Cobra Kai: Anyone watching?

[famicommander]

At least they tried harder this time with respect to Japanese authenticity. All the Okinawa scenes in The Karate Kid Part II were shot in Hawaii or LA, but for Cobra Kai they actually sent Macchio and company to Okinawa.

 

[neo_mao]

Just watch it secure in the knowledge that Miyagi gon' whoop dat ass.

May as well watch Next Karate Kid too. It's much worse than Karate Kid or Part II but it's better than Part III at least.

I just finished the 3rd movie. It was hard to watch because I hate Terry Silver so much. What a bastard. Oh god I hate him so much!!!

 

[famicommander]

I just finished the 3rd movie. It was hard to watch because I hate Terry Silver so much. What a bastard. Oh god I hate him so much!!!

Well I'm betting Johnny kicks him in the face next season on Cobra Kai.

 

[LoneSage]

It's not the friendliness. Japanese taxi drivers are very friendly. It's the mentality, it's the word choice, stuff like that. It's a caricature. I agree it's a huge win getting all the original actors back. And like I said, if this is taking place in an exaggerated heightened reality, it does work for the series to have the same cartoon vision of Japan that the old movies had. It reinforces the sense of continuity. But when Daniel went to the auto distributor board meeting for example, we both busted out laughing at the dialogue.

Hey I just want to let you know, that I understand. I understand you.

 

[SouthtownKid]

I feel heard.

 

[Taiso]

It's not the friendliness. Japanese taxi drivers are very friendly. It's the mentality, it's the word choice, stuff like that. It's a caricature. I agree it's a huge win getting all the original actors back. And like I said, if this is taking place in an exaggerated heightened reality, it does work for the series to have the same cartoon vision of Japan that the old movies had. It reinforces the sense of continuity. But when Daniel went to the auto distributor board meeting for example, we both busted out laughing at the dialogue.

I'm not taking a shit on the show, and it didn't hurt the series. We still loved it. I'm looking forward to season 4 more than I was season 3.

I dunno, for me, the parts I enjoyed most were the moments they actually had me rooting a little bit for Kreese, which I never would have expected. And anything with Hawk, who has been my favorite character in the show whether he's bad or good. Every time they play that hawk sound effect sting, it cracks me up.

I agree with Wasabi on the Okinawa stuff and he said pretty much everything I would have said regarding consistency with the movies. Okinawa is still my favorite part.

Eli/Hawk is my favorite character as well, I think. It's great seeing the original geek bros together again and it'll be interesting to see them all interact with new, confident dynamics.

Also, regarding Kreese, this season was all about the origins of the two conflicting martial arts styles and dammit, just like this series made me empathize with Johnny, I'm starting to empathize with Kreese, too. He's on a terrible path but could he find redemption and forgiveness as well?

Therefore, my bold prediction:

Spoiler:

Betsy isn't dead. The letter said she was pregnant and the commander didn't want Kreese to know it because then he might decline to take the suicide mission. Telling him she was dead was a way to get in his head so he would win the fight.

If there's a way back for Kreese, that's it.

 

[SouthtownKid]

If there's a way back for Kreese, that's it.

I'm not sure he would take it. It's a great idea, though. You might be onto something there.

BUT

Spoiler:

If Betsy isn't dead, could her and Kreese's kid or grandkid be an existing cast member?

 

[Taiso]

I'm not sure he would take it. It's a great idea, though. You might be onto something there.

BUT

Spoiler:

If Betsy isn't dead, could her and Kreese's kid or grandkid be an existing cast member?

Spoiler:

While it would be an incredible coincidence given how he's already helped her out, Tory is the best character to fill that grandkid role. Her sick mom could be Kreese's daughter. Or maybe Betsy DID die giving birth to their daughter, thus giving a built in explanation for her not knowing who her father is. If she was adopted, and Kreese never knew he was a father, it's entirely possible the adopting parents wouldn't want her to know anything about it. especially if they were hippies or anti-war types or something like that.

There are any number of ways they could go with this.

I'm not saying that this is the way it's going to go. Just that this is a clear redemptive path for Kreese.

 

[SonGohan]

Did anybody notice that little fuck you nod to the audience who were fan-theorying Elizabeth Shue being brought in to fix Miguel? I think it's Daniel and Johnny in the hospital and they're staring at the back of some doctor with blonde hair. When she turns around and it's not Elizabeth Shue, they both kind of look at each other "I guess it's not her." It was really weird.

 

[Fygee]

Best season so far if you ask me. I especially loved the Okinawa episodes. Talk about tugging at one's heartstrings...

I'm glad they had Chosen be a grumpy, but reformed character instead of yet another long term enemy for Daniel.

 

[Splitt442]

Did anybody notice that little fuck you nod to the audience who were fan-theorying Elizabeth Shue being brought in to fix Miguel? I think it's Daniel and Johnny in the hospital and they're staring at the back of some doctor with blonde hair. When she turns around and it's not Elizabeth Shue, they both kind of look at each other "I guess it's not her." It was really weird.

These showrunners know how to fuck with us and I love 'em for it.

 

[Taiso]

These showrunners know how to fuck with us and I love 'em for it.

And they do so in a way consistent with both the previous films and seasons AND with respect to the fans, if you ask me.

You don't have to give the fans what they want. Just don't give them what you know they DON'T want.

This is the Way.

 

[NeoSneth]

How many times are Johnny and Daniel going to see eye to eye, reconcile, and then break up?

 

[ShaolinAce]

How many times are Johnny and Daniel going to see eye to eye, reconcile, and then break up?

Hopefully this is the last time seeing as they have a common enemy now.

Although. Did we every get that Johnny vs Daniel rematch aside from 1 or 2 five second brawls? Definitely need that before the series ends.

 

[Fygee]

How many times are Johnny and Daniel going to see eye to eye, reconcile, and then break up?

There's no way both of their dojos training together is going to be butter smooth next season.

 

[NeoSneth]

should probably spoiler tag that, but whatevs... it was predictable.

 

[famicommander]

Did anybody notice that little fuck you nod to the audience who were fan-theorying Elizabeth Shue being brought in to fix Miguel? I think it's Daniel and Johnny in the hospital and they're staring at the back of some doctor with blonde hair. When she turns around and it's not Elizabeth Shue, they both kind of look at each other "I guess it's not her." It was really weird.

They did the same thing in the Kreese flashbacks, twice

Spoiler:

In the diner flashback, they seem to be setting up the asshole in the letterman's jacket to be Kreese, but it turns out he's actually bullying Kreese.

And, as pointed out earlier in this thread, the guy who gets killed in the POW flashbacks had Terry Silver's haircut but it turned out the other guy was Terry.

 

[SouthtownKid]

They did the same thing in the Kreese flashbacks, twice

Spoiler:

In the diner flashback, they seem to be setting up the asshole in the letterman's jacket to be Kreese,.

Not at all. That was so fucking obvious from the second the waiter showed up. Textbook scriptwriting 101.

 

[famicommander]

The show has been streamed in over 73 million unique households since it debuted on Netflix. Season 3 alone has been streamed in over 41 million households. It hit #1 in 28 countries including the US and UK.

There's gotta be more content coming. Whether that's a spin off, longer episodes, or more episodes per season. 5 hours per season isn't enough for something with this level of popularity.

 

[LoneSage]

Hey, confession here, I never watched Karate Kid as a kid, so I have no nostalgia for it. You think this show is a good watch for non-fans?

obviously I know stuff like wax on wax off, and sweep the leg, pop culture references but that's it.

edit: here's a cool video of Pat Morita telling a story of how he got the Mr. Miyagi part:

 

[famicommander]

Hey, confession here, I never watched Karate Kid as a kid, so I have no nostalgia for it. You think this show is a good watch for non-fans?

obviously I know stuff like wax on wax off, and sweep the leg, pop culture references but that's it.

It's a good show regardless but you really should watch the movies anyway.

 

[Taiso]

I think that the Karate Kid films are so embedded in western pop culture that they're essential viewing for any fan of film. Whether it's am undisputed classic, so-bad-it's-good trash or somewhere in between, once something has enduring cultural cache, it's incumbent on all cinema buffs to understand.

Also, Pat Morita was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar back when that awards ceremony meant something. Mr. Miyagi as a character absolutely holds up and so does Morita's performance in the series.

 

[SouthtownKid]

Hey, confession here, I never watched Karate Kid as a kid, so I have no nostalgia for it. You think this show is a good watch for non-fans?

obviously I know stuff like wax on wax off, and sweep the leg, pop culture references but that's it.

I love the show and only moderately liked the first two movies as a kid (never watched 3 or beyond). But without the nostalgia of having seen any of the movies as a kid, even if you had been indifferent to them, the new show is going to lose 90% of it's impact for you. No one wants to tell you this, but your chances of really enjoying it are extremely slim. If you were decades younger, maybe you could enjoy it as its own thing as a teen drama, but I doubt that's going to happen now.

You have nothing to lose by giving it a try, but don't get your hopes up. Maybe watch the original movie first, to see if you can take that. If so, it's fine to skip the other movies and go directly to the series. Anything important that happened in the sequel movies gets shown in flashback anyway, so you won't miss anything.

 

[Taiso]

It's still incredible to me how Cobra Kai mines Karate Kid Part 3 for so much of it's spiritual ethos.

On paper, Karate Kid Part 3 seems to really have a lot going for it as a coda to Daniel's journey with Miyagi. Overcoming his own fear seems like a logical last step.

As I understand it, a rushed production schedule and a reticent Ralph Macchio who was, reportedly, difficult to work with, were big obstacles. Also, because of all the delays in the production, Martin Kove's involvement had to be limited due to obligations to other projects. He was, as I recall, supposed to be the film's only villain and Silver was created to fill in the rest of the scenes, transplanted and rewritten to align with the new character.

 

[Fygee]

Hey, confession here, I never watched Karate Kid as a kid, so I have no nostalgia for it. You think this show is a good watch for non-fans?

obviously I know stuff like wax on wax off, and sweep the leg, pop culture references but that's it.

You don't have to be a fan to enjoy it, but you'll definitely get a lot more out of it if you watch Karate Kid 1 and 2 first. Both excellent movies in their own right, with 2 being my favorite out of all of them.

The show has been streamed in over 73 million unique households since it debuted on Netflix. Season 3 alone has been streamed in over 41 million households. It hit #1 in 28 countries including the US and UK.

There's gotta be more content coming. Whether that's a spin off, longer episodes, or more episodes per season. 5 hours per season isn't enough for something with this level of popularity.

I just hope they don't spread things too thin and end up jumping the shark. There's honestly only so many ways you can justify having high schoolers and 50+ year olds kick each other's butts within the realm of possibility in the plot before it becomes goofy and nonsensical.