and William Zabka go head to head as these characters once more. The two have terrific chemistry together and you can really feel their hatred for one another all throughout season one; the writing for Johnny and Daniel has been nothing short of phenomenal.
Even with the more mature route, slightly pushing the envelope of their new TV-14 rating at times, they have done a spectacular job of connecting this series to the movies. I truly do believe that these are the same characters all grown up and following different paths in their lives, and I know that for me if the writing felt even slightly off, it wouldn't have felt as if the movie and the show were properly connected but instead, I've always felt that I could watch The Karate Kid then go into Cobra Kai with them fitting together almost seamlessly.
But in addition to the brilliant writing for our original characters in the franchise, the show has also added several new characters such as Miguel Diaz and Robby Keene, who is the son of Johnny and the protégés of Daniel. Not to mention Samantha Larusso and Tory Nichols all of which who have started rivalries of their own. I've really enjoyed the new characters as well as the actors, not to mention the fact that we see them doing a fairly decent amount of their own stunt work as well, which is always very impressive.
The Negative
While Cobra Kai has been a welcomed addition to the Karate Kid franchise for me, there has been one thing that I have taken a slight issue with; that being its TV-14 rating. Containing language, mild sexual themes, underage drinking, crude humor, and of course violence, this series isn't quite as family-friendly as the original movies were.
I myself, am not personally too bothered by the more mature direction that the series has taken. There were a few moments and lines that I could have lived without but they ultimately didn't affect how much I enjoyed the show as a whole. That being said, I'm still not typically a fan of making a show or movie that's connected to a more family-friendly franchise, less family-friendly.
My father was the one who first introduced me to The Karate Kid back when I was around nine or ten, and I can't help but think about how disappointed I'd have been if I were that age now, realizing there was a series connected to the movies that I wasn't old enough to watch yet. I mean, that'd be kind of a bummer, right?
For that reason alone, it would have been nice to see Cobra Kai take even just a slightly more family-friendly approach so that parents would feel more comfortable showing their older children the series. It'd have been awesome to introduce a whole new generation of fans to The Karate Kid saga, but that's one unfortunate thing that was missed out on.
Conclusion
The first two seasons were nothing short of outstanding and packed full of appearances by original cast members and references to all four movies that had me totally geeking out the entire way through. Cobra Kai is an absolute must-watch for any fan of The Karate Kid!
Be sure to let me know how hyped you are for season three of Cobra Kai by tweeting me over on Twitter @RR_Everything! Twitter is where I talk about all kinds of shows and movies and also post updates on future reviews and YouTube videos, so be sure to follow me if you're interested! And remember...Cobra Kai never dies!
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