Seasons 1 & 2 Discussion

[MitaJo]

Had a free trial of YouTube Premium and decided to watch this show. I've binged both seasons and I love it! Some of this stuff is a bit contrived but most shows are. 

Samantha is probably the most annoying, next to Hawk (I can't stand that kid!) She kept Miguel a secret from her parents, but didn't think to explain to him WHY? All she had to tell him was that her father hated Cobra Kai and she didn't want him to know about them yet. Also, WHY didn't she tell her dad that Robbie tried to get her to not drink at the party? And she's pining over Miguel for all these months. She's a horrible girlfriend. Daniel needs to get his head out of his ass and realize that his daughter isn't this perfect angel. 

Johnny and his love of the 80s is endearing to me, but was he in a damn coma? He really should have some basic knowledge about pop culture. He had a job in the real world. I loved the episode when he linked up with the old Cobra Kai guys. Just when I think that he and Daniel are going to mend fences, something trivial comes along and gets in the way. They're too old for this. And they got all those kids playing out their bullshit. Maybe that can be something that happens in season three with Kreese still around. That MFer is also too old to be messing with these kids. Hopefully he gets what he deserves.

That fight at the school was brutal. I can't believe there weren't more teachers/security there to get involved. That never should have been allowed to happen. I'm so sad about Miguel but that's not all on Robbie. I hope he doesn't get into trouble. They were all out of control and it was an accident. I hope he recovers, but I swear he was going to be dead after that fall.

[magicdog]

3 hours ago, MitaJo said:

She kept Miguel a secret from her parents, but didn't think to explain to him WHY? All she had to tell him was that her father hated Cobra Kai and she didn't want him to know about them yet.

If she had confessed about the night Yasmine hit Johnny's car, most of the events of Season 1 would never have happened!

3 hours ago, MitaJo said:

WHY didn't she tell her dad that Robbie tried to get her to not drink at the party?

She did say in the hospital that the events that day were her fault (and she feels guilty), so I hope she does bring that up to her parents.  If so, perhaps Daniel will go out to look for him.

3 hours ago, MitaJo said:

Just when I think that he and Daniel are going to mend fences, something trivial comes along and gets in the way.

Those two are yin and yang, but they should put this rivalry to bed.  Actually, Daniel is more at fault at this point than Johnny, thanks to the latter taking Carmen's advice about putting himself above it all.  Everything with Daniel was about taking CK down and it was upsetting his world in more ways than one.  Amanda was right.  I do expect that they will mend fences by season 3.  It's long overdue.

3 hours ago, MitaJo said:

Johnny and his love of the 80s is endearing to me, but was he in a damn coma?

Agreed.  I can relate to him perhaps doing things the old fashioned way, being dismissive of PC culture or waxing nostalgic about his younger days (his Whitesnake inspired dream was hilarious!), but there's no way he could be that ignorant about the internet ("What's a Facebook?).

3 hours ago, MitaJo said:

That fight at the school was brutal. I can't believe there weren't more teachers/security there to get involved. That never should have been allowed to happen.

I think the fight went on a bit too long and far too many kids chose to participate.  I'd have been fine if it were kept between Sam & Tory.  In some schools, I can see teachers choosing not to get involved since some students are armed and are truly dangerous if you try to break up their fights.  I was interested in seeing Johnny's oldest student, Stingray interview for a security job and do pretty well in trying to break it up.

3 hours ago, MitaJo said:

I'm so sad about Miguel but that's not all on Robbie.

It is since he was the one who didn't pick up on Miguel's act of mercy and chose to give him a final kick which sent him over the rail.

[Jediknight]

12 hours ago, magicdog said:

• Daniel has to get back to running the dealership, but what of his students, new and old?  This leads me to:

Guessing his students will stick together to have each other's backs, along with a couple of Johnny's students (Aisha and Bert, who weren't part of Kreese's class), while Cobra Kai gets more power and starts to rule the school.

4 hours ago, magicdog said:

I think the fight went on a bit too long and far too many kids chose to participate.  I'd have been fine if it were kept between Sam & Tory.  In some schools, I can see teachers choosing not to get involved since some students are armed and are truly dangerous if you try to break up their fights.  I was interested in seeing Johnny's oldest student, Stingray interview for a security job and do pretty well in trying to break it up.

The number of kids made sense.  A group of hormone filled teenagers, who have been building up the anger for months, who hate each other, and they had an opening.  It was a gang war.

[CrazyDog]

16 hours ago, magicdog said:

 I was interested in seeing Johnny's oldest student, Stingray interview for a security job and do pretty well in trying to break it up.

Stingray is the most random character this season, lol. He was breaking up the fight, but wasn't he only helping out the Cobra Kais? Loved the high five with Hawk.

I finally finished, and I really wish we had topics for each episode. There are so many great things about this season to cover.

Random thoughts:

• Line VIP - Amanda: "They have warring karate dojos. I'll have a cadillac margarita."
• Johnny wanting hashbrowns and thinking he has the rights to a song because he has the tape. LOL
• Tory tends to overreact just a wee bit.
• I really, really love when Johnny and Daniel get along. Hopefully season 3 will get them to finally make peace with each other. Daniel seemed to finally understand Johnny more during the convo where Johnny told him he kicked Kreese out.
• Loved the random rivalry with Bert and the other kid during the melee.
• I like Johnny and Carmen together - I hope that's not over yet.
• Demetri finally kicking Hawk's ass, but unless Hawk was seriously fatigued, that's a bit hard to buy. But it was satisfying to watch.
• Tommy, no!!! Great episode.
• Poor Johnny. I'm really hoping he gets a win in S3.

I think I'm in the minority, but I am not totally thrilled about Alli returning, and I am REALLY hoping it's more of a catalyst for both Daniel and Johnny to 100% close that chapter of their lives, especially Johnny. Though I'm sure she'll get involved helping Miguel somehow. Will there be a time jump, or will Miguel be out of commission for much of the season? 

Edited April 30, 2019 by CrazyDog

[magicdog]

4 minutes ago, CrazyDog said:

Will there be a time jump

Well, KK3 didn't do much of a time skip between it and KK2 (Daniel and Miyagi had just arrived at LAX as Kreese was on his way to Tahiti).  Either it picks up where they left off like Season 2 did or maybe a short skip, like a few days or weeks.

6 minutes ago, CrazyDog said:

will Miguel be out of commission for much of the season? 

I'm curious about this also.  It's possible (and we could have scenes in which he's in recovery and/or PT).  I just know that Ali will be the doctor involved in his life saving surgery.

[ketose]

This is a little out there, but I think Demitri's style was more like Mr. Miyagi's than any other character. I would love to see him develop the almost effortless fighting style Miyagi had, even though it was mostly designed so Pat Morita didn't have to exert himself.

[magicdog]

Ralph Macchio and Billy Zabka chat about making The Karate Kid:

Part 1:  

Part 2:

[methodwriter85]

On 4/26/2019 at 9:27 AM, Robert Lynch said:

Robby looks exactly like the actor that played Shawn from Boy Meets World! Am I the only one that sees that?

Actually, Robby looks exactly like Amanda Knox. Someone commented on that when he was on the show The Fosters, and I haven't been unable to see that since. LOL.

It's going to be really interesting to see how the show goes on after the events of the finale.

Edited May 2, 2019 by methodwriter85

[Cthulhudrew]

On 4/29/2019 at 11:25 AM, magicdog said:

• What happened to Robby after the fight?  Did he go to his dad's place or someplace we have yet to know about? 

Good question. The Larussos are very down on Robby after the Sam incident as well as the fight; Johnny will probably find it hard to take him in after what he did to Miguel. That leaves Kreese as his likely only safe harbor, which would fit very well with Kreese's suggestions to Johnny all season that his son should be with Cobra Kai, not Miyagi-Do. 

On another note, I'm not sure they'll explore it in S3, but in the real world I think both Johnny and Daniel would most likely find themselves on the receiving end of multiple civil lawsuits from parents of kids that were involved in the fight.

I kind of hope they ditch Stingray next season. I thought he was a joke that was taken too far, especially when he was going around assaulting kids (only Miyagi-do!) in the finale.

[magicdog]

3 hours ago, Cthulhudrew said:

I kind of hope they ditch Stingray next season. I thought he was a joke that was taken too far,

Speaking of, I find it odd that he went from working his job at he hardware store to applying for a security job at the local HS.  Sure, he had more confidence than ever before but it would seem an odd choice.  Could it be Kreese sent him to apply for the position?  Perhaps to keep an eye on the kids, etc. .

I do agree that he was funny for a moment but it was a joke that stretched a bit thin - although I thought his winning of the headband contest (hiding in the leaves) was pretty awesome!

3 hours ago, Cthulhudrew said:

The Larussos are very down on Robby after the Sam incident as well as the fight; Johnny will probably find it hard to take him in after what he did to Miguel. That leaves Kreese as his likely only safe harbor, which would fit very well with Kreese's suggestions to Johnny all season that his son should be with Cobra Kai, not Miyagi-Do. 

Does Robby know to look for Kreese?  I don't know if he knows him well enough to go to him.  I also want to know why he didn't accept Miguel's act of mercy by kicking him after Miguel let up on him.  That's not something Daniel would have taught him.  Or was he thinking vengeance for what happened at the tournament?  I also think Johnny still loves Robby (I do wish they had spent more of the season working on their bonds) and I'd like to think that he (and maybe Daniel) will go looking for him.  

After yet another rewartch, I came to the realization that while the season was good and I can't wait for Season 3, I enjoyed it overall a bit less than Season 1.  I thought the first season was perfect and set everything up well.  This review seems to nail a few flaws from this season.

Found this interview with the creators of the show.  They do give a hint for how things will go next season:

Quote

 If season 1 is defined thematically as redemption and reminders of the past, and season 2 is largely about rivalry and revenge — and now we’ve torn everything down to a degree, season 3 has one way to go, and it’s up. So it’s rebirth and rebuilding.

So I can definitely see things getting better for both sides;  hopefully Johnny and Daniel can tone down the rivalry and straighten themselves out.

[AllyB]

On 4/30/2019 at 12:08 AM, MitaJo said:

Samantha is probably the most annoying, next to Hawk (I can't stand that kid!) She kept Miguel a secret from her parents, but didn't think to explain to him WHY? All she had to tell him was that her father hated Cobra Kai and she didn't want him to know about them yet. Also, WHY didn't she tell her dad that Robbie tried to get her to not drink at the party? And she's pining over Miguel for all these months. She's a horrible girlfriend. Daniel needs to get his head out of his ass and realize that his daughter isn't this perfect angel. 

Daniel and Sam have essentially the same personality. They are both completely convinced of their own righteousness and the wrongness of their nemesis without ever looking to their own negative role in the relationship. Sam 100% blamed Tory for everything she could without ever thinking about she wrongly accused her of stealing Amanda's wallet. Of course Tory was going to be pissed at her for that, Sam was completely in the wrong as there is a massive difference between taking a bottle from a free bar and stealing someone's personal belongings. And once Sam found out that Tory was completely innocent in that situation she owed her an apology. Tory is clearly a damaged and aggressive teen so may have continued the grudge regardless of any apology, but as it stands Sam wronged her yet continued to act like she was the injured party.

It's just like how Daniel is with Johnny. Johnny is far from perfect and makes plenty of mistakes but Daniel is the aggressor in their adult relationship but is utterly secure in his persona as the good guy. Even right at the end, Johnny immediately realises his own culpability in the fight at the school and feels guilty. While Daniel, who is in all honesty far more culpable because he started the rivalry, is acting like he's the virtuous hero and Cobra Kai is still the villain even though it was a Miyagi Do student who may have caused a fatal injury to a Cobra Kai student. And even worse, he's justifying it by blaming Robby when he's the idiot who saw an vulnerable and extremely troubled teenager and decided to teach him to fight and move him into his home and have him train extensively in physical contact with his teenage daughter. Two attractive teenagers constantly working in adrenaline fuelled physical contact while soaking wet, is really going to end only one way you utter moron. But really it was just Johnny's bad genes influencing Robby that lead to all the trouble. Daniel is such a jackass I don't know how Amanda stands him.

[Robert Lynch]

Stingray's character looked like something that was tailored made for Jack Black. It doesn't fit with the theme at all. I have nothing against goofballs, but that character could go. 

[magicdog]

Thanks to Mary Mouser, you too can make Bananarama Pancakes!

[paulvdb]

YouTube to Make All New Original Series and Specials Free with Ads

The press release also mentions that Cobra Kai is renewed for a third season, premiering next year.

[readster]

On 5/1/2019 at 7:43 PM, Cthulhudrew said:

On another note, I'm not sure they'll explore it in S3, but in the real world I think both Johnny and Daniel would most likely find themselves on the receiving end of multiple civil lawsuits from parents of kids that were involved in the fight.

I kind of hope they ditch Stingray next season. I thought he was a joke that was taken too far, especially when he was going around assaulting kids (only Miyagi-do!) in the finale.

Right because in post 9/11 and Columbine. Communities or school systems would be on this left and right. The problem was in the first season when Cobra Kai after over a decade gone reopening the way it did under Johnny was still in it's "old school" philospy. That was a red flag there, and that's what got Daniel up in arms. He didn't want to see history repeat itself, he knew the kids were bullied and it was out of control. He just didn't believe that the Cobra Kai moto was the right way. The problem is, both are now on the back end of their actions. Johnny has now seen what the philosophy was wrong and Daniel blew things out of proportion. In season 3, they need to start bringing both ideals together, but showing more of: "The way of defense and standing up for yourself" instead of: "Kick your ass, I'm right and you are wrong!"

[ShadowHunter]

So happy this will be free now. I'll deal with the Ads. Having to deal with them when something is free does not bother me. 

This is a good show but paying 9.99$ a month was silly to me.  S1 will only be free for 2 weeks.  I wonder when S4 starts will S1 be free again for a time. Trade off.

Bring on Season 3. 

[magicdog]

OK, I have a bit of speculation here about Season 3:

I'm almost certain Terry Silver will appear.  Why?  Because as I was rethinking the events of the season, there was something that bugged me when Kreese took CK away from Johnny.  Then I rewatched a few key scenes and came up with my theory:

Kreese appeared to Johnny claiming to be down and out.  Kreese claimed an old friend of his [Silver] offered him a job but pride caused him to refuse it.  Later, Johnny decides to follow Kreese to where he is staying.  Kreese was an expert in covering his tracks due to military training so as Johnny was following him, I kept wondering if Kreese didn't let him follow him to the halfway house!  He wanted Johnny to feel sorry for him and take him back into his life.  Then later, the landlord tries to raise the rent on Johnny, since business has been good and they had a handshake deal due to Johnny's poor credit.  Johnny of course refuses.  By the end, Kreese tells Johnny he made a new deal with the landlord (on paper apparently) and that CK was his.  How would Kreese have the money/credit to pull that off if he'd been living on the streets or halfway houses?  He couldn't.  Terry had to be his financial backer to make this work.  Terry Silver and he concocted this scheme (shades of KK3!) to get CK away from Johnny and likely mess with Daniel a bit a well.   Johnny did the hard work of setting up the dojo, getting CK reinstated for the All Valley Tournament, creating karate champions, and Kreese puts the cherry on top by further corrupting the students and taking control of everything.

Barnes could also show up, but I think he might show up as an ally rather than a villain this time.  After all, he got j***** when Daniel beat him in the '85 tournament so he might want to settle up with Silver years later.  I had a fantasy that if the character returned and we find out he worked out all his anger issues and became a stand up comedian (which Sean Kanan has done IRL), which would blow Daniel's mind!

Additional speculation:  

Chad McQueen could still do a one off for Dutch if scheduling permits.  Perhaps Johnny (and maybe Tommy too) take Hawk and maybe some other Cobra Kai Kids for a field trip to Lompoc to see where untamed aggression will ultimately lead.

Julie (Hilary Swank) could show up to continue teaching Miyagi Do since Daniel is unable to.  It's possible TPTB could bring in a new character who has Miyagi Do roots, but since KK4 is canon and they admitted Daniel knows Julie (having met at Miyagi's funeral), this would make the most sense.

Ali might appear (I'm certain it will be related to helping Miguel with his injuries), but I wouldn't be surprised if they chose to brng her in for the end of Season 3 as a cliffhanger and having her presence in Johnny's life the focus of Season 4.  Of course the producers admitted Season 3 would have themes of rebuilding so it's possible Johnny will rebuild his relationship with either Ali (whom he never got over), or rebuilt it with Carmen (who's pissed at him due to what happened to Miguel).  Plus there's rebuilding is relationship with Robby and how he's going to make a living without the CK dojo.

Daniel will need to rebuild his family and business since he was stretching himself too thin with the dojo.  Hopefully he'll also rebuild his inner self as he behaved in ways Miyagi would never have approved of.

We still have no idea who Miguel's father is either - is he Chekov's dad or just a red herring?

Edited May 3, 2019 by magicdog

[ketose]

8 hours ago, magicdog said:

OK, I have a bit of speculation here about Season 3:

I'm almost certain Terry Silver will appear.  Why?  Because as I was rethinking the events of the season, there was something that bugged me when Kreese took CK away from Johnny.  Then I rewatched a few key scenes and came up with my theory:

Kreese appeared to Johnny claiming to be down and out.  Kreese claimed an old friend of his [Silver] offered him a job but pride caused him to refuse it.  Later, Johnny decides to follow Kreese to where he is staying.  Kreese was an expert in covering his tracks due to military training so as Johnny was following him, I kept wondering if Kreese didn't let him follow him to the halfway house!  He wanted Johnny to feel sorry for him and take him back into his life.  Then later, the landlord tries to raise the rent on Johnny, since business has been good and they had a handshake deal due to Johnny's poor credit.  Johnny of course refuses.  By the end, Kreese tells Johnny he made a new deal with the landlord (on paper apparently) and that CK was his.  How would Kreese have the money/credit to pull that off if he'd been living on the streets or halfway houses?  He couldn't.  Terry had to be his financial backer to make this work.  Terry Silver and he concocted this scheme (shades of KK3!) to get CK away from Johnny and likely mess with Daniel a bit a well.   Johnny did the hard work of setting up the dojo, getting CK reinstated for the All Valley Tournament, creating karate champions, and Kreese puts the cherry on top by further corrupting the students and taking control of everything.

Barnes could also show up, but I think he might show up as an ally rather than a villain this time.  After all, he got j***** when Daniel beat him in the '85 tournament so he might want to settle up with Silver years later.  I had a fantasy that if the character returned and we find out he worked out all his anger issues and became a stand up comedian (which Sean Kanan has done IRL), which would blow Daniel's mind!

Additional speculation:  

Chad McQueen could still do a one off for Dutch if scheduling permits.  Perhaps Johnny (and maybe Tommy too) take Hawk and maybe some other Cobra Kai Kids for a field trip to Lompoc to see where untamed aggression will ultimately lead.

Julie (Hilary Swank) could show up to continue teaching Miyagi Do since Daniel is unable to.  It's possible TPTB could bring in a new character who has Miyagi Do roots, but since KK4 is canon and they admitted Daniel knows Julie (having met at Miyagi's funeral), this would make the most sense.

Ali might appear (I'm certain it will be related to helping Miguel with his injuries), but I wouldn't be surprised if they chose to brng her in for the end of Season 3 as a cliffhanger and having her presence in Johnny's life the focus of Season 4.  Of course the producers admitted Season 3 would have themes of rebuilding so it's possible Johnny will rebuild his relationship with either Ali (whom he never got over), or rebuilt it with Carmen (who's pissed at him due to what happened to Miguel).  Plus there's rebuilding is relationship with Robby and how he's going to make a living without the CK dojo.

Daniel will need to rebuild his family and business since he was stretching himself too thin with the dojo.  Hopefully he'll also rebuild his inner self as he behaved in ways Miyagi would never have approved of.

We still have no idea who Miguel's father is either - is he Chekov's dad or just a red herring?

Most of that speculation seems ambitious, but it's pretty likely Terry Silver could come back. I also think the budget can't support another big expansion of the cast. The good news is that I have faith in the show. Hilary Swank may not come back, but it looks like Ali will make some sort of appearance.

[methodwriter85]

If the show has a season 4, I wonder if it's going to have parallels to the Next Karate Kid. It does appear like this show accepts that movie as cannon, though the remake from 2010 is not in.

Quote

Tory is clearly a damaged and aggressive teen so may have continued the grudge regardless of any apology, but as it stands Sam wronged her yet continued to act like she was the injured party.

You do really wonder what her backstory is that she's apparently so in love with Miguel that she's literally willing to kill (or seriously maim) for him. I did think it's interesting though because if you look at things from Tory's perspective, Sam is a cheating, manipulative stuck-up bitch trying to steal her boyfriend.

Am I imagining things though? Because I could have sworn that Peyton List (this one, not the Mad Men one) was born in 1995, yet it's somehow 1998 now. In fact, I thought it was kind of weird she was still doing teen roles being about 23/24- usually the working female child actors try to start transitioning to adult roles once they hit their 20's unless they luck into a big teen drama that has a long run when they're 19 or 20, like what happened with Shannen Doherty. I'd figured Peyton would be playing 22-year old world renowned doctors or suffering trophy wives to men old enough to be her father at this point.

Edited May 4, 2019 by methodwriter85

[Virtual]

here's my thoughts:

-Miguel did an awesome job of being a quality friend and person in general this season. He didn't allow his newfound confidence to turn him into a jerk, like it looked he might become after episodes 1x09 and 1x10. And once he found out that Hawk stole the medal from the Miyagi-Do dojo, he didn't out him to anyone but rather confronted him away from everyone, and fought him for the medal, winning.

-Upon a couple rewatches, I'll say that Tory had reason to side-eye Sam and even view her as someone who thought she was better than ordinary people, given her condescending comment in response to Miguel telling her that Tory was in Cobra Kai.  I mostly blame Sam's judgement of Cobra Kai on Daniel, since he brainwashed her to hate them. At the same time, Sam never tried to understand the full picture and stuck with what she heard from her family. I was actually shocked when she challenged Daniel by saying, "I don't wanna fight them! they're my friends".  To attack Sam with a weapon was going beyond all of that, and Tory deserves Juvie time for it. She's psycho. To me, Tory seems like someone who got away with things in the past and never had to face any harsh consequences, since she apparently blamed Johnny and was with Kreese in response to what happened at the end. What happened to Miguel was mostly her fault! I won't be liking Tory at all going forward. Speaking of that...

-Robby also pretty much made sure I wouldn't like him going forward with the coward move he pulled on Miguel when Miguel had apologized and let his guard down. That was going too far, and there was no reason for Robby to attack him in that moment. Robby was in no danger, unlike Sam who was up against someone who would have intentionally seriously hurt her if she hadn't done what she had to do to stop her. Miguel showed great stoic strength by apologizing and stopping the fight, and Robby needlessly and cowardly attacked him. I know he didn't mean for Miguel to go off the railing and fall, but it could have so easily been avoided.

-I get why Hawk would become annoyed with Demetri taking credit for being a Cobra Kai when he was secretly avoiding signing up or doing any of the work necessary to truly be CK material. I wonder, were these two ever great friends, or were they only friends out of necessity? If it is the former, I found it pretty lousy for Hawk to turn around and try to beat him up over a negative Yelp review. But don't worry, Demetri lowered himself to that level when he exposed Hawk's most embarrassing secret on microphone at the party. I was actually ok with Demetri exposing the Harry Potter secret, and who Hawk used to be, but the bed wetting comment was going too far.

-The only thing that I believe Kreese was genuine to Johnny about was his living situation, and his mentality on fighting like you're in a war. Everything else was false assurance so that Johnny would leave a gap open for him to swoop in, and he got just that when Johnny left town to be with Tommy and his old friends. It was all over for Johnny when Kreese signed an actual contract with his landlord, voiding Johnny's handshake deal.

And all this is just off the top of my head; I am sure there's more (lol)

Edited May 5, 2019 by Virtual

[Amarsir]

I liked Stingray and his ability to inject comedy in otherwise serious scenes. But they have to be careful because a little goes a long way. 

On the other hand I’m disappointed that Hawk is still playing out so 2 dimensional. The actor killed both the shy and bully roles in the first season. Now he seems to have pursued aggression beyond his friends, girlfriend, or sensei and it doesn’t really make sense. 

[Jediknight]

15 hours ago, Amarsir said:

On the other hand I’m disappointed that Hawk is still playing out so 2 dimensional. The actor killed both the shy and bully roles in the first season. Now he seems to have pursued aggression beyond his friends, girlfriend, or sensei and it doesn’t really make sense. 

Kreese is manipulating him, and it's easy for Kreese to do because Hawk has a lot of anger, and still has a lot of insecurities.  He knows how to fight, but his confidence is false, it's just a mask.  It's incredibly easy to get under his skin, so he allows his emotions to control him and he doesn't stop to think.  Kreese sees that, and feeds right into Hawk's anger and his insecurities.  It's a reason he hates Demetri, Demetri's a reminder of the kid he used to be, and still is, under the bullshit macho exterior.  Demetri can also damage him without throwing a punch, because he sees right through Hawk's mask.

Edited May 7, 2019 by Jediknight

[DarkRaichu]

I like season 2 up until Miguel's serious life altering injury.  That was too real / too dark for this kind of teen dramas.    However, I am still watching next season as I want to see how/if Johnny could get back up after getting crushed by all of the guilt.

Kudos to the showrunners as I did not get the real meaning behind "Cruel Summer" soundtrack until the last episode. 

On 5/1/2019 at 8:43 PM, Cthulhudrew said:

I kind of hope they ditch Stingray next season. I thought he was a joke that was taken too far, especially when he was going around assaulting kids (only Miyagi-do!) in the finale.

This 100%.  Strangely my feeling of the show mirrors my feeling about Stingray.  He was fun up until he punched the back of that kid's knee.  That kid might as well be seriously injured if not crippled by a move like that.

[benteen]

I finished it last night and really enjoyed it.  I think Season 1 was better but this series is still really good and a ton of fun.  I give the showrunners credit for two things in particular.  One, they never go the easy route with the characters.  Nobody is ever really good or bad but they can certainly do things that lean towards either one.  Second, for continuing to make this premise work and make me look forward to Season 3. 

William Zabka continues to do some great work and I think the best scene this season for him was when he talked to Miguel about how he failed his son.  I wish this show would have gotten some Emmy nominations.  Macchio is good as well although I agree that Daniel's sanctimonious attitude and his feelings of superiority have helped to escalate this situation as much as Johnny's issues, although Johnny is at least aware of his own issues.  His issues with Cobra Kai have festered over into his daughter and her shitty behavior towards Tory further escalated things.  Although Tory starting that fight at the end (complete with spiked chain) that ended in Miguel getting serious injured, then showing up to the dojo the next day like nothing happened doesn't exactly look good on her either.  Tory clearly has had a lot of issues in life and I suspect we'll examine that in Season 3.

All the kids are great, with Xolo Mariduena continuing to be the standout as Miguel.  I liked that after his seeming heel turn at the end of Season 1, he was doing his best to try to pull away from that but still feeling conflicted.  That's the type of character development I'm talking about from this show.

Stealing a Medal of Honor, Hawk?  That's among the lowest things you can do.

I liked Demetri's storyline.  I hate to say this but damn, that kid earned a lot of his beatings this season.

I liked Stingray.  He probably is a character who works best in small doses but one of my favorite scenes of the season was him getting the headband from Miguel.  Unexpected scene and I liked how legitimately happy the rest of the students were for him.  Even Kresse seemed impressed.

Martin Kove's return as Kreese was fun and still works well off of everyone.  I liked the scene between Johnny and Kreese a lot at the end of Season 4.  Johnny gave him the chance but not surprisingly, he hasn't changed at all.

Loved the Cobra Kai reunion in Episode 6 and the body bad scene at the end again makes me appreciated that the showrunners had no trouble acknowledging the silly moments in these movies.  Daniel's constantly pointing out Kreese's pretending to be dead is another funny example.

Understandable that Miguel's mom Carmen was so upset at the end.  I would point out though that while Miguel might not have been getting into fights before he met Johnny, he was regularly getting his ass kicked.

Felt embarrassed for Johnny when he was planning to send that message out to Ally and was hoping he wouldn't do it.  Was surprised with the response.

They play up the "analog man in a digital world" stuff with Johnny a little too much but the Episode 3 scenes with him and the Internet were pretty damn funny.

"Haven't you ever had a computer?"

"No.  I wasn't a nerd."

Pretty awesome fight scene they had at the end.  Ridiculous to be sure and it got out of hand in a way that wouldn't happen in real life (and yeah, it would lead to a lot of lawsuits).  But I didn't mind.  It works for this show and it was fun.

Johnny vs Daniel 2 was pretty awesome too and I laughed when they started splicing in the old movie footage.

I'm not sure if this was posted already but...

Cobra Kai Season 2: Producers answers your big spoiler questions.

I'm only sorry it'll be another year until Season 3 but I'm really looking forward to it.

Edited May 10, 2019 by benteen

[magicdog]

This is awesome!

Sometimes I wonder if those two would want to do a live broadcast of "The Odd Couple" play with Macchio as Felix and Zabka as Oscar.  They really do work together well even beyond CK.

On another front, here's an interview with Sean Kanen.  He's being interviewed by William Christopher Ford, who played Dennis (the henchman who took care of Mike's training, while Snake handled everything else!).

Edited May 15, 2019 by magicdog

[methodwriter85]

Mary Mouser and Tanner Buchanan muckbang while telling stories about shooting Cobra Kai:

Tanner looks so, so much better with this haircut as opposed to his bobbed hair. I really hope they let him keep this hair for season 3.

[magicdog]

I like his haircut too.  I wonder if that means the character will end up on the run and tries to disguise himself by cutting his hair.

In this interview with the cast at the Paley Center (posted about 2 days before Season 2 was premiered) he seems to have his hair shortened - although it's obscured by a hat (he's the one in the red suit) in second row back.

[juno]

I admit I was disappointed in the second season. The teenagers took over too much of the show and they were mostly portrayed as teen stereotypes. Too much time on Krease and Scorpion. The season was taken over with a Miyagy-Do vs Cobra Kai plot.

As I did in the first season I very much enjoyed all Johnny and Daniel scenes.

The truly amazing part of the season and not in a good way was the consistent illegal acts being committed without any sort of repercussions.

Assault, assault with deadly weapons, vandalism, graffiti, theft, property damage and trespassing. I know we have to suspend belief in order to enjoy the show but the scene in the mall and school would have all the teenagers in jail. The police would have been called in very fast in both cases if teachers and security wouldn't be able to contain the violence.

[magicdog]

On 5/5/2019 at 4:25 PM, Virtual said:

Robby also pretty much made sure I wouldn't like him going forward with the coward move he pulled on Miguel when Miguel had apologized and let his guard down. That was going too far, and there was no reason for Robby to attack him in that moment. Robby was in no danger, unlike Sam who was up against someone who would have intentionally seriously hurt her if she hadn't done what she had to do to stop her. Miguel showed great stoic strength by apologizing and stopping the fight, and Robby needlessly and cowardly attacked him. I know he didn't mean for Miguel to go off the railing and fall, but it could have so easily been avoided.

Agreed.  In fact, why would Robby take that shot after Miguel was willing to stop the fight?  Daniel certainly didn't teach him that;  even Johnny wouldn't have wanted him to do that.

I also wonder if Miguel will be upset with Johnny for taking his advice to show mercy - since he ended up in the hospital for it.  

[magicdog]

It's been a while since I played video games so is this for real?

[hiccup]

Just finished season 2 and I loved it! The first ep dragged a bit for me, but after that, I was all in and I think I might like season 2 more than season 1. Johnny just cracks me up and some of his lines got snort laughs from me. I love watching him and Daniel together, and would be totally fine with just watching them go back and forth. I was indifferent to Amanda in season 1, but really liked her in season 2. I did not miss their son, Anthony, at all.

Lastly, I can't stand Hawk! His scowling facial expressions are so over the top to me, he's coming across like a cartoon villain.

[magicdog]

On 6/11/2019 at 7:21 PM, hiccup said:

I love watching him and Daniel together,

Ditto!  I wouldn't mind seeing them do other projects together aside from CK.  They worked really well on that Enterprise commercial.  I hope the characters put an end to the rivalry and start working together as friends.  I think the animosity has gone on long enough (and the disastrous results).

On 6/11/2019 at 7:21 PM, hiccup said:

I was indifferent to Amanda in season 1, but really liked her in season 2.

I liked her early on. I saw right away how she was good for Daniel as the only one left to keep him from going to far at times.  Seeing them selling cars to make the quota was also awesome showing them as a team.  It would have been very easy to have had made her character like a spoiled trophy wife who didn't do much in life except her nails. I'm glad the writers didn't go in that direction for her.

On 6/11/2019 at 7:21 PM, hiccup said:

I did not miss their son, Anthony, at all.

Ditto - but I think some of that may be related to the young actor not being much use since he's underage and can't spend much time on set.  He seems to be the spoiled character that annoys.  I do wonder if they will expand his character a bit next season;  we could learn that he made a friend or two at camp and maybe we'll see that it has a connection to current events in series.

[magicdog]

If anyone is going to be in London towards the end of next month, some CK cast members will be at London Film & Comic Con!

So far, William Zabka, Martin Kove, Jacob Bertrand and Xolo Mariduena are scheduled to appear.

[magicdog]

Found a great three part discussion by a real martial artist about CK's fight styles and identifying real life ties to the folks behind the KK movies and the show.  The host is, Mr. Dan, a Kenpo Karate instructor:

Part 1:  

Part 2:  

Part 3: 

[magicdog]

You know you've made it when they make a comic book about you!

Coming this fall, "Cobra Kai - Johnny's Story".  This retells the Karate Kid film from Johnny's perspective and gives us more insight into his teen years.  I don't know if the comics will go further than Johnny's life after the events of the first KK film (like what was going on after the choking incident with Kreese) but this still could be worth a read.  

[benteen]

I'm really looking forward to that and the cover is pretty awesome.

[magicdog]

Big news from Comic Con!

It's been revealed the Daniel will be making a visit to Okinawa in Season 3!

Nothing further is known but this could open a host of story possibilities.

[magicdog]

I came across this review of Cobra Kai and it's a hoot!  It's not often he gets to review good shows!  His other reviews are worth watching too!  

[magicdog]

Two KK alumni in one video about self defense:

William Christopher Ford (Dennis from KK3) and Ron Thomas (Bobby from KK1) teach some great self defense techniques.  Thomas uses Japanese jujitsu (not to be confused with Brazilian jujitsu).

[magicdog]

Bloopers!

Plus the vid includes announcements of when both seasons will be available for free streaming.

[magicdog]

Got a clue into what's coming up in Season 3:

According to this video which discusses a collection of Comic Con interviews from CK cast members, there WILL be fallout from the HS fight.

• The school will be bringing in law enforcement, parents and community leaders to discuss what occurred.

•  La Russo Auto and Cobra Kai will face consequences from parents.  Since Johnny is no longer involved with CK due to Kreese taking it from him, I'm curious how this will affect him.  Daniel could also end up losing his reputation and the dealership may suffer.

• Tory could face assault with a deadly weapon charges.

• Robby might not suffer serious consequences if he and Miguel claim self defense and if Miguel's family chooses not to press charges against him.

• Expulsion for some students is a distinct possibility.

• Robby is still on the run, so he apparently is not in police custody as of yet.   

[magicdog]

Some new potential spoilers for the upcoming season:

Ralph Macchio posted the cover of his script for the first episode table reading (shooting to begin on September 3rd).  This youtuber deciphered some of the text on the pages.

The first episode will be titled, "Aftermath".

There is a character called "Maria Nichols".  This could be Tory's mother - which means that could be her surname.  

There's also an "Officer Jackson";  probably the one called to investigate the fight.

[magicdog]

Title for Episode 2 seems to have been decoded!

It's,  "Little Ms. Perfect"

I suspect this one will focus on Sam.  I wouldn't be surprised if this were a derogatory name Tory uses to refer to her. 

Edited September 6, 2019 by magicdog

[magicdog]

Big news!

Nichole Brown, who plays Aisha has been let go from the cast!!

I'm not exactly sure why, but it seems they couldn't find a place for her in the cast now that Tory is there.  She lost a lot of weight based on her recent FB photos.  It also seems she has financial troubles  - she set up a gofundme page because her boyfriend totaled her car and she claims to have been sick recently.  She's also on Cameo; for $20.00 she can send you personalized well wishes.

[benteen]

Sad news.  The actor who played Tommy in The Karate Kid and who returned for Cobra Kai this season passed away at the age of 59.

Remembering Robert Garrison

[magicdog]

Quote

The actor who played Tommy in The Karate Kid and who returned for Cobra Kai this season passed away at the age of 59.

Damn.

I'm sorry to hear about his passing. 

I thought it was risky to have killed off Tommy (and wondered if he'd return in flashbacks or dream sequences) but I wonder if they didn't have an inkling his health wasn't good and that they should get him on the show before it would be too late.

[Robert Lynch]

On 9/20/2019 at 1:00 AM, magicdog said:

Big news!

Nichole Brown, who plays Aisha has been let go from the cast!!

I'm not exactly sure why, but it seems they couldn't find a place for her in the cast now that Tory is there.  She lost a lot of weight based on her recent FB photos.  It also seems she has financial troubles  - she set up a gofundme page because her boyfriend totaled her car and she claims to have been sick recently.  She's also on Cameo; for $20.00 she can send you personalized well wishes.

How would they explain her disappearance? So strange.....

[magicdog]

50 minutes ago, Robert Lynch said:

How would they explain her disappearance? So strange.....

Considering there will be fallout from the big school brawl, there could be a mention that Aisha's parents chose to take her out of CK and/or have her transfer to a different school.

[magicdog]

In the spirit of Daniel being the real bully in, "The Karate Kid", I give you, this:

"Sam LaRusso is the real villain in Cobra Kai"

[magicdog]

First page of the CK comic which retells "The Karate Kid" from Johnny's POV is seen here!

The video includes some comments from the IDK writer and the video host's thoughts.