#also also somewhat unrelated but i am so confused about how they treated Johnny's alcoholism as something Genuine.

[macchiatosdumptruck]

Full on believe that the writers made chozen go back to Okinawa before the whole Johnny and Daniel argument because they knew that Johnny wouldn’t even have been able to finsh that sentence about mr miyagi being a liar and theif if chozen was there because chozen would have kicked his ass right there wouldn’t even let Johnny get the sentence out

And I also believe that he definitely would have went after Tory and helped her calm down or calm everyone down and let them take a break and definitely he would have agreed with Daniel and Amanda about stopping the fight

Dude, I hadn't thought about it but you're not wrong.

Like. They (thought they) needed that conflict to happen. (For some reason) And it wasn't going to if they had given a shit about character growth. Chozen very much was a steadying presence between Daniel and Johnny. He was Daniel's ride or die. He wouldn't have let that stand. Not only because it was stupid to fight, but also due to the blatant disrespect tbh. He has shown clearly he stands up for Daniel and miyagi do above all else.

I feel like he got the same treatment a girlfriend gets? Oh, the plot would be simpler with them involved, get them out of there. And like, where in the world is Carmen Diaz because she has so been reduced to a lamp. (And would probably give him a piece of her mind, which she never used to be afraid to do in the first two seasons. But i guess if you're in a relationship with someone you're not allowed to disagree) Like, for a while he was "confused but got the spirit" about other cultures, but as with everything else to do with Johnny's character they seemed to walk that back for some reason?

Literally, Mr zabka. I am so sorry they did this to you. They nerfed you hard.

Re, the thief comment, I still can't believe that made it in the show. That's an entire new level of disrespect. I know I'm using that word a lot but it fits. It's not just shoddy writing or bad character development, but feels legitimately mean spirited as a sort of "take that" to the original trilogy and its themes.

Which they obviously had to take some offense to given they were still caught up on it 30 years later, enough to write their own fanfic about it from their own POV. But it seemed more fair and even in the first two seasons before a lot of, what seems like petty dislike, came out through the show. Which also happened to coincide with COVID and a new wave of fans who Didn't Get It. And I do think them taking away all of Johnny's development was a way of appeasing those "he's so cool because he's un PC" fans

I still can't get over how the show seemingly turned into the antithesis of the movies. How there was so much promise and character growth only to throw it away for a bigger budget, more fight scenes, and memes.

R.i.p Chozen. You got written off because you made too much sense. I'm sure there's a specific name for that type of trope, like fridging.