Cobra Kai

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I'm in. I am so in.

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I'm in. I am so in.

An ironic post from me, considering I'm not super into this season so far.

I understand that in the Karate Kid franchise, nobody ever goes to the police. But this season is pushing that dramatic conceit to the breaking point.

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I'm struggling to find a single member of the LaRusso family that I even like this season. So far, Amanda is the only who comes off even halfway likeable this season. Literally, the rest of the immediate family are a-holes.

I wouldn't mind that as much if the writing at least acknowledged that they're jerks. But except for Anthony bullying Kenny, that's not really happening.

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I didn't rly enjoy season 04 very much. It did somewhat address my "Nobody ever calls the cops" criticism, sort of. But it's starting to feel like this show is creatively running out of steam.

[Silver Nemesis]

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Kind of wondering what Barnes's motivation will be. Before, he was just a hired gun. His business with Daniel truly was nothing personal (even tho it's clear Barnes didn't like Daniel on a personal level).

So, you have to wonder what would bring him back. Money worked last time but doing that again seems like going back to the well.

[Silver Nemesis]

I didn't realise until yesterday that season 5 was out. Maybe it's because the last season was only released eight months ago, but it feels like this one has had less publicity. Anyhow, I watched the first four episodes last night and so far it's good. It's shaping up to be a strong season, as long as the second half is as entertaining as the first.

[Silver Nemesis]

I didn't realise until yesterday that season 5 was out. Maybe it's because the last season was only released eight months ago, but it feels like this one has had less publicity.

I see I wasn't the only person to notice the lack of promotion.

Oh dear. I hope we do get the final season.

I finished watching season 5 last night. I really enjoyed it. In fact it might be my favourite season so far. Earlier seasons had occasionally suffered from soap opera moments where characters would fall out over petty conflicts and misunderstandings that could easily be resolved if they just talked about it like reasonable people (some might argue that's the central premise of the entire franchise, but there's an important distinction between petty conflict and meaningful conflict). Season 5 trolls the audience on more than one occasion with similar fallings out, only to play the "just kidding" card and go in a different direction. I liked this. It allowed characters who ought to be friends by now to become friends, and for quarrels that ought to have been resolved by now to be resolved. The protagonists and their relationships are almost all progressing in a satisfying way.

Rather than retread the same formulaic scenarios, which is a trap seasons 2, 3 and 4 sometimes fell into, we get some interesting fresh storylines in season 5, such as Miguel's trip to Mexico and Chozen's infiltration of Cobra Kai. None of these subplots drags on for too long, which keeps the season as a whole pacy. I never got a sense of one particular storyline or idea being protracted longer than was necessary. There's also some effective use of foreshadowing and pay-off, such as the call back to the 'protect the egg' training exercise when the kids are shielding the computer in the final episode. All in all, the writing this season was good.

The tradition of bringing back characters from the original movies continues, and this time we get SPOILERS Sean Kanan as Mike Barnes and Robin Lively as Jessica Andrews, who we now learn is the cousin of Daniel's wife Amanda! Ralph Macchio and William Zabka are as strong as ever, but I felt Chozen was the MVP among the older legacy characters this season. It was great to see Yuji Okumoto get so much screen time and the chance to show different sides to his character. Thomas Ian Griffith also deserves praise for his captivatingly sly portrayal of Silver. I hope he'll be back in season 6.

Among the younger stars, Miguel is still my favourite character, though Tanner Buchanan and Jacob Bertrand continue to be the best screen fighters. If they ever make a Batman: Year One movie set in the Schumacherverse, Buchanan would be my top pick for Bruce Wayne. He looks a bit like a young Val Kilmer...

...and he's got the martial arts skills to convincingly pull off the fight scenes.

But who could play the younger version of Tommy Lee Jones's Harvey Dent?

Anyway, I shall be sad when Cobra Kai ends, since it's the only scripted TV show I'm enjoying right now. But the story is clearly nearing the point where a conclusion is warranted. I'd like to see one more season, perhaps bringing back Hilary Swank as Julie Pierce and maybe even Michael Ironside as Colonel Dugan (did he serve in Vietnam with Kreese and Silver?), and then lay the Karate Kid franchise to rest. End it on a high note and seal it off against further continuation. The only spinoff I'd be interested in after that would be a Miyagi prequel.

On a related note, I finally watched The Next Karate Kid (1994) recently. Even viewing it with low expectations, it's bad. The villains are motiveless, there's no storyline and the fight scenes are rubbish. They had an idea for a new character, and Swank was well cast in the role, but they didn't have a good dramatic conflict to frame her in. In that sense it reminds me of the 1984 Supergirl movie, which also had a good lead character let down by a weak storyline. It feels totally vapid, with none of the intensity, drama or heart that define the LaRusso films. Still, the makers of Cobra Kai might redeem it somewhat if they bring back certain characters in season 6.

[BatmanFurst]

I didn't realise until yesterday that season 5 was out. Maybe it's because the last season was only released eight months ago, but it feels like this one has had less publicity.

I see I wasn't the only person to notice the lack of promotion.

Oh dear. I hope we do get the final season.

I finished watching season 5 last night. I really enjoyed it. In fact it might be my favourite season so far. Earlier seasons had occasionally suffered from soap opera moments where characters would fall out over petty conflicts and misunderstandings that could easily be resolved if they just talked about it like reasonable people (some might argue that's the central premise of the entire franchise, but there's an important distinction between petty conflict and meaningful conflict). Season 5 trolls the audience on more than one occasion with similar fallings out, only to play the "just kidding" card and go in a different direction. I liked this. It allowed characters who ought to be friends by now to become friends, and for quarrels that ought to have been resolved by now to be resolved. The protagonists and their relationships are almost all progressing in a satisfying way.

It's difficult to get a consensus on this season. It seems to be mixed, although I have seen a lot of people with your reaction about it being their favorite thus far. For me it's one of the weaker seasons. The only one I'd put below it is season 2.

I was surprised at how truncated the Mexico storyline was. By the time it ended in the second episode I was asking myself "What was the point of that?" Also, this season really hammered home that this show does not take place in the real world. It's very much a heightened reality. For example how Miguel's Dad treats him felt odd. This stranger did one good deed and after that the father basically treats him like a member of the family to the point that he lets him stay in his home.

Also, the Sam/Miguel storyline was a little cringe this time around.

So overall it was a mixed season but, like every season of this show, I did think there were a lot of great moments. I liked the storyline of Silver vs Daniel which was very Rocky 3. I liked that Johnny is finally putting his life together. I also thought this wrapped up a lot of arcs that have been around since the beginning of the show. It almost felt like a series finale in a lot of ways.


The mvp for me was definitely Thomas Ian Griffith. He was great from beginning to end. It actually made me want to see him in more roles.

This show is definitely a soap opera. The creators have been pretty open about that. When they pitcher the show to Ralph Macchio they called it a Karate soap opera.

[Silver Nemesis]