COBRA KAI - "Live or Die, Man"

Growing up, one of my all-time favorite movies was The Karate Kid. It just always resonated with me. Not because I was bullied in the same vein that Daniel was (words were my bullies' weapons of choice), and not because I was a karate star (though I did win 1st place in a karate tournament when I was young). In fact, I can't really explain why I loved The Karate Kid so much, just that I did.

Having not grown up watching the sequel films (or the heretical remake), the original was always the story that captivated my heart. Between Daniel's "underdog story" to Mr. Miyagi's mysterious wisdom, there has always been so much to love. So when I heard that they were re-releasing The Karate Kid into theaters a few years back... Well, I just had to make a trip to the big screen!

But then, once the film was over, the first two episodes of Cobra Kai (before they had premiered on YouTube Red) were shown in the theater.

Now, I have to admit, I didn't take it seriously at first. I looked at Cobra Kai as another low-budget web series that was worth going to the theater for because I got to watch The Karate Kid with it, but then we saw those first two episodes, we saw the production value put into the series, the character development of Johnny Lawerence, how he and Daniel almost swapped places, Miguel's introduction, and this idea that Cobra Kai could be a force for good, it proved that Cobra Kai was a series worth watching.

And then I didn't watch it for nearly two years.

It wasn't because I disliked the show, it wasn't even because I didn't want to, I just didn't want to pay for YouTube Red, so I figured if I let the show go on long enough so that I could do a "free trial", I'd binge the whole thing at once. But with the move to Netflix, I had no more excuses, so I watched all three seasons in about a week.

Cobra Kai is an incredible feat of episodic television in that it takes the existing source material and elevates it to something even more meaningful.

When watching The Karate Kid, you don't really see any similarities between Daniel-son and "sweep the leg" Johnny. So, when Cobra Kai dives deeper into the backstory of Johnny Lawerence and introduces Miguel Diaz (who has similarities to both), we get a bigger, more well-rounded picture of the world that the original film created.

In learning more about Johnny's past, Daniel's present, and all-the-while hoping for Miguel, Sam, and Robby's futures, we tend to care so much more about all sets of characters. Even villains such as John Kreese and Chozen from the first two films are given more backstory and genuine development that better helps you understand their motives. Other characters such as Daniel's wife Amanda LaRusso, Cobra Kai students Eli/"Hawk", Tory, and Aisha, and karate-avoider Demitre actively support the narrative by becoming vehicles for active consequences of the "karate gang war" occurring in the San Fernando Valley.

Besides the stellar character development, Cobra Kai is probably most well-known because of (and most impressive due to) their incredibly intriguing and intense fight sequences. The fights in the second and third season finales ("No Mercy", "December 19") are particularly impressive.

Cobra Kai is a show that shouldn't work due to the "rough-around-the-edges" approach it takes with its lead characters (Johnny especially) and its consistent "cheese-factor", but still does because of its sincerity in doing so. Johnny Lawerence and Daniel LaRusso feel like real people, they feel like people you might have gone to high school with twenty years ago, and that's why it works.

The reason Cobra Kai is successful isn't primarily because it's a continuation of The Karate Kid story (though that is why it was initially popular). No, it's been successful because it feels like real life (karate-aside) and it doesn't sugar-coat it. Cobra Kai isn't pushing an agenda or trying to make you think a certain way. It doesn't tip-toe around hard topics and it doesn't give into modern society's "pussy culture" as Johnny would put it.

Instead, this series pulls no punches and represents real people living a real, messy life. That's why Cobra Kai has been so well received, and why (provided it stays the course) it will continue to be so.

I love Cobra Kai. It's one of my favorite shows to watch and is currently one of the few that I actually do watch. Don't worry if you haven't seen The Karate Kid or its sequels, it won't hinder your understanding or enjoyment in the least.

Cobra Kai Never Dies.