Weekend Watch: Cobra Kai Season 3
The Karate Kid revival returns...
Image Credit: Netflix
Welcome to the latest edition of Weekend Watch, in which I recommend (or occasionally warn against) movies or TV shows I’ve been checking out. This week, strike first! Strike hard! No mercy! The Karate Kids (and grown-ups) are back…
I’ve written here before about how much I enjoy Cobra Kai, which took the story of the 1980s movie franchise, shoved it into the present day and caught up with the main characters and how they’re faring. Specifically, Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) and Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka), who have seen their lives change in the 30 years since the All Valley Karate tournament. Daniel has become a comfortably wealthy car dealer with a family and a beautiful home. Johnny, on the other hand, is more the high school jock gone to seed, burdened by unfulfilled potential, the former rich kid now spending his days as a handyman, living in a trashy apartment and drinking his sorrows away with cheap booze.
Cobra Kai’s creators (Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg and Josh Heald) developed the story sublimely, mixing in plenty of welcome nostalgic nods while also finding a way to say new things about the two men and the people around them. Both Daniel and Johnny find fresh purpose in taking on new students, with the latter re-opening the titular dojo that caused Daniel so much trouble back in the day with the aim of doing things differently. And, thanks to the group that Johnny gathers, including Xolo Mariduena’s Miguel Diaz, there is plenty of renewed rivalry and issues to be worked out via a variety of impressive fight scenes. Cast from all three Karate Kid movies pop up to add colour (while never overriding the main duo) and Season 2 ended with a huge rumble in the younger characters’ high school, the simmering resentment and teen drama boiling over into a clash that ends with Miguel in a coma and Samantha LaRusso (Mary Mouser) suffering PTSD after her fight with Tory (Peyton List). And, having returned to cause more trouble for everyone just because he can, John Kreese (Martin Kove) is also back, taking over Cobra Kai when Johnny walks away.
Picking up the story, Season 3 follows several strands, with a welcome focus on Daniel’s own emotional wrangling in the aftermath of the climactic fight, the impact affecting both his emotions and his business. A trip to Okinawa (last seen in The Karate Kid Part II, albeit played there by Hawaii) results in some telling reunions and a helpful boost, while Johnny is trying to reconcile his part in the events and what he owes Miguel. Kreese, meanwhile, is Kreese, seemingly never changing, though we do get some more context for why he become the snarling, smarmy psychopath he is. I won’t spoil anything here, but suffice to say, the main adult trio has plenty to do and figure out, while the younger characters continue their own stories, albeit with less of a focus this time.
Cobra Kai Season 3 remains satisfying, still managing to find the balance between the old and the new and finding fun ways to develop Daniel and Johnny. This season was shot for YouTube before the service decided to get out of the scripted entertainment business and Netflix swooped in to pick it up, and it’s reassuring to know that Season 4 will be made as soon as it’s safe for all involved. Even if you’ve never seen a frame of The Karate Kid or its follow-ups, this still kicks ass.
Cobra Kai Season 3 arrives on Netflix on Friday, January 1. I’ve seen all 10 episodes. Seasons 1 &2 are also available.