Season 3 of Cobra Kai The heat on the front of the rivalry has increased, but the dojos’ biggest challenge is yet to come.
After an examination of conscience that took Daniel to Japan and Johnny to … well, a bar stool, an old friend’s visit helped the two conflicting senses to bury the hatchet. After another devastating confrontation with Cobra Kai, Johnny’s new Eagle Fang dojo and Daniel’s Miyagi-Do group finally came together against John Kreese’s violent gang of ruffians and the “no mercy” teachings. When a bloody exchange of fists between the students destroyed LaRusso’s home, Kreese, Johnny and Daniel agreed to work things out the old way: with a karate tournament, of course!
Here, executive producers and co-showrunners Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg share the season, including Daniel and Johnny’s new partnership, Kreese’s traumatic story, the series’ portrait of bullying and whether season 4 will be the battle. end by the soul of the Valley.
TVLINE | Did you always plan for the third season to end with the union of Johnny and Daniel? And why is this point in the story the right time for them to crush your flesh? I cannot imagine that it will be a bed of roses for them.
CURED | Giving them that moment was something we always knew would come. We always felt that this was the time to happen, but we are doing it in a way that we also establish who these characters are. Both have a very strong mind on their own philosophies, ideals and pasts. There seems to be a very different battle ahead, a very clear boundary and a set of circumstances that brought them to this moment, but time will tell if history repeats itself and they go back to old habits again, or if they are going to be able to resist to the storm and support each other to do the hard work of forming a partnership.
TVLINE | The end of Kreese’s flashback gave us some much needed background on Cobra Kaiis the biggest villain. Why does he still have such an interest in the dojo, even after all these years?
HURWITZ | Cobra Kai is in your blood. He founded Cobra Kai. It was important for us to take this character you’ve known all these years – which is just bad … he’s Darth Vader, he’s bad – and understand where a guy like that comes from. A guy who routinely talks about “without mercy”. Why is this so important to him? We met him in Season 3 before Vietnam and we see that he was an underdog in his own right, perhaps with a more tragic life than, say, Daniel or Miguel. Dealing with the situations he faced there, having that experience of having mercy and seeing that the world does not necessarily reward good behavior … had a profound impact on him. It was a traumatic experience that he carries with him today.
We always ask, “Why would John Kreese start a karate dojo?” From the beginning because he believes that he has something to offer young people, life lessons that he considers important for these children to know, to defend themselves in life. In his mind, he is teaching people what it takes to get through life. Seeing that Cobra Kai was back brought that spirit back to him. He had given up on life in many ways. So, sitting in the front row and watching Johnny change some of the main elements he thinks is important to Cobra Kai was awesome. He is as determined as he was when he started the dojo many years ago to educate young people in the Valley to prepare for the world they will have to deal with.
TVLINE | At the end of the finale, Kreese reached out to his old army friend Terry for help. That role has already been chosen and, if so, who will play it?
HURWITZ | Just because Kreese reached out to someone, it doesn’t necessarily mean that he is returning to the show. That said, on our show, we tried to bring back the original actor who played characters from the past as much as possible. We all love Terry Silver’s character in The Karate Kid 3 and his interpretation by Thomas Ian Griffith, so if that character returns for season 4, we expect him to be the one to play him.
SCHLOSSBERG | There is no confirmation, anything can happen, really. But I will say: if you love Terry Silver, this is probably the best show to see if he shows up. [Laughs] But we cannot promise anything at this point because it is all a mystery.
TVLINE | Why was Daniel’s trip back to Okinawa important to his plot and how did it help prepare you for the drama that unfolded at the end?
SCHLOSSBERG | Mr. Miyagi’s legacy is a big part of his psyche, and seeing Miyagi’s name tarnished as a result of what happened at school … he has that responsibility. He’s just an emotional wreck more than ever and he needed Mr. Miyagi’s help. There are different ways to connect with the past. There is prayer, there is going to a cemetery and, for some people, it is taking a trip to connect with their roots. Miyagi’s homeland, Okinawa, is the birthplace of Miyagi-Do karate for Daniel, so he really provided the emotional and psychological answers to his questions.
When connecting with some of these characters from Karate Kid Part II, particularly Kumiko, she is able to give him an insight into Mr. Miyagi’s mind. Sometimes, when you get older and rummage through your parents’ belongings, if they have passed away, you will see something about them and notice something about them that you did not imagine when you were a child. We always liked the idea that Daniel looked at Mr. Miyagi as an omniscient and wise force that had all the answers for everything, and when Kumiko reads the letter to him, he realizes that Mr. Miyagi did not have all the answers, and This one Daniel it really solved your life. He realizes that it’s okay not to have all the answers for everything. Mr. Miyagi does not.
TVLINE| Was there any discussion behind the scenes about how far you wanted to take the bullying aspects of the show?
SCHLOSSBERG | We want the program to work the same way The Karate Kid it worked, both in a classic sense of bullying, but also in a modern way. Since the beginning of the first season, we have incorporated aspects of cyberbullying, be it body shame or bitch, things that are perhaps more contemporary topics, although they have been occurring for years. We want it to be relevant and universal, which really creates audience frustration, like, “God, I feel bad for these kids. I want them to get over it. ”This is the magic of The Karate Kid. It’s this underdog story.
Bullying themes were linked to this story when we first launched Cobra Kai for Ralph Macchio. It’s not just about bringing back all the characters we like and finding a fun Kreese story; it is because this subject is as relevant as it has always been. This story and franchise is very cathartic for people who are going through this. You don’t want to bother people too much where they can’t keep watching the show, but life can be disturbing at times. It is not just physical abuse, it is mental abuse. Children can become suicidal because of these things. We don’t want to be too afraid to bring it up, but we try to be careful. Usually, five minutes later, there is some comedy as well. We go back and forth between the fun, but we also touch on the serious issues of bullying.
TVLINE | In terms of Johnny calling his students “pansies” or “cracks in” penis blowing “, have you had any plans to add an LGBTQ character to illuminate the damage that this type of language could cause?
HURWITZ | We talked about all kinds of characters to add to the world and think about how they would respond or react to Johnny’s mentality – a kind of thawed caveman, 80s guy – and contrast his words with the way today’s youth react to it and the impact it can have. So, for sure we already talked about adding characters from this community and, frankly, all the different types of teenagers that are not necessarily represented.
SCHLOSSBERG | Miguel, in some ways, although not a gay character, represents the modern view and counterpoint. Sometimes Johnny doesn’t let him talk, which is part of the problem. In the first class, Miguel yells at him for saying: “You don’t want to be a p-ssy, you have to have courage”. Miguel immediately said, “Uh, I think you’re creating a gender stereotype here?” and Johnny said, “Quiet!” Our hope is that the public will be able to say from the students’ perspective that we are aware that Johnny is late. Didn’t get to that place where [the bullying] it affected someone in particular, but this is something that is always a possibility to explore more as the seasons pass and we get to know more students.
TVLINE | The series is already renewed for season 4, but have you thought about where the series can go beyond that?
CURED | We have a game over in our heads. We’ve had one for a while, and it’s not in season 4. It is far beyond that. In our minds, we have seasons of history that we need to tell before we reach the end of the game. This will be a future discussion with our new Netflix partners. Can we write for that end of the game? Can we know what’s coming? It is not always the case with television and we respect that. For now, we continue to write at the same speed and with the same path that we have traced since the beginning.
Now it is your turn! Rate the ending and season below, then put all your thoughts on season three in the comments!