Cobra Kai (1 Viewer)

[Carabimero]

I hope I am wrong also. I talked about that on my youtube channel. I also addressed something I do not want to see Continue and one thing I didnt care for was the Sting Ray Character. I found his actions in the Season 2 finale annoying. Hopefully he will be gotten rid of quietly. He is to Cobra Kai what Jar Jar Binks was to the Star Wars Prequels in my opinion. A grown man beating up teen agers? and what of Kreese? While we didnt see it on screen, it is implied that he hit Dimitri

One thing I would like to see is Someone from Kreese's Past come in. Terry Silver? Mike Barnes? Maybe one of them will have mellowed out and try to get through to Kreese? ..I suspect we will eventually see Mike barnes. Remember in Season one when Johnny gets fired from his Maintenance Job? Hes talking to his Boss on the phone and he says "you are going to pay me what you owe me Mike"

Message me the link to your channel. Thanks.

 

[DaveF]

The shows are 30 minutes or less each, and there's only ten shows per season, so at least you might have a fighting chance. IMO, it's so good (I was giggling constantly) that you might get sucked in and finish it off quicker than you think.

It’s just that I have *many* excellent shows to watch and I’m falling further behind every month it seems.

 

[Tino]

Contemplating picking up the first season on iTunes for $9.99.

Hmmmmmm

 

[Tino]

Isn’t the first season free somewhere.

 

[Josh Dial]

Isn’t the first season free somewhere.

I think the first episode for each season may be free in some regions (I know the first episode of season one was free in Canada last year).

 

[Josh Dial]

Season 1 nd 2 on Netflix Aug 28, 2020

Cobra Kai: First Two Seasons Coming to Netflix in August

Ahead of the third season premiere, Netflix has officially announced the release date for Cobra Kai Seasons 1 and 2 starring original stars Ralph Macchio and William Zabka.

www.comingsoon.net

Crossing posting John's link into this thread.

Looking forward to season 3.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

The first two seasons are available on Netflix now, ahead of the third season's debut sometime next year.

Just finished the first season, and enjoyed it a lot. It stays true to the movies while complicating their legacy in interesting ways.

Johnny is definitely the protagonist, and Daniel the antagonist. But the show doesn't shy away from how deeply flawed Johnny is, and it shows Daniel staying true to what Mr. Miyagi taught him. It's a credit to the man he became and the life he has built for himself that every time he starts to become too much of an asshole, the people in his life rein him back in.

None of the kids are really bad; the show really internalizes Mr. Miyagi's philosophy that there is "no such thing as bad student, only bad teacher.” Johnny does a lot of good for his students, but he also infects them with his toxic masculinity bullshit. One of the things that made the first season so captivating for me is that it ends at a high point for Cobra Kai but a low point for Johnny; it takes the whole season for him to grow beyond his own worldview. And he doesn't see what's wrong until it's too late.

Robby and Sam, the son and daughter of Johnny and Daniel respectively, are also well-written characters. Robby basically goes through Daniel's arc from the first movie, while Sam's arc kind of mirrors Johnny's arc this season. By the end of the season, you like both of them.

The show is primarily shot in Atlanta, but it really makes the most out of its limited location shooting in the San Fernando Valley, particularly bringing back Golf N' Stuff and the South Seas apartment complex. And the recreation of Mr. Miyagi's house, presumably somewhere in Georgia, was downright eerie.

The return of Krease in the final scene of the first season was of course a big "Holy Shit" moment for longtime fans of the franchise, but Krease is also an interesting obstacle to put on Johnny's path to redemption; will he be seduced by his old sensei's devish ways, or or will he continue to push for a more honorable path?

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Ended up rolling straight through the second season as well. One of the best parts about the show is that the episodes feel like exactly the right length, with no padding. It's been a while since I've seen a half-hour drama, but it totally works here.

I didn't think the second season was as strong as the first, but the season finale redeemed it somewhat. These two grown men, and their inability to move past their teenage rivalry, resulted in them turning a bunch of kids into lethal weapons and then turning them against one another. That was bound to have serious repercussions, and in the second season finale it finally did.

It's not just a question of whether or not Miguel survives, or is paralyzed if he does, though that is obviously the most pressing concern. But even if Miguel comes through this without any permanent injuries, these kids turned their entire high school into a war zone. Sam, Robby, and Tory are all probably facing expulsion. Probably a few dozen kids would be suspended at minimum. Johnny invested everything he had into the dojo, and now he's broke and unemployed. LaRusso's reputation in the Valley is going to take a huge hit from this scandal, and that will undoubtedly weigh on his car dealerships.

My biggest issue with the first two seasons was the way contrivances kept Johnny and Daniel at each other's throats, and later their students as well. After a while, it began to feel cheap and manipulative: Some external element makes one side or the other think the other side is out to get them, they overreact, and then don't find out the truth until it's too late. Rinse and repeat.

I'm hoping that with Krease having taken over Cobra Kai again, and Johnny having disavowed it, that Daniel and Johnny will finally get on the same page. It feels like the show has mined that conflict as much as it can, and exploring them as allies would be a lot more interesting at this point. And given that their rivalry has (at minimum) put a kid in the hospital, they both have strong reasons to figure out a better way.

The tag at the end teasing the return of Ali was less effective than the first season tag with the return of Krease. I kind of feel like the show has enough to deal with with its own characters, it doesn't need another trip to the nostalgia mill.

 

[Museum Pieces]

I watched both seasons by myself. Then watched them again. Then watched them a third time with my wife. And a forth time with my best friend. Two strong seasons. Not perfect but realistically it would be hard for me to ask for anything much better. I think Ally will bring a nice change the series needs.

I suggest watching Karate Kid II before viewing season three, as I heard at least one plot strand takes place in Okinawa.

 

[Clinton McClure]

I binged both seasons yesterday. I thought season 1 was fantastic and season 2 was just so-so with the season 2 finale being rather ridiculous. I’m waiting for season 3 and really hope it brings the series back to the level of season 1.

 

[TravisR]

Are the Karate Kid movies currently on Netflix?

 

[Clinton McClure]

I think so. I have the Karate Kid on Blu-ray but never much cared for the other three movies.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Are the Karate Kid movies currently on Netflix?

The first three starring Ralph Macchio are. The fourth one starring Hilary Swank and the Jackie Chan/Jaden Smith reboot are not.

So far "Cobra Kai" has only acknowledged events from those first three movies.

 

[ScottH]

Watched the first 3 episodes. It’s cheesy...predictable...basically a reboot of the first movie...over-acting at its finest...and I’m totally hooked. I do wish they would have taken a darker approach but this is at least entertaining.

Ralph Macchio’s face look’s like a doll’s face. Does he really look like that or did they “doll” him up for the show? (He is a car salesman after all.)

 

[Clinton McClure]

Ralph Macchio’s face look’s like a doll’s face. Does he really look like that or did they “doll” him up for the show? (He is a car salesman after all.)

He’s stuck somewhere between Steve Buscemi and Joe Pesci.

 

[Carlo_M]

I just binge watched S1-2. Consider me a huge fan. I won't break it down too much, in the same way that I don't really break down films that I love. To me the product speaks for itself. So much great social and economic commentary across all generations and races. And it goodnaturedly ribs at both ends of the political spectrum. It's not meanspirited when it creates its humor. And I already have like three dozen favorite quotable lines from it alone. Maybe more.

But I guess the best way to say it, is this show is badass.

 

[Sean Bryan]

I was aware of the existence of this show, but I wasn’t motivated to watch a “YouTube“ series. But when I saw that it was on Netflix I immediately checked it out and loved it. I‘m kind of glad I waited because I love binging stories I‘m into so much more than spreading them out over time. Flew through both seasons these last two weekends.

This is a really well done show and is so much fun to watch. Can’t wait for season 3.

 

[Citizen87645]

I'm halfway through the second season and agree the first is stronger, and has more of that bingeable quality, perhaps because of the nostalgia/novelty factor.

The second season plays more Lifetime / afterschool special-ish, which may be by design, but then doesn't hit the same entertainment notes as the first season.

As Adam mentions, the dramatic contrivance driven by characters just not talking / communicating like normal people seems higher in the second season. You can sort of justify it by saying the bad blood prevents the respective parties from communicating properly, but when one person says, "I don't know what you think I did." and the other says, "You know what you did." and it ends there, then that's just pure soap opera tactics.

Also, I can't help kind of laughing at Kove as Kreese. It's great he's still around to play the role, but he seems wobbly on his feet. Plus when he has his arms crossed, he seems to be doing that trick my dad showed me where you push out your bicep to make it look bigger than it is.

 

[Citizen87645]

I finished the second season. I felt like season 1 was written for the grown ups looking for a nostalgia trip, and then the second season was written for their kids.

 

[ScottH]

I finished the second season. I felt like season 1 was written for the grown ups looking for a nostalgia trip, and then the second season was written for their kids.

Yeah, that's not a bad way to put it. As bad as even season 1 was, I was hooked from the beginning and plowed through it. Now I'm having a hard time getting through season 2. I think once the nostalgia of it wears off the bad writing and acting starts to become a distraction.