COBRA KAI (Season 1) — TV Review
By John Argote Rodriguez
ROAD TO COBRA KAI
“Cobra Kai” premiered on May 2, 2018 and is a continuation of the original “Karate Kid” series and takes place 34 years after the events of “The Karate Kid” released in 1984. It follows Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) who while down on his luck decides to reopen the infamous Cobra Kai dojo, which draws the attention of the now successful Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Matcchio) and once again ignites the rivalry between the two men.
“Cobra Kai” is YouTube Red’s second big show following, “Step Up: High Water”. “Cobra Kai” has had more hype because of its notoriety as a sequel to one of the most iconic movies of the 1980s.
The first season of “Cobra Kai” was really good, the best show on YouTube Red, which isn’t saying much since just about every show there sucks. Despite this, the quality of this show is good. The performances are good, mainly from the two leads, Ralph Matcchio and William Zabka. We see their stories from both perspectives which is what made this show so enjoyable.
I looked forward to Ralph Matcchio’s return to the series, but after the trailers I was skeptical because from the looks of the trailer it seems like the creator was turning Daniel into a jerk. I wasn’t fond of this because it would have made the character development from the movies pointless. Luckily, this wasn’t the case he has matured which was a given considering it has been 34 years since the events of the first movie. Although he does come off as cocky every once in a while, the adult Daniel is not perfect.
Despite his successful career and life, he is a flawed character that lets his anger overcome him and needs balance and guidance which he hasn’t had since the passing of his former mentor, Mr. Miyagi played by the late Noriyuki “Pat” Morita who had an episode dedicated in his memory that gave me a smile. Morita does appear in this series through archive footage which is used much more then I thought, there's a lot of footage from “The Karate Kid” (1984).
Now with Johnny Lawrence basically the main character of the show, we learn that he hasn’t had a good life since the events of “The Karate Kid”. I find it ridiculous that just because Johnny Lawrence lost one karate match when he was 17 his whole life was ruined. Some backstory is given to his character (which we didn’t get too much of in the movie) we see why he loves karate and why he is the way he is.
The backstory in this series humanizes and makes him a character an audience can sympathize with at times, which is great because in “The Karate Kid” he was just one of the bad guys with no real development, just your typical bully who beat up our protagonist.
There is a theory that Johnny was the misunderstood hero of the karate kid story and Daniel was the villain. This is complete nonsense since he picked on Daniel every chance he got. This series buys into this by giving a deeper background such as trying to antagonize Daniel for moving in and flirting with Ali. It is a compelling thought but I'm not buying it, sure he had a messed up childhood but this doesn’t condone bullying.
The ending of the first film when Daniel wins Johnny congratulates him and hands him the trophy, seemingly changing a new leaf. This series disregards this moment and portrays Johnny still having a boiling hatred for Daniel.
Aside from the classic characters “Cobra Kai” introduces a new roster of characters such as Miguel Diaz (Xolo Maridueña) an outcast who is bullied in front of Johnny, causing him to break out his karate moves. Miguel’s storyline is one where it had a good start with a solid performance, but as the series progresses the storyline grows stale. Towards the end of the season he gets into a relationship that leads to a stupid love triangle and becomes unlikable. I found myself wanting his character to fail at the end, which is completely different from the beginning of the season where I was rooting for his success. If this series is renewed for a season 2, I’m not interested nor do I care about this character.
We’re also introduced to Daniel LaRusso’s wife Amanda LaRusso (Courtney Henggeler) and his two children Samantha (Mary Mouser) and Anthony LaRusso (Griffin Santopietro). Courtney Henggeler as LaRusso’s wife gives a good performance as your typical supportive mother and wife. Mary Mouser also gives a good performance but her storyline is generic it’s the same teenage drama story we’ve seen before about relationships, friendships and bullying. It’s not interesting especially when it came to her relationship with Miguel, at this point I became bored with the storyline. Although, I did enjoy the dialogue between her and her father. As for Griffin Santopietro’s character, I found him annoying and more of a background character.
We also see Johnny’s family and I must say, this is one of the more interesting subplots of the season. I loved the scenes between Johnny and his stepfather Sid (Ed Asner), Asner is a scene stealer and he has very fun dialogue with Zabka. We also are introduced to Johnny’s estranged son Robby (Tanner Buchanan) who has some anger issues. This character is reminiscent of Chris Manawa (Lorenzo Henrie James) from “Fear The Walking Dead”.
Robby has a opposite character arc from Miguel where as he went from a sympathetic character we rooted for to a unlikable cocky guy, Robby began as a very unlikable guy you wanted to punch in the face to a kid living in a broken home. A mother who is never there for him and always brings different men to the house and a father who was never there but attempts to make amends for what he’s done. When Johnny is rejected by his son, he sees Miguel as a surrogate son and his way of seeking redemption and not failing him which is what leads Robby to Daniel.
We find Daniel LaRusso in need of advice on family, fatherhood, and what to do about the return of Johnny and Cobra Kai since the death of Mr. Miyagi years prior. This brings Daniel to Robby, Johnny’s troubled son who he takes under his wing and teaches him what Mr. Miyagi taught him. This is a great way to honor Mr. Miyagi and pass down his legacy and knowledge to another young man who is going through his own personal demons. This brings a lot of good drama to the series.
The rivalry between Johnny Lawrence and Daniel LaRusso 34 years later was something I was looking forward to because after the ending of the original film (and the beginning of Part II) it seemed like Johnny buried the hatchet and things between the two were good. In this series we find this is no longer the case, but when they manage to put aside their differences and have a civil conversation these two absolutely shine together. When they reminisce about the old days, they have great dialogue together and whenever they are in the brink of fighting it’s exciting, and it’s there is a nice nostalgic feeling when they talk about characters from the original movie.
So in the end, YouTube Red’s biggest show was a pleasant surprise. I wasn’t expecting this show to flop I was actually looking forward to this, but the trailers made it seem as if Johnny was the tragic hero and Daniel was a villain it felt very odd. The fact that Johnny blames his failures at Daniel for a event that happened 34 years ago is pretty stupid. In the end the story was a fascinating one and being able to dig deeper into these iconic characters without the help of Mr. Miyagi was great because we’ve never seen him without the guidance of his father figure. The subplot with the teenage characters wasn’t anywhere near as interesting as Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence’s story arc. After the season finale, I’m fascinated as to if there will be season 2 and if there is, what direction the series will be heading .
Grade: B
Cobra Kai (2018) — Season 1 CAST:
1.) Ralph Macchio as Daniel LaRusso
2.) William Zabka as Johnny Lawrence
3.) Courtney Henggeler as Amanda LaRusso
4.) Xolo Maridueña as Miguel Diaz
5.) Tanner Bachanan as Robby Keene
6.) Mary Mouser as Samantha LaRusso
