By Margaret DeMarco Contributing Writer
The student becomes the master in the new spin-off series “Cobra Kai.” Daniel LaRusso, the karate kid, lives his best life with his picture-perfect family and successful business until his luck runs out when he encounters people from his past.
On Aug. 28, Netflix opened its doors to the Karate Kid spin-off series Cobra Kai. Netflix released this two-part series, each consisting of 10 episodes and lasting approximately 28 minutes each.
The first season begins with the original movie scene at the All Valley Karate Tournament, where Daniel LaRusso, played by Ralph Macchio, takes down his opponent and the school bully, Johnny Lawrence, played by William Zabka. The next scene shows what their lives look like 30 years after the tournament. Johnny is depicted as a struggling middle-aged man who is stuck in his past. On the other hand, LaRusso is shown with his picture-perfect family and a successful car dealership.
The first few episodes are just like the original movie, where Miguel, played by Xolo Maridueña, the new kid in town, struggles to make new friends and fit in. Like Daniel, Miguel runs into some of his popular classmates and gets himself into trouble. Instead of Mr. Miyagi showing up to put these kids in their place, Johnny Lawrence steps in to defuse the situation using his karate skills. In correlation to the original movie, Miguel asks Johnny to teach him karate.
As the plot thickens, Lawrence decides to bring back his old karate dojo Cobra Kai which only focused on winning no matter the circumstance. When LaRusso hears about the new dojo, he is furious and stops at nothing to try and shut it down. While LaRusso has trouble balancing work life with his personal life, Lawrence struggles to meet his new business’s needs. As the two adults fight it out passive-aggressively, their children get into trouble of their own.
The second season slowly fills in the blanks that were left behind in the first season. Daniel and Johnny agree to disagree and live their own lives until they are brought together by their children and the dojo. This season, the audience sees that Johnny has somewhat control over his life while Daniel struggles to balance his life. With the stress of the business and family, Daniel goes back to his old roots to find peace but has trouble without his former mentor Mr. Miyagi. The second season ends with new relationships being formed, but they are quickly brought down by karate and the fight between what is right and wrong.
The Cobra Kai series is rated Tv-14 based on sexual innuendos, strong language, and violent scenes.The series has dry adult humor, but it relates to some of today’s hot topics. The acting is mediocre, but the cast does a good job of portraying their characters. Although, at times, they seem a little cheesy and predictable. The first season’s overall outline reflects heavily on the original movie by putting new characters in similar situations to the old ones. The second season does a better job of creating new storylines and keeping the attention of the audience. Cobra Kai is like the modern-day Power Rangers minus the fancy suit and superpowers.
demarcmr18@bonaventure.edu
