Cobra Kai premieres on January 1, 2021, on Netflix.
Since its inception a few years back, Cobra Kai has embedded itself as not only a dose of nostalgia but one of the best television series in existence. The series has not only set the bar high on bringing back older intellectual properties in an original and fresh way but has confirmed a fact I’ve always felt strongly about – Daniel LaRusso is the real villain of the film series.
As season 3 is set to premiere, fans will be welcomed with a season that raises the stakes for all the characters and is the most nostalgic, confident, and quite frankly the best season of the series thus far. We are taken to the aftermath of the events of season two as Miguel Diaz (Xolo Maridueña) is severely injured in a brawl between his dojo, Cobra Kai, and their rivals at Miyagi-Do.
What works incredibly well is that the incident’s consequences are a focal point that runs through the entire season. From the first episode to its finale, we see how the community reacts to Miguel’s injury. The in-school violence drives the story and the season focuses on how the characters cope with the incident rather than dive into too many subplots.
Ralph Macchio and William Zabka continue to shine through the series. Both men play exceptionally well off each other and give two of the finest TV performances of the year. This time around, they are not alone as we have the “real” John Kreese appear, and Martin Kove’s portrayal brings to light the over-the-top leadership of Cobra Kai’s menace that channels the very best of this 1980’s heel.
One of my favorite aspects of Kreese this season is similar to Ivan Drago in Creed II. Kreese is humanized as the season explores more of his character’s backstory through flashbacks to his time in Vietnam, which ends up being some of the most powerful and revealing content of the season.
While the adults of the series play a more significant role in Season 3, the teens of both Cobra Kai and Miyagi-Do do not fail to deliver, even when some of the season’s tense encounters come off as a bit unbelievable for a series that is so grounded in reality. Despite that one small chink in the show’s armor, the young members of each dojo are all so electric that it’s difficult not to be glued to the screen.
While The Karate Kid remains one of my favorite sports and regular films of the 1980s, I was never huge on its sequels. Season 3 of Cobra Kai gives relevancy to its sequels. While the trailer already revealed a great surprise – Daniel’s story takes him to Mr. Miyagi’s home country of Okinawa where he meets Karate Kid Part II characters Kumiko (Tamlyn Tomita) and Chozen (Yuji Okumoto), there are more callbacks to the original film and its sequels that are just too great to spoil. Folks looking to bring back properties from yesteryear should look at Cobra Kai and take notes on how nostalgia TV should be done.
Shows have certain expectations after two seasons of greatness, and with such enormous expectations comes the feeling of being let down. Season 3 of Cobra Kai does not do that. The series continues to hit a home run as its story is enriched with nuanced stories that are entertaining and thought-provoking. It’s hard to imagine anyone not wanting to take another trip to the San Fernando Valley with a fourth season.
