Seasons 1 & 2 Discussion

[benteen]

On ‎5‎/‎20‎/‎2018 at 1:37 AM, haje said:

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. 

Well, I do like the un-PC nature of the show but I also like how realistic they're handling things.  Johnny has certainly helped out these kids like Miguel gain confidence and stand up to their bullies but he's realizing that his style of teaching is also leading them to be hyper-aggressive bullies themselves.  It would have been easy to ignore this but the show, to its credit, is exploring the consequences of this.  It keeps the characters from being one-dimensional.

[ketose]

9 hours ago, benteen said:

Well, I do like the un-PC nature of the show but I also like how realistic they're handling things.  Johnny has certainly helped out these kids like Miguel gain confidence and stand up to their bullies but he's realizing that his style of teaching is also leading them to be hyper-aggressive bullies themselves.  It would have been easy to ignore this but the show, to its credit, is exploring the consequences of this.  It keeps the characters from being one-dimensional.

Plus, one of the three outstanding students is female. The kids probably could have gotten better lessons, but Johnny was the only one offering and I think that marginalization is part of the reason why Cobra-Kai is so important to the students.

[Neiman]

We watched the first two episodes then signed up for YT Red the next night and watched the remaining ones.  Love this show!  Better than anything on TV and wish there were more episodes.  I think it's worth a subscription to Red.  

The only thing that really bothers me about the show is Daniel's son and the way the parents allow him to be such a little jerk/couch potato.

[paulvdb]

‘Cobra Kai’: Martin Kove Becomes Series Regular For Season 2 Of YouTube Show

[magicdog]

I had heard and I was thrilled to see him in the season 1 finale! 

It’s also awesome he is willing to revisit the character.

I am am curious if he really is Kreese or an hallucination of Johnny’s.  

Johnny had said Kreese was dead when he went to the commission to get reinstated for the tournament.  IIRC, in KK3, Silver had been the one to announce Kreese’s death.  Of course it’s possible Silver was lying to let Kreese take time to recoup after his disgrace.  Johnny didn’t know Silver (or Mike Barns) and it’s possible he heard about the death in passing from people in his friend circle.

[luckyroll3]

Just discovered that this was a thing this morning and spent the day binge watching the entire season.  So fucking great and that, in itself, was so unexpected.  The kids were all pretty awesome too.  (The actor who plays Robbie has been getting a lot of work recently....) Zabka was phenemenol.  I love that at his core, he's still a douche, but he also recognizes there are places where he went wrong and could have made better/different choices.  Too bad, he's recognizing that a bit too late with the kids.  I could have done with less Daniel, especially since he's the kind of douche who thinks he's a great guy.  I love that his wife continuously calls him out on his bullshit. 

Anxiously waiting for season 2.  

[magicdog]

I was rewatching and noticed a continuity error:

In "Molting", Johnny's car is trashed by Louie and his goons;  Johnny then jumps on a motorcycle and drives to Danny's place to have it out with him (not knowing that Danny had no idea what Louie was planning to do).  The car was trashed in the evening after dinner (sometime between 7 and 8pm) and it's dark outside.  By the next episode, "Different But Same", it's early morning when Johnny arrives and the family is getting ready for breakfast!!  I am not familiar with the L.A. area, but I don't think Reseda is 7-8 hours driving distance away from Encino Hills.  

[ketose]

On 5/28/2018 at 1:25 PM, magicdog said:

I was rewatching and noticed a continuity error:

In "Molting", Johnny's car is trashed by Louie and his goons;  Johnny then jumps on a motorcycle and drives to Danny's place to have it out with him (not knowing that Danny had no idea what Louie was planning to do).  The car was trashed in the evening after dinner (sometime between 7 and 8pm) and it's dark outside.  By the next episode, "Different But Same", it's early morning when Johnny arrives and the family is getting ready for breakfast!!  I am not familiar with the L.A. area, but I don't think Reseda is 7-8 hours driving distance away from Encino Hills.  

We really don't know when the car was trashed because Johnny was sitting in his apartment (possibly for some time) writing to Robbie before it happened. It could have been late at night.

[magicdog]

8 hours ago, ketose said:

We really don't know when the car was trashed because Johnny was sitting in his apartment (possibly for some time) writing to Robbie before it happened. It could have been late at night.

Officially no, but for Johnny to arrive during mid-morning, the car burning would have had to take place less than an hour before.  

[Virtual]

On May 26, 2018 at 7:53 PM, luckyroll3 said:

I could have done with less Daniel, especially since he's the kind of douche who thinks he's a great guy.  I love that his wife continuously calls him out on his bullshit. 

That's why Amanda is great for him. He himself seems to think he's never wrong (he had zero qualms about the other businesses he affected by jacking up the rent until she pointed it out), so he needs someone in his life to tell him how it really is.

[Conotocarious]

This was so much better than anything on network TV it’s not even funny. This is what a revival should be all about. It gets it totally right. Beloved old characters integral to the storyline but introducing new characters that I actually cared about. Miguel’s story was excellent.

[Robert Lynch]

On 5/31/2018 at 9:05 PM, Conotocarious said:

This was so much better than anything on network TV it’s not even funny. This is what a revival should be all about. It gets it totally right. Beloved old characters integral to the storyline but introducing new characters that I actually cared about. Miguel’s story was excellent.

This was really good. I am wondering if they would have done a revival of Goonies as well. I know there was some talk about it in a couple years back, but then it was kind of scrapped out. It was possibly due to Richard Donner's age, even though it was not entirely a Richard Donner film. It was all of Steven Spielberg's touches here and there. Since there is a lot of 80s revivals going on, would it be good to do Goonies as well?

[Conotocarious]

If they can do it as well as this one was done, why not? I’d watch it.

I binged Cobra Kai again with my husband this weekend and he loved loved loved it.

I do wonder why Sam didn’t tell Daniel that Aisha was a Cobra Kai and it seemed like Daniel had no reaction to her being one at the tournament. Surely he wouldn’t want her staying away from her oldest childhood friend?

Edited June 4, 2018 by Conotocarious

[magicdog]

The kids in the original film found the treasure and that was it.  Can you make a series based on subsequent generations finding a treasure in their backyards?

then again, before this show I wasn’t sure there were any stories left to tell about the KK universe, much less have them told well.

I don’t know about everyone else but I find myself rewatching the series a lot.  Sometimes I catch something I missed the first time, other times I look for the seeds of what will pan out in season 2.  

[magicdog]

Found this by chance - it shows Billy Zabka and the actors who played his fellow Cobra Kais (minus Chad McQueen/Dutch) doing an ice bucket challenge from 2014:

 

Nice to hear that Zabka keeps in close touch with his former co-stars.  Makes me wonder if they'll make appearances eventually.

[Robert Lynch]

On 6/4/2018 at 12:49 PM, magicdog said:

The kids in the original film found the treasure and that was it.  Can you make a series based on subsequent generations finding a treasure in their backyards?

then again, before this show I wasn’t sure there were any stories left to tell about the KK universe, much less have them told well.

I don’t know about everyone else but I find myself rewatching the series a lot.  Sometimes I catch something I missed the first time, other times I look for the seeds of what will pan out in season 2.  

But now there is a resurgence of 80s movies/shows being made into shows and lately a continuation of the Bill and Ted movies with the two original actors, excluding one actor who is no longer with us. So anything is possible.

[SCS]

On 6/5/2018 at 11:44 PM, magicdog said:

Found this by chance - it shows Billy Zabka and the actors who played his fellow Cobra Kais (minus Chad McQueen/Dutch) doing an ice bucket challenge from 2014:

 

Nice to hear that Zabka keeps in close touch with his former co-stars.  Makes me wonder if they'll make appearances eventually.

 

Great find! I'm taking the bolded sentence over to the Speculation thread...

[magicdog]

Ralph Macchio in this interview hints that we could have plenty more KK alumni visiting Cobra Kai!  According to him they're "campaigning" to be on the show (at 13:22)!

 

Maybe Elizabeth Shue/Ali could happen after all!

[Conotocarious]

Ralph was so funny and relaxed in that great interview. He seems like a really nice guy.

[methodwriter85]

Well, Robyn Lively definitely seems interested. She posted a throwback photo to her Instagram:

It would actually be nice to have someone in there that is just a friend of Daniel's with no romantic baggage there. Maye she could be the mother of one of the new Cobra Kai students?

Edited June 14, 2018 by methodwriter85

[magicdog]

13 hours ago, methodwriter85 said:

It would actually be nice to have someone in there that is just a friend of Daniel's with no romantic baggage there. Maye she could be the mother of one of the new Cobra Kai students?

I would think she'd be the mother of a Miyagi Do student.  It's Danny she knows after all!

Found this trivia sheet on "Karate Kid" and it definitely sheds some light on the characters as we know them in Cobra Kai:

Quote

Writer Robert Mark Kamen says he wanted Daniel to be “a wimp with a chip on his shoulder.”

Quote

William Zabka: “I look at it as [Daniel] is the villain. He takes his girlfriend.”

Quote

William Zabka: “I think it’s so easy for a boy to be drawn to a figure like that and be led astray.”

That last one I believe is a reference to Kreese.  Makes sense considering where they seem to be going next season.

 

I also found a few review and reaction sites on YT.  This one is a favorite of mine - seeing him react and comment while watching the show is interesting!  This one is fun too, plus he does other reaction vids.

This review is a podcast.  She's done 4 episodes so far and episode 5 is on the way.

[methodwriter85]

7 hours ago, magicdog said:

I would think she'd be the mother of a Miyagi Do student.  It's Danny she knows after all!

She could be Demitri's mother. I can see him joining the Miyagi Do.

[magicdog]

On 6/14/2018 at 7:51 PM, methodwriter85 said:

She could be Demitri's mother. I can see him joining the Miyagi Do.

I can totally see Sam, Robby and Dimitri as the counterpoint to Miguel, Hawk and Aisha.  Although, Sam & Aisha made up, so I don't think the writers will continue tension between them.  Miguel and Robby however........

[fluxx]

I finished up the first season last night. 

I actually really enjoyed it.

It was a shame that Miguel became toxic in the end and lost the girl. I really liked his character; I honestly through he would be the shining star to make Johnny realize you can be a little compassionate and still get the job done. But that wasn't the case Cobra Kai changed people for the worse.

Still, I'm looking forward to the next season. Was good entertainment.

[magicdog]

4 hours ago, fluxx said:

It was a shame that Miguel became toxic in the end and lost the girl. I really liked his character; I honestly through he would be the shining star to make Johnny realize you can be a little compassionate and still get the job done.

I agree.  I still think the change was a bit abrupt and from what I had seen, the CK kids (specifically Aisha and Hawk) seemed to be lacking in good sportsmanship.  Even Johnny had that when he was their age.  In Miguel's case, I think it's a combination of factors:  the "no mercy" mantra, hormones, jealousy (caused by an amount of insecurity when he saw Sam with Robby), and alcohol.  Remember also that from the beginning, his mom was against violence, which means his dad may have been a very violent person and she was worried he'd take after him.

Up until episode 9, I really liked Miguel and thought he was the perfect balance of his boy next door self and being able to defend himself with confidence.  I'm still hoping he'll take the right path eventually.

[ketose]

With a second season, I think there's a possible redemption arc. Cobra Kai did for these kids what it presumably did for Johnny. It gave them a group of friends and the confidence to stand up against their tormentors. It was kind of funny at the end because Miguel's friends and family all cheered what they believed was an honorable victory, and apparently he didn't actually break the tournament rules like Hawk did.

Of course, a lot of that competition didn't make much sense. Did Johnny just make all of his students Black Belts arbitrarily (like Myagi did)? Most of them seemed to do pretty well or very well considering they hadn't been doing it for years like most kids who "do" karate have.

[magicdog]

13 hours ago, ketose said:

Did Johnny just make all of his students Black Belts arbitrarily (like Myagi did)? Most of them seemed to do pretty well or very well considering they hadn't been doing it for years like most kids who "do" karate have.

Not the first time I've heard this.  It's usually chalked up to "Hollywood martial arts".  To go into detail of the color of belts and what it takes to get a black one would just interfere with the action.

[magicdog]

Found this article in Forbes Magazine about Martin Kove.  It seems he's been set up  to be a regular for not only season 2, but season 3 as well!

 

Quote

Well, Ralph Macchio, Billy Zabka and I have now been friends for 30 years. They came to me last September, we had dinner at Dan Tana's in Los Angeles, they told me that they wanted me to come in on the 10th episode of the series, that I would be a surprise and that I'd become a regular in seasons two and three. When Kreese turns up, the audience has no idea what he's been up to. They basically think he's dead. I'd been sworn to secrecy about this whole show. These writers on Cobra Kai are intelligent. These three men know more about our characters than we ever did and they convinced me to it.

 

Also mentioned was a potential spinoff for the character of Kreese that was pitched to him before Cobra Kai came along:

Quote

[A]bout six or eight months ago someone came to me with a script that was really good. It was set 30 years later, John Kreese was training horses for a living in Will Rogers State Park, he had mellowed out and his life had totally changed. It was fascinating. It didn't utilize our other major characters in the series but it was still a great draft, it was just bad timing. It came to me from these people in Pittsburgh but we couldn't use it because they couldn't get the rights because the series had just been sold. People come to me all the time with ideas and reboots but that was the first time that I was interested. 

Interesting!  I suppose the Kreese we saw in the finale wasn't Johnny's imagination after all!  Now I'm even more curious as to what he'll be doing on the show.

[magicdog]

I found this on YT - which is an interesting analysis of the show.

[kickedinthehead]

I, too, found this show surprisingly enjoyable . As a child, I watched all of the first three movies (or at least parts of them) but barely remember any of them, so my reason  for trying the show was mostly just curiosity. But I liked the first two episodes enough to take advantage of YouTube Red's free trial so I could binge-watch the rest (now I'll just need to remember to cancel!).

One of the few things I do remember about watching the movies as a kid is that my childhood self thought that Johnny was "sexy" and Daniel was "nerdy". My 39-year-old self also prefers Johnny to Daniel, but for less shallow reasons, which have already been articulated by others in this thread. Neither character is exactly "likable" but Johnny (flawed as he is) is genuinely compelling, whereas Daniel often in the show just comes across as... the thing that was spray-painted on his billboard. He does become a little more tolerable toward the end of the season, though. Both Ralph Macchio and William Zabka are great here, especially William Zabka. LOVED the REO Speedwagon scene!

I agree that Anthony is an insufferable character and wouldn't mind if they just write him out of Season 2 -- or at least give him something to do other than eat and make rude, obnoxious comments.

Like an earlier poster, I also wondered what became of Robby's two thug friends; the one was all, "You better WATCH YOUR BACK!" but then we never saw them again (maybe they'll be back in Season 2?). Another thing I wondered about: doesn't the high school have any faculty, aside from the principal (?) who called Johnny about Robby, and the "lunch lady" I thought I saw a brief flash of in the cafeteria fight scene?

Speaking of the high school characters; I recognized "Yasmine" from a Lifetime movie called 'The Bride He Bought Online' (in which she played basically the exact same character) but didn't know until after seeing her in this show that the actress is apparently from the town where I spent my teenage years, and  where  I currently work (the sprawling metropolis of Gig Harbor, Washington).

Now I kind of want to go back and watch the  movies again. Can't wait for Season 2!

Edited June 24, 2018 by kickedinthehead

[magicdog]

13 hours ago, kickedinthehead said:

Like an earlier poster, I also wondered what became of Robby's two thug friends; the one was all, "You better WATCH YOUR BACK!" but then we never saw them again (maybe they'll be back in Season 2?).

I'm certain they'll be back - if only to force Robby to change addresses.  They know where he lives and I wouldn't put it past them to try to get revenge on him by breaking into his mom's apartment to hurt him,  In the speculation thread I suggested this could be the impetus for Robby to move in with his dad and they'd rebuild their father son bond.

 

13 hours ago, kickedinthehead said:

Another thing I wondered about: doesn't the high school have any faculty, aside from the principal (?) who called Johnny about Robby, and the "lunch lady" I thought I saw a brief flash of in the cafeteria fight scene?

To be fair, Robby went to a different HS than the other teens in the show.  The principal said she was at North Hills High.  We only need to see teachers and other faculty on an as needed basis in this show I think.

[magicdog]

Found this interview with Elizabeth Shue which she did last fall.

[magicdog]

Found this clip of Chad McQueen (Dutch) from last year promoting the Ford Mustang in Ireland.

 

 

I never thought he looked too much like his dad when he was younger, but damn if he doesn't seem like a virtual clone now - right down to the voice and air of coolness!  If he agrees to appear on Cobra Kai - it could be an interesting turn!

[Runningwild]

Loved this show!!! It comes with my YouTube tv subscription so I didn’t have to pay extra for it. I loved that they were all flawed characters and very few were completely bad. And no one seemed to be completely good. 

 

The only thing I didn’t like was Daniel’s son almost bought me something on my Echo Dot. At least Alexa asked me to confirm before placing the order. 

 

Can't wait for S2. 

[magicdog]

Found an awesome review of the show (plus reviews and analysis for the first 3 KK movies) :

 

 

Afterbuzz did a lengthy 4 part discussion on season one which is also enjoyable (especially part 4, since they're each wearing a karate gi based on both dojos!)

Part 1:

 

Part 2:

 

Part 3:

 

Part 4:

[magicdog]

I found this by accident.

 

 

Color me surprised!

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Emmy nomination:

Outstanding Stunt Coordination For A Comedy Series Or Variety Program

[magicdog]

6 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Emmy nomination:

Outstanding Stunt Coordination For A Comedy Series Or Variety Program

I thought being a streaming show they weren’t eligible for Emmys?

Good to heat anywY!  But William Zabka deserves one as well!!  This show wouldn’t work without him and how he brings Johnny to life!

[Swartz]

Add me to the list of people who loved it!   I thought both Ralph and William were excellent. I liked the humor Ralph brought to the role.

Look forward to more seasons

[magicdog]

Found this cute nugget. It's a retro style credits sequence akin o the 70s or 80s style TV shows.  I thought it was well done!

 

[magicdog]

Attention fans:  A Retro 80s weekend is going on at the Washington State History Museum in Tacoma.  Sean Kanan (Mike Barnes) and Martin Kove (John Kreese) will be there for a Q & A on September 14-15.

 

One Cobra Kai fan on YT seems to think this confirms Kanan is coming back as Mike Barnes since there has been no other confirmation of that except for Kanan's saying so in that video from the George Lopez Charity Golf Tournament.  I wouldn't necessarily think so, but considering how many fans want to see as many KK actors make a return as possible, I'd like to think it's another way of promoting the show and character without formally announcing it. 

[methodwriter85]

Robyn Lively really, really wants to get invited to show up on Cobra Kai:

I haven't seen Karate Kid 3 in a long time, but from what I remember, they didn't have much chemistry, which is probably why Daniel stayed in the friend zone. It also might have been awkward if they did, because Ralph would have been about 25/26 when they filmed this and Robyn would have been 16/17. I do actually like the idea of Daniel having some good friends with no baggage from his past.

Edited August 9, 2018 by methodwriter85

[charmed1]

I’m only on episode 2, so unfortunately I can’t read most of this thread, but I’m looking forward to it. I just discovered this show, and I’m in love with it!

[magicdog]

It gets better as the season progresses!  Can’t wait to discuss it further!!

[magicdog]

On 8/8/2018 at 7:33 PM, methodwriter85 said:

I haven't seen Karate Kid 3 in a long time, but from what I remember, they didn't have much chemistry, which is probably why Daniel stayed in the friend zone.

I'd read that Ralph Macchio had married by the third film and asked that the relationship between Daniel and Jessica be kept chaste out of respect for his wife.  If true, that puts him a few notches higher than he already is in my book!

On another note, I found an interesting video on YT about another KK character who tends to get ignored when the film is discussed:  Freddy Fernandez.

You already probably saw the infamous satirical video about Daniel being the real bully but two different posters posed the theory that Freddy was the instigator of all the events of the first film and lead Daniel and Johnny into their rivalry in both karate, and Ali's affections.

This video I think is the better of the two but both make similar points about how it was Freddy who lured Daniel to the beach and challenge Johnny to a fight.  

Here's the other video.

Considering that Freddy is often forgotten since he all but disappears after the first act, and when we see the way he and his buddies act on the beach and interact with the Cobra Kai posse, it seems he's far worse than a fair weather friend!  Based on both video observations, it seems Freddy and his bunch wanted a champion to challenge Johnny (maybe to take him down a peg, maybe for fun) and since Daniel was puffing up his karate abilities, Freddy thought he'd found one.  

[methodwriter85]

4 hours ago, magicdog said:

I'd read that Ralph Macchio had married by the third film and asked that the relationship between Daniel and Jessica be kept chaste out of respect for his wife.  If true, that puts him a few notches higher than he already is in my book!

That makes a lot of sense. And again, probably for the best, given that Robyn would have 17 at maximum. Ralph may have still looked 18 but he wasn't really.

[magicdog]

Found this little gem on YT:  

 

Rather cool to see the actors who played Chozin and Kumiko reenact a KK2 scene - even if it's for laughs!

[magicdog]

Heads up fans in the NYC area:

NY Comic Con will be featuring Ralph Macchio and William Zabka (along with the show's executive producers) Sunday October 7th at 11 am at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in Javits Room 1A06

[magicdog]

Another well done analysis of the show. 

 

 

The same channel also did a video on the relationship between Daniel and Miyagi.

[Surrealist]

On 10/5/2018 at 4:09 PM, magicdog said:

Another well done analysis of the show. 

 

 

The same channel also did a video on the relationship between Daniel and Miyagi.

 

Thank you for sharing these videos. They appeal to my overly analytical academic side. Lol.