"Cobra Kai" (2018) Preview

Cobra Kai (2018-)

Production: Hurwitz & Shlossberg, Overbrook, Sony

Genre(s): Action, Comedy, Drama

Rating: TV-14

Runtime: 40 min

Data Source: IMDb.com

* Spoiler Alert *

“Cobra Kai” (2018) is a new spinoff of “The Karate Kid” (1984). It is a YouTube Red series that some viewers have referred to as “the other side of the story,” similar to a popular YouTube video that humorously recasts Daniel as the “real bully” in the original movie. However, based on the series trailer available on the “Cobra Kai” page on YouTube, the story does not have to be interpreted as a counter-narrative.?

More than 30 years after Daniel defeats Johnny at the end of “The Karate Kid,” the new conflict between Daniel and Johnny is based on a misunderstanding. Daniel remembers his torment at the hands of Cobra Kai in the first and third installments of the movie franchise, and he naturally assumes the worst about Johnny and the new Cobra Kai dojo. Johnny’s sensei, Kreese, is a hard man who teaches that mercy is for the weak, and Kreese still does not understand that “hard” and “strong” are two different things the last time he appears in the movies. The complication in Johnny’s current motives lies in the idea that if he wanted to start a karate school to make a difference in the lives of young people, he could have created something entirely new instead of bringing Cobra Kai back.

Arguably, Johnny is not the same person that he was in “The Karate Kid,” but he is a man of contradictions. Maybe, he has forgotten about having a moment of remorse for his treatment of Daniel and congratulating Daniel, in his own way, after Daniel wins the karate tournament at the end of the original story. When the “Cobra Kai” series begins, Johnny is stuck in a hungover, mid-life crisis that only changes gradually after he rescues Miguel, a teenage boy, whom he witnesses being bullied similar to the way Johnny and his Cobra Kai classmates had once bullied Daniel. Miguel becomes Johnny’s first karate student, and soon Johnny has enough students to run a school.?

Daniel is also a complicated character. As a phenomenally successful businessman, he may come across as smug sometimes, but maybe he has a right to enjoy his success. More importantly, he sincerely wants to provide the best life that he can for his wife Amanda and daughter Samantha. Clearly, he wants to prevent the spread of what could be a terrible influence on the lives of young people in his community, but stopping Cobra Kai might be just as important to him. Daniel’s heart is still in the right place, but he is the same irrational Daniel from the original movie franchise. In the past, audiences rooted for him despite such a flaw, as they tend to do for the best protagonists and for their favorite characters. In the present, Daniel is no longer an underdog, and he might have lost his innocence or a part of the person he used to be.

Is it possible to root for Johnny now, even if he operates in the spirit of the original Cobra Kai, while we hope that Daniel comes to his senses? Neither man is a true villain, but both must find a way to get over their resentment about the past. In short, "Cobra Kai" seems to be a redemption story for both characters.