There is simply a lot of decent to good TV out there for critics to write about any program that doesn’t provoke passion, whether positive or angry. This means that if a reviewer writes about the subsequent seasons of a show, regardless of his verdict on that season, take it as a sign that he – I – really care about that show, or I know that you cares.
With me? Great. Now let’s talk about the end of “Cobra Kai”.
That sent some of you straight to the comments section to express your anger, didn’t it? But why so serious? This discussion is, at best, theoretical. Currently, “Cobra Kai” is one of Netflix’s most popular titles. It was chosen for a fourth season before the third premiere on January 1st – so there is no risk of it ending now or even after the fourth season. So, why theorize about turning it off?
Because when a program like this changes from great to good to “Where does it go?” it’s time to sit down and pull out the map before the car falls into a ditch. And “Cobra Kai” was really exciting and thought-provoking in his first season for the same reasons that are confusing him now.
The first season begins where “The Karate Kid” stopped, taking us into the life of high school bad boy Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) and adorable underdog Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio, blessed with an eternal face) decades after All- Valley Karate Tournament where Daniel defeated Johnny. . . permanently, it seems.
Resuming history in 2018 changed the dynamics upside down, at the same time that it was based on components that made “The Karate Kid” a classic: Johnny is discouraged and has his own underweight skinny Miguel (Xolo Maridueña) under his tutelage, resurrecting your old dojo the process.
Daniel is now wealthy and a famous car dealer in Vale, and through some plot twists he ends up taking Johnny’s distant son Robby (Tanner Buchanan) and passing on the teachings of the late Mr. Miyagi to him. This configuration favors Zabka more than Macchio, as it gives us a window into his versatility. Macchio has appeared on several TV shows over the years, but Zabka has gone unnoticed. This series allows his comedy actor to go out to act while showing that he also dresses well with anguish.
The “Cobra Kai” plot follows katas very similar to Daniel and Johnny’s original journey in 1984, until pitting Miguel and Robby against each other by the same sweet girl as pie. . . who happens to be Daniel’s daughter, Sam (Mary Mouser).
The first season ends in a tournament – like the first film – the result of which helps Johnny and Daniel grow up as parents and mentors, and establishes the second season.
Type John Kreese. Johnny’s malicious sensei played by Martin Kove. Kreese’s resurrection is a welcome surprise. . . to a certain extent. The direction of his entry into the story is a plot that telegraphs each turnaround, in part because the season takes many of his leads from “The Karate Kid III” (except for the unsanctioned “Brawl in the Halls” that destroys the local school) .
But wait – if you are concerned that the creators of the series Jon Hurwitz, Josh Heald and Hayden Schlossberg have decided to skip the trip of “The Karate Kid II” to Japan, no! They saved that for the current season, while incorporating the leftovers of the threequel. Basically, every episode of “Cobra Kai” is a remix of the original films in some way, and that is not helping at all. (Although Tamlyn Tomita did an admirable rerun of Kumiko, her “II” character, despite the minority Magic minority mission that brings her back.)
And his overconfidence in the glories of the past, which diminish with each new tour, is summed up by Kreese. Kove does a good job of interpreting it; the problem is that there is not much for the character, as I stated in my original review. Instead of rekindling that point, though, let’s discuss why Kreese is a glaring symptom of the great distress that weakens this series.
In short, he is a villain in the film released in an episodic story. And when a villain is the main focus of a story, we better know why he is so committed to his path.
Film audiences give writers a pass to paint their boss antagonists with the broadest strokes, because we know they only have a few hours to tell a story. The best films give their opponents depth and an objective that we can understand, but “The Karate Kid” and “The Karate Kid III” do not qualify as cinematic epics.
These low expectations mean that we don’t have to worry about why Kreese in the first film – the classic phrase “sweeping the leg” is simple, sociopathic prose that lets us know what it is about. Ten episodes of television and about five hours in length require a little more explanation. The films never say why Kreese is so engaged in petty revenge and small bets; the threat of suspense at the end of the current season is that he challenges Johnny and Daniel to a duel for, what else, tournament.
And this is the clearest example of a bigger problem with “Cobra Kai”. What started as a tribute to a beloved movie franchise remodeled to explore broader discussions about parenting, toxic masculinity, partisanship and the dangers of living in the past has become a looping machine.
Daniel and Johnny spend three seasons in confrontation before teaming up to ward off a common enemy. Kreese spends two seasons urging his children to commit criminal acts and never explains his motivation or his end of the game – and those embarrassing free flashbacks from Vietnam do very little to put a brake on this void.
The children are fine until they’re gone. Eventually, some of them become totally psychopathic, including ex-geek Hawk (Jacob Bertrand), until suddenly and with very little warning, he stages a face turn.
This is what happens when writers marry an average premise. When you realize that Hurwitz and Schlossberg are behind the films “Harold and Kumar”, a trilogy that went from excellent for meh to “I want my money back” in three films, it increases the understanding of why an intervention can be useful in the current situation.
This franchise, like this one, is blessed with memorable characters played by likable actors who initially present themselves as a weed farce, but unfold in a comment about the other and the experience of first-generation immigrants in America. This is “Harold and Kumar going to the white castle” that I am describing. After that, the writers failed to mature and complexify a story anchored by a strange but wonderful pair. We now enjoy the memory of the first film as opposed to the reality of the subsequent two.
“Cobra Kai” can be great again, however, if writers abandon old scripts and open a path that is not paved with obsolete (if good) memories. This worked for many film series adaptations whose producers take advantage of expanding TV to produce a totally different and deeper experience.
“Fargo” is a tribute to the Coen Bros. ‘original creation and a very original vision. There is a. “Westworld” is very good. “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” threw the film’s script out the window and started from scratch. (It helps that the creator of “Buffy” realized his story as he intended to tell it through the TV series). “M * A * S * H” is on the throne of Valhalla TV. “Hannibal” is impressive, as are “Friday Night Lights”, “The Odd Couple” – all successful adaptations with movements that are worth studying.
Critics tend to be tougher with the shows that we (used to) love, and that is the case here. Vexatious and deficient in humor, given that the current season is relative to the previous one, there is enough movement to make it worthwhile to take the day off, in addition to any complete wish. Johnny Lawrence, Daniel LaRusso and all of their students can be great again, but only if their creators follow the advice given to Johnny by an old friend.
“Sometimes it is good to visit the past to find out where you are now,” she says. “But you cannot live in the past.”
“No. We have to live for today,” agrees Johnny.
“And the future,” she ends, “whatever that might bring.”
Yes, just that. And I hope it doesn’t look like what we’ve seen.
Otherwise, someone needs to sweep the leg.
All seasons of “Cobra Kai” are being streamed on Netflix.