"Cobra Kai" Has Stayed Strong On Its Journey from "Karate Kid" Movies to YouTube to Netflix

For those who don39t know Cobra Kai picked up exactly where the Karate Kid movies left off only it was 2018 at the time Danny LaRusso the ageless Ralph Macchio pictured top right had become a successful owner of a chain of car dealerships while his childhood nemesis Johnny Lawrence William Zabka had become a bitter drunk Fast forward two seasons and Johnny39s both risen to local prominence through the resurrection of his old dojo the titular Cobra Kai and fallen from it once again after the subsequent teenaged quotkarate riotquot that took place between his students and the pupils of the also resurrected MiyagiDo dojo run by LaRusso during the season two finaleMessiness ensued as various soap operalevel events took place Johnny39s old senseitormentor John Kreese Martin Kove returned and somehow took Cobra Kai back from him LaRusso unknowingly mentored Johnny39s son Robby Tanner Buchanan and Robby ended ups kicking Miguel Xolo Maridueamp241a Johnny39s protege over a second story railing during the aforementioned karate riot which put him in a coma and potentially paralyzed him for life assuming of course that he even lives This is essentially where the third season beginsYou know normally when a heavy hitter like Netflix buys a preexisting IP there39s a jump in quality that would reflect the assumed increase in budget and resources that a show like this would probably see However for Cobra Kai that39s not really the case amp8230 in a good way Cobra was already holding itself to an unexpectedly high standard long before Netflix got involved Yes the stunt work is phenomenal and the connectivity between the current series and its filmborn predecessors is beyond gratifying but the truest selling point of this show is its attitude about itself that is its selfawarenessThink about it amp8230 everything that39s happening is objectively ridiculous on the surface These grown men have as Danny39s wife Amanda Courtney Henggeler puts it quotwarring karate dojosquot That even sounds stupid But it works because everyone that isn39t a sensei or a pupil seems to know how dumb this entire feud is especially when the hammer of realworld consequences begins to dropNow combine that with the writers making sure that these kids talk like real people cusses and all I haven39t heard a single fbomb yet but quotshitquot and quotbullshitquot are all over the place Cobra39s team has done a topnotch job of never actually breaking into TVMA territory while still providing a tone that feels unrestricted by silly things like ratings Remember the series is constantly doubling down on its 3980s moviestyle DNA and back then nobody was PC karate fights solved everything and minimall martial arts was influential enough to guarantee a successful adult life if you won the big tournamentThis is why it all works because the series leans into the outlandishness of a bunch of kids seeing the presence of martial arts as a game changer in their lives the same way LaRusso and Lawrence have for so long and continue to do This passion of theirs is what makes everything a little less silly because LaRusso39s not fighting for himself he39s fighting for Reseda It39s the same way that Johnny39s fighting to be a better person and escape the trauma that he was taught by Kreese who39s own personal trauma is made more clear via preKarate Kid flashbacks this season or how Hawk Jacob Bertrand is fighting the ghost of who he used to be which is why he beefs with his old best friend Demetri who now represents what Hawk sees as his past weaknessSo now that the series has moved to Netflix what does that mean for Cobra Kai Having already seen the third season I can tell you that the show never really takes its foot off the pedal Conflict is the heart of drama and it39s there at every turn At the top of season three Robby39s on the run for almost murdering Miguel Miguel39s in a coma having karate dreams the entire town has turned on the LaRusso family Johnny39s on a woeisme bender having lost his dojo and students and Kreese is recruiting wayward high school students like an evil version of Power Rangers39 ZordonNeedless to say there is a lot going on The real question is what are they going to do when they run out of original movie footage to use in flashbacks I don39t know but I do know that we39re definitely getting at least one more season to find out and so far Cobra Kai has yet to disappointClick the social buttons above or below to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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"Cobra Kai" Has Stayed Strong On Its Journey from "Karate Kid" Movies to YouTube to Netflix

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Ainsley Andrade

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