Filled with drama, action and heart-warming character arches, the third season of Netflix’s “Cobra Kai” is a must-watch for fans. Over the top and silly at times, you can’t help but want more.
The second season left viewers on a cliffhanger, with Miguel in the hospital and tensions between the Cobra Kai and Miyagi-Do dojos rising. There were so many directions that the writers could have taken the show in and I couldn’t wait to see what they went with.
While I appreciate the charm that a triumphant underdog story has, I would have liked to see more struggle with the main character. He kind of just healed over the span of a month and was back to normal by the season finale.
I’m not saying that this was the wrong way to go (after all, the show should still be fun and enjoyable), but seeing a little more of a struggle for Miguel would have brought some more emotion to the season.
One thing that I think the writers really excelled at was character growth and development. This season took some one-dimensional characters and really fleshed them out. A couple prominent examples that come to mind are Tory, Hawk and Kreese.
Tory began as a confusing character. It wasn’t clear whether she was supposed to be bad or someone worth rooting for. I think the writers could have taken it either way, but I’m glad that she took on the role of this complex antagonist; it felt very natural.
On the other hand, I’m really glad to see Hawk get the redemption arch that he did. He was a really sweet and endearing character in the earlier seasons and served as a good example of how Cobra Kai’s toxic environment can change people for the worse.
Lastly, we come to the man who started it all: Sensei John Kreese. Throughout the movies and first two seasons, Kreese served as the evil puppet master, molding and manipulating new waves of school bullies for decades.
This season, however, we get a peak at how he got like this. We see his tragic upbringing, as well as his traumatic time serving in the Vietnam War. These added layers of his story create a lot of mental anguish, as the viewer struggles with wanting him to be stopped, while also feeling bad for him.
Story and character developments aside, there are some glaring issues with the season, as well as the show as a whole.
For starters, we get it, it’s a sequel to “The Karate Kid” movies. This fact becomes ever so apparent with the constant inserts of clips from the films as flashbacks and memories. I also didn’t find it super necessary to have Daniel return to Okinawa and have a reunion with the cast of “The Karate Kid Part II.”
Additionally, the acting really isn’t that good. When you take actors that haven’t done much aside their famous childhood roles and place them into a teen action drama, it becomes apparent that you’re not exactly watching Oscar-worthy content.
In my opinion, this adds to the comedy and charm of the show and really helps to play up the childishness of Johnny and Daniel’s 30-year-old rivalry. This is just something to keep in mind if you’re looking for a more serious, well acted drama.
As a whole, though, I think that this is a really fun show with compelling characters and amusing plotlines and humor. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoyed the movies or is just looking for an easy watch.