Recap and Review of Cobra Kai Season 3
After many months of anticipation, the Cobra Kai and Karate Kid universe finally got Season Three. A lot of changes were made between seasons two and three. The show moved from YouTube Red to Netflix and instantly became one of the most popular shows in the world. When we left off in season two over a year and a half ago, Kreese had taken over Cobra Kai again after Miguel was seriously injured in a fight with Robbie. Meanwhile, Amanda told Daniel he must stop karate after Sam was hurt during the same fight at the high school. As season two ended, both Daniel and Johnny seemed broken and devastated from all the chaos that was caused. Enter Season Three. Here are some of the highlights and memorable moments in Season Three of Cobra Kai.
Episode One: Aftermath
As we open season three, we find Johnny drowning in beer at a bar. He’s agitated by the news and by people, so he ends up in jail after a brawl. Meanwhile, Daniel, Amanda and all the students are dealing with the fall out of the fight at high school. At the end of the episode, we discover Robbie hanging around the homeless, Miguel wakes up from his coma, and Daniel proposes to Johnny they work together. Many predicted they would work together, and it looks like they will.
Episode Two: Nature vs. Nurture
I loved the flashback of Kreese being bullied and why he got as a tough as he was. He showed his toughness by bringing a snake into the class, which put fear into the kids. Those kids who showed fear and resistance were kicked out by Kreese. Daniel and Johnny went on a mission to find Robbie. It involved a rehab center and prison. They continue to show Kreese flashbacks and how he only used karate as a last result. It was also interesting to see a caring side of Kreese when it came Tory. By the end of the episode, both Daniel and Johnny try to reconcile with their respective students. Miguel wanted nothing to do with Johnny, but Robbie was remorseful until Daniel had him arrested. Johnny and Daniel working together didn’t last long as they went their separate ways.
Episode Three: Now You’re Gonna Pay
The show opens with Johnny interrupting Bobby’s sermon, which was hilarious. After Johnny calms down, he and Bobby have a heart-to-heart talk about everything. Daniel and Amanda are struggling with the dealership as many people are distancing themselves as part of fallout from the fight. Everyone from both dojos is trying to rally around Miguel even though Cobra Kai is not happy about Miyagi-Do’s involvement. When Johnny agrees to see Robby in jail, he gets caught up at the hospital and stays when Miguel’s Grandma asks him to stay. Robby is dejected and angry. This episode closes with Daniel refusing to sell that dealership and heads to Japan to make things right with the manufacturer. Sam also takes the lead by reopening Miyagi-Do after one of their students is attacked.
Episode Four: The Right Path.
Daniel is in Japan trying to negotiate a deal with dealership that pulled. While in Japan, he reflects on his time with Miyagi. His reflections lead him to Okinawa where he is greeted by an old friend and rival. The flashbacks from Karate Kid made this episode even more emotional. Daniel finds Tomi Village turned into a premier destination and while there runs into Kumiko. Later, Daniel and Kumiko reminisce about Miyagi, and she reads the final letter the reveals a lot of his feelings about Daniel as a man and student. Johnny continues to try to make amends with Robby, but his ultimately rejected. He continues to drink in his sorrows and Kreese shows up talk to him. The tension at school continues to build up, and a lot of the focus is on Hawk and Demetri. Once Johnny realizes Robby won’t have anything to do with him, he makes amends with Miguel and makes a promise to not leave his side. When the episode ends, Kreese visits Robby in jail and Daniel runs into Chozen.
Episode Five: Miyagi-Do
The episode started off with the flashback of Chozen and Daniel fighting in Karate Kid 2. As Daniel snaps out of it, Chozen approaches him and shows him a sign of respect. They are stuck in an awkward conversation. Chozen still has that mean demeanor about him, but helps Daniel discover new secrets about Miyagi’s Karate. The training between the old rivals turns into a role reversal from Karate Kid 2, which ends up in a funny moment. By the end, they formed a new friendship and a mutual respect. Samantha continues to lead Miyagi-Do until Amanda catches them in the act. She and the rest of the Miyagi-Do students continue struggle until they go fight Cobra Kai at the arcade. Things turned for the worse when Tory shows up and Hawk breaks Demetri’s arm in the process. Once Amanda realizes how bad it’s gotten, she confronts Kreese and slaps him. Robby finally fights off the bullies that have been beating him up. The episode ends with Johnny accepting a friend request from Ali, which lights his world up. Dee Snider makes a cameo appearance that leads to a big step in Miguel’s recovery.
Episode Six: King Cobra
They continue show flashbacks of Kreese’s youth and time in the Army. Kreese remembers his lessons his Captain taught him and starts recruiting kids to join Cobra Kai. Those new recruits are making Hawk have flashbacks to when he was being picked on before Cobra Kai. The new recruits who are athletic start replacing the some of the original Cobra Kai members who were in the previous seasons. Hawk then puts in an end to the athletic kids, by beating one into a bloody pulp. When Johnny helps Miguel recover, Miguel helps Johnny with his Facebook profile in order to impress Ali. Miguel teaches Johnny about the finer things in life and in the process runs into Tory. The conversation is less than pleasant, but it fires him up and helps him in his recovery. Johnny starts reflecting on his life.
Episode Seven: Obstaculos
This episode starts off with Sam dreaming about a confrontation with Tory at Miyagi-Do. Miguel is walking again, and he wants Johnny to start a new dojo separate from Cobra Kai and Miyagi-Do. Johnny struggles to find a new space to train while Miguel returns to school. Miguel is starting to learn that the Cobra Kai he was once part of is not the same as it was. He and Johnny embark on their own and invites the Cobra Kai students to join them. Johnny and Miguel begin training in the park where they have about four students. Sam continues to struggle with flashbacks, and admits she is having panic attacks because of Tory. She is terrified of everyone of getting hurt and not being able to do anything about it. The flashbacks of Miyagi’s teachings continue to shine in Daniel’s life as he passes him down to Sam.
Episode Eight: The Good, The Bad and The Badass
Miyagi-Do, Cobra Kai, and Eagle Fang are all teaching their own dojos with their own methods. Yes, you read the correctly. Johnny started Eagle Fang Karate which makes three rivaling dojos. While they start their training, they learn that the city pulls the All-Valley Karate Tournament. All three dojos show up the city hearing and make their case. Instead of the teachers saving the tournament. It was the kids who saved it. Robby is released from juvenile and rejects both Johnny and Daniel. While Robby is visiting his probation officer he runs into Tory. It turns out that they have a lot more in common than what they thought. Robby walks in on Sam and Miguel, which leads him to see Sensei Kreese.
Episode Nine: Feel The Night
Ali returns and says she has plans for her visit to her hometown while Johnny wakes up next to Carmen after they got together in the previous episode. After Carmen leaves, Johnny receives a message from Ali and he feels conflicted. They do meet up for lunch, share pleasantries, and talk about old times. Once lunch is over, Ali and Johnny go to the arcade and they rekindle their old feelings for each other. Hawk also feels conflicted when he sees Robby with Kreese. That seems to be a theme in this season. Hawk wants to feel strong but always feels conflicted. As Miguel continues to improve his relationship with Sam, he learns more about the rivalry Daniel and Johnny from Daniel’s point of view. At the end, Johnny flashbacks to the original time Daniel “stole” Ali from him when he’s at a party she invited him to.
Episode Ten: December 19th
The party is at the Encino Country Club underway with Ali, Johnny, Daniel, and Amanda reminiscing about old times. They all seemed to have a good time. Ali seems to bring peace between Daniel and Johnny, and they are both in a good place. At the LaRusso house, Cobra Kai crashed the party Sam was having. Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang were trying to make things right and had to come together. In a shocking twist during the fight, Hawk makes a decision that change the balance of power among the dojos. Johnny ends up at Carmen’s, where he sees Miguel bloodied from the fight at LaRusso’s. He then goes to the Cobra Kai dojo and fights Kreese as well as fend off the attack from Robby. Before Kreese could kill Johnny, Daniel saves and almost shows Kreese no mercy. In aftermath of the fight, Miguel, Sam, Johnny and Daniel stand untied while Robby still shows loyalty with Kreese. The season ends with Kreese putting in a phone call to presumably Terry Silver who we last saw in Karate Kid 3. On the other side, you see old friends unite, and Johnny and Daniel work together at Miyagi-Do to teach their students.
Cobra Kai Season Three was fantastic. I love how the writers incorporate so much from the original three movies and translate them into today’s time. I also enjoyed the many twists and turns with Robby, Hawk, Kylar, Yasmine and even Johnny. It appears that Season Four will be revolved around the returning All Valley Karate Tournament. Kreese said that if Cobra Kai loses than he will leave. I don’t want to predict anything earlier, but I feel there may be a twist in there somewhere once we get to season four. The way season three ended has me intrigued already for next season. How will Johnny and Daniel coexist teaching together? Do Robby and Tory further their relationship? What else does Kreese have up his sleeve? All I can say is season three met and exceeded my expectations. The entire crew of Cobra Kai deserves so much praise for how they continue to add to the legacy of Karate Kid. They also deserve a ton of praise for finding ways to keep Pat Morita’s Mr. Miyagi character alive in spirit. Those are some of the emotional scenes in the entire series. Now that season three is in the books, we must now find balance while we wait for season four. If it’s anything like this season, it’s going to be epic.
