The Case for Cobra Kai
Okay, hear me out. I finally finished the whole series of Cobra Kai and, well, I hate to admit it, but I loved it. When it first came out years ago, I remember critics writing that it was cheesy, fun, nostalgia. That was enough for me to buy in. See, growing up, The Karate Kid was one of my comfort movies (along with Real Genius - so great). I know the whole thing by heart. I still cringe and laugh out loud thinking about the worst kiss in film history, between Daniel and Ali. Seriously, rewatch it. It’s gross. I didn’t even have a properly purchased VHS tape of the movie. No, mine was a recording, probably off of somebody else’s HBO (we didn’t have a subscription as my dad hated how they repeated things too much). I watched it so many times the tape started to warp. During one of the more quiet evening scenes when Danielsan finishes his work and catches Mr. Miyagi looking at old memories, the music starts to distort as if the scene will morph into the horror genre. I couldn’t get enough.
Cobra Kai was not a hard sell for me. My family, however, made endless fun of me and I watched it alone. Let them say whatver they want! I have never seen a more cheesetastic show that KNOWS it is cheesetastic, makes fun of itself all the time, never takes itself too seriously, and has pretty cool karate scenes.
But about that. I had to take a break a year ago. I found myself saying to my empty living room, “This is too much karate.” Every issue these people face in life, big or small, at a tournament, or at the grocery store, ends in a karate showdown. I complained about how unrealistic it all felt to my husband and he replied, “A hammer will always find a nail.” That was his response to me talking about Cobra Kai. Side note: while he does not watch it with me, it doesn’t stop him from sometimes asking questions and showing interest in being filled in. He also wanted to know if Elisabeth Shue makes an appearance. I get that. She does!
Which brings me to the pure delight of the show, which boils down to the endless callbacks! Pretty much every living actor who had a role in any of the movies has made an appearance in the show. From the random people Daniel fought one time in an alley, to all the key villains, they are back. They even brought back the music! “You’re the best around, nothing’s gonna ever keep you down.”
It is silly. It is terrible. It is awesome. It is lame. It is weird to love Johnny even though he still says and does problematic things! The twists are exhaustingly endless until the perfect ending. I left the show feeling just as invigorated as when Daniel executed the original crane kick to take Johnny down. Now they are BFFs. Talk about a guilty pleasure!