The first thing I heard about Cobra Kai was that it "wasn't afraid to be politically incorrect." I didn't think much of it at the time--the person I heard this from was known to be particularly anti-PC and I assumed if it really crossed any serious lines, I'd have heard about some kind of outrage. But when I started watching the show a few weeks ago, I didn't expect that that decree would be such a major part of the show.
Cobra Kai is a continuation of the Karate Kid trilogy from the '80s, told from the perspective of the first movie's villain, Johnny Lawrence, though just about every major character from the trilogy appears at one point or another (except, of course, the late Pat Morita's Mr. Miyagi). In the first movie, Johnny was a student of Cobra Kai karate, famous for the motto "Strike First. Strike Hard. No Mercy." It's not hard to figure out from the motto that Johnny and his fellow Cobra Kai were stereotypical '80s bullies. Aggressive, one-dimensional douchebags who only existed to torture the protagonist. As time has gone on, however, a more sympathetic view of Johnny has emerged. Daniel, the hero, was the aggressor in several situations, and wasn't willing to let the rivalry end when it could have. Johnny wasn’t exactly innocent, but it wasn’t as one-sided as the movie would have you think.
So Cobra Kai was finally Johnny's chance to have his say, and present a different side of the story. It takes a basic structure that’s very popular these days: a comedy that's really a half-hour drama, centered on a sympathetic but deeply flawed antihero (see: Brockmire, BoJack Horseman, everything Danny McBride's done for HBO). However, there's a lot more nuance to it than I expected. Over the course of his redemption story, Johnny doesn't learn the error of his ways and denounce Cobra Kai. He doubles down on it. And he’s right to do so. When the creed of striking first and striking hard helps save a bullied teen and get him a normal life, he turns his attention towards the dweebs as his main student pool.
These kids would have been the main target of Cobra Kai in the ‘80s, but they flourish under Johnny’s tutelage. After all, the way Johnny sees the mantra makes a lot of sense to these kids. After being ruthlessly bullied for most of their lives, they’re sick of waiting for the enemy to strike first. And if you’re in a situation where you need to strike, shouldn’t you be doing it hard enough to end the fight? There are some flaws to his teaching. When you stop waiting for the enemy to strike first, it’s easy to see everyone as the enemy. Johnny also struggles to impart the difference between fighting without mercy and fighting without honour.
Cobra Kai also follows up on Daniel. He's the successful owner of a car dealership, and has heavily incorporated his peace-loving, defence only, Eastern-influenced style of karate into his public persona and marketing. When he sees Johnny restart Cobra Kai, however, he becomes angry and distrustful, unable to let go of their past bullying. Daniel is a good, magnanimous guy, but he also knows he's a good, magnanimous guy; he's not exactly disingenuous, but he certainly enjoys being the hero, and sees himself as above the Cobra Kai. Unintentionally, he passes this on to his students. They only fight for the defence of themselves or others, they're accepting of others and open-minded. But they're also condescending and have an air of superiority when talking to the Cobra Kai, or anyone that they feel is their enemy.
I started off by saying that this show was about PC culture, and that's true to an extent, but I think it's more about the struggle to redefine masculinity in the modern age. Johnny represents traditional masculinity; rough around the edges, bigoted, unacademic--but also confident, effective, and with a sense of honour and fair play. Daniel represents more modern masculinity; prone to being reactionary and judgmental, ineffectual, smug at times--but also kind, generous, and enlightened to an extent. The students are caught somewhere in between, always shifting alliances and attitudes. The new generation is being influenced from too many different directions to know who they are.
This struggle--PC culture, redefining of masculinity, whatever you want to call--is something that's obviously being discussed constantly in the world today, but Cobra Kai does a few things to make it stand out. Number one, mercifully, none of this is ever discussed directly and just stays as subtext. The point is made clearly without ever becoming preachy or cloying. Secondly, given the number of things tackling this subject, Cobra Kai is legitimately one of the few I've seen go at it with such nuance. Usually one side is portrayed as completely negative, reactionary cartoon caricatures. At best, both sides might be portrayed completely negatively. But both Johnny and Daniel are given real depth, and you can understand both of their philosophies and see the good and bad in both. Both characters also continue to grow and evolve. Eventually a more blatant antagonist is introduced that represents the farther extremes of Johnny's philosophy and leaves him spinning, not sure of his place in the world. Daniel learns that sometimes you have to strike first, otherwise you're always leaving yourself open to an attack.
There's a lot to love about Cobra Kai. It's funny as hell. It has some of the most well-rounded protagonists I've seen in a long time, and does an incredible job of considering both of their perspectives. It handles its teen drama well, and makes misunderstandings and lack of communication feel organic. It has one of the best supporting/background casts since The Office. It has an insane dedication to its own continuity, without being impenetrable to new viewers. But this theme and how much it resonates with today's world stood out and made me take notice more than anything else.
Cobra Kai is a continuation of the Karate Kid trilogy from the '80s, told from the perspective of the first movie's villain, Johnny Lawrence, though just about every major character from the trilogy appears at one point or another (except, of course, the late Pat Morita's Mr. Miyagi). In the first movie, Johnny was a student of Cobra Kai karate, famous for the motto "Strike First. Strike Hard. No Mercy." It's not hard to figure out from the motto that Johnny and his fellow Cobra Kai were stereotypical '80s bullies. Aggressive, one-dimensional douchebags who only existed to torture the protagonist. As time has gone on, however, a more sympathetic view of Johnny has emerged. Daniel, the hero, was the aggressor in several situations, and wasn't willing to let the rivalry end when it could have. Johnny wasn’t exactly innocent, but it wasn’t as one-sided as the movie would have you think.
So Cobra Kai was finally Johnny's chance to have his say, and present a different side of the story. It takes a basic structure that’s very popular these days: a comedy that's really a half-hour drama, centered on a sympathetic but deeply flawed antihero (see: Brockmire, BoJack Horseman, everything Danny McBride's done for HBO). However, there's a lot more nuance to it than I expected. Over the course of his redemption story, Johnny doesn't learn the error of his ways and denounce Cobra Kai. He doubles down on it. And he’s right to do so. When the creed of striking first and striking hard helps save a bullied teen and get him a normal life, he turns his attention towards the dweebs as his main student pool.
These kids would have been the main target of Cobra Kai in the ‘80s, but they flourish under Johnny’s tutelage. After all, the way Johnny sees the mantra makes a lot of sense to these kids. After being ruthlessly bullied for most of their lives, they’re sick of waiting for the enemy to strike first. And if you’re in a situation where you need to strike, shouldn’t you be doing it hard enough to end the fight? There are some flaws to his teaching. When you stop waiting for the enemy to strike first, it’s easy to see everyone as the enemy. Johnny also struggles to impart the difference between fighting without mercy and fighting without honour.
Cobra Kai also follows up on Daniel. He's the successful owner of a car dealership, and has heavily incorporated his peace-loving, defence only, Eastern-influenced style of karate into his public persona and marketing. When he sees Johnny restart Cobra Kai, however, he becomes angry and distrustful, unable to let go of their past bullying. Daniel is a good, magnanimous guy, but he also knows he's a good, magnanimous guy; he's not exactly disingenuous, but he certainly enjoys being the hero, and sees himself as above the Cobra Kai. Unintentionally, he passes this on to his students. They only fight for the defence of themselves or others, they're accepting of others and open-minded. But they're also condescending and have an air of superiority when talking to the Cobra Kai, or anyone that they feel is their enemy.
I started off by saying that this show was about PC culture, and that's true to an extent, but I think it's more about the struggle to redefine masculinity in the modern age. Johnny represents traditional masculinity; rough around the edges, bigoted, unacademic--but also confident, effective, and with a sense of honour and fair play. Daniel represents more modern masculinity; prone to being reactionary and judgmental, ineffectual, smug at times--but also kind, generous, and enlightened to an extent. The students are caught somewhere in between, always shifting alliances and attitudes. The new generation is being influenced from too many different directions to know who they are.
This struggle--PC culture, redefining of masculinity, whatever you want to call--is something that's obviously being discussed constantly in the world today, but Cobra Kai does a few things to make it stand out. Number one, mercifully, none of this is ever discussed directly and just stays as subtext. The point is made clearly without ever becoming preachy or cloying. Secondly, given the number of things tackling this subject, Cobra Kai is legitimately one of the few I've seen go at it with such nuance. Usually one side is portrayed as completely negative, reactionary cartoon caricatures. At best, both sides might be portrayed completely negatively. But both Johnny and Daniel are given real depth, and you can understand both of their philosophies and see the good and bad in both. Both characters also continue to grow and evolve. Eventually a more blatant antagonist is introduced that represents the farther extremes of Johnny's philosophy and leaves him spinning, not sure of his place in the world. Daniel learns that sometimes you have to strike first, otherwise you're always leaving yourself open to an attack.
There's a lot to love about Cobra Kai. It's funny as hell. It has some of the most well-rounded protagonists I've seen in a long time, and does an incredible job of considering both of their perspectives. It handles its teen drama well, and makes misunderstandings and lack of communication feel organic. It has one of the best supporting/background casts since The Office. It has an insane dedication to its own continuity, without being impenetrable to new viewers. But this theme and how much it resonates with today's world stood out and made me take notice more than anything else.
