S04.E05: Match Point

[paulvdb]

Premiere date: December 31, 2021

[Neiman]

Hashbrown dead meat 🤣

Good flashbacks in this episode

[Morrigan2575]

Good use of Flashbacks. Loved Johnny's training montage.

I find Daniel annoying, he's very sanctimonious. Johnny may have been an asshole until quite recently but, life has kicked him in the face enough to know. 

Poor Hawk/Eli. I figured that's what would happen, although I did worry they'd mess up his beautiful Tattoo.

I had a feeling they'd be evenly matched but, watching them knock each other out (simultaneously) was hilarious

 

 

Edited December 31, 2021 by Morrigan2575

[Frisson]

2 hours ago, Morrigan2575 said:

Poor Hawk/Eli. I figured that's what would happen, although I did worry they'd mess up his beautiful Tattoo.

I had a feeling they'd be evenly matched but, watching them knock each other out (simultaneously) was hilarious.

 

I was worried they were going to give Eli a new tattoo or a new face scar. 

Did they knock each other out? I don’t know, I thought Daniel kicked him in the face and brought himself down. Hilarious “tie,” either way.

 

[Morrigan2575]

Just now, Frisson said:

Daniel kicked him in the face and brought himself down. Hilarious “tie,” either way.

From what I can tell it was mutual, one threw a punch the other a kick and they both scored the point. That's why both Sam and Miguel called a point.

[bettername2come]

44 minutes ago, Frisson said:

I was worried they were going to give Eli a new tattoo or a new face scar. 

Same! I was so worried. The purple hair looked awesome, but I think it emphasizes a kind of return to the Eli persona. 

I'm glad the mean popular girl is openly flirting and kissing with Demetri. 

[Chicago Redshirt]

It was an homage to Rocky III, for those who may not have seen it or don't remember. Apollo agrees to train Rocky to regain the "eye of the tiger" in part for a simultaneous haymaker to see who could get up first.

[Cthulhudrew]

I'm really enjoying the more nuanced Terry Silver in S4 (as compared to psycho KK3). As much as they still deal with past insecurities and grudges, Terry, Daniel, and Johnny at least have matured and shown they are open to growing and learning. It's Kreese that seems forever stuck in the past and unwilling to change, which is the real tragedy of this story.

[Kate47]

I haven't yet finished the episode, but I want to note how proud I am of Johnny this season. He's making dinners, doing exercise, trying his fellow sensei's kata. I love that Daniel got super hungover after they agreed to fight and Johnny is the one who really prepared. They may still be stuck in that old rivalry, but Johnny's character is growing.

ETA: also the respectful and adult relationship with Carmen! She stated boundaries and he respected them, which imo is huge.

Edited January 1, 2022 by Kate47
Moar thoughts

[Jediknight]

On 12/31/2021 at 2:29 PM, Morrigan2575 said:

Poor Hawk/Eli. I figured that's what would happen, although I did worry they'd mess up his beautiful Tattoo.

It was heartwarming that Johnny upon seeing what happened to Eli was to ask who did it, and be willing to fight Kreese and Silver by himself.  Eli may have pissed him off and done crap to him previously, but he was making amends, and Johnny saw him as one of his students/kids.

[DoctorAtomic]

"Our enemies humiliate us." Give me a break Tory. You all got played because you have huge chips on your shoulders and can't calm down for one minute. 

Was Johnny not around for KK3?

Amanda is at her best when she's calling out all of Daniel's and Johnny's nonsense. Good scene with Daniel and Sam though, with her calling Daniel out on being over the top. Same with Miguel and Johnny. 

On 12/31/2021 at 12:22 PM, Neiman said:

Good flashbacks in this episode

I feel like that is running in both their mind a lot. I mean, they're in their 50s. I thought the last three seasons put that away. The fight was kind of dumb.

Wow, was that montage incredible. Who hasn't wanted to knock one of those poser morons off the scooter. The mailbox is a federal offense though. 

 Very 80s of Silver with the rolled up jacket. 

This whole 'win the tournament and you quit' is ridiculous. There's no legally binding agreement. 

This was kind of a clunker for me. Conflict was going to be inevitable, but I don't think this helps much with the overall narrative at this point in the show. 

[Racj82]

5 hours ago, DoctorAtomic said:

Was Johnny not around for KK3?

No. Until Cobra Kai there was never any of Johnny after part 1 except for the beginning of part 2 which was a cut scene from the first movie. They brought in a new guy who was basically like Silver Jr in how bonkers he was.

 

[Raja]

21 hours ago, DoctorAtomic said:

Was Johnny not around for KK3?

This whole 'win the tournament and you quit' is ridiculous. There's no legally binding agreement. 

In the story Johnny, thus Kreese/Cobra Kai lost and then Mr Miyagi humiliated Kreese. As Johnny had aged out of the tournament eligibility even as a two time champion he  thus was no more use to Cobra Kai's drive for valley supremacy. Especially with Johnny seeing his mentor having no honor. It plays a lot like a kid turning 18 being kicked out of the foster care system.

 

The lose and leave town is straight from that other fake fighting genre, professional wrestling.

[Catfi9ht]

On 12/31/2021 at 6:51 PM, Chicago Redshirt said:

It was an homage to Rocky III, for those who may not have seen it or don't remember. Apollo agrees to train Rocky to regain the "eye of the tiger" in part for a simultaneous haymaker to see who could get up first.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who noticed! I love how meta this show is sometimes.

Here's the training montage in case anyone wants to watch for comparison.

 

[tennisgurl]

"Your his only follower, who does he think he's tweeting to?" 

Hehe, even Johnny thinks the plot of Karate Kid III is ridiculous. Nice use of flashbacks during the training montage, complete with random majestic eagle, Rocky style. Its always one step forward and two steps back with Johnny and Daniel, its so frustrating. They have so much in common but while they have both been able to show growth, they still get so stuck in their own ways so often. If they could just put aside their pasts and realize that they both have a lot to offer, they would be so much stronger. 

Of course, no one is more stuck in their old ways as Kreese, its honestly become rather sad. As awful as he is, he's also just making himself miserable, forever obsessing over old grudges and issues. 

[CrazyDog]

The kids opening the door at the beginning to watch all these older senseis rehash their histories was pretty hilarious.

As was Amanda..."Any more former Cobra Kais coming around to mess up our lives?"  "No...well, maybe."

Silver is still a very imposing figure.

Strike firster, lol.

I still love Demetri. Of all the kids, he's unabashedly himself.

I felt for Eli. He's an accomplished fighter now, but you could see the old terror briefly as the CKs surrounded and ganged up on him, and held him down. Tori's smirk, Kyler being Kyler, Robby with a razor. A parallel to when Eli broke Demetri's arm, which was truly horrifying, also with Tori's gleeful encouragement. At least since then, Eli has had some growth and shown remorse, despite his attitude towards poor Kenny this season.

I do like Robby's arc this season, but this was an ugly moment for him. Though if Tori and Kyler had gotten their way, they probably would have just brawled in public somewhere and she'd have violated her probation. Robby's at least smart enough to attack out of sight.

All the kids this season are really trading off the bullying roles. 

Johnny and Daniel need a mediator. They just cannot get past their histories and egos, and it is affecting the training (or lack of it) the kids are getting. 

Edited January 9, 2022 by CrazyDog

[millennium]

This season is sure going out of its way to add some tarnish to the LaRusso family.   The son is a bully to Kenny; Sam is a bully to Tori (taunting her when she's in no position to respond); Amanda unintentionally cost Tori her job; and Daniel is being a my-way-or-the-highway asshole to Johnny.  Meanwhile the little Miagis are hassling Kenny in the bathroom at school, Hawk's bullying him at the drive-in  ... if this were a competitive reality show, I would say the LaRussos are definitely not getting a winner's edit.

Edited January 12, 2022 by millennium

[Dobian]

I call BS on the tie.  Johnny deserved a win after Daniel has gotten the upper hand on him all these years.  Plus I am sick and tired of Larusso's smugness.

Of all the adults, is Terry Silver of all people the only real adult in the room?

[Morrigan2575]

On 1/20/2022 at 3:00 AM, Dobian said:

I call BS on the tie.  Johnny deserved a win after Daniel has gotten the upper hand on him all these years.  Plus I am sick and tired of Larusso's smugness.

Of all the adults, is Terry Silver of all people the only real adult in the room?

While I really wanted Johnny to win and I worry Netflix will favor Daniel over Johnny, I think the tie was an homage to Rocky 3 with Apollo vs Rocky.

Edited January 22, 2022 by Morrigan2575

[Virtual]

As stupid as the fight and training leading up to it was for Daniel and Johnny, I say Johnny won since it looked like he hit first and Daniel hit the ground a split second before Johnny. But NOBODY wins this one if you ask me, because all of the students suffer as a result. Not only is it taking time away from their All-Valley training, but these kids look at Daniel and Johnny as role models and they both can’t put aside their egos and put the students first. That’s why I say Miguel and someone from Miyagi-do (not Sam because her judgement isn’t good either) need to take over as senseis whenever Daniel and Johnny get irrational. That’s another thing Cobra Kai is doing better than either of them right now; they let Robby teach classes here and there.

And while all the foolishness with Eagle Fang and Miyagi-Do was going on, Cobra Kai is mostly focusing on getting stronger, aside from them ambushing Hawk and cutting off the Mohawk.

Silver looks to be bringing an intelligent method to Cobra Kai. Beyond Kreese’s simple “no mercy at all times” mantra. He seems to be trying to get the students to think of all possibilities that can factor into them winning. He seemed like he meant it when he apologized to Daniel, but then Kreese pushed him into competitiveness and he got mad that Daniel blew him off.

[Rebky]

I have a vivid memory of being in the theater audience when Karate Kid hit the theaters.  The finale was one of three times in my life that the audience was on their feet applauding. The other two was Rocky Three and Dirty Dancing. Watching this version of Karate Kid brings all that back and I feel privileged to have been a part of the awesomeness that was the original. Unless you experienced it, you don't get it.

[CeeBeeGee]

On 1/7/2022 at 5:24 PM, tennisgurl said:

Of course, no one is more stuck in their old ways as Kreese, its honestly become rather sad. As awful as he is, he's also just making himself miserable, forever obsessing over old grudges and issues. 

Kreese is utterly pathetic at this point. He's an old man who's one step above homelessness and all he can think about is avenging himself at the All-Valley? No wonder his life sucks so badly.

Of course when there's a fight (or an ambush), Tori is right there. She's Kreese, just younger and female. Can't get out of her own way and she's addicted to anger.

 

On 1/9/2022 at 2:16 AM, CrazyDog said:

The kids opening the door at the beginning to watch all these older senseis rehash their histories was pretty hilarious.

That was cute.

 

On 1/22/2022 at 6:44 PM, Virtual said:

As stupid as the fight and training leading up to it was for Daniel and Johnny, I say Johnny won since it looked like he hit first and Daniel hit the ground a split second before Johnny. But NOBODY wins this one if you ask me, because all of the students suffer as a result. Not only is it taking time away from their All-Valley training, but these kids look at Daniel and Johnny as role models and they both can’t put aside their egos and put the students first. That’s why I say Miguel and someone from Miyagi-do (not Sam because her judgement isn’t good either) need to take over as senseis whenever Daniel and Johnny get irrational. That’s another thing Cobra Kai is doing better than either of them right now; they let Robby teach classes here and there.

And while all the foolishness with Eagle Fang and Miyagi-Do was going on, Cobra Kai is mostly focusing on getting stronger, aside from them ambushing Hawk and cutting off the Mohawk.

I feel bad for the Miyago-Fang kids. They looked like children whose parents are fighting. Both Danny and Johnny need to get their ish together and stop arguing in front of them.

How the f*** is ambushing Hawk that way NOT fighting--which Cobra Kai explicitly said they wouldn't do? They were throwing punches and hurting him. Robbie's lofty "I'm above all of this" can take a seat when he was part of that. He's no better than Kreese.