Seasons 1 & 2 Discussion

[Meredith Quill]

Discuss Here!

[Kromm]

Only seen Episode 1 so far, but it was really good.

 

Although Johnny is clearly shown as a jerk, it's interesting that Daniel comes off as something of a jerk too, at least from Johnny's perspective. Mostly clearly unintentionally, just by existing and being successful. but there is a certain element of Daniel being kind of smug, even when he's shown as being charitable or forgiving of the past.

[Kromm]

"How The Karate Kid TV Show Cobra Kai Did In The Ratings"

https://www.cinemablend.com/television/2414891/how-the-karate-kid-tv-show-cobra-kai-did-in-the-ratings

 

Quote

YouTube is reporting that 5.4 million people watched the first episode of Cobra Kai over the course of its first day live. The numbers YouTube executive Susanne Daniels reported to Decider are beyond impressive. While YouTube Red requires a paid monthly subscription, the first two episodes of the series were made available for free, which could play into the numbers. Albeit, that factor does nothing to diminish YouTube Red's accomplishment. Without the stellar promotion of its quality project, there would be no interest to begin with.

Making Cobra Kai's ratings success all the more impressive is how it fared in comparison to Netflix's reboot of the sci-fi series Lost in Space. According to Nielsen, the Netflix series was watched by 3.2 million viewers during its first day, which is significantly lower than what Cobra Kai achieved. Did we tell you Cobra Kai's ratings were a crane kick smackdown, or what?

Edited May 5, 2018 by Kromm

[Kel Varnsen]

Watched the first one. It was enjoyable, and coincidentally I showed my kids the first 2 karate kids movies a couple of weeks ago. Might watch the second, although there is no youtube red in Canada and after the second free one they cost $2.49 each, which seems steep to me for a 24 minute episode. Especially when i can watch a new movie like Jumanji for 5.99.

[shelley1234]

I'm over halfway thru and I like that Johnny is the Mr. Miyagi in this series.  It does really show that while he was a bully jerk in high school...that he was a victim too.  

Johnny taking Miguel in and teaching him karate to deal with the bullies and then Daniel teaching karate to Johnny's son Mr. Miyagi style.  I'm not even there yet but we know this is gonna end with those two competiting in the championship.   

I'd love to see those two run a dojo together, but that's probably a pipe dream. 

[PepperMonkey]

I watched the whole series and I liked it. For Daniel and Johnny, if not so much for some of the other characters. I didn't like the empowerment of the nerds at Cobra Kai; they became obnoxious, which may have had a purpose.

I think Daniel was supposed to be somewhat smug and insufferable; that was purposeful to the story. Johnny is a screw up who knows how he should behave but can't help slipping back into his old ways from time to time.

I've been viewing this whole thing as, ultimately, a redemption arc for Johnny who kind of never got over the whole all valley failure thing, even though he was making strides. It's also an interesting story about how things from high school can continue to invade our lives years later.

[Kromm]

Since Episodes 1 and 2 are in actuality posted in their entirety free and legal, there's no reason not to embed them here:

 

Episode 1:

 

 

 

 

Episode 2:

 

[Kromm]

Since they are complete, free and legal, to you know... rope people in... here's Eps 1 & 2 (well, in the media topic):

 

[Cthulhudrew]

I really enjoyed this series, with a few caveats:

1) I felt like they missed the boat with the bullying aspect of the storyline. I would have liked it to be more of a throughline than it was, with Johnny the former bully legitimately trying to deal with a real issue, while Daniel- the formerly bullied- wasn't really doing what he could to help. The conflict would have been between Johnny's overly-aggressive solution not really working, and Daniel deciding to take a more active hand in de-escalating things. That's obviously not exactly what the writers were going for and isn't a criticism of their idea, just what my preference would have been.

2) I feel like they could have wrapped up the story arcs in one season, IMO, rather than shooting for a second. That said, the writing was overall fairly tight, so I can't really say they "padded" it.

In any event, William Zabka killed it. Having only watched him growing up in the 80s as the quintessential bully, I genuinely didn't realize he had a greater range. As much of a jerk as Johnny is even in this season, WZ manages to express a deep inner conflict with the character that elevates him and makes him sympathetic. 

I especially loved the episode (8, I think?) where we see the Karate Kid storyline through his eyes rather than Danny's. While he still exhibits an unhealthy obsession with blaming others for his troubles, seeing certain aspects of the original movie through Johnny's POV definitely painted him in a different light. I kind of wish that story had come earlier in the season. Same for the Johnny/Daniel bonding of episode 9.

Overally, very impressed with what they managed to pull off here, and I honestly wasn't expecting to be.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Ralph Macchio, William Zabka, Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, & Hayden Schlossberg discuss Cobra Kai:

[Thomas Crown]

Loved it !!! Binged it all  yesterday. I really wasn't expecting this type of quality from Youtube and to think this series was billed as a comedy.  Far from it as it's more on drama than comedy.  Sure there a lot of funny one liners but it's definitely not a comedy.  You can tell that a lot of care was put into this by everyone involved in respecting the charm of the original movie.  Loved how they were able to integrate some of the songs from the original soundtrack and of course Bill Conti wonderful score. As others have mentioned, William Zabka was awesome in this. Bring on season 2. 

[RollingStone23]

I thought this was excellent. It really made me miss my childhood. Haha.

Didn't expect to bond with Johnny Lawrence so well but looking back he really wasn't that bad in the movie. 

William Zabka is obviously the MVP. I just love him! :)

Edited May 7, 2018 by RollingStone23

[raven]

I just binged this and thought it was really good.  Robby (Johnny's son) going from criminal in training to straight arrow kid was kind of an abrupt transition (and weren't his criminal pals caught on camera outside the dealership?  that never came up again) and I was confused as to why Daniel's cousin took a bat to Johnny's car - I guess because they realized Johnny was the one who painted the dick on Daniel's billboard - which was so funny, by the way; at least the reactions to it. 

Daniel clapping his hands Mr. Miyagi style and then calling "Medic:!" was also pretty funny.  You just know the standing-on-one-hand tactic was going to come in to play; I did like that they showed Robby practicing a little with his skateboard so his overall athleticism was at least believable.

Still, for the teens, Miguel got the biggest arc and I thought that really worked.   You can win the tournament and still not feel right because you broke up with your girl. 

Except for Ed Asner's nasty character, there were no out and out villains.   Daniel is smug and a hot head; Johnny is totally not PC, is too harsh, has been a bad father, but goes back to train Miguel and still has the heart to try to do the right thing.  You know at the tournament he didn't want to go Kreese's route.   If there's a second season, there are good themes to explore, about what he's been teaching the kids and how they are starting to be obnoxious bullies. 

This was really Johnny's story and William Zabka did a great job; just the right mix of hope, weariness, tough guy, drunken idiot...it wouldn't have worked without his performance. 

I remember seeing The Karate Kid in the movie theater as a teen and this hit all the right nostalgic beats and worked in bits from the movie really well.    I liked that Daniel kept Mr. Miyagi's place and will use that as his dojo. 

Bring on Season 2!

[Virtual]

This series does a great job of showing that things aren't always so simple, and even showed Daniel jumping to conclusions based on what he SEES. He thinks that Johnny is just trying to re-open Cobra Kai to fill kids' heads with that same stuff that John Kreese taught him. That isn't the case, but it's also understood why Daniel would come to that conclusion considering his history with Cobra Kai. I wonder if in Season 2 (if the series continues), Daniel will find out that Johnny is running things a different way. If he knew that Johnny only re-opened Cobra Kai to help those kids, he would understand.

I also enjoyed all the information we get on Johnny's life growing up.

His stepfather didn't care for him at all, and I forgot what he said happened to his real dad. But his mother seemed nice and wanted him to make friends when he struggled with that before his time with karate, though I get the impression she died when Johnny was still considerably young based on a line his stepfather said at the beginning of the show. So his main role models were his stepdad and John Kreese, who both ended up being bad for him.

It's understandable why Johnny had the aggressive and bullheaded values he had when Daniel first met him.

Hopefully Season 2 is brought on soon!

[marykat71702]

I am only halfway through, but Holy Cow, this show is great! 

[methodwriter85]

I only watched the first two episodes (because I am just not paying for YouTube Red) but I gotta say that Zabka did a fantastic job. His character was written as a guy who can't let go of the past and has fixated on this point being where he went all wrong, and that felt very realistic. And it kind of scared me, because I'm in my early 30's right now and kind of feeling like I got stuck in a rut. I could very well wake up in my early 50's like Johnny and being all, "Yikes!"

They should have had him keep the facial hair, though. He looks better with it.

On the flipside, I thought it was interesting how Daniel was inadvertently raising his kids in a spoiled, snobby world just by virtue of the kind of house they live in and the kind of people that want to befriend his daughter, who seemed to have gone up in social standing.

I wonder if they can get Elisabeth Shue to make a cameo on a season 2. It's not like she's doing much these days. Too bad this hadn't been picked up by Netflix or Hulu. I bet she would have appeared on that.

Edited May 7, 2018 by methodwriter85

[Princess Consuela]

OMG I LOVED this & it was a genius move doing the show through Johnny's eyes.   William Zabka was amazing - he's the reason you feel for Johnny & want things to change for him.   Just listening to him talk about his past & his life  - Daniel saw him one way & never realized that there was more going on & that his life wasn't as wonderful as it may have seemed - he had two horrible father figures that turned him into that bully & then to have that loss just hang over him & constantly being reminded of it by Daniel's ads & to just never being able to get past it.   I do also wonder if because of his own horrible father figures - he didn't think he could be a good one to Robbie & that's why he's kept him at arms length for all these years - thinking it's better for Robbie without him (even though you know he wants a relationship with him & vice versa) - I do hope if we get a season 2 we get more light shown on that relationship.

While I loved all the episodes - 8, 9 & 10 have to be the standouts - from hearing Johnny tell Miguel his version of what happened in HS, the sweet letter he started to Robbie, the reluctant bonding between Johnny & Daniel (watching them sing REO Speedwagon in the car was the best!!) & then watching Johnny at the tournament - always knowing what was going on with Robbie - constantly watching, running to him when he got hurt - wanting to be Robbie's father & be there for him but not really knowing how to do it & being jealous that Daniel has a better relationship with his son then he does.   And then watching his body language change & his demeanor drop when he heard Kreese's voice - he went from a 50 year old man to a teenager in that split second.    I do hope that if there is a season 2 - we don't get  Johnny backsliding & that he holds his own against Kreese.

[shelley1234]

I can't say I blame Daniel one bit for not seeing things thru Johnny's eyes.   Johnny and his friends were brutal bullies to him just in the same way that the cool kids were bullies to Miguel.  

As for why Johnny wasn't a dad to Robby, I'd place chronic alcoholism as the culprit.   

I did have some issues with them showing not once, but twice Johnny driving drunk and really showing no consequences for that....Daniel even joking about it when Johnny drove drunk back to his place.   

My only regret about the show, even though it is probably more realistic....is that they didn't find a way to have Johnny show Miguel that there is another way.  Miguel turned into that mean vicious guy who will go anything to win.   I had hoped that Johnny could help him see that No Mercy isn't the way to go and that you can stand up for yourself without becoming the bully.  

[benteen]

I finished this show on Saturday and I absolutely loved it.  I knew I would enjoy it but I didn't realize just how good the show would be.  It's already becoming a favorite of mine.

William Zabka (who I got to meet at NYCC a couple of years ago) absolutely shines here as Johnny.  He compared Johnny to "an analog man in a digital world" and I liked his funny, un-PC approach but he shows a lot of range here.  Nothing is cut and dry.  Macchio is really good here as well and I was impressed with the younger actors on the cast.  The actor playing Miguel was terrific and I liked how the show flipped their portrayal of him as well.  Johnny's teachings have done a lot for these kids but he doesn't seem to realize until its too late that his way of teaching is also leading to some of the same problems as the old Cobra Kai.

Very funny show as well.  I LOL'd when Daniel looked like he was going to recreate Miyagi's healing method. 

I can't wait for Season 2.

Edited May 7, 2018 by benteen

[Mojeaux]

Save a seat for me on the Cobra Kai train (after only 2 episodes--I'll get Red, I promise!). The scenes where Johnny was flashing back and visibly wincing was so poignant to me I got tears. And wanting to get out of the dealership without being seen! OMG, I ached. Not in a good way. I think he WANTS to do better, but doesn't know there is another way, much less how. Thank heavens I didn't peak in high school.

I loved that everything about Johnny screamed 1984: the music, his car, his lack of knowledge of what "kids are doing these days," his lack of PC-- He's not being rebellious to the times. He's just stuck in 1984.

I expect that he will learn as he goes. I expected him to be more humiliated by his business-owning failures in front of Miguel than he was. Those things will keep him from becoming Kreese.

I did not like Daniel. At. All. Smug, smarmy salesman. Introducing him to his salesmen like "yeah, the guy whose ass I kicked in high school." Daniel should've moved on from that, too. My sympathies were twinged when I saw him at home, but then he's doing nothing to keep his kids from being entitled brats. Maybe he doesn't know how to do that, sames as Johnny doesn't know how not to mimic Kreese. But I am highly sensitive to the hard sell and Daniel just squicked me out completely.

[CurlyATX]

Mr. Curly and I had the best time watching the two episodes.  I'm so cheap that I'm not sure about buying the others.  I looked for how to find them free and even my son said those sites were "sketchy".  I felt for a reunion show, the writing was incredibly tight.  

For those who paid- is it worth it? How much does it cost?

[raven]

31 minutes ago, CurlyATX said:

For those who paid- is it worth it? How much does it cost?

It is free for 30 days.  Just sign up, finish watching before 30 days are up and then cancel.   When I signed up, it says my first payment will be taken out the first week of June; they don't take any money now so no arguing about refunds.  I believe it is $9.99/month if you want to keep it.

 

8 hours ago, shelley1234 said:

I did have some issues with them showing not once, but twice Johnny driving drunk and really showing no consequences for that....Daniel even joking about it when Johnny drove drunk back to his place.   

I meant to mention this as well.   I was surprised that Daniel kept drinking with Johnny, knowing once of them would have to drive home.

I did like Daniel's wife's reaction to the Daniel/Johnny standoff at Daniel's home - basically, WTF are you two grown men doing??  Then they both stood down and went in to have an uncomfortable breakfast, so at least they were attempting to handle things as adults.

6 hours ago, Mojeaux said:

My sympathies were twinged when I saw him at home, but then he's doing nothing to keep his kids from being entitled brats.

I think the son was an entitled brat but the daughter wasn't.  Yeah, she was annoyed when Mom took her toys but any teen would be. 

[Thomas Crown]

11 hours ago, Princess Consuela said:

the reluctant bonding between Johnny & Daniel (watching them sing REO Speedwagon in the car was the best!!) 

Yes it was :-) So many little things to love about season 1 and the above scene of them bonding ranks up there for me.  I have a feeling that at one point in future seasons we'll have both Johnny and Daniel team-up in a fight.  

[paulvdb]

I had expected them bonding to happen at some point, but I guess we'll have to wait for a future season to see it stick. Maybe the return of Kreese will be a catalist for a more permanent bonding between them.

[Princess Consuela]

12 hours ago, Thomas Crown said:

Yes it was :-) So many little things to love about season 1 and the above scene of them bonding ranks up there for me.  I have a feeling that at one point in future seasons we'll have both Johnny and Daniel team-up in a fight.  

Oh yes - I would love that too - I do think Kreese coming back could be the catalyst for Daniel & Johnny working together (because I don't think Johnny wants to go back to what he was when Kreese was in his life)

And Amanda telling them not to get blood in the pool was hilarious & their reaction to it was priceless.   They just feed off each other so well - this show really wouldn't have worked without them.

[revbfc]

What I’m loving about the over-saturation of tv shows, is that traditional storytelling  needs to be tweaked, and the audience needs to be challenged.  I loved this show, and I want a season two so Johnny and Danny can become the friends they know they can be.  That has to be their journey.  They need each other.

[DarkRaichu]

I like this series and watched everything in 1 weekend :P  Both Zabka and Macchio worked well with each other.  I like Miguel and the other kid characters. 

I enjoy how the show potrait how both the kids and adults characters learned from each other (a la Miyagi and Daniel in the movies), without making a big deal out of those scenes.  

I like how after the tournament, it started to sink for both Johnny and Miguel that it was lonely on the top without the ones they love.

I think Daniel's life started to fall apart when Mr Miyagi died in 2011 (per tombstone).  Timeline kind of fit.  His daughter stopped doing karate with him about 8 years ago. Maybe at that point he stopped doing karate too.  Probably he started to spoil his then 3 year old boy who became the 10 year old spoiled brat we saw.

 

I wished the season had 1 or 2 more episode so it would have more time to slowly transform the Cobra Kai kids from normal kids to semi vicious.  Having them vicious and mean in the tournament was a bit jarring.  I would also give more time for Daniel to teach/mentor Robby.  

Also how did Sam learn her acrobatic moves?  Those did not look like Miyagi-do.  Did she take taekwondo class on the side ??? :P

 

On 5/7/2018 at 8:12 AM, shelley1234 said:

My only regret about the show, even though it is probably more realistic....is that they didn't find a way to have Johnny show Miguel that there is another way.  Miguel turned into that mean vicious guy who will go anything to win.   I had hoped that Johnny could help him see that No Mercy isn't the way to go and that you can stand up for yourself without becoming the bully.  

I hope this is addressed in season 2.   I do not think Johnny realized that yeat.  With Kresse coming back, perhaps Johnny will come to reconsider the "No Mercy" rule and then teach that lesson to Miguel.

Edited May 8, 2018 by DarkRaichu

[Surrealist]

I had heard about this show. It's because of this forum popping up at the top of my page that I decided to check it out. I watched the first two (free) episodes and was hooked. I had no problem signing up for the 30-day free trial to binge watch the remaining episodes last night.

I enjoyed seeing the evolution (de-evolution) of Johnny and Daniel. I agree with those of you who mentioned that Daniel was smug. I didn't hate him, but he did have the holier-than-thou aspect about him. I also agree with @DarkRaichu that it's obvious Daniel's life fell apart after Mr. Miyagi died. (I miss Pat Morita.) 

I never totally hated Johnny's character in the original movie. I always suspected he had an interesting backstory that was never really explored because the story was focused on Daniel being uprooted from Jersey and becoming the outsider in SoCal. I'm glad this series is focused more on Johnny's perspective. Sure, he's still an asshole, but now I have a better understanding of why. He started out as an outsider in the way Daniel became. I'm hoping for a second season so the writers can focus on the relationship between Johnny and Daniel because there are so many parallels both characters are now aware of.

Also, I'm with Johnny about Daniel's use of the crane technique in the final seconds of that match. If I recall correctly, kicks to the face were considered illegal, no? If so, then technically, Daniel should have been disqualified.

The twist of the bullied kids becoming creeps was good, but probably should have been built up more gradually. It was a bit herky jerky for my taste, but I realize they only have 10 episodes to present some of the story arcs. I like Miguel and Robby. Both are complex characters and I look forward to seeing what the writers do with them. I kept wondering if by Miguel's mother inviting Johnny to dinner, if the writers were going to put those two into a relationship. That would be an interesting development. He's been more of a father figure to Miguel than to Robby.

I loved seeing Ed Asner as Johnny's asshole stepfather. That was a pleasant surprise.

Oh, and I definitely looking forward to Martin Kove returning as Sensei Kreese.

LOVE THIS SHOW.

Edited May 9, 2018 by Surrealist

[paulvdb]

‘Cobra Kai’ Renewed For Season 2 By YouTube

Quote

YouTube has ordered a second season of Karate Kid sequel Cobra Kai. Starring Ralph Macchio and William Zabka, the 10-episode, half-hour series will begin production this fall and debut on YouTube Red in 2019.

[benteen]

5 minutes ago, paulvdb said:

‘Cobra Kai’ Renewed For Season 2 By YouTube

Cobra Kai never dies!

[Surrealist]

2 hours ago, paulvdb said:

‘Cobra Kai’ Renewed For Season 2 By YouTube

Yaaaaaaassssss! 

[raven]

3 hours ago, benteen said:

Cobra Kai never dies!

Strike hard!!! Woo!!

[benteen]

On the subject of Kreese showing up again, I remember thinking the entire time that when Johnny started up Cobra Kai again, Kreese probably still had ownership of the name/brand.  Johnny, not exactly being business savvy, wouldn't realize that.  So I suspect that will be the reasoning for Kreese hanging around next year.

Edited May 11, 2018 by benteen

[methodwriter85]

2 hours ago, benteen said:

On the subject of Kreese showing up again, I remember thinking the entire time that when Johnny started up Cobra Kai again, Kreese probably still had ownership of the name/brand.  Johnny, not exactly being business savvy, wouldn't realize that.  So I suspect that will be the reasoning for Kreese hanging around next year.

I saw the clip of the ending. The subtext definitely seemed to be, "Did you really think you could re-start the Cobra Kai dojo and I wouldn't know about it? I own the name, and therefore I own you. Now I'm swooping in to make sure you don't screw this up."

[Surrealist]

10 hours ago, benteen said:

On the subject of Kreese showing up again, I remember thinking the entire time that when Johnny started up Cobra Kai again, Kreese probably still had ownership of the name/brand.  Johnny, not exactly being business savvy, wouldn't realize that.  So I suspect that will be the reasoning for Kreese hanging around next year.

I would think that Kreese still had the rights to the Cobra Kai name and brand. Eventually, he went broke and brought in his super wealthy, slimeball war buddy Terry Silver to open up more Cobra Kais. I don't know if that meant Terry wound up with part-ownership in exchange for a cash infusion.

7 hours ago, methodwriter85 said:

I saw the clip of the ending. The subtext definitely seemed to be, "Did you really think you could re-start the Cobra Kai dojo and I wouldn't know about it? I own the name, and therefore I own you. Now I'm swooping in to make sure you don't screw this up."

I got the same vibe from that scene. I can't wait until next season.

[Robert Lynch]

I am watching the first two episodes and so far it is pretty good. I was a little off put when they revived a series done by a deceased director, but so far this was done with heart. I am impressed. Would it be awesome to revived The Goonies as well? While that movie has actors that are no longer with us, it would be nice to see what the whole gang is up to after the movie. 

[ketose]

19 hours ago, Surrealist said:

I would think that Kreese still had the rights to the Cobra Kai name and brand. Eventually, he went broke and brought in his super wealthy, slimeball war buddy Terry Silver to open up more Cobra Kais. I don't know if that meant Terry wound up with part-ownership in exchange for a cash infusion.

I got the same vibe from that scene. I can't wait until next season.

I think Silver always owned Cobra Kai, but he gave it to Kreese because they were war buddies.

BTW, I used a prepaid debit card to sign up for Red. I also plan to cancel. Their inventory really isn't worth $120 a year.

One funny thing is that Johnny reinterpreted the rules of Cobra Kai, but the students were the ones taking it too far. Hawk disqualified himself with a cheap shot. Miguel exploited Robbie's injury, which could be considered dirty, even if it was legal. Johnny didn't tell them to do those things like Kreese did in the first movie. And Aisha ended up assaulting someone who didn't actually threaten her physically.

I ended up watching the original movie just before Cobra Kai. It's interesting how those "Daniel was the villain" videos are convincing until you see the whole story. Of course, Johnny's redemption arc was shorted and added to the sequel. Kreese has some issues with his teaching. Johnny may just be a bad teacher because he doesn't understand the impact he has on his students.

[retrograde]

I'm a huge Karate Kid fan and had pretty low expectations for this, but really enjoyed it! I expected a lame parody, but it wasn't that at all. There were just enough knowing winks to the audience, while the actual storylines and characters were surprisingly well fleshed out and went in some interesting directions. The humor actually reminded me a lot of Mean Girls in its self awareness.

The John Kreese appearance at the end was perfect. 

The quality of the actors' karate when stunt doubles weren't used was pretty bad (but not as bad as in The Next Karate Kid) and the tournament made even less sense than in the movies -- there seemed to be no age, weight or even gender categories, and one guy appeared to be doing capoeira. Also they seem to have ret-conned out Karate Kid III, where Daniel's apartment building is demolished and he has already moved on from Elisabeth Shue

[Jediknight]

10 hours ago, ketose said:

One funny thing is that Johnny reinterpreted the rules of Cobra Kai, but the students were the ones taking it too far. Hawk disqualified himself with a cheap shot. Miguel exploited Robbie's injury, which could be considered dirty, even if it was legal. Johnny didn't tell them to do those things like Kreese did in the first movie. And Aisha ended up assaulting someone who didn't actually threaten her physically.

Johnny told them "No mercy", but, yeah, he never told Miguel or Hawk to do that shit.  He told Miguel to win correctly, he didn't wan Miguel to go after the shoulder.  It hit him that he liked training the bullied, but realized that some of his methods have turned them into students that Kreese would be proud of.  Johnny liked teaching them, giving them confidence, and getting them to the point they'll stand up to bullies, but hated what some of them turned into.  Heck, he didn't even look happy that Aisha told Xander to "Eat shit" and stormed off.

Looks like they're setting up Hawk to be Kreese's top student, and the main vicious douche in season 2.  Also setting up that Johnny and Kreese will clash, and I'd imagine Johnny will go to Daniel for help, because he wants Kreese out, and is afraid of what's happening to Miguel.  I'm also guessing Robby's old friends will join up with Kreese, and possibly Kyler.  So we'll have Hawk as the vicious asshole, Kreese vs Johnny, Johnny trying to connect with Robby, and Daniel, Johnny, Sam, Aisha (I'd imagine she'll leave Cobra Kai under Kreese), and Robby trying to also get Miguel away from Kreese.

[ShadowHunter]

My only problem with this show is that it's on You Tube Red.  Since Season 1 was the free trial means that it will coast 9.99$ to watch 8-10 episodes of Season 2.  Cant sign up every year for a free trial lol.  I have Netflix and Hulu but still not enough.

Everything else was great though. Loved the soundtrack. Great 80's songs and Bill Conti's score.

Wen Daniel put his gear on and the music hit was awesome. Sweet moment when he visited Mr. Miyagi.

William Zabka was really good in this look forward to more of Johnny.  He is trying but still messes up.  I agree he didn't want his students to cheat to win.  It reminded me of when Kreese told him to 'Sweep the Leg" and that look that crossed his face. It is sweet in a way he still has the head band Ali gave him. He wore that in the Karate kid too.  I didn't realize they had been together for 2 years. He still seems hung up on her.   It would be great if Ali could come back again but it depends on Elisabeth Shue.  

The last we saw of Kreese and Johnny together was when he put him in a choke hold in the opening of part 2 so the interaction between them should be interesting. 

Johnny and Daniel singing REO Speedwagon together and getting drinks was funny. 

Nice they brought up Mike Barnes and Terry Silver.  Wonder if we will see them?

[Robert Lynch]

22 hours ago, ShadowHunter said:

My only problem with this show is that it's on You Tube Red.  Since Season 1 was the free trial means that it will coast 9.99$ to watch 8-10 episodes of Season 2.  Cant sign up every year for a free trial lol.  I have Netflix and Hulu but still not enough.

Everything else was great though. Loved the soundtrack. Great 80's songs and Bill Conti's score.

Wen Daniel put his gear on and the music hit was awesome. Sweet moment when he visited Mr. Miyagi.

William Zabka was really good in this look forward to more of Johnny.  He is trying but still messes up.  I agree he didn't want his students to cheat to win.  It reminded me of when Kreese told him to 'Sweep the Leg" and that look that crossed his face. It is sweet in a way he still has the head band Ali gave him. He wore that in the Karate kid too.  I didn't realize they had been together for 2 years. He still seems hung up on her.   It would be great if Ali could come back again but it depends on Elisabeth Shue.  

The last we saw of Kreese and Johnny together was when he put him in a choke hold in the opening of part 2 so the interaction between them should be interesting. 

Johnny and Daniel singing REO Speedwagon together and getting drinks was funny. 

Nice they brought up Mike Barnes and Terry Silver.  Wonder if we will see them?

You think we will see Tamyln Tomita reprising her role as Kumiko in the near future? I know she is busy with The Good Doctor, but it would have been nice for Daniel to bump into her in the near future. 

Edited May 16, 2018 by Robert Lynch

[ShadowHunter]

1 hour ago, Robert Lynch said:

You think we will see Tamyln Tomita reprising her role as Kumiko in the near future? I know she is busy with The Good Doctor, but it would have been nice for Daniel to bump into her in the near future. 

That would be cool but they may not want to bring back an ex girlfriend of Daniel's.  Not all of them anyway.

It was cool when Robbie did the hand stand kick move. I hope he wins next time. 

[Virtual]

I think it's interesting how Kreese was the one with no moral restrictions in the original Karate Kid movies, doing anything  to make sure his students won (even having them injure their opponent), and even a 17 year old Johnny looked wide-eyed when Kreese told him to break Daniel's leg in the tournament. In this series, Johnny's students came to that mentality themselves even though Johnny was trying to steer them away from it. Don't underestimate the power of having confidence raised because of a "no mercy" mantra.

Mike Barnes has been confirmed for Season 2 (which has also been confirmed! Too bad we all have to wait until 2019...), so I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if they had Terry Silver make a surprise appearance too, with him, Kreese and Barnes trying to take over the Cobra Kai dojo from Johnny by getting the students to follow them. That'd be the worst thing to happen for those students, though.

Oh, and also, Johnny's side of the story of the things that happened with he and Ali are what I'd suspected long before this series came along. I'd figured that she and Johnny had a fight before Daniel came along, and she ended things while Johnny hoped they could get back together. Ali later left Daniel in a worse way, which was my main reason for suspicion.

[benteen]

10 hours ago, ShadowHunter said:

That would be cool but they may not want to bring back an ex girlfriend of Daniel's.  Not all of them anyway.

It was cool when Robbie did the hand stand kick move. I hope he wins next time. 

Yeah, I imagine Elizabeth Shue is the one they want to get back the most.

Has the Mike Barnes actor been confirmed?  I haven't read anything officially.

[Princess Consuela]

29 minutes ago, benteen said:

Yeah, I imagine Elizabeth Shue is the one they want to get back the most.

Has the Mike Barnes actor been confirmed?  I haven't read anything officially.

Yes Sean Kanan (Mike) tweeted that he was going to be in season 2 & has already started workouts for it.   I do hope they can work out a way to get Elizabeth Shue to make an appearance in season 2

[shelley1234]

I think it would be more authentic if Johnny followed Kreese because it is often what happens when someone's abuser comes back in their life.   Johnny doesn't have the skills or the support to stand up to him, so instead of that fight, he'll fall in line.   I might be a good arch that Daniel might be the person to get through to him that he doesn't have to let Kreese control him, however in my experience with abuse and trauma, that isn't something Johnny is going to be able to do simply and easily, at least it shouldn't be.  

[methodwriter85]

On 5/16/2018 at 9:07 AM, Princess Consuela said:

Yes Sean Kanan (Mike) tweeted that he was going to be in season 2 & has already started workouts for it.   I do hope they can work out a way to get Elizabeth Shue to make an appearance in season 2

I would kind of love it if Ali just vaguely remembered the two of them as guys she dated in high school. Just pleasant but very dusty memories that she completely moved on from. Johnny apparently really needs that closure, it looks like.

[magicdog]

Just saw all ten episodes and I'm impressed!  I loved the original KK film and when the trailer for this show came along i was surprised to say the least.  I didn't think there was a story to tell after 4 movies.  I was wrong!

I loved the majority of the cast, the callbacks and Easter eggs to the films, and I can't wait to see what's coming in Season 2!

The one I can't stand is Anthony!  He a little Fatty McButter who needs to cut his hair and stop acting like the spoiled brat he is!!  I had hoped Daniel would have thrown him in the pool during the party at the country club!

Samantha is starting to wise up a little and she'll be staying away from the popular kids.  Nothing good comes of that crowd anyway!

I really was rooting for Johnny to get his life together.  I do wonder how long it's going to be before we see him in an AA meeting - or getting a liver transplant!  There are times (like the billboard incident) when I think Johnny is still a 17 year old in a man's body.  I also had trouble believing he had never heard of FB or even a website for the dojo before Miguel got to it.  Sure, Johnny's an analog guy in a digital world, but it's not as if he was in a coma for the past 34 years!   I also hope he can patch things up with Robby.  His ex seems like a real piece of work!

Speaking of Robby, I hope his former associates don't come back to exact revenge!  They know where he lives after all and I wouldn't put it past them to break in and do some damage.

Daniel is out of balance and it's definitely a by-product of Mr. Miyagi's passing 7 years prior.  The episode dedicated to the character (and Pat Morita) was quite touching and the scene where Daniel visited his grave brought tears to my eyes.  He admitted he'd been letting his anger get the better of him lately and at least that's a step in the right direction for him.  He was rather petty to mess with Johnny by getting his rent raised and trying to keep Cobra Kai from being reinstated by the karate commission.  Johnny isn't the only one with one foot in the past, and it's interesting how Daniel is still obsessed with his old rival.  You'd think they fought that tournament yesterday, not 1984.

Daniel apparently has also had enough with his cousin Louie!  Methinks he had lots of run-ins with the law back in Jersey and Daniel's mother begged her son to hire him since he was family and needed another chance.  Setting fire to Johnny' car was pretty stupid.

I liked Miguel but I'm concerned he's turning into Teen Johnny 2.0.  I had a hunch the alcohol Johnny served him following a personal win was going to come back somehow and I was right.  Here's hoping he gets reined in before things get really bad.  I do give him props for not abandoning his friends when he gained confidence with his karate.  Seeing him finally win in his fight with Kyler and his gaggle was awesome!  Bonus seeing a neutered  Kyler who would carefully duck out whenever Miguel was around! 

Miguel's grandmother was a hoot and I liked how she countered his mom's overprotective tendencies.   I'm curious as to who his dad is, perhaps Mike Barnes or Terry Silver?  Either could have sweet talked his mom and still be a threat to her when she left.

I loved seeing Daniel and Johnny in the car and at the bar.  Those two are more alike than they realize.  I hope they'll become friends eventually.  Everytime it seems they come to an understanding only for something to put them at odds again.

The continuation overall, was handled well!  I noticed on YT comment sections for the episodes (and critics' pages reviewing the show) mentioned a lot of comparisons to The Last Jedi (and by extension The Force Awakens) as how to revisit old characters in an updated setting.  Most of the comments on TLJ were about the writers' disrespect for the original characters, the Star Wars universe and the fans.  Viewers of Cobra Kai noted how the characters in this show were treated with respect.  Sure they're flawed, but they're not written to be so out of character that they aren't recognizable or doing things they wouldn't (or at least having a reason).   The writers love and respect the Karate Kid universe and its characters.

On 5/16/2018 at 8:51 AM, shelley1234 said:

I think it would be more authentic if Johnny followed Kreese because it is often what happens when someone's abuser comes back in their life.   Johnny doesn't have the skills or the support to stand up to him, so instead of that fight, he'll fall in line. 

Possible, but Johnny had a great moment when he visited his stepdad and paid him back.  He stood up to him and it was great to see.  Granted, Kreese will be harder, but I'd like to think he will eventually.

[haje]

This show is incredibly bingeable and quite fun. My only real complaint is less the show itself but more how I'm seeing certain people react to the show. It's been really off putting seeing certain people go "Finally a show that's anti-pc and about being REAL men" and especially off putting when its people, mostly dudes, who have somehow seen the entire 10 episodes and have come to the conclusion that the Cobra Kai way is superior in every way even though the final episode is basically Johnny realizing that what he's done is basically teach the same kind of toxic lessons taught to him by an abusive teacher and he's just repeated that cycle. Half of the reason I grew to like the show in the first place is that they had Johnny come to this realization. It's a great first step into him genuinely growing as a person. Of course, Kreese coming back could possibly mess this up and I hope season 2 really delves into that relationship.

I do hope Miguel realizes that he's gone too far and doesn't fully turn dark-side. I really liked his relationship with Johnny and if I had to pick between him and Robby, to me, he's by far the better actor and the more interesting character. I care about Robby in that I hope he and Johnny eventually mend their relationship but less so about him as a character whereas with Miguel I genuinely care about what happens to that kid. 

[Littlebitofcheese]

I binge watched the whole thing last night. Really enjoyed it from a different perspective. I would have liked to have seen a little less Daniel in this whole thing and had more time with Johnny and for Miguel and his friends. 

Biggest complaint I have is the perception of aggressive karate being "bad" or "evil". Miguel was told to be on the offensive and he did just that, unlike Johnny he didn't take the shot to the knee at the end. I think if your going to look at this show from the Cobra Kai perspective then they kind of overdosed it with Daniels karate and perspective and family ( Who came off as rich and pompas by the way).

I am hoping that in season 2 that both main characters learn to move on from the past and maybe mutually do what's best for Robbie and Miguel..... who by the way crushed his role.  William Zabka really did a good job overall bringing this back !