Television Cobra Kai

AgentP said:
Only the first two episodes are free. The rest is on YouTube Red.
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If you read through the comments, there's one early on that tells you to pm him for a link.
 
It was interesting when Danny and Johnny went cruising and drinking but it ended weirdly with J finding his kid under Danny's tutelage. You'd think at that point that Danny would have been empathetic enough to smooth it over. It was just odd in the final ep how Danny was suddenly hating Johnny again and supporting his own kid against him.

I think the way we've seen Danny's character through the series is that he can be a bit petty but he eventually realises that he's being a douche and does the right thing. Not getting between a troubled kid/father relationship would seem to be obvious and being in a position to bring them together would be what he should have done if his character is to be believed. His whole hatred of Johnny seems quite irrational most of the time.

I can't believe how young Macchio looks either.
 
Sometimes on the Caf you get the impression that torrents are a totally new and unknown technology.
 
Never was a big fan of the KK but I enjoyed the movie whenever it was on, this show was so good and done really well I have to say

Loved every minute of it
 
oneniltothearsenal said:
Yeah I was really impressed by this. I can't tell if I just loved it so much because I am in an 80s nostalgia mood but I'd rate it up there with the best I seen in 2018 so far.

For @crappycraperson
I agree the transformation of the kids was a bit rushed but I think the fact that I haven't seen any media off the top of my head deal with it in such a manner still earns positive points (and I have watched a lot of the best shows from around the world this past year).

For instance, I think the intent of the writing is still that we are supposed to root for Miquel. I don't think Robby is supposed to be the hero at that point, just that he is a deeper character than the stereotypical "drug addict thief" stereotype they could have set him up as. To me that wasn't sloppy but very clever in humanizing the villain role in Robby rather than a poor execution of making Robby the intended hero at that point. Additionally I see that as showing that even an underdog like Miguel can be susceptible to becoming a bully if suddenly they become alpha for their crew. That is a very real thing. We see in the famous anthropology example of the Tutsi and Hutu of Rwanda - the oppressed becomes oppressor when they gain power.

From a writing perspective, Miguel was always established as the one the audience should support, Robby is just humanized.
I feel this is emphasized in the contrast between that All-Valley blue guy in the final tournament with the obnoxious mom. To me that guy showed "hey look we can make some 2D villain for Miguel to go up against but we would rather attempt to show a deeper character in Robby (even if that fails to hit all notes)".
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Don't think I agree

I don't think they ever intended Robbie to be the villain. That was clear as soon as he joined the dealership and started training under the original KK. I do agree with you that the show runners must have also figured that audience would still root for Miguel in the end but Robbie's whole arc in that tournament was that of an underdog similar to the original movie.They replicated the same arc down to the injury and all. Robbie also got the key training scenes whilst Miguel's were to fuel Johnny's character development or as a reaction to some other event.

One thing that show also made it clear by the end was that Miyagi school of thought is definitely the right one and not Cobra Kai. The whole point of the season was that even if Cobra Kai empowered these kids, it did go too far and ended up making them too aggressive for their own good.
 
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Just finished it and loved it.
Best thing about it is it just knows what it is, it's not trying to justify itself or take itself too seriously, it's not pretending to be anything. It's a good craic with some nice retro nods and some surprisingly snappy dialogue at times. You could see just about every act coming a mile off but it's just so charming you don't care..

Can't wait for season 2 - I might even pay for that!
(I probably won't pay for it)
 
I absolutely despise the modern nostalgia boom, but was goaded into watching this on a hangover and, well, wow, it was somehow actually pretty good! It had absolutely no right to be, and no one would’ve begrudged it being trash (it’s a made for YouTube Karate Kid sequel starting two middle aged men who’ve done virtually nothing of note since the original FFS!) but they actually went and did something kind of interesting with it, whilst still managing to essentially tell the same story in a loving but not slavishly reverential way. Whilst also being about sad old men who take the past too seriously.

It’s actually impressive. Like, how on earth is this good? It almost defies belief. It’s pretty much the perfect execution of what it should be.

(Though yeah, I agree with @crappycraperson that the arcs in the final ep were a little forced. But then the original was hardly nuanced, and again, it had absolutely no right to be this good this in first place. Plus I do at least get what they were going for.)
 
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I thought it was interesting how Daniel and Johnny's long-standing feud lives on vicariously through the next generation protege's. It is a very similar story, however, there's also quite a bit of nuanced variation that keeps it feeling fresh. They explore the theme of ideological repercussions and their influence very well. The end of the season makes for a very interesting premise for a second season story arc, also. It has a lot of nostalgia without being too much; some good original footage not used in the final edit of the KK movie. Like the above, it really is a perfect execution of what it ought to be.
 
Watched the first episode, won't be bothering with the rest. I don't know what I was expecting, it was ok-ish, a bit of novelty fluff but I'm not drawn in to watch more.

Very cliched with the down-on-his luck washed up drunk and the car-dealership thing lifted straight from the rival brothers in Little Giants on top of all the obvious re-doing of the original storyline. I've seen this 10 times before already.
 
If the next series isn't called Cobra Kai 2, Electric Boogaloo, I'll be disappointed.

I enjoyed it. It was a bit naff and cheesy at times, but the way they pinned it all together painting Larusso as a bit smug, petty and meddlesome and Johnny being the product of bad role models/bad choices made it a worthwhile watch.
 
Watching this on NYE and having few beer. Nostalgia is flowing. What an awesome show.
 
Ohhhhh boy! New trailer.

Early reviews from media who have seen the first two eps (to be release on 24th April) are very positive.

John Kreese! Word has it.....Terry Silver, too.

 
MyOnlySolskjaer said:
This will be the worst series if LaRusso's daughter ends up winning the next tournament.
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I thought the same thing, initially, however judging from the trailer they've paired LaRusso's daughter up with some bad ass chick from Cobra Kai, so I think they'll focus on her arc revolving around their feud. I think Robby (Johnny's kid) will eventually get the win over Miguel Diaz. If this show goes past two seasons I can see Kreese taking over the entire Cobra Kai dojo (possibly getting Terry Silver back in) and kicking Johnny out and then season three will be Johnny and Daniel both up against Kreese and co.

I'll be happiest if they managed to squeeze in, "Get him a booooodybaaag!!! Yeaaaah!"
 
This just dropped! Going to watch over the next two days. I am irrationally excited for this show more than others
 
I've only seen the first episode and I really enjoyed it. Finally got the missus to sit down and watch it also this week and she also liked it - we both are of the Karate Kid generation so it's essentially made for us. I'll get the rest of the first season watched over the coming weeks.

Also as an aside - another bloody fantastic show for people to watch is 'What we do in the shadows' - I loved the movie and I'm delighted to confirm the series is really great also. Plus it's got Matt Berry in it who is always a delight.
 
Reddy Rederson said:
Watched it all. Good, not as good as the first season, but still very good.
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I thought the first few episodes of the season were not quite as good as S1 but the ending and last 2 episodes was much stronger and more creative.
 
What I enjoyed about the show is that it's like 80% can't take it seriously silly and then delivers an (however predictable it might have been) ending like that. It dances on the edge between trashy 80s, teeny soap, midlife crisis comedy and serious character development and more or less finds a balance.

Probably not a masterpiece, but good enough to entertain the vast majority of people.
 
crappycraperson said:
I binged this over the weekend. It is a definite must watch for the original's fans. Reviews are also right, I am not a fan of all these rehashes as a form of nostalgia porn but I did enjoy this. The show walks a fine line between not talking itself too seriously and devolving into a full on parody. The fact it is a 25-30 mins dramedy with a light hearted tone is a relief and makes it as watchable as it was. May be 1 episode too long at worst.

Johnny's character is the central figure for the series this time. They kinda tease viewers with the notion that he was after all not the villain of the original movie ( a viewpoint popularised by Barney in HIMYM) but thankfully don't commit to that rehash in anyway. Though funnily enough, some people on internet believe that this series proved the same.

Things that work -
- Johnny's characterisation is the most important bit and they had to get it right for the series to work. If they had gone down a full on redeux route of framing him as a more sympathetic character then that would have killed the series. Continuing him as a 2 note villain would not have worked either. The origin story behind his villainous character in the movie is simple and effective - bad influence of step father and his sensei, not Sopranos level stuff but it does not need to be. He is still a screw up and prone to racist and sexist remarks. So whenever he becomes too root-able, they ground him with some of his other antics. Overall, he is the character most would root for which was the point given the ending.
- Most of the teenage characters are well depicted. The series nails the impact and scope of cyber bullying on youngsters in the age of social media.
- The series does not go down the full remake route ala the SW- ANH or some other remakes. Instead it gives some sub arcs of similar flavours to the younger characters. Daniel's daughter, Sam, looks like a stand in for Ali character but there is scope for more. Similarly Robby's starts off as a possible stand in for Johnny but by the end the roles are flipped and he is pretty much a clear stand in for Daniel character for now. Miguel's arc is the best though the ending for the same is somewhat poorly handled.

Things that don't -
- Robby's character. First of all, the actor is terrible. You really needed a bankable actor to carry that part. He had the third or fourth most important part in the series. The sequence in the last episode with the one handed kick was very poorly depicted too. I could never just get too much invested in his arc. It was also the most predictable one out of the lot. The daughter's arc was much more interesting one for me. I guess they are saving her as a karate competitor for second season.
- Transformation of Miguel and other outcasts into becoming the bullies they fought against was somewhat hurried. Needed some more breathing time between them being timid and hyper aggressive. You could argue it was done to depict how Johnny himself does not sees it materialise. But still, it was jarring to see Miguel being on the wrong side in that last fight. If show wanted viewers at that point to root for Robby then they did a poor job IMO, I was still rooting for Miguel :lol: and on first look on internet, as were others.
- Finally, the twist ending of original villain coming back was not a good sign for me. So much of this series worked because it was intent on depicting everyone as a shade of grey rather than black or white. I really can't see the original bad coach being anything more than a 2D villain. I am also not really looking forward to a forced love triangle between 3 teenagers. May be the series will surprise me again in the second season it should get.
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My Review for S1. S2 was a definite step down, in fact till 7th season I was ready to completely give up on it.
- As I feared the original villain returning was not a good omen and the first half of the season drags really badly due to it. Rationale of Johnny allowing him to stay around makes little to no sense.
- Robbie kid is still a weak spot for the series as a whole. Not sure if I am the only one but if they wrote off that character from the show, I would not care one bit.
- They decided to upgrade from teenage love triangle by adding another gal to it. Show leaning into it was just too predictable and was hoping they would do something novel but it was not to be.
- Think they took the whole series too seriously this time around and it felt a chore at times to sit through. They did redeem the season in final episodes and final school fight sequence was enthralling. Did not also see that ending coming.
- Saw Ali character coming back every since Tommy mentioned her as his crush. That was defo one mention too many. Accidental FB message just confirmed it. Not sure what it will add to the series. Blatant fan service to keep this chugging along.
- Miguel's arc in third season has to be about rehabilitating and coming back to win the tournament again?

Overall, I can see myself rewatching first season again no chance with second one which was 60-70% filler.
 
Still have to watch the 2nd season. Is it worth it overall?
 
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