Cobra Kai Lands All the Hits
Building on explosive cliffhangers, season 3 sets the stage for a blockbuster fourth season.
By Jocelyn Cosgrove
Building on explosive cliffhangers, season 3 sets the stage for a blockbuster fourth season.
By Jocelyn Cosgrove
WARNING, this review contains spoilers for season 3 of “Cobra Kai.”
In the third season of the hit show ¨Cobra Kai,” there is a lot of karate drama going around. New alliances are formed, old alliances are found again, love and heartbreak are in the air, rivals stir up many fights, all ending in a cliffhanger making viewers want to watch more. With all of that combined, the third season is one that will be watched over and over again in years to come after making a surprising appearance on Jan. 1, a week before the actual release date.
Cobra Kai follows the lives of Johnny Lawrence, Daniel LaRusso and their kids, 34 years after the All Valley Karate Tournament from 1984’s ¨The Karate Kid¨ movie. After the school fight in season two between the students of Miyagi-Do and Cobra Kai, we see the characters go through different struggles that make them stronger, but also shows a side of vulnerability. We see Sam LaRusso struggle with PTSD, Johnny´s top student Miguel Diaz recover from being paralyzed from the waist down, Johnny´s son Robby Keene in juvenile detention, Cobra Kai sensei John Kreese´s backstory, fights and team-ups between Johnny and Daniel, and plenty of old faces that show up throughout.
After watching “Cobra Kai,” Katie Vezien, 9, enjoyed the season and felt it was interesting having a few characters from the original movies as well.
¨I thought the finale of Johnny and Daniel finally teaming up was great after fighting for so long,¨ Vezien said. “Also bringing back characters from the original movies was interesting.”
Issac Fong, 9, also took interest in the series, feeling that episode 10, December 19, was his favorite episode out of the whole season because of the focus on the individual characters and their growth.
¨It added a lot of character development for Johnny Lawrence and Daniel Larusso as they finally joined their dojos to work together against Kreese,¨ said Fong. “ It also showed a lot of character development for Hawk as he redeemed himself and stood up for what is right.”
Throughout all of Cobra Kai, there is a depiction of masculinity shown. In the show, if a character can´t stand up for themselves or doesn´t make a big move, they are referred to as weak using femine verbs. That is one part of the show that some viewers may not appreciate, no matter how much it reflects the real world connection there is. While the toxic masculinity is a part of certain characters, Vezien is optimistic that this depiction will change in future seasons.
¨I think there are definitely some common stereotypes in the show, which makes sense considering how Johnny grew up. Although I hope to see more females next season in the dojo also considering the actress who played Aisha is no longer on the show,” Vezien said.¨
Much to our excitement, at the end of season three, we see the students of Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang Karate join together as one single dojo with LaRusso and Lawrence as their senseis.With the second and maybe last All Valley Karate Tournament on its way, we see the tension between the two dojos start to heat up as the students start taking things into their own hands. In the last episode, the students of Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang fight against Cobra Kai, turning the tide of how the next season will play out with the men now fighting on the same side against Kreese.
¨Overall, I hope Daniel and Johnny will win because of the teamwork, but it would be funny the other way.¨ Vezien said. ¨They are very different people, but I do hope the kids will help bring them together.¨
While the end of the season may have stifled some of the karate drama by a bit, there is still enough drama to get fans ready for season four, which was announced in October. Fans have been able to look more into the real world of “Cobra Kai,” into the good and the bad parts of the characters they love so much, that they are willing to fight for it when necessary. One thing that I have really admired in this show all together, is that the show is so real. It shows so many aspects of the real world and its cool being able to relate to that. I would recommend this show to anyone who has seen the original Karate Kid movie and to anyone who just needs a good show to watch.
All three seasons of “Cobra Kai” are currently streaming on Netflix.
In the third season of the hit show ¨Cobra Kai,” there is a lot of karate drama going around. New alliances are formed, old alliances are found again, love and heartbreak are in the air, rivals stir up many fights, all ending in a cliffhanger making viewers want to watch more. With all of that combined, the third season is one that will be watched over and over again in years to come after making a surprising appearance on Jan. 1, a week before the actual release date.
Cobra Kai follows the lives of Johnny Lawrence, Daniel LaRusso and their kids, 34 years after the All Valley Karate Tournament from 1984’s ¨The Karate Kid¨ movie. After the school fight in season two between the students of Miyagi-Do and Cobra Kai, we see the characters go through different struggles that make them stronger, but also shows a side of vulnerability. We see Sam LaRusso struggle with PTSD, Johnny´s top student Miguel Diaz recover from being paralyzed from the waist down, Johnny´s son Robby Keene in juvenile detention, Cobra Kai sensei John Kreese´s backstory, fights and team-ups between Johnny and Daniel, and plenty of old faces that show up throughout.
After watching “Cobra Kai,” Katie Vezien, 9, enjoyed the season and felt it was interesting having a few characters from the original movies as well.
¨I thought the finale of Johnny and Daniel finally teaming up was great after fighting for so long,¨ Vezien said. “Also bringing back characters from the original movies was interesting.”
Issac Fong, 9, also took interest in the series, feeling that episode 10, December 19, was his favorite episode out of the whole season because of the focus on the individual characters and their growth.
¨It added a lot of character development for Johnny Lawrence and Daniel Larusso as they finally joined their dojos to work together against Kreese,¨ said Fong. “ It also showed a lot of character development for Hawk as he redeemed himself and stood up for what is right.”
Throughout all of Cobra Kai, there is a depiction of masculinity shown. In the show, if a character can´t stand up for themselves or doesn´t make a big move, they are referred to as weak using femine verbs. That is one part of the show that some viewers may not appreciate, no matter how much it reflects the real world connection there is. While the toxic masculinity is a part of certain characters, Vezien is optimistic that this depiction will change in future seasons.
¨I think there are definitely some common stereotypes in the show, which makes sense considering how Johnny grew up. Although I hope to see more females next season in the dojo also considering the actress who played Aisha is no longer on the show,” Vezien said.¨
Much to our excitement, at the end of season three, we see the students of Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang Karate join together as one single dojo with LaRusso and Lawrence as their senseis.With the second and maybe last All Valley Karate Tournament on its way, we see the tension between the two dojos start to heat up as the students start taking things into their own hands. In the last episode, the students of Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang fight against Cobra Kai, turning the tide of how the next season will play out with the men now fighting on the same side against Kreese.
¨Overall, I hope Daniel and Johnny will win because of the teamwork, but it would be funny the other way.¨ Vezien said. ¨They are very different people, but I do hope the kids will help bring them together.¨
While the end of the season may have stifled some of the karate drama by a bit, there is still enough drama to get fans ready for season four, which was announced in October. Fans have been able to look more into the real world of “Cobra Kai,” into the good and the bad parts of the characters they love so much, that they are willing to fight for it when necessary. One thing that I have really admired in this show all together, is that the show is so real. It shows so many aspects of the real world and its cool being able to relate to that. I would recommend this show to anyone who has seen the original Karate Kid movie and to anyone who just needs a good show to watch.
All three seasons of “Cobra Kai” are currently streaming on Netflix.