#ericslittlemermvid

[miyagi-hokarate]

I went full dumbass and the first thing I thought was that Mr. Miyagi was Daniel’s dad. 😂 That then transitioned into what has been talked about over and over within this fandom; the possibility of Kreese being Johnny’s father. That would actually be really cool, like what if Mr. Miyagi knew about the relationship all along and that Johnny was the real “karate kid” who would be the one to ultimately take Kreese down? It would be a good turning point for Daniel too. I kind of feel like we’re overthinking it and it’s going to be a let down but I sure would love if they went that route.

Hi there!

(in reference to this post)

This is going to sound harsh, but I'd be pretty disappointed if Cobra Kai were to reveal Kreese was Johnny's biological father. It's a thematically weak and cheap plot twist, and it's a theory I'd be strongly opposed to if confirmed.

My reasoning gets very long, but I have very strong opinions on this 😭

One of the themes the Karate Kid franchise had always been about was the legacy older generations pass onto younger ones; more specifically, the teachings mentors share to their students influence how they view themselves and the world, as well as how students then behave in society. Being as The Karate Kid is heavily male-dominated, this theme naturally extends to how men influence boys.

Fatherhood is another theme in the Karate Kid. However, the trilogy highlights father-figures and the relationships men build in life more than it does the relationships people are born with or are related to; Daniel's father was revealed to have died many years ago, and we never see Johnny's own father as well (both bio and his stepfather Cobra Kai added).

However, one of the most significant relationships Daniel develops in the trilogy is his with Mr. Miyagi — not only are they karate master and student, but best friends and ultimately family. This is mirrored in Johnny's relationship with Kreese, However, unlike being built on love and respect, brutality and control (or lack thereof) is what makes up Johnny's relationship with his sensei. Johnny is a terrifying war machine because Kreese sharpened him to being a terrifying war machine. Johnny literally repeats Kreese's words back at Bobby during Halloween night because that's what he's been taught and wholeheartedly believes. Johnny still follows Kreese's orders to sweep the leg, even if he was horrified of disgracing his own sense of honor.

In the case regarding Johnny, there doesn't need to be a biological reason why he follows Kreese so strongly in the narrative. The Karate Kid comments on the influences men have on boys, and where this influence can come from any person regardless of relation. Why does Kreese need to be the biological father of Johnny for what he's faced to be more tragic than what it already is? Just so the Karate Soap Opera has another plot thread to tackle?

There is a cruel mundanity to Kreese's mentorship of his star student, one he had the most pride in yet would still ruthlessly punish if he were to disappoint Kreese. There doesn't need to be anything more cosmic about the fact Johnny was in search of a man to look up to, and he found one who was strong and unshakeable and would drop Johnny in a second the moment he failed Kreese. Kreese slithered back into Johnny's life and he accepted him back because the chains holding down were marred into Johnny's skin, not something fate built into his genes.

This is not even mentioning what a mess this would be timeline-wise. How in the hell is Kreese's wang getting tang when he's too busy in Vietnam helping the US commit war crimes. How on Earth would Mr. Miyagi know. Why would a 23 in Me Result help with taking down Kreese, besides a potential heart attack. I'd be so mad if this were to come true.

Sorry for the long (and negative) response, but those are my opinions and thoughts ahdkkadjjskd

[mandos-little-friend]

Thoughts after the finale?

Ooh *rubs hands*

Right off the top, RIP Ray Stevenson 😢 What a great character to leave us with, and with such a jaw-dropping final moment! I don't know what they have planned for the story line (no deep fakes, plz!). Though I don't particularly care about the Mortis gods too much, I know that's making a lot of folks lose their mind, and it's definitely a different way to branch out the story.

Confession - I was about 15% hoping for a Kanan appearance, since they did so much with Anakin. No luck, but what a sweet scene with Ezra building his new light saber! And Huyang talking about Caleb/Kanan AND giving him that piece he'd saved just for him? So Ezra's comes apart now, I guess? Sobbing! Great scene. (Side note, I thought kyber crystals were kind of rare/hard to find? But this is the second LS Ezra's just made without any mention of where the crystal came from?? IDK, I'm not too concerned about it.) Also, love that it's blue again! But really wish he'd done the blaster thing again, that was rad.

I love the little Noti so much. I hope we see them again.

Great fight scenes. Loved all the teamwork. Ezra in full Jedi mode 👁👅👁 Eman rocking this role so hard! And that Force jump?! Jaw dropping. Kind of on the fence about Sabine's emerging Force abilities. Still not sold that was a needed character trait.

Did anyone have Zombie Stormtroopers on their bingo card?? Marrok was re-animated (I guess?), but he still spoke and acted like a normal person? These guys were shambling braaaaains undead type. Very creepy and cool. And all those coffins(?) in the Chimera - Thrawn going to have a full army of them?

Sucks we STILL have people trapped in the other galaxy, but A.) we know where they are and that they're safe, and, more importantly, the other characters know; and B.) there's at least a chance, maybe that they could hitch a ride with the purgil on their return trip?? 🤷‍♀️

Ezra exiting that ship in full stormtrooper armor - a bit illogical, but totally worth the call-back! And Chopper immediately recognizing him and going over to say hi in the sweetest way 😭😭 (Though I still say it would have been hilarious if Chopper had acted irritated and run over his foot) But who the hell decided to cut the camera away before Ezra and Hera hugged?!? And no introduction to Jacen?? JAIL! JAIL FOR ONE THOUSAND YEARS!

Overall enjoyable episode. Interesting that two master/apprentice teams were left behind, though one on the outs. Is there going to be a season 2 before the big Crossover movie where we can see them interact? Maybe Shin will be tempted to be a light side (or light grey side) Force user? It would also be the best place for a rescue/return rather than use movie time for it. Guess we shall see!

[mandos-little-friend]

I’m excited about the possibility of Ezra meeting and working with Din and Grogu!

My boys 😍

Ezra would totally go ga-ga over Grogu; in fact if we're ever going to get "Baby Yoda" as canon, he's the one to do it 🤞 And I just see him making every corny joke he can think of to get Din to laugh.

Definitely hope to see the Ghost crew in action during the next Mando season!

[mandos-little-friend]

I hope that the heroes lose just to show the gravity of Thrawn and his power. With that being said, I don’t want any of them to die, especially Ezra since we just got him back. I don’t think Filoni will do it, but the recurrent message of going home does scare me. We’ll see what happens on Tuesday!

Oh yeah, we definitely are going to get a massive cliffhanger to jump start the movie, maybe even Empire levels of shock to get people hyped up for it, so who knows 👀 But just let everyone get back to our GFFA please, Dave 🙏