Seasons 1 & 2 Discussion

[Aim123]

On 9/14/2020 at 3:06 PM, norcalgal said:

THIS!  The threats were made when the kids were in their classroom(s). Then seemingly, the entire school body was let out of class to roam wherever - nevermind the entire school heard a threat being made over the PA system.

I live in CA, and they have a cop on campus at our town's high school. That cop would have called for backup immediately and not only that; they would've done some sort of lockdown. We had a lady (with a mental illness) throw a rock at the school office's window and shatter it last year. The front desk woman in the office pushed some sort of secret button on the bat phone and within minutes the entire school was locked down (all classroom doors were locked and no one was allowed to leave where they were.) 

[PumpkinLumpkin]

Cobra Kai Renewed for Season 4; Season 3 Debuts on January 8th, 2021

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/cobra-kai-gets-early-season-4-renewal-at-netflix?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social

New Teaser Trailer Season 3 

 

[magicdog]

Looks like Robby DOES get sent to juvie!

Daniel chides Johnny for (possibly) the violence at school.

Miguel wakes up (yeah, not surprised at that one!  I get annoyed every time some kid asks, "Is he alive??") 

Johnny and Kreese have facial injuries!  Did they fight again?  Or was it someone else involved in the fight?

Johnny also ends up in jail again!  Looks like it was same day as the visit to Miguel in the hospital (same clothes).  Curious as to what he was arrested for this time.  Maybe doing something while drunk after leaving his car at the beach? 

Edited October 2, 2020 by magicdog

[TigerLily20]

1 hour ago, magicdog said:

Looks like Robby DOES get sent to juvie!

Johnny also ends up in jail again!  Looks like it was same day as the visit to Miguel in the hospital (same clothes).  Curious as to what he was arrested for this time.  Maybe doing something while drunk after leaving his car at the beach? 

 

I am not thinking it's Johnny in jail but maybe visiting Robby?.....either way I may set a countdown clock to January 8th lol

[DeeDee79]

I've just started watching now that the series is on Netflix and I really love it. I watched KK1 & KK2 but didn't watch beyond that point so Mike Barnes and Terry Silver aren't familiar to me. I'm only on season 1 but so far I'm really invested in Johnny's character and seeing him redeem himself from his past actions and failures. Of the kids Miguel is my favorite. He has a lot of heart, is very sweet and I enjoy the interactions between him and Johnny. I'm mostly lukewarm on Daniel at this point though I hope that I enjoy him more as I continue watching. In the movies I felt sorry for Daniel when he was being bullied but he was a bit of a jerk as well ( bitching Ali out at Golf N Stuff without getting her side, being a smartass to his mom who wanted a better life, giving Mr. Miyagi attitude right after he saved his life ) so nostalgia didn't automatically draw me to his character. He's not a bad guy overall; he's just there. And I finally remember what I've seen the actress in that plays Amanda: she's Sheldon Cooper's sister Missy! 

[DeeDee79]

On 9/3/2020 at 12:09 PM, monakane said:

And damn, Johnny Lawrence grew into a very attractive man.

 

On 9/3/2020 at 2:06 PM, CeceliaBedelia said:

You ain't kidding. 

I totally agree with you both. I've been hearing for years about how Ralph Macchio looks so amazing and he does look great for his age but Billy Zabka is pretty hot too.

[nachomama]

Am I wrong in thinking Ralph macchio is wearing a hairpiece? 

[Mr. Sparkle]

1 hour ago, nachomama said:

Am I wrong in thinking Ralph macchio is wearing a hairpiece? 

I honestly don't know if you're right or wrong, but you're not the only one who thinks so. 

 

[magdalene]

4 hours ago, DeeDee79 said:

 

I totally agree with you both. I've been hearing for years about how Ralph Macchio looks so amazing and he does look great for his age but Billy Zabka is pretty hot too.

And Zabka is a really smart guy, he made this documentary or something that is supposed to be really good. He was nominated for an Academy Award for it.

Edited October 4, 2020 by magdalene

[DeeDee79]

7 minutes ago, magdalene said:

And Zabka is a really smart guy, he made this documentary or something that is supposed to be really good.

Is that the film that he received the Oscar nod for?

[magdalene]

51 minutes ago, DeeDee79 said:

Is that the film that he received the Oscar nod for?

Yes, he did.

[ShadowHunter]

Thrilled we are getting a Season 4. Can't wait for S3.

I see Robby is probably in Juvie and while he should be I think most of the kids during that fight should be in trouble. Community service or something.  Since the school did not care enough to stop the fight sooner I guess none of them get expelled from school? Lol.

[DeeDee79]

47 minutes ago, magdalene said:

Yes, he did.

That’s pretty awesome. I’m glad to see him getting more exposure with Cobra Kai.

[DeeDee79]

I'm watching season 2 now and I'm amazed that Daniel is even more smug and insufferable than he was in season 1. He is so unpleasant and judgmental that I found myself running through a few of his scenes because I just got tired of hearing him speak. After Samantha I think that he's the most annoying character. 

[snickers]

On 10/3/2020 at 11:30 PM, ShadowHunter said:

Since the school did not care enough to stop the fight sooner I guess none of them get expelled from school? Lol.

Man, I love me some cobra Kai but that fight was sooooo over the top.....

I get they wanted something big and didn’t want to repeat a tournament....but....really?

but I am looking forward to season 3!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[DoctorAtomic]

I don't see why the fight couldn't have been off school grounds somewhere, like at a party again. 

[Raja]

4 hours ago, DoctorAtomic said:

I don't see why the fight couldn't have been off school grounds somewhere, like at a party again. 

Emotions ran high and Mr. Miyagi wasn't there to negotiate to wait for a tournament showdown 

[Virtual]

It'll be a shame that Robby will probably be kicked out of school for what happened, but the onus was on him to control whether or not he was going to put himself into a situation that had dire consequences.

As for the S3 trailer overall and premiere date announcement: FINALLY! :) I thought we were gonna get it this year at first, since the previous two seasons aired in 2018 and 2019, but 3 months isn't insanely far off.

[TheLastKidPicked]

On 10/3/2020 at 3:32 PM, DeeDee79 said:

 

I totally agree with you both. I've been hearing for years about how Ralph Macchio looks so amazing and he does look great for his age but Billy Zabka is pretty hot too.

 

On 10/3/2020 at 8:00 PM, magdalene said:

And Zabka is a really smart guy, he made this documentary or something that is supposed to be really good. He was nominated for an Academy Award for it.

Something I noticed is that when you watch interviews with different actors, Billy Zabka is very respectful and allows the others to speak without interrupting them.  He has a quiet confidence about him and is happy to take a half a step back and allow others into the spotlight.

 

[DeeDee79]

6 hours ago, TheLastKidPicked said:

 

Something I noticed is that when you watch interviews with different actors, Billy Zabka is very respectful and allows the others to speak without interrupting them.  He has a quiet confidence about him and is happy to take a half a step back and allow others into the spotlight.

 

I noticed that too! He seems like a genuinely nice person. It makes me root harder for Johnny. 😊

[Quilt Fairy]

On 9/3/2020 at 11:09 AM, monakane said:

And damn, Johnny Lawrence grew into a very attractive man.

 

On 9/3/2020 at 1:06 PM, CeceliaBedelia said:

You ain't kidding

Oh, thank goodness it's not just me!  Every time he's on the screen my inner voice keeps saying "That is a very good looking guy."   He sure as heck doesn't look 55. 

Edited October 15, 2020 by Quilt Fairy

[DeeDee79]

11 minutes ago, Quilt Fairy said:

 

Oh, thank goodness it's not just me!  Every time he's on the screen my inner voice keeps saying "That is a very good looking guy."   He sure as heck doesn't look 55. 

Yes! I feel the same way 😊

[TheLastKidPicked]

13 hours ago, Quilt Fairy said:

Oh, thank goodness it's not just me!  Every time he's on the screen my inner voice keeps saying "That is a very good looking guy."

 

12 hours ago, DeeDee79 said:

Yes! I feel the same way 😊

 

Here is why William Zabka is good looking:  He is comfortable with his age.

Too many people, especially actors, try to look younger.  Either with plastic surgery or with wearing a younger person's hair style and clothing style.

Zabka doesn't do this.  He seems happy and comfortable being in his fifties.  That is an attractive trait in anybody.

 

[DeeDee79]

6 hours ago, TheLastKidPicked said:

 

 

Here is why William Zabka is good looking:  He is comfortable with his age.

Too many people, especially actors, try to look younger.  Either with plastic surgery or with wearing a younger person's hair style and clothing style.

Zabka doesn't do this.  He seems happy and comfortable being in his fifties.  That is an attractive trait in anybody.

 

And his genuine, good natured personality just makes him more attractive.

[Mojeaux]

On 10/5/2020 at 2:25 PM, DeeDee79 said:

Daniel is even more smug and insufferable than he was in season 1. He is so unpleasant and judgmental

I think he's genuinely, deeply insecure and it manifests this way. His gimmick of the bonsai and "kick the competition", and, more, his hurt that someone called it a gimmick when to him it's not--and he's the only one who doesn't know it's a gimmick--shows that from the beginning.

[DeeDee79]

14 hours ago, Mojeaux said:

I think he's genuinely, deeply insecure and it manifests this way. His gimmick of the bonsai and "kick the competition", and, more, his hurt that someone called it a gimmick when to him it's not--and he's the only one who doesn't know it's a gimmick--shows that from the beginning.

He may be insecure but he’s also a bit of a dick on top of it IMO.

[Robert Lynch]

In the Ralph Macchio screen test, I still can't believe that's Phil Hartman doing the line readings to Ralph. It is just so epic and awesome to hear the man that would shape SNL's future. What a loss and such a great voice he had then. It is like the greatest thing to witness and such a shame for a guy whose life was cut short. Phil rocked even then.

 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I just watched S1 and I enjoyed it. There were several times when they were bending over backwards to recreate moments from the original movie but I didn't even care.

While I definitely enjoyed seeing more of John, I still didn't find him entirely sympathetic. I mean, this is a guy who's still mad about what happened in high school. It was over 30 years ago, man. You need to get over it. I can't feel sorry for someone who still blames the new kid for "stealing" his girlfriend. By his own admission, he and Ali were broken up. You had your chance and you blew it. Once you break up, you have no claim on her anymore. And let's be real - if Daniel hadn't come along, do you think you'd really be married to your high school girlfriend? Most high school relationships don't survive college, let alone med school and residency so let go of that fantasy.

And what was with the parents? If my mom and dad had come home and found twenty kids in the house, I would have been grounded forever. Instead, Daniel goes around cleaning up after the party instead of making Sam do it and his wife chastises him for embarrassing their daughter in front of her friends. Seriously? Of course, this is the same mom who lets her grounded daughter take the car to drive Robby home, an errand that apparently took several hours and then gives her phone and electronics back the next day. And don't get me started on how they let their son order them around and treat them like the wait staff.

Miguel started out as a nice if overeager kid but John's influence on him was visible. It became obvious with his "don't take no for an answer" and culminated in his "anything to win" attitude at the tournament. His anger about Sam and Robby was so ridiculous. Kid, you went on ONE DATE with this girl and you're already calling her your girlfriend and mad that you saw her eating dinner next to someone else with a penis. Jealousy is not an attractive quality.

Despite my complaints, I liked S1. It was great to see John and Daniel bond over REO Speedwagon! And it was nice to see Daniel put aside his personal feelings for John and tell Robby to let go of his anger.

[DoctorAtomic]

7 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

It was over 30 years ago, man. You need to get over it. I can't feel sorry for someone who still blames the new kid for "stealing" his girlfriend.

I agree, but I think the subtle point is high school dudebro Johnny saw Ali as 'his girl' which is not a recipe for healthy relationships, which clearly in the ensuing time he has not. 

I like Daniel and don't buy in to the 'real villain of karate kid', but he also is living off his high school days to an extent, so the theme is apt here too. I don't necessarily think parlaying the karate angle in his profession is a bad thing. Clearly, you can't be going to your business rival and assaulting his coffee. 

I think that's the point of the show, however, is the letting go. 

I don't regret watching the show, and I will be waiting patiently for the next seasons, but I feel like all of that is about 15 years too late. I get the dudebro angle 10-15 years out of high school, especially for someone like Johnny who didn't go to college, but 30 years is a strain.

I mean, I liked hs. Thanks to Facebook I'm still friends with most of them, and we had a blast at our reunion, but there's huge swaths of those memories supplanted by college and grad school. 

Edited October 19, 2020 by DoctorAtomic

[TheLastKidPicked]

11 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

While I definitely enjoyed seeing more of John, I still didn't find him entirely sympathetic.

The things you point out do a great job of showing how between Johnny and Daniel, there is no one "good guy" and one "bad guy".  There are good and bad traits in both of them and that makes both of them more interesting.  

 

4 hours ago, DoctorAtomic said:

I don't regret watching the show, and I will be waiting patiently for the next seasons, but I feel like all of that is about 15 years too late. I get the dudebro angle 10-15 years out of high school, especially for someone like Johnny who didn't go to college, but 30 years is a strain.

Very good points as always, Doctoratomic.  

I'm glad you don't know anybody who is still re-living the past 30 years later because some of us definitely do.  You actually have to avoid them because once you get to talking, the conversation always goes to "the big game" back in high school.  

[DoctorAtomic]

There's nothing wrong with reliving some indelible moments from high school, but when you're 50 and you're Al Bundy-ing your 4 TD game, you need to back it up. 

The crucial element of the show is keeping Mrs. Daniel around to call bs and to point out they actually built a life beyond karate. 

[DeeDee79]

15 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

His anger about Sam and Robby was so ridiculous. Kid, you went on ONE DATE with this girl and you're already calling her your girlfriend and mad that you saw her eating dinner next to someone else with a penis. 

That's not just Miguel's assumption since Sam did refer to him as her boyfriend while talking to Robby.

[methodwriter85]

On 10/19/2020 at 7:49 PM, DeeDee79 said:

That's not just Miguel's assumption since Sam did refer to him as her boyfriend while talking to Robby.

I'm also pretty sure that time had passed and the two had an actual relationship for several months. We just didn't see most of it. 

 

[ally862]

On 10/14/2020 at 11:43 PM, Quilt Fairy said:

 

Oh, thank goodness it's not just me!  Every time he's on the screen my inner voice keeps saying "That is a very good looking guy."   He sure as heck doesn't look 55. 

55!  I'll be honest, I probably saw Karate Kid once growing up and haven't seen it for years.  I just binged both seasons though and love it.  I had no idea he's 55 though!

[methodwriter85]

I started laughing hysterically when I saw Tanner's height being listed as 5'9" as that kid looks shorter then Josh Hutcherson.

[marinw]

Wow. Leo Kirkman was MIA is season three of Designated Survivor so I did not make the connection!

[DoctorAtomic]

He does look much better without the floppy hair.

[methodwriter85]

On 10/26/2020 at 9:12 AM, marinw said:

Wow. Leo Kirkman was MIA is season three of Designated Survivor so I did not make the connection!

I gave up on the show about 8 or 10 episodes in- just didn't work for me. Tanner was also Jude's love interest on The Fosters and Riley's love interest on Girl Meets World. That's where I know him from. 

[methodwriter85]

On 10/26/2020 at 11:57 AM, DoctorAtomic said:

He does look much better without the floppy hair.

Tanner has a small little pixie face which generally looks better with short hair. 

[sashabear21]

I just binged both seasons and I really liked this show, a lot more than I thought I would. They keep the nostalgia factor from getting too overplayed and it's funnier than I remember the movies being (my husband's probably already sick of me using the line "I want meth and a burrito!" any time he asks if I want something from the store). It's really weird these days to see a show with characters in high school that look like they're actually in high school and react like typical teenagers instead of looking like they're pushing 30 and their storylines involve them running a thriving local business between homeroom and PE.  The Stringray bit did go on a little long, but he's that separate dichotomy from Johnny and Daniel, Johnny's what happens when you lost your high school glory and never get over it, Daniel's what happens when you still use the past glory even though it's unnecessary to back up your current success because you're still hanging onto it, and Stringray's what happens when you never had any past glory or present success and are still caught in that loop of wanting to be the cool guy in high school even though you're long past graduation. Johnny wants the kids to see him as a mentor and way to make up for past mistakes, Daniel wants the kids to see him as right and his way as the only way, and Stringray would probably buy them rotgut alcohol and cocaine if he thought it would make him look cool.  Also, good lord did William Zabka age well! 

[heatherchandler]

On 11/21/2020 at 1:04 PM, sashabear21 said:

good lord did William Zabka age well! 

Omg how about it!!?  I loved him in the movies, I love him still.

[methodwriter85]

This is bugging me. If Daniel was born in December 1966, and his second All Valley tournament takes place in December 1985, how could he have been allowed to compete if he was already 19? Hell, he would have been ineligible for the first one in December 1984 as he turned 18 in the first movie. I guess it's just one of those things.

Edited November 30, 2020 by methodwriter85

[Perfect Xero]

1 hour ago, methodwriter85 said:

This is bugging me. If Daniel was born in December 1966, and his second All Valley tournament takes place in December 1985, how could he have been allowed to compete if he was already 19? Hell, he would have been ineligible for the first one in December 1984 as he turned 18 in the first movie. I guess it's just one of those things.

In KK1 he was originally 15 and turned 16 the day before the tournament and got his drivers license, which would have set his birth year as '68. Then they decided to make him a senior in KK2 while setting it 6 months later and set his birth year around that which screwed up the timeline.

As it stands the tournament must actually be 18 and under, and the 85 tournament must have been held days or weeks earlier, allowing Daniel to barely get in under the wire.

Either that or Johnny was robbed by an 18 year old illegally competing in an U-18 tournament.

[methodwriter85]

20 hours ago, Perfect Xero said:

In KK1 he was originally 15 and turned 16 the day before the tournament and got his drivers license, which would have set his birth year as '68. Then they decided to make him a senior in KK2 while setting it 6 months later and set his birth year around that which screwed up the timeline.

As it stands the tournament must actually be 18 and under, and the 85 tournament must have been held days or weeks earlier, allowing Daniel to barely get in under the wire.

Either that or Johnny was robbed by an 18 year old illegally competing in an U-18 tournament.

Yeah, I'm really kind of annoyed by this. Lol It'd be easy to just say that Daniel was born in December 1967 and just started school earlier. He could have started primary school at a private Catholic school. (Not impossible for middle class Italians in the New Jersey area.) They've been kind of vague about exactly how old Johnny and Daniel are and what year they graduated high school. The only explicit thing they've gone with is that the tournament happened in December 1984, and the second victory was in 1985. Maybe it was earlier and right before Daniel's 19th birthday.

[Perfect Xero]

1 hour ago, methodwriter85 said:

Yeah, I'm really kind of annoyed by this. Lol It'd be easy to just say that Daniel was born in December 1967 and just started school earlier. He could have started primary school at a private Catholic school. (Not impossible for middle class Italians in the New Jersey area.) They've been kind of vague about exactly how old Johnny and Daniel are and what year they graduated high school. The only explicit thing they've gone with is that the tournament happened in December 1984, and the second victory was in 1985. Maybe it was earlier and right before Daniel's 19th birthday.

Parts 2 and 3 feel backwards. Daniel graduates High School and travels to Japan where he has a literal Death Match against Chozen, who is trained in the same style of Karate and knows how to counter all of Daniels moves.

Then he comes back to California to compete in the All Valley against a new Cobra Kai trainee in the U-18?

In retrospect if they'd just flipped the plots of 2 and 3 they wouldn't have had to screw with the timeline and the progression of the stakes would have felt more natural.

[DoctorAtomic]

I'm doubtful at the time that they envisioned in 35 years there would be content platforms that would allow for these characters to resurface in new stories with fans who had access to the details of the movies and were just making the movies while karate was hot. 

[Virtual]

The one thing I think is great about this series is that the first three movies were made and released before I was even born, and then 30 years later when I'm well into adult years, a reboot is made (and actually is wildly popular and loved, unlike most reboots) and I am invested in the franchise.

[norcalgal]

1 hour ago, Virtual said:

The one thing I think is great about this series is that the first three movies were made and released before I was even born, and then 30 years later when I'm well into adult years, a reboot is made (and actually is wildly popular and loved, unlike most reboots) and I am invested in the franchise.

I'm sure I'm not the only one here who now feels SUPER old!  😄

Signed,

Old Fart who was alive when all three movies were made and released

[marinw]

Fun article from one of my favourite web sites:

https://andphilosophy.com/2020/09/29/never-die-cobra-kai-and-albert-camus/

[sashabear21]

18 hours ago, norcalgal said:

I'm sure I'm not the only one here who now feels SUPER old!  😄

Signed,

Old Fart who was alive when all three movies were made and released

Same! I'm old enough to have seen all of them in the theater and I remember my brother wearing the karate kid bandana around his head for family photos (it also inspired him to take karate lessons, but unlike the kids in the movie and the show, he didn't get good at it very quickly and still got his ass kicked 3 times a week).