TV-14, 10 Episodes – Action, Comedy, Drama
Now Playing On YouTube Premium (30-Day Free Trial Available)
“Cobra Kai” was one of last years biggest surprises and one of my favorite shows of 2018. While I was cynical a comedic retooling of one of the 1980’s most beloved franchises could succeed, series senseis Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg and Josh Heald pulled off a wonderful magic trick with the YouTube Premium show. The showrunners honored the previous films in the series and added effective comedy while keeping the pure heart of the original show intact and beating. The show pulsated with nostalgia while blazing its own fresh path for a millennial audience. A difficult hat trick, to be sure. “Cobra Kai” pulled it off with exceptional results, grabbing over 58 million viewers on episode one alone. A season two was inevitable.
Last week all ten episodes of “Cobra Kai” season two dropped on YouTube Premium. Were Hurwitz, Schlossberg and Heald able to continue the quality and success of the first season or has the element of surprise worn off for this story?
I’m happy to report that besides a couple of nitpicks, season two is just as entertaining, heartfelt and well done as the first. Decades after their 1984 All Valley Karate Tournament bout, middle-aged Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) and Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka, who still rules this show), continue to find themselves martial-arts rivals again.
What’s different about the dynamic of this season is the inclusion of Sensei Kreese (Martin Kove), the authoritarian Cobra Kai sensei from the original films (“Sweep the leg” was his famous line). Like all characters in this relaunch, especially the “villains,” Kreese is layered and interesting. He has good chemistry with his former student Johnny (Zabka) and chews the scenery as good as ever, but his inclusion is a double edged sword here; while Kove brings a needed discipline to the show, his involvement also takes precious time away from solo Johnny, who’s tech illiteracy and tendency to be stuck in the 80’s was a joy to watch last year. From Johnny’s confusion at having gender neutrality explained to him “Gender what?!” to his his failed attempts to tackle online dating, Zabka still brings the best moments to the show.
“The Karate Kid” was a strong childhood memory for those of us who grew up in the 80’s, but for a majority of YouTube Premium subscribers, the relevancy of the show falls on the younger cast members, like returning karate students Xolo Maridueña (Miguel Diaz), Mary Mouser (Samantha LaRusso), Jacob Bertrand (Hawk), and newcomers Peyton List (Tory), and the character whose sole purpose is comedic relief, Paul Walter Hauser (”Stingray”). The younger cast continues to be the backbone of the show and the writers go deeper into the backstory of some of the characters we got introduced to in season one. Episode 5 opens with an effective flashback of Eli (aka “Hawk” ) being bullied by kids at school. It shows wonderful character motivation and I hope they continue to dig into these kids’ backstories in upcoming seasons.
With 22 million streams of season two, episode one this week alone, it was a forgone conclusion that Youtube would announce a season three like they finally did on May 2nd. No spoilers here, but the climax between Miyagi-Do and Cobra Kai in the halls of the High School leaves the show on one heck of a cliff hanger.
Ralph Macchio and William Zabka continue to have phenomenal chemistry on screen. When their characters are forced to spend time together with their partners at a Mexican restaurant toward the end of the season, the show is spinning gold. I could watch 20 hours of these two playing off of each other. I sincerely hope Season three finds a way to team these two up for more than just an episode of being stuck together. As a student says to Johnny in one of the episodes, “You two could learn a thing or two from each other.”
This modern day Hatfields vs. McCoys feud continues to keep the train moving from the promise of season one. It finds its balance with comedy, action and heart, but never loses sight of its legacy the original films built with its older fans. The comedy takes a small step back with the addition of Kreese, but it is still one of the best shows out there.
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