#cobra kai season 3 spoilers

[nostalgicninjas]

from miyagi-do’s first students to sekai taikai captains

the lawrusso babies sure have come a long way 🥹

[silverusso]

[miriadalia]

Tory's T-shirt detail...

Do you hear that? It's my heart breaking again 💔

[autism-swagger]

ALSO THE CAST ON TORY'S HAND!!

VINDICATION!!!!

[wild-catra]

cobra kai spoilers

why does no one ever call the police??? these kids are forming gangs, assaulting random straners, breaking and entering, stealing, almost killing people, comitting arson and like none of their parents cares abt it?? I don't believe demetri's parents would have just ingored his broken arm and not asked around his friends what happened. same as the larussos not pressing charges against the kids who trashed their house and assaulted their guests???

again why does all the plot depend on everyone being dumb and insane

[rainbow-crane]

so my sister is getting me to watch Cobra Kai while I'm visiting home, right

and look. She warned me about the love square. The old man rivalry. All that good stuff. What she did not warn me of, or rather, was not equipped to warn me of(she's never played DR), was the fact that Mondo Owada is a main fucking character

[pixelrhys]

More pony scene redraws. Didn’t bother on a background on the second one.

[moonlit-imagines]

Headcanons for being Johnny Lawrence’s daughter

Johnny Lawrence x daughter!reader

warnings: alcohol, underage drinking, classic johnny sexism <3

a/n: WHAT! ME write a fic thats not gn, i know. im shocked too but its just bc i feel johnny is so gender-stereotypey that doing this gn wouldn’t work very well but very open to a son!r or nb!r if anyone is interested (bc seriously. johnny cannot help but bring up genders). also i just want to say that a lot of this (not all!) honestly reminds me of or are actual things that have happened w my dad bc johnny is literally my dad if my dad was like 8 years older i think also i wrote this all in one sitting ALSO NO COBRA KAI SEASON 6 SPOILERS

prompt:

GIRL DAD!

you always kinda just gravitated toward living with your dad

“y/n, i’m so proud of you. i never have to worry about you. you can take care of yourself. robby on the other hand, i worry about him. i think girls are just more self sufficient” -johnny, a little drunk

“thanks dad” -you, also a little drunk (hes a “cool dad”)

he was the type of parent that “prefers that if you’re gonna do something stupid at least do it while he’s around” aka underage drinking

whenever he stays out late you fall asleep in his bed. and lock him out

“y/n! open the door!” -johnny, banging on the door

“no! your bed is more comfortable” -you

he thought it was sweet honestly but he did want to sleep in his bed

sort of like a lesson not to come home late all drunk and gross

he was VERY against letting you drive his car

“dad, i need my license!” -you

“no woman is getting behind the wheel of my firebird” -johnny

“why do you have to make it about women? i’ll fight you” -you

“you’ll lose that fight” -johnny

“oh, so you’d fight a teenage girl? wow, real classy, dad” -you

“no, but i’d fight my teenage daughter. i brought you into this world and i’ll take you out” -johnny

you honestly had a great sense of humor with johnny, but you’d check him if he said anything too messed up

“dad, it’s not the 80’s anymore, you can’t say that” -you

“dont tell me what i can and cant say! the 80’s were awesome, i wish it was the 80’s again” -johnny

“so i’ve heard” -you

he helped you with your homework as a kid until like, 2nd grade when multiplication and division got involved

he did teach you karate growing up! but mostly the basics, for self defense purposes

“hey, never let any guy try to impress you with his karate skills. he’s probably a douche” -johnny, pausing “i sure was”

late night movie marathons (70s/80s classics for sure)

he took care of you during your first hangover (high school parties, ya know)

“didn’t i teach you better than to mix liquors” -johnny

“ugghhhh” -you

yes, you have heard about daniel larusso. enough said LMAO

robby and you had a kind of sweet but distant relationship

occasional check-in texts

robby: are you doing okay with dad? he’s actually buying food and shit?

you: yeah! he’s fine right now, how’s mom? new stepdad yet? is he rich?

robby: mom’s not going anywhere she’d find a rich guy, but keep dreaming

you wear a lot of your dad’s old t-shirts. usually band tee’s

oh and he made sure you got into the “right music”

he used to drive you around in the firebird when you were a SMALL CHILD (front seat, no car seat!) and blast his old cassettes

for YEARS he’d pull the “who is this” “what song is this” game with the reasoning:

“if you wear a band shirt and some asshole asks you to name three songs, i want you to name ten” -johnny

listen. you were still “daddy’s girl” or whatever used to be a cute little saying and is now ruined but whatever

“dad, can i have twenty bucks?” -you

“for what” -johnny

“for fun. pleaseeee” -you

*johnny pulls out his wallet and gives you $40*

could he afford it? no. can he say no? also no.

the absolute fear he felt when you got your first period

“it’s fine, i can call mom” -you

“no, it’s not fine! i’ve had girlfriends before, i got this. stay here, i’ll be back” -johnny

he went to the store and bought the most random assortment of period products and pain meds and snacks and a heating pad

A for effort

when the diaz family moved in across from you guys, miguel took one look at you and johnny said:

“stay away from my daughter”

when the karate fuss got started you tried to keep your distance but sooner or later you joined the dojo and proved to your dad just how “badass” you could be

“take notes everyone, y/n’s gonna be the next all valley champ!” -johnny

taglist: @ravenmoore14 // @retvenkos // @sweetheartlizzie07 // @an4aaa // @summersimmerus // @xoxobabydolls // @sapphireplums // @petersgroupie // @ravenhood2792 // @evilcr0ne // @thedarkqueenofavalon // @elenavampire21 // @elemental-of-magic //

[soobiesworld]

this is also the episode where we find out mr miyagi’s secret .. Oh GOD

WAIT EP 3 JOHNNY HOSTS A SLEEPOVER FOR THE GIRLS??? FUCKKK I GOTTA WATCH

a pillow fight ?? ouija board ?? face masks !! cyndi lauper! this is so fucking cute JOHNNY IS A GIRL DAD my heart is aching rn

[emloafs]

ep by ep thoughts (ck s6ep5)

my live thoughts from watching part one of cobra kai season 6. this ep is where shit got real in my opinion. spoilers below!!!!!

Ep5:

Stop manipulating tory, kreese!!!!!! She deserves friends!!!!!!! Get out of her head!!!!!!!

Im so uncomfortable

AISHA MENTION??? HOLY SHIT HELL YEAH

Dem didn’t tell Eli he got into MIT :(((( Dads stop fighting pls 

Oh tory really needs this tournament doesn’t she

I hate the power couples going head to head im over it like genuinely I am also over Daniel and Johnny bickering but its fine

Tbh not enough Miguel storyline so far I miss my baby

MIGGY GOT DEFERRED NOOOOOOO

WHAT THHE FUCK TORYS MOM 

OH IM NOT FUCKING OKAY

Peyton lists acting just brought tears to me eyes I feel sick fuck the writers 

Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck the writers

FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK the writers

Im so fucking heartbroken

Peyton list’s acting is so impressive

I hope that when everyone realizes the SHIT that tory is going through they realize their petty karate bullshit is STUPID

Tory flashback has me sobbing fr

“I am your partner” actual line from Daniel to Johnny

Tory is either not showing up or she’s murdering whoever stands in her way

I am afraid she may go back to kreese because she’s hurting

Kiaz fight choreo is VERYY good

TORY NOOOO my baby

Robby need a win tbh but Miguel is crying  so what am I supposed to do with that

Oh im sick to my stomach about samtory fight

Genuinely no more notes because im speechless

This is Peytons season.

Everyone else go home. She’s acting circles around you. 

LETS GO ELI but im fucking heartbroken about tory she’s gonna end up with fuckinng kreese again

ELI LOOKING UP TO DEMETRI AND DEMETRI GIVING HIM THE COLD SHOULDER I CAN’T DO THIS I NEED THEM LIKE WATER

Like I won. dem and Eli are both going but at WHAT COST

I feel like sam and robby as captains low key are so fitting because miyagi do started with them

Those headbands are ugly… sorry someone had to say it

Miyagi fought in an international karate tournament? Are we for real? That doesn’t seem like him to meeeee

OH SHIT BARCELONA NOW???????

Demetri put away your shoulders in that slutty gi jesus fucking christ 

Robby man bun returns feels full circle

The venue is smaller than I imagined…..?

Oh shit cobra kai is back baby and they’re hot (not kreese vomit)

USA looks like a bunch of idiots just saying

OH SHIT TORY

I KNEW IT I FUCKING KNEW IT BABYGIRL IK YOURE HURTING

Cobra kai never dies

What a betrayal (that I absolutely saw coming) 

so ive actually died now and i'll be thinking about this for the next 3-5 business days (4 months until pt 2)

seriously someone hold me. i gotta rewatch this to process it all.

[purpleheartskies]

This post contains SEASON 6 NEWS/SPOILERS!!!!

Based on my analysis of Robby's Hero's Journey, the end of s5 was the end of stage 9 of the 12-stage Hero's Journey. This was also the end of Act 2 in the 3-act story structure.

Stages 10, 11, and 12 are left in Robby's Hero's Journey (and in Johnny's).

s6 is 3 parts, 5 episodes each.

As I mentioned in my post, Robby's Journey coincides with a lot of the story major beats in each season and in the overall story.

Given the pacing and length of the story and and the writers claims that they specifically wrote s6 as 3 distinct parts/mini-seasons, it's possible that each part of s6 is a remaining stage in the Hero's Journey.

S6 Part 1

Stage 10. The Road Back - The hero returns to the original world and sees the light at the end of the tunnel, but they are about to face even more tests and challenges.

"[One] version of step ten sees the hero returning to their ordinary world, believing that the adventure is over. It seems like the hero has defeated the Shadow because the Reward has been claimed. This false sense of security creates the massive fake-out you're setting up! This scene often shows the hero and the remaining cast of characters at peace, feeling safe and secure."

The description for the start of Season 6 that was recently released said this:

"Picking up with Cobra Kai eliminated from the Valley, our senseis and students must decide if and how they will compete in the Sekai Taikai — the world championships of karate."

We, the audience, know that Kreese and Cobra Kai are lurking in the background, regrouping. "Our senseis and students" don't know this yet. They believe Cobra Kai is truly defeated, so they have a false sense of security because of this victory. They had taken part in the Sekai Taikai trials to stop Cobra Kai from spreading, so they're now wondering if they will compete in the tournament. They had each also finished the season on a seemingly positive note, but a lot is left unresolved for them individually and in their relationships. The writers have said in different interviews that things are not resolved between the characters, the rivalries haven't been explored, and all the feelings are still there.

It's likely that s6 part 1 will shatter the false sense of security that the senseis and the students have, both in the larger plot with Cobra Kai as well as in their individual journeys, and bring to light unresolved issues. For example, Kreese plays a crucial role in Johnny's and Robby's journeys and the exploration of generational trauma in the storyline connecting them. Kreese will be making his return and joining Cobra Kai. Also, Robby will have a confrontation with Kenny early on, it seems. Kenny also plays an important role in Robby's Hero's Journey.

S6 Part 2

Stage 11. The Resurrection - The climax. Also known as the "dark night of the soul". The hero faces a final test, using everything they have learned to take on the conflict once and for all.

Based on news and leaks, it sounds like the Sekai Taikai takes place in Part 2. This makes sense, the story is coming to a head. The main final battle, the climax, will be in this stage/set of episodes. I had said in my post (a few months ago, before we had confirmation about the 3- part, 15 ep final season):

Robby's Hero's Journey is coming to a head. The climax, aka the Resurrection, is around the corner. From my analyses, the other characters' journeys are converging at this climax.

S6 Part 3

Stage 12. The Return - The hero brings their knowledge or the "elixir" back to the ordinary world.

Some of the recent leaked images of the final scenes that were filmed are speculated to be in (mid) part 3. Those pics indicate something like "the elixir" being brought back by Johnny and Daniel and shared with the "ordinary world". Of course, those are just a few pics, and there are 5 episodes, but the point is that there are 5 episodes after the Sekai Taikai. The story doesn't just end with the tournament, as the movies did. These episodes will likely give the story a proper denouement/resolution to the storylines (or as proper as perceived by the writers).

Of course, we don't know yet what will happen in s6, but Robby's Hero's Journey having 3 stages left and season 6 having 3 distinct parts, with the Sekai Taikai coinciding with Stage 11 (The Resurrection), is telling.

[anti-amzy]

Cobra Kai Season 6 Part 1

My unpopular opinions

(Spoiler warning)

I actually really enjoyed the first part of the season. Much more than the first part of season 5. I’m glad they worked on the inner relationships inside the dojo.

“Hawk got nerfed” no he didn’t lol. This actually fits perfectly with his character. Hawk is an overly emotional fighter when his emotions get messed with he can either become a good fighter or suck ass. I think him and Robby both have this issue (more on Robby in the next point). We see this in season 4 where he’s emotional because he’s depressed about his hair and the Moon breakup, he’s having trouble fighting until Moon kisses him which boosts his confidence. Demetri beating him is not that crazy (he literally threw him into a trophy case season 2). Hawk was feeling way more sad than angry about MIT. He let his emotions and sympathy for his friend get the best of him while Demetri was more angry which caused him to lose. Also Hawk has a tendency to underestimate or go easy on his opponents. We see this in season 5 with Kenny (he got a point even before the silver bullet move because Hawk was going easy on him) He obviously went easy on his best friend + the points I put before. Hawk is obviously a good fighter but he is definitely not better or on par with the core 4 (at least in this season).

Side note: Where is Moon lol

My next opinion is about Robby. “Miguel got nerfed he should’ve won” y’all fanboys say everyone gets nerfed. I actually like Miguel and Robby they’re both in my top 3 characters of the show. Robby is also an emotional fighter which we can see during the captaincy fight. I honestly think he would’ve won season 4 All Valley if he wasn’t distracted by Kenny (sorry Hawk fanboys). Once Tory showed up he was finally able to stop worrying about that and get in the right headspace to win the fight. Miguel was obviously stressed about college which made him perform worse but that doesn’t mean he got nerfed. I think Miguel is still the best fighter but Johnny was 100% correct you can’t win every fight and everyone has bad days. I promise Miguel will be okay. He can lose one fight without fanboys crying nerfed.

“Kenny got nerfed” I’m so tired of the word nerfed, but again no he didn’t. Did Kenny get cheated, yes 100%. But i’ve seen people say he is on par with Hawk, which no he is absolutely not. I like Kenny and understand his troubles but he’s not on the level of Miguel or Robby. He couldn’t even get past Tory and Sam during the batting cages. His brother mentioned Tory and Sam had open shots during that fight but didn’t take them. I’m sure if they did Kenny would’ve been beat. Hawk also would’ve beat him in season 5 if he wasn’t spamming that silver bullet. He obviously got cheated with what Devon did but saying he got nerfed is insane. He didn’t even fight anyone fr. Just because Devon cheated does not mean they’re making Kenny weaker, she just literally cheated that’s it.

They have got to give Sam a better reason for wanting to win Sakai taikai. Like she wants closure…okay. The other 3 have better and more established/important reasons for wanting to win. Mind you I don’t think Sam has lost a fight in the series yet. She’s either won or they’ve been stopped early. She didn’t even really lose the All Valley. Let’s say she would’ve won the fight against Tory for captaincy without it being stopped. Okay cool. Sooooooo, what is her motivation then for the Sakai taikai? She would’ve already beaten her nemesis (or former); so what now? “She wants to be the best in the world” I’m sure all the kids going there do also but that’s not enough for me to root for her. I need them to expand on what Sam actually wants and what she’s fighting for in part 2, because does she even really want to go to Stanford either? Like I just have no reason to root for her at this moment. I’ve liked her character a lot more last season and this season but still give her something please lol.

Mr. Miyagi doing some shady stuff is not bad or ruining his legacy. That dude was around for years before he met Daniel. He was a war veteran. Giving him flaws is actually very interesting because it shows that he grew into the person that Daniel knew and that’s not a bad thing. I don’t think it was executed the best way but it’s not a down side that he has flaws. I would be more surprised if he was the way Daniel described him and how we saw him for his entire life.

Last one for right now but Johnny and Daniel being done with each other after the tournament would not be crazy. Obviously they’re not going down that root and they’ll become buddies again but sometimes people just don’t get along and that’s okay. If they’re still fighting now they’ll probably fight again in the future. Maybe therapy would actually help but yk.

Anyway that’s all off the top of my head but I actually enjoyed part 1 and am excited for part 2

[shrinkthisviolet]

I would love to hear your opinion on what you think/hope will happen in the tournament!

The karate kid universe is built on a kid who trained for like 3 months beating someone who trained for years, so I don't think that can be used as a determining factor when making predictions. Otherwise, literally every American character would get beaten by new characters we've never met before, lol.

I think the show did a good job setting Sam up so that no matter the outcome, she'll be okay. She's the character who has been solidly Miyagi-Do from the beginning, so it's possible that if she doesn't win, she will embody that philosophy in some other way. Mr. Miyagi didn't like tournaments, so her finding a way to embody his teachings outside of fighting may be satisfying. But her winning could also be a way to leave a legacy of Miyagi's teachings for future students.

Tory obviously has a very compelling reason to want to win, but I think if she does, her philosophy will have to change. Someone on here pointed out that in her fight with Sam to decide the captain, she went into the bouncy cobra kai stance rather than the solid Miyagi-Do stance. Cobra kai for her has always been about externalizing her anger or sadness, stating that she uses her anger as power while fighting. If that philosophy is rewarded, then she will continue doing that for the rest of her life and have no need to change. If she wins, I think it'll be because she embraces some Miyagi-Do teachings and becomes balanced.

Miguel obviously wants to win to get into Stanford, and he could use the prize money for his family. Some people have theorized that Robby will get injured and Miguel will take over for him, which I think doesn't really serve any purpose for Miguel or Robby's character journeys. Miguel wildly succeeded in the past, it might be interesting for his character to experience a "golden child syndrome" arc, where he feels pressured by his past successes, but the resolution to that would need to be him losing and accepting it.

Robby obviously touched on the fact that he is always second place and that motivation is compelling. I also think that if Robby wins, he has to find balance within himself rather than relying on Tory or Kenny or Johnny or someone else. If he's always relying on an external source there's never going to be a conclusion for his story because there's no guarantee that whatever source he's relying on at the end of season 6 will stay around forever. If he wins, it has to be because he found strength in himself.

Some bonus thoughts: Robby and Tory's promise to stand on the podium together could be fulfilled in a twisted way, with Robby winning for Miyagi-Do and Tory winning for Cobra Kai. Whichever teens don't win the individual tournaments will probably have a big win in part 3. If there's a tie between the two dojos, whichever teens don't win the first time, could win if there's a rematch fight. If there's no rematch or second tournament in part 3, Robby and Miguel's Sekai Taikai performance might mirror Daniel fighting Silver while Johnny fights 5 people at once to do justice to both characters abilities.

I would love to hear your thoughts and if you have different opinions on what might happen or what you think should happen!

So I’m gonna evaluate the core four teens first from my POV in terms of feats, and then answer (taking narrative into consideration too, because both matter in a show like this). Under a cut for spoilers (and because it’s a bit on the long side):

Feats

Starting with Miguel: won his first All-Valley, was beating Robby in the 2x10 fight until Robby kicked him over the railing, multiple characters have commented on his fighting prowess (even more than any other character). He did lose the captaincy, but he was also emotionally fraught at the time…but also Robby has been improving, so maybe they really are on an even field now. Hard to say when they haven’t had a fight without emotions running high. Compared to Sam and Tory…he’s only really fought Tory, managing to pick her up and restrain her, and she tries unsuccessfully to escape. But once they’re on the ground, she probably could’ve gotten out of it. Hard to say

On to Robby: he has been runner-up in both tournaments. This is notable, because none of the teens have scored highly in a tournament more than once—Miguel won his first AVT but didn’t place highly in his second, Sam and Tory have both only fought in one tournament (more on them later), Eli/Hawk only won his second tournament and didn’t place highly in his first. So I feel like that should be commended. He’s accomplished something no other character has. He also beat Miguel to the captaincy fair and square…though as mentioned, this could be due to emotions running high for Miguel in particular. Hard to say…but in every fight, Robby has become more skilled, so it could be that he is truly the better fighter between them now. Hard to say for sure, but regardless, I feel people are counting him out unfairly. Although, also notable to say that between the girls, he’s only fought Sam, and that was for like…2 seconds. She restrained him, but he could’ve escaped that easily if he wanted to.

Sam: she was runner-up in her only AVT. However, those results were skewed, and it’s shown that if not for the cheating ref, she would’ve won the whole thing—she does earn three points in her fight against Tory, they’re just not counted fairly. So there’s that. There’s also the fact that she also beats Tory in 2x10* and 3x10…and the latter is while she’s still dealing with residual PTSD

*Tory cuts her arm with the bracelet, but Sam then kicks her away, therefore winning the fight

If she’s put up against Tory, I’d say she should win. Compared to Miguel and Robby though…well, she does fight Robby during the prom fight briefly and manages to subdue him, but Robby could get out of that if he tried. She’s a quicker fighter than him, but a better fighter overall…hard to say. And we also never see a proper fight between her and Miguel.

Tory: she is a fierce fighter, there’s no denying this. Won her first AVT, but that was due to Silver’s cheating, and as mentioned in Sam’s section, it’s likely Tory would’ve lost that fight if it had been fair. Tory herself even admits this:”you didn’t lose the All-Valley.” Sam also wins every fight they have (and no, 3x5 doesn’t count because Sam ran from that fight due to a trauma response)

Despite this, there’s no denying that Tory is an incredibly effective fighter—getting to even runner-up position is no easy feat, and she fights no-holds-barred and is recognized for it (you can tell by how people react when she goes in to fight them). She’s never seriously fought either of the boys—Miguel did manage to restrain her during the prom fight, and she couldn’t escape at first, but she might’ve been able to on the ground. It’s hard to say.

Narrative/Story

Taking narrative into consideration, I can see them leaning more towards a Robby and Tory win, for the reasons you mentioned—“both of us up on that podium”, Miguel already ceded the crown to Robby anyway so let’s keep that up**, and Tory should really get a win after all the bs she’s been through***

**however, I do think if they do this, they give Miguel another path to go to Stanford. Maybe the LaRussos pay for it or something, some kind of narrative “good karma” as this story often has—the whole moral of “do good and good will return to you”

***that said, I think her winning the tournament with Cobra Kai isn’t the best idea. That’s letting Kreese win, in a sense. If she does win, I want her to do it in a Miyagi-Do gi, smiling and proud with her supportive friends beside her, knowing she won the right way with people who truly care about her (ofc that means they’d have to apologize for letting her just walk away in the midst of her grief, but that’s an easy fix)

And also as mentioned, Sam doesn’t need a win narratively right now. No matter what happens, she’s set. She’s beaten Tory in a fight every time though, so flipping that now would be strange.

All that considered:

I think Robby is definitely a strong contender to win Sekai Taikai, and he’s my pick (I did think Miguel is the stronger fighter, but having evaluated all of this, I think they’re at least on an even playing field, if not skewed towards Robby).

If there are gender divisions, my girl champion pick would be Sam, but Tory is a strong narrative option (however, I’d like her to win for Miyagi-Do, not Cobra Kai, because that would complete her arc more satisfyingly imo)

[ivypendragon2]

I ended up deciding to write this fanfic about Dean and Robby so now anyone who wants to read will have to stand my annoying butt being insufferable because I LOVE THEM and I’m obsessed 😭 so you can have some fun facts (let me pretend I’m famous here i’m just a dean girl) and then I will post some mini teasers about this one.

1. You don’t need to watch Cobra Kai to understand the story, but I highly recommend to know about supernatural (8 first seasons, at least). I will explain Robby’s character with what I know from the show and some personal insights, because if you have seen cobra kai then you will know how poorly they have treated Robby’s character 😭

2. Dean will be the best freaking dad EVER.

3. I feel like some things may look really out of character for Dean (him being fully affectionate, for example) but on the other hand I feel like that’s the point of it all. I want to show you all how a son could have changed Dean’s life and, mini spoiler, that’s the point of it all. I swear it will be explained and 100% justified.

4. This will be a what if kinda situation based on season 7-8 of supernatural.

5. The story’s name is “soulmates”.

6. I could make Robby straight, but my baby always gave me bi vibes.

7. THERE WILL BE DESTIEL OC they are canon to me and if they are not canon to you, respectfully, you are wrong 🥰

8. BUT they will have a very very very slow burn and I won’t promise to give the fluffiest corniest destiel you may be expecting. I will keep Dean very much in character in that topic and Castiel as well, I always imagined them…taking it step by step. Slow kisses, not constant physical affection, a comfortable silence between them and the prominent emotional comfort they gave each other. I always imagined them keeping it more to them selves, if I’m being honest. I promise not to disappoint.

9. My mother language is not English so I apologise beforehand for the stupid mistakes.

10. Dean will be the most over protective and dramatic dad ever, promise.

11. Sam is going to be the BEST uncle.

12. I still don’t know which characters I will chose to keep, because HELLO BOBBY AS A GRAND DAD? I want to make it realistic but I also want to be happy for once in this fandom.

13. Robby just loves Dean so much 😭

14. Dean is not fond of girls flirting with Robby, and he goes straight to grab his gun when a boy tries.

15. They will be the best duo ever (with Cas as dad 2 and uncle Sam oc)

16. There will be romantic relationships but Dean’s and Robby’s bond will be the main focus.

[purplerakath]

MiyagiDo Karate and Protagonist Morality

So when I watched the first two seasons this bothered me and then last weekend I watched everything else (thus far)... and this still bothered me. So here we are.

Spoilers for all five released seasons of Cobra Kai (although I'll mainly be talking about Demetri, Sam, Danny, and Hawk).

Before I get started...

As much as I'm criticizing the writing of these characters, I don't think the characters are bad, or hate the show. I just think more could be done with them, or in the case of Sam they could have started the ball rolling sooner and she could be a better character than she is.

Except Demetri, they really screwed the pooch on his writing.

Protagonist Morality

So I guess I should explain this term. Protagonist morality is where a show doesn't question the behavior of it's protagonists, assuming that whatever action they've taken is morally correct (for the setting). In a video game, you know all those unguarded chests full of stuff for you. The ones all across the countryside and in towns and often people's houses? The ones you can loot freely and nobody cares or is concerned with all the robbery you're doing?

That's protagonist morality. If the game labels you a thief and you get run out of public spaces for your actions, then the game is labeling your actions as maybe less than a paragon of virtue, and giving you reason to think about it. (Then you do it anyway because it's really nice loot.)

So what about the ACTUAL protagonists?

Johnny, Miguel, and Robby are questioned and judged by the narrative constantly. They generally do things right for them, but not universally seen as correct. And generally the narrative is about them moving forward and making less questionable calls.

The whole point of the start of S2 is that Johnny realizes "No Mercy" is a bad motto, because it just gets people hurt, and changes his teachings to match this bit of character growth. Characters backslide, Johnny and Robby both crash spectacularly at the start of Season 3. Each needs to dig themselves out of the hole their in all through Season 3 (Johnny) and 5 (Robby).

So the show never treats them as not needing growth, as the show is all about their growth.

Daniel

Danny is a hyper-judgmental asshole due to unresolved trauma from his youth and it's a problem. But also the show would be a lot less interesting if he worked through all of this in a timely fashion. Primarily the issue is his reaction to "Cobra Kai" just being back at all, and how he never once gets pushed to question if Cobra Kai in Johnny's hands changed.

Some of this is miscommunication, which is the cornerstone of the Unresolved sexual Karate Tension with Johnny. But his absolute refusal to see good in Cobra Kai had a direct hand in breaking up Sam and Miguel in Season 1 and Danny... came out of it believing he was right.

And when he goes out of his way to try and destroy the S1-2 era of Cobra Kai, the narrative never once actively punishes him for his prejudice. He's also never forced to face why he's like this. It's kind of shit but very much a plot lodestone.

Sam

Like her father, Sam often rushes to a moral judgement on bad info and never goes back. Even if she's wrong. So much of her Season 1 behavior is swept under a rug so that other characters (Kyler, Yaz, Miguel) can be her personal villain. And the worst being Season 2 with Tory.

Sam rushed to 'all Cobras are evil' while in a plot trying to fix her friendship with her best friend, she instigated things with Tory, and blamed Tory for all of it without having to think about why she's following her father so readily. Of course, with the end of Season 2 it didn't matter what her behavior was prior, she had every justification to treat Tory as her own personal satan.

Fortunately for me, and everyone else who likes Sam, most of the later seasons focus real hard on having her grow as a person. Maybe not facing all of her personal failings, but she does grow past them in respectable ways. And while her behavior toward Tory is... still bad, Tory is her personal anxiety attack she's allowed it now. (Unlike someone else.)

She also unpacks some of the prejudice she learned from her dad. Sneaking off behind his back to learn Eagle Fang and figure out before Father Dearest that balance is better than pigheaded arrogance of your own greatness. Leading to the Season 4 finale and her mixed styles.

Demetri Hawk

Before I rant about Demetri, I need to explain why Hawk's narrative, regardless of his failures, is better. Eli starts the show with a clearly defined failing (confidence and courage), focuses hard on overcoming it (through Cobra Kai Karate), and turns him into someone new.

That new person is a loud abrasive asshole, but it's a growth arc.

When Hawk behaves badly, it's treated as a start of darkness. As he grows to love having the power his weaker nerdy self lacked. His acts of vengeance make sense as the flexing of power he's never had before. To the point he becomes the sort of bully he feared. His reactions are all overreactions and that's good writing. You understand why he beats Kyler's flunky to a bloody pulp, it's cathartic but also framed as an act of pure violence and destruction. He needs to live in his anger, his violence, listening to the whispers Kreese offers.

Season 3 is Hawk struggling to choose between good and evil, and in the end he chooses good. Leading him on the path toward balance and being better than either side of him before. Honestly of every character in the show his path is the best defined.

Now Demetri

Demetri is a anxious pessimistic leech. He feels he'll fail before he starts, and therefore doesn't try. He rides the coattails of his friends as they become cool and popular and Hawk was right to call him out. But rather than investigate that, he becomes the target of Hawk's new villain arc, and rushes to the arms of MiyagoDo.

Where he proceeds to never actually face who he was, and just... get to be a cool martial artist with a hot girlfriend as the show sweeps his negative traits under a rug and never touches them.

The narrative never confronts how 'it's fine for me to reap the benefits of your hard work' (start of season 2) or 'I can humiliate my best friend by spilling all his secrets then hide behind my badass martial artist friends' (late season 2) were bad calls, because at the end of the season he just... gets to beat up Hawk to establish the full defeat of Johnny's Cobra Kai.

Directly into Season 3 where he's just as aggressive and antagonistic as Sam is, while neither is treated as being 'over the line' by the narrative. Which is all before Hawk breaks Demetri's arm, meaning he doesn't have the extant trauma reason Sam has.

By Season 5 Demetri is a pretty cool person, but as there's no actual focus on how he got there, it feels cheap. Which really sucks.

What I'd Write-

I don't want to rewrite the whole show, and that makes Danny hard to fix. As so much of him is that paranoia of Cobra Kai. Like- best I could ask for is him going to therapy and trying to work past it (and just being bad at it).

Sam the easy answer is Aisha not forgiving her (at least during S1-2). Where Sam tries to get Aisha back, but every time she either says something about Cobra Kai, or Miguel, or Tory and Aisha points out Sam hasn't given any of them a fair shot, and that Sam has no room to talk after dating Kyler and being Yaz's friend.

Bonus points if Sam also gets taken to task for her going after Tory when Tory was working. Because Amanda already got Tory fired once, but she felt bad about it.

Demetri has a similar route of 'best friend does not forget.' A simple 'why should I ever trust you again' after Moon's party would go a long way to rub Demetri's face in what he did, how he was as bad as everyone who made fun of Hawk's lip at school. How Demetri, for one brief moment, was worse than Kyler.

I want all the characters to either get the kind of care in how they change direction that Miguel has, and failing that being absolutely perfect like Devon (the only person to join Silver's Cobra Kai and not turn evil).

[wild-catra]

I'm really pissed how they wrote off aysha from the plot, now the female cats is even smaller and has even less relatable characters.

for a show that's like anti bullying and how everyone has value kumbaya they have no diverse female cast at all, only topmodels (even the moms!!! robby's mom should look more like wendy from bb, not like THAT, I know alcoholic/drug addicted middle aged women irl, they're not pretty), who, lets be real, don't look like girls who are serious abt contact sports at all, they're just skinny/soft, not atheltic, as not to scare the teen boys who want to fap to the female cast.