Cobra Kai

[The Joker]

Season 2 Episode 1: "Mercy Part 2" is available now.

[Silver Nemesis]

Here are my thoughts on season 2. This post contains spoilers, so don't read unless you've watched the whole thing.

I enjoyed the first half of the season a lot. There was a hefty dose of fan service Easter eggs in the first episode, but that offered a soft re-entry point to ease viewers back into the storyline. The emphasis on character remains as prominent as in the first season and continues to be one of the show's greatest strengths. The line between hero and villain also remains as indistinct as it was in the previous season. Johnny's speech to his students about how life isn't black and white perfectly encapsulates the writers' attitude towards their protagonists. No one is all good or all bad. Except maybe Kreese.

The standout performance is once again William Zabka's. He nails the comedic aspects of the material, but also imbues Johnny with the perfect amount of vulnerability to evoke pathos without ever going overboard or feeling inconsistent with the pre-established characterisation. Johnny Lawrence is rapidly evolving into the franchise's most fascinating character since Miyagi. Macchio and Kove also deserve praise and both are on top form here. There are several moments where Kreese comes dangerously close to having a sympathetic side. But in the end you realise he's more evil than ever. He's one of the most popular movie villains of the eighties and it's good to see his malign nature hasn't mellowed with age.

One of the central themes in the Karate Kid franchise has always been masculinity and the role father figures play in guiding young boys towards becoming grown men. Both the movies and the TV show present us with characters whose potentials are shaped by their mentors, for better or for worse. The inclusion of Kreese in the second season adds a whole new level of bad influence for the younger characters. Even Johnny, now in his middle age, is still under the influence of his former sensei; at first heeding his bad advice, and later trying to avoid it. In light of the ongoing pathologisation of masculinity, it's more important than ever for boys to have good male role models. And Cobra Kai doesn't shy away from addressing this issue. It may not be a popular subject, but it is a timely one and the series handles it well.

Moving on to the negative, I think the second half of the season is where cracks start to emerge. For one thing, there's just too much repetition. In some cases it's repetition of things from the previous season, like Daniel and Johnny bonding over a drink only to immediately fall out again the very next day. In other cases the repetition stems from scenarios that are simply overused in this season. How many times did antagonistic couples awkwardly bump into each other while out on a date? How many times did Cobra Kai students bump into Miyagi-Do students and give each other the death stare? By the end of the season some of these routines felt badly played out. My memory may be playing tricks on me, but I also remember the fight choreography being better in the first season. Some of the fighting in the new episodes was a bit sloppy, though most of it was decent.

There were one or two points in the second half of the season where the ordinarily strong writing descended into the sort of idiot plot territory you'd expect from a regular soap. For instance, the part where Robby lies about Miyagi's medal, or where he takes Sam to his dad's house without letting her parents know she's ok. Anyone could see that wasn't going to end well. Or the part where Sam allows herself to be baited into a drinking contest by Tory, despite promising her mother she'd make good decisions earlier in the same episode. As soon as that conversation took place, I knew Sam was going to do something dumb. Then she caps it off by succumbing to the old soap cliché of kissing her ex-boyfriend after downing one too many drinks. And the only reason she did this, from a dramatic standpoint, was to facilitate the conflict in the final episode. The season finale wouldn't have had a big set piece if the characters had behaved intelligently. Sam even says to Robby:

"I feel like an idiot. We should have just gone to my house and been honest with my parents."

Well duh. This almost felt like the writers acknowledging their concession to idiot plot mechanics, but I doubt that's what they intended. It's one thing for characters to make believable errors that reveal their human weakness; it's another thing for them to make dumb mistakes you can see coming from a mile away in situations where they should really know better. So while the writing is generally very good in this show, particularly regarding the treatment of character, I do think the quality dipped a little towards the end of the second season. But this mostly just applies to the last three or four episodes. The writing in the first half of the season was mostly excellent.

To conclude, I liked season 2 but I didn't think it was quite as strong as the first season. It's not a sophomore slump, but it also doesn't feel quite as fresh the second time around. Cobra Kai is at its best when it focuses on the adult characters, interlaces humour with drama, and satirises the absurdities of 21st century PC culture. It's at its worst when it overindulges the teen soap opera angle, relies too heavily on formulaic confrontations, and derives predictable melodrama from idiot plot-induced misunderstandings that could easily be avoided with common sense. The first season was excellent. The second season is good. But I'm starting to think this concept works best as a limited thing. Is there enough juice left in the can for a third season? Presumably Johnny's going to team up with Daniel to take down Kreese. And surely Ali's got to return. They've teased her comeback for two seasons now and I imagine she and Johnny will eventually get back together. Or would that be too predictable? Whatever happens, I'll be tuning in for season 3.

[thecolorsblend]

************* SPOILERS ABOUND

Literally just finished season 02 and it's nice to know that I'm not the only one who had some reservations about the back half of it. The PC thing... there's a moment where it's almost like someone involved with the show realized how little of that there was in the first season so they tried to correct things a bit in this season.

I view the fight choreography as starting off this season well enough and then getting noticeably worse with each subsequent episode. Maybe it's to be expected. After all, it's obvious that the character were cast based on acting abilities rather than fighting prowess. Some of them have such distinct body types that it's not easy (or cost efficient) to find fighting doubles for them.

That means the cast does a lot of their own fighting. Robby handles his fight scenes like a champ, mainly. I'd say his work in season 02 is about even with his work from season 01. Which is to say, noticeably good. Kid's got skills, no doubts there.

Sam... idk. Her skills were hit and miss. For that matter, so were Daniel's.

The worst of the big characters was probably Tory. She was definitely cast, I think, based on her acting chops. She brings serious pathos and drama to her scenes. I can't knock her performance on really any level. She's a solid actress and even though she's a villain, she carries dignity and no small amount of believable sympathy in her scenes.

But let's face it, she's not a terribly great martial artist. I wouldn't say she's as awkward and clumsy as Sarah Michelle Gellar. But she's nothing to write home about either. She seems to do her best fighting with moves that involve spins or lots of footwork. But the fundamentals of how to throw punches or kicks... less so. In fact, I'll go out on a limb and suggest to you that Tory's school of choice probably shouldn't be karate. Judo, Aikido or other schools might be a better match for her skills and balance.

Speaking of balance, I enjoyed Daniel and his wife's chemistry and marriage in the first part of the season. It's so refreshing to see a normal, healthy marriage in a show anymore. So when their storyline kicked in, it really hit me the way it should've.

Then again, it could be a personal thing for me since I'm getting married in about a week. Shall we toss a coin on this?

One thing I'll give this finale a crap ton of credit for is how it played me like a fiddle. "Oh yeah, as if. Adults would break this up real quick. Good thing too because it would be just a matter of time irl until someone really gets his head cracked open or something. Somebody would get hurt with something a lot worse than a bloody nose or split lip if this happened for real. But these kids are using kids gloves because we all know this show isn't going there."

And then this show went there. I was genuinely, truly, deeply shocked.

And honestly, this business with Miguel is a positive thing. I don't need my entertainment to be preachy. In fact, I prefer it when my entertainment allows me to make my own moral judgments. But facts is facts. (1) This entire rivalry was getting out of control last season and (2) this isn't a game and when people fight in real life, it's with real strikes that draw real blood. So often, movies and shows ignore the consequences of violence. And I'll even say it's okay to do that for entertainment purposes.

But the reality is that Daniel isn't a creative enough thinker to imagine a way to end the rivalry in a peaceful way. Maybe I'm overthinking it but my view is that Miyagi would be uniquely horrified by most of Daniel's actions in this show. The entire reason Miyagi issued the challenge to Kreese to face off in the tournament (where conditions can be controlled) was precisely because he didn't want this grudge to boil over irl (where conditions can't be controlled).

Miyagi would've found a way to minimize or even avoid violence entirely. Daniel can't because, I think, he's a lesser man. Miyagi could've trained students whenever he wanted to. He chose not to because this is a discipline; not a sport. Daniel allowed himself to get swallowed up in the Cobra Kai rivalry and now people have gotten hurt badly.

Cobra Kai, the show, is almost a postmortem character study of why Miyagi really had his crap together in all three of the movies. Daniel has never truly known when it's time to walk away. Or better still, to sue for peace.

Now yes, if Daniel successfully sues for peace, there's no show. I get that. I'm just saying that none of this stuff would've happened if Miyagi had been calling the shots. When Miyagi said that fighting is the last resort, this entire show is what he meant and it's everything he tried to avoid.

Is season 02 better than the first? Come on. But the first season set the bar ridiculously high and I'll give this season credit. It didn't shy away from paying off the promises that were made in the first season. I can sit here all day long picking apart this fight scene or that subplot. But at the end of the day, season 01 accrued certain narrative debts. And season 02 began paying off those narrative debts.

I can't ask for anything more than that.

But seriously, Tory needs to work on her karate or something. Great actress though.

[Silver Nemesis]

That means the cast does a lot of their own fighting. Robby handles his fight scenes like a champ, mainly. I'd say his work in season 02 is about even with his work from season 01. Which is to say, noticeably good. Kid's got skills, no doubts there.

Sam... idk. Her skills were hit and miss. For that matter, so were Daniel's.

Of the younger cast members, the actors who play Robby and Miguel strike me as the most convincing fighters. I wouldn't be surprised if either of them had already trained prior to the show. I cut Macchio some slack since he's turning 58 this year, and for a guy who's pushing 60 he looks great for his age. But some of his moves were lacking this season. The scene where he rescues Robby on the beach looked particularly awkward in places. It reminded me of some of David Carradine's fight scenes.

And honestly, this business with Miguel is a positive thing. I don't need my entertainment to be preachy. In fact, I prefer it when my entertainment allows me to make my own moral judgments. But facts is facts. (1) This entire rivalry was getting out of control last season and (2) this isn't a game and when people fight in real life, it's with real strikes that draw real blood. So often, movies and shows ignore the consequences of violence. And I'll even say it's okay to do that for entertainment purposes.

Surely he'd be paralysed after a fall like that. Unless they send him to the same doctor that treated Bullseye at the end of DD s3, Miguel's going to have a rough time ahead of him. He's a good kid and is my favourite of the younger characters, so I'm sorry to see him end up like that. But I respect the writers for having the guts to take his arc in such a harrowing direction. I'm expecting his storyline in season 3 to resemble Jason Street's character arc in the first season of Friday Night Lights. It's going to be intense.

Miyagi would've found a way to minimize or even avoid violence entirely. Daniel can't because, I think, he's a lesser man. Miyagi could've trained students whenever he wanted to. He chose not to because this is a discipline; not a sport. Daniel allowed himself to get swallowed up in the Cobra Kai rivalry and now people have gotten hurt badly.

All throughout the school fight I was thinking to myself, "What would Miyagi think if he could see this?" He'd have been so disappointed at how badly Daniel's screwed up.

Obviously Daniel can't take all the blame for what Robby did, but he and Johnny are directly responsible for the conflict which led to that fight. Neither of them can sort this mess out on their own, but if they put their heads together they just might be able to fix things. In order to do that they'll have to grow up, put the kids' interests first and start focusing on who their real enemy is.

Then again, it could be a personal thing for me since I'm getting married in about a week. Shall we toss a coin on this?

That's awesome! Congratulations! I formally grant you permission to take some time away from the site, provided you return at some point to discuss the new Tolkien biopic.

[Silver Nemesis]

Cobra Kai has been renewed for a third season.

https://variety.com/2019/tv/news/cobra-kai-renewed-season-3-youtube-premium-1203183186/

[Silver Nemesis]

[The Joker]

Yes, congrats to Colors on getting married!


As far as Cobra Kai Season 2 goes, I finally checked this out last week. 4th of July marathon. I'll parrot what's already been stated, and agree that S2 was simply not quite as strong as S1, but it was entertaining nevertheless. Truth be told, I was expecting to see Mike Barnes at some point, but having now seen S2, it's pretty evident that his return would have been premature with the storylines S2 wanted to tell. if we're talking villains, this was definitely Kreese's season in reasserting himself as the major villain of the Karate Kid universe. Having said that, I am actually glad Barnes wasn't in S2. Course there's always S3 for that. With what happened to Miguel, I kinda wonder if this leaves the door open to a possible return to Okinawa? It's evident that Daniel never learned the pain suppression technique from Miyagi from S1, and this technique, if Daniel finally learns it, which would only be because of his ties to Miyagi himself and maybe the memories of the people from the events from KK2, could ideally help aid Miguel in his long road to recovery.

Don't really have a whole lot to add that hasn't already been stated.

[thecolorsblend]

I'm open to Barnes returning. Cobra Kai needs a new sensei. Kreese is back so it has a sempai. But it with Johnny seemingly out of the picture, there needs to be a sensei. In a certain sense, Barnes is the logical choice. Or a logical choice anyway.

From a creative standpoint, there are so many direction season 03 can go in. I said before that season 01 accumulated certain narrative debts and season 02 began paying some of those debts off. Well, season 02 also introduced some narrative debts of its own that season 03 has to address. Tons of potential going on here.

I'm really stoked about where this thing could go.

[The Joker]

New article pertaining to Season 3.

https://ew.com/comic-con/2019/07/18/cobra-kai-season-3-ralph-macchio-okinawa/

Evidently, a return to Okinawa is happening.

[Silver Nemesis]

The series needs something to shake things up a bit, and the trip to Okinawa might just do it.

It's also been announced that a new comic is coming out later this year titled Cobra Kai: The Karate Kid Saga Continues: https://www.slashfilm.com/cobra-kai-comic-book/