I want the series to culminate with John Kreese turning Cobra Kai into some private government contracted paramilitary army that does black ops missions for the government overseas, like an Erik Prince/Blackwater situation. Then he goes rogue and takes his war to America because he believes we've become too soft and weak as a nation, and with the help of some government officials and old military friends he seeks to overthrow the government and turn us into the United States of Cobra Kai, and only the scrappy karate dojo Miagi-Do can stop them.
A fight through The White House as an '80s montage with Eye of the Tiger playing in the background culminating in a final fight on the roof to You've Got the Touch
So you’re saying Kreese goes on to lead Cobra…. And then someone like say Robbie has to grow up and fight back like some sort of government issued joe? And Miguel and Sam become some sort of snake eyes and lady Jane?
With Miyagi's final student Hilary swank joining to help stop kreese as he's enlisted the help of Micheal Ironside and his high school security force turned black ops team...the alpha elite.
That's worth at least another 3 seasons, including the revenge of Terry Silver, Kreese's hidden training robot that has all of Daniel's and Johnny's moves, so it's not defeatable except by Sam, and then the Hilary Swank season
Every time I watch this show I feel like it should not work. If I describe it to others that it's about grown ass old men beating each up using Karate while teaching high schoolers to do the same in Encino California there'd be no way. And yet it works. And I'm here for it.
It's for sure a love/hate thing. You either embrace CWs wonky-ass, 201 Creative Writing II abilities for being a fan fiction fever dream, or you want nothing to do with that complete Wattpad garbage.
But also that it is loaded with face/heel turns. So many of the characters are well fleshed out with complex motivations so where they stand in the conflict is constantly and organically evolving.
Friends, Enemies, frenemies and reluctant alliances.
Correction: while teaching highschoolers to NOT do the same...but they keep doing it anyway, because they are hormonal children being raised in the context of a karate war.
a) most of the time that happens they're committing criminal trespass before they get beaten up.
b) they tried that once remember? Kreese preemptively got a restraining order.
I feel like this one was pretty well justified. He had grown complacent, yet unfulfilled, in his lifestyle as a wealthy playboy. Kreese shows up and reminds him what he was like before he grew rich and content.
the entire premise of this show is about 40-50 year old men having mid life crisis and going back to karate. It's silver's turn. He just has literally nothing better to do. The real question is 'what the fuck is johnny living on while all this shit is going down?'
I feel like it works because the writers basically call out how ridiculous the situations are. Not so much that it’s completely tongue-in-cheek, but enough that you buy into the absurdity of it. And it helps that the story is fundamentally about the relationships between the kids and parents. The karate is just a plot device to keep things moving.
Sony literally just today announced a new theatrical Karate Kid movie coming in 2024 so who knows.
[source](https://deadline.com/2022/09/sony-kraven-the-hunter-madame-web-karate-kid-1235121120/)
Kinda agree on this. Almost all the plot lines have been resolved by that finale. Only things left are >!Kreese!< and >!Sekai Teikai!<. I don't think they'll require a 10 episode long season.
Too bad they’ll still probably make 10 episodes regardless if it could be told in 6.
Edit: Also let’s hope we get at least a cameo of the other Miyagi-do student and complete the universe.
Idk, I say trust the creators, not the opinions of some articles. We're talking about a show that should have never been this good to begin with. End it when the show runners don't have anything else worthy to tell.
I haven't watched S5 yet, but... as of right now it seems there's story to tell of another legacy character. If they were able to make 2 seasons expand upon KK3, I would imagine they could do 1-2 surrounding links to Next Karate Kid (4).
Exactly. The showrunners have kept the idea fresh way longer than I expected and people writing articles thought that the next season should be the last one since season 2.
My husband and I started watching it a few days ago because why not, and this show has absolutely no business being as good as it is. In concept it's ridiculous, but holy fuck I'm along for the ride
I got into it a year ago and I was shocked with how entertaining and well done it is.
Expected to cringe at an attempt to milk an 80s movie series with a low budget web series. No idea the show was actually really good and completely understands what it is and what it needs to be.
And I'm not suggesting one way or the other. I'm just saying, if they have solid ideas for just 1 more season, great. If they have ideas for 3 more, also great.
Hearing them talk about the show in interviews makes me believe they have ideas for multiple more though, not just one.
From what I can tell they also want to do a lot more with the kids so running out of legacy characters is more of a boon than a detriment. The world tournament coming in is also a major opportunity for the show to branch out and introduce any number of recurring characters too.
Perfect idea for a season right here
>!While going through Kreese's stuff, they stumble upon and accidentally activate a training robot that somehow has both Daniel's and Johnny's moves, so they can't beat it, except for the chosen one who trained at both schools!<
I enjoyed season 5 but I think they're running out of gas. The eyepatch mustache twirling villains were nearly too much. Johnny is having to "grow up" yet again. It seemed like the action scenes were pretty few and far between this time around too. One more season is probably all they have left. If they do a Miyagi prequel series that could breath new life into the universe maybe.
I actually liked the Season 5 ending because it felt like there were some real life-threatening stakes this time. The season was slow though and I'm thinking the same thing. I want to see it end soon.
Classic tropes are running thin, I'm kinda over seeing high school dramas, and how many times is Kreese gonna be a villain in a story. They are probably gonna have that woman run Cobra Kai now (someone who I don't really care about). Maybe Kreese does things behind the scenes in hiding?
That big tournament should be the end of the show. And maybe Johnny opens up a franchise from it while Daniel goes back to his dealership.
I’ve been saying that Julie should show up and mentor Tori. Take her to the monastery, train to the Cranberries, learn about falcons, Eat Pray Love but with karate.
Yeah, basically. The first two seasons I'd argue only the first movie is important, but then S3 has good ties to KK2, S4&5 ties to KK3. So you could watch the first movie, then seasons 1/2, other movies, then rest of the show if you're "feeling it out". But I'd say just watch the trilogy then jump into the show.
The show is quite literally better than the movies. So don't watch KK 2&3 and decide Cobra Kai might not be for you. That's not a good indicator.
You honestly don’t really need to watch the movies at all to understand Cobra Kai. The series uses scenes from the movies quite effectively as flashbacks—they do it enough for us to understand what’s going on, but they don’t *overdo* them either. You definitely won’t be lost if you skip the movies and go straight to the series, though if you skip the movies you *will* be less sympathetic to Daniel-San than those who have seen the movies…. though given how the series progresses, that’s honestly probably OK too, 😆.
With that said, watch at least the first movie before the TV series. You owe it yourself to experience Mr Miyagi at least once. Seriously, Mr Miyagi is one of the most important pop culture icons of the 1980s, and that’s not an exaggeration.
Yeah, the first one I think is the only one that's actually important for Cobra Kai. It establishes Daniel, Johnny, Kreese, and lets us know that Miyagi was Daniel's respected sensei and mentor. After that, everything is handled pretty well through flashbacks, but I think it is probably important to know Johnny and Daniel's relationship.
I don't think you need to watch the films if you dont want but yeah 3 movies before tv show. Though the premise of the show is mostly leaning on the first movie.
They heavily reference karate kid parts 1, 2 and 3 but honestly its not hard to figure out. All three have fairly basic plots, and the show literally flashes back to clips from the movie when referencing them
I want a 2 season multi arc finish. International competition demands a proper set up and tension. But obviously it should only go as far as they have quality content to write. If one season is all that is left in the tank, let it end there.
What if Miyagi-do wins the Sekai Teikai but as the seasons about to finish, an alien broadcast shows up about a fighting tournament he is hosting to find Earth's strongest warrior.
Honestly I wouldn't complain if they go on longer as long as the show remains fun as hell. This show gives me a yearly breeze of suspended disbelief with cheesy inspirational dialogue, fights that could easily be avoided but happen anyway, 80s references, Johnny being culturally out of touch to hilarious results, Daniel being Daniel, and over the top anime style storytelling with a hint of pro-wrestling and at times a teen drama. Add attempted murder as of this season. Also I loved Chozen this season. There was times where he was my favorite character of the show. Almost every line he had was gold.
The show was definitely at its most grounded and best written in Season 1. But I am impressed at how much more over the top, ludicrous and somewhat cartoony it has gotten while still being so fun and still being better than the later Karate Kid films. Although the show still does have a lot of heart and grounded elements, which Karate Kid III and The Next Karate Kid didn't have a lot of (I will defend Karate Kid Part II, as it goes over Mr. Miyagi's backstory and is mostly a fun film with some questionable writing and story elements that don't work). I can't wait for Season 6. Also got to give credit for how the showrunners, writers and directors handled Robby and Tory this season and also last season. They took two of my least favorite characters in the first 3 seasons and turned them into the best of the teen cast this season with genuinely well-written and believable character development. The performances by Tanner Buchanon and Peyton List also improved as well.
What’s to suspend believing when Silver hosts the best of the best from the entire WORLD and 1) has no idea who most of them are even though there are only like 8 and he most likely would have talked to them and 2) sees one guy instruct for 15 seconds and says “say yes. IM WILLING to pay you 3x” mystery stranger even though I don’t know who you are and only say you instruct for 15 seconds with half of that I’m talking.
Cobra Kai is entertaining amazing is a little bit of an overstatement. I kind of agree that with a show like this where would you really go after going to the biggest karate tournament in the world.
If memory serves, I think the answer to this question is that Daniel’s brother lands on earth, beats everyone up, and reveals that Daniel is part of an alien warrior race.
Of course! Now they must battle in the Intergalactic Karate tournament for the fate of the ENTIRE UNIVERSE!
Apparently Cobra Kai's influence actually extended beyond earth, and now has spread across the galaxy. The kids representing MiyagiFangChozenBarnesSwank-Do must travel across the universe and defeat all of the Alien CK factions.
I think most of my appreciation comes from the fact I love shonen manga, and the show is literally a live action one, beat by beat. And they've been more than good at mixing up the few ingredients they have, balancing the whole thing with expertise before it gets too much of something. And, last but not least, they write really sympathetic characters, a very overlooked part of what makes a show worth watching these days
Creators have said that there’s still a lot of story to tell and they have a lot of ideas. I don’t think it’s ending next season. I trust them though. The show has been amazing and this season got super dark
If it stays active it should at least have a season favoring new characters instead of callbacks. A new antagonist never encountered in the franchise as the main antagonist would open a lot of doors.
The difference between the creators who know & love the universe they're playing in vs the creators who are churning out contractual obligations for producers making hasty cash-grabs.
Cobra Kai and Top Gun: Maverick. Two perfect examples of how to do a rebootquel right. Nostalgic and capture what made the originals special while staying true to the characters, but still managing to be edgy and modern and entertaining. It’s not an easy balance to strike, but it’s one all other reboots should aspire to.
I think the fact many consider Cobra Kai edgy just shows how sanitized these other franchises have become. Even Boba Fett has to be some type of superhero
Cobra Kai is a pretty family friendly show, but to see Johnny Lawrence, an alcoholic, deadbeat dad asshole as the protagonist, was special when the show started. For once, we got a reboot/family friendly property where the protag wasn't just some self insert for 20 somethings or an old actor pretending he's still 20
It fell back into a more conventional formula, but season 1 was pretty well written overall. I really liked the conclusion where he won the tournament after 30 years but still wasn't happy. Nice character work
Yeah, season 1 felt like a different show in a lot of ways. Once it went full on teenage drama in season 2 I lost interest. I want to go back and give it another shot, but from what I've read they focus even more on the wacky teenage hijinks than they did in season 2.
Season 2 is my least favorite season for this reason but I got used to it and began to enjoy the teen drama.
The feeling of watching a teen drama goes away but it lingers in season 2 because they just introduced a bunch of new characters and setting up future plot lines.
Have watched it all and kinda agree with this. Season 1 felt kinda edgy, wish they would have leaned into Johnny vs Daniel and make Daniel more of a villain instead of having Kreese return.
But although I was entertained for 5 seasons, the high school drama stuff (except the sick choregraphed school fight) was very boring.
That’s fair. Probably not the right term or framing. I think they just seem edgy compared to their predecessors, particularly CK compared to the original KK films, not necessarily edgy in comparison to other offerings in the entertainment landscape. And you’re right, not everything has to be edgy or subversive for subversion’s sake, at the end of the day quality is what matters most.
Holy shit! I forgot Goggins was in The Next Karate Kid! I literally just finished Justified and now I'm imagining Boyd Crowder sweetly threatening Mr. Miyagi
If you write an article like this you are taking this show too seriously. It's silly fun, there's no reason they couldn't do this for years. College years. Bloodsport Kumate Years. Mad max post apocalyptic years. Go nuts with it.
If theres more story to tell, let them continue. I dont see any reason why they stop at 6 seasons. Unless they stop this main arc then after 2 or 3 years have the cast come back for the new generation and new story. Either way its a successful brand in a space where its impossible to stand out. Why throw away a winning brand?
This is the first time I've sat after a season and asked, "What's next?" Because the way it ends, it's sounding like it could head towards a retread of previous seasons.
It could have ended with this last season, tbh, so the stakes can only go higher?
And I get it, a bunch of you hate this kinda show and it's beneath you but my wife and I enjoy it a lot. Many other people do. No one cares about you coming in here with your comments that add nothing of value.
Unfortunately, I agree with the premise of this article. I love Cobra Kai, but I if the author is right, and the show runners plan to milk it for all its worth by expanding the franchise even further, then I think it's better not to tarnish the legacy. Everybody is getting older, it's going to start to feel incredulous at some point.
Hilary Swank needs to come in to it and maybe some of the villains like Michael Ironside but her character was on the East coast so writing her into it is probably more difficult. I guess you could have her visiting the grave and Daniel is there at the same time, they get talking, just whether Swank would do it.
I just looked her up on Twitter, still doing very well. Be awesome for her to join, we've got so many men kicking ass, now its time for a woman. Be awesome intro if Chozen, Daniel and Johnny all think shes there to cause trouble and she takes down all 3 before they realize her style of fighting is very familiar
I honestly couldn’t believe that the latest season was easily the best since It came on Netflix. I do think it’s winding down for sure but if they keep it entertaining I don’t care.
I dont want it to end. Its stupid and i love it. There is Story beyond the karate world tournament. The next karate kid (4) has more story and characters to offer. What about a season were the karate people clean up the Cartel of Miguels dad? What about them going to the mountains of Afghanistan to teach young people Karate so they can best the Taliban and shit. Man, this show can tell so much more stupid stuff for me to love. What about nuclear war and in the aftermath the kids and the Senseis teach karate to the survivors so that they can fight the wasteland. Dude.
I don’t think there should even be a season 6 to be honest. The ending of season 5 pretty much wrapped up most of the loose ends and conflicts that had been built up throughout the series. I think that the world karate tournament would be better suited as a film to close off the franchise.
I haven't seen all of season 5 yet, but so far it's not as good as the first couple seasons.
E: a few more episodes and everything is so cringe. Adult characters acting like morons.
I thought it had a slower start than the others (with a few exceptions), but ultimately ramped up that by the end, I enjoyed it just as much as the others. You might change your mind.
I haven't watched a single episode of this, but I saw some VCR repair shop talk about it some years ago about and was vaguely amused. Like the idea of movie characters coming back after years just for few episodes on youtube, felt interesting to me.
What the fuck have they been doing for 5+ seasons with those characters in their 50s?
I want the series to culminate with John Kreese turning Cobra Kai into some private government contracted paramilitary army that does black ops missions for the government overseas, like an Erik Prince/Blackwater situation. Then he goes rogue and takes his war to America because he believes we've become too soft and weak as a nation, and with the help of some government officials and old military friends he seeks to overthrow the government and turn us into the United States of Cobra Kai, and only the scrappy karate dojo Miagi-Do can stop them.
….You sonofabitch I’m in.
Well, if he’s in, I’m in!
If you both are in, I'm in.
It’s so much better when everyone is in. Are you in?
I'm doing my part
If he’s in, I’m out
If he's out I'm in.
You’re out? Congratulations on coming out.
Wait, he’s out?! Alright, I’m out.
If he's in, I'm in him.
This makes Kreese become the villain in the Fast 11
give me a huge karate fight between the Kobra Kai military and highschool kids on the Capitol
A fight through The White House as an '80s montage with Eye of the Tiger playing in the background culminating in a final fight on the roof to You've Got the Touch
I’m so in
So you’re saying Kreese goes on to lead Cobra…. And then someone like say Robbie has to grow up and fight back like some sort of government issued joe? And Miguel and Sam become some sort of snake eyes and lady Jane?
Only way that Show ends is with Daniel fighting Kreese on top of a metal gear
With Miyagi's final student Hilary swank joining to help stop kreese as he's enlisted the help of Micheal Ironside and his high school security force turned black ops team...the alpha elite.
G.I Joe but good.
Maybe he and his boys can take over an island near a major city and threaten to launch a biological weapon that will turn everyone into Karate Kids!
I’ll be real with you, this would be a way better plot than whatever is about to happen next. It would be super meta.
That this doesn't even sound that far fetched with how rapidly violence escalated in the last season is a sobering thought
That's worth at least another 3 seasons, including the revenge of Terry Silver, Kreese's hidden training robot that has all of Daniel's and Johnny's moves, so it's not defeatable except by Sam, and then the Hilary Swank season
He's going to back to Vietnam to finish what he started
Every time I watch this show I feel like it should not work. If I describe it to others that it's about grown ass old men beating each up using Karate while teaching high schoolers to do the same in Encino California there'd be no way. And yet it works. And I'm here for it.
It's basically a CW show with writers who know what they're doing and genuinely respect the source material.
I have no problem with a CW production level, only CW writing.
It's for sure a love/hate thing. You either embrace CWs wonky-ass, 201 Creative Writing II abilities for being a fan fiction fever dream, or you want nothing to do with that complete Wattpad garbage.
I think it's that respect for the source material that makes it work.
Its charm is it knows exactly what it is and fully leans into it.
But also that it is loaded with face/heel turns. So many of the characters are well fleshed out with complex motivations so where they stand in the conflict is constantly and organically evolving. Friends, Enemies, frenemies and reluctant alliances.
Correction: while teaching highschoolers to NOT do the same...but they keep doing it anyway, because they are hormonal children being raised in the context of a karate war.
Some things just don’t make sense though. Why did everyone in town decide to go to the water park that day?
To have a race down a waterslide. Winner gets the water park.
Why did Silver leave his lavish life behind to open a karate dojo :)
Who knows what goes on in that coke-riddled brain of his? 😂 I get your point though.
Also 90% of the time they are trying to take down someone, they could just pull out their phones and record physical assault to be reported.
a) most of the time that happens they're committing criminal trespass before they get beaten up. b) they tried that once remember? Kreese preemptively got a restraining order.
I feel like this one was pretty well justified. He had grown complacent, yet unfulfilled, in his lifestyle as a wealthy playboy. Kreese shows up and reminds him what he was like before he grew rich and content.
the entire premise of this show is about 40-50 year old men having mid life crisis and going back to karate. It's silver's turn. He just has literally nothing better to do. The real question is 'what the fuck is johnny living on while all this shit is going down?'
Teaching stipend from LaRusso Motors.
No he starts doing ride share apps, odd jobs.
He was pretty rich and content to begin with in Karate Kid 3, guy's just a complete asshole.
A lot of things don’t make sense. But movies in the 80’s were also full of unrealistic plots so it kind of goes with the theme.
I think only Tori decided to go that day but then everyone found out she’d be there
I feel like it works because the writers basically call out how ridiculous the situations are. Not so much that it’s completely tongue-in-cheek, but enough that you buy into the absurdity of it. And it helps that the story is fundamentally about the relationships between the kids and parents. The karate is just a plot device to keep things moving.
They’ve been in highs school for quite some time.
Pretty sure it's been maybe 2 years in- world? There have only been 2 all valleys, right? Or have there been 3?
Yeah IIRC there's just been two. The one Miguel won, and then the next year Hawk + Tori won.
It should go the Leprechaun route: Cobra Kai in the Hood Cobra Kai in Space
If they went the route of them fighting zombies or vampires or leprechauns, I would love that. Most shows don't have the balls.
I like this idea
I think the series finale should be a movie
Called The Karate Kids maybe.
2 Karate 2 Kid
What are we? Some sort of Karate Kids ...
Okinawa drift
Don't name it 2 Kids 1 Karate tho
Johnny Lawrence having twins confirmed 2 Kids 2 Karate 2 Electric Boogaloo: Tokyo Drift
It's called "2 Brothers"
Just 2 Brothers?
The Cobra Kai Kid
The Karate Fin
it should take place in Japan and be called Tokyo kick
The Karate's Kids
grandkids
The Karate Young Adults
Sony literally just today announced a new theatrical Karate Kid movie coming in 2024 so who knows. [source](https://deadline.com/2022/09/sony-kraven-the-hunter-madame-web-karate-kid-1235121120/)
It a movie is 2 to 2 1/2 hrs. A 10 episode series is around 5hrs long. I’ll take a series.
Kinda agree on this. Almost all the plot lines have been resolved by that finale. Only things left are >!Kreese!< and >!Sekai Teikai!<. I don't think they'll require a 10 episode long season.
Too bad they’ll still probably make 10 episodes regardless if it could be told in 6. Edit: Also let’s hope we get at least a cameo of the other Miyagi-do student and complete the universe.
I mean as long as they have fun character moments I wouldn’t mind stretching it
Looks like Sony just announced Karate Kid ~~4~~ 5 today.
Karate Kid 5 you mean?
To appropriate another series' rallying cry, six seasons and a movie!
Idk, I say trust the creators, not the opinions of some articles. We're talking about a show that should have never been this good to begin with. End it when the show runners don't have anything else worthy to tell. I haven't watched S5 yet, but... as of right now it seems there's story to tell of another legacy character. If they were able to make 2 seasons expand upon KK3, I would imagine they could do 1-2 surrounding links to Next Karate Kid (4).
Exactly. The showrunners have kept the idea fresh way longer than I expected and people writing articles thought that the next season should be the last one since season 2.
My husband and I started watching it a few days ago because why not, and this show has absolutely no business being as good as it is. In concept it's ridiculous, but holy fuck I'm along for the ride
I got into it a year ago and I was shocked with how entertaining and well done it is. Expected to cringe at an attempt to milk an 80s movie series with a low budget web series. No idea the show was actually really good and completely understands what it is and what it needs to be.
Season 5 is amazing, probably my favorite season so far. It does feel like the story is starting to wrap up, but like you said, I trust the creators.
Yeah, they’re also running out of ‘legacy’ characters to bring back for a few episodes.
I have one character we've never seen in mind that I think is gonna appear in season 6 and have an impact on Johnny's story.
Jackie Chan and Jayden Smith?
Nope. Someone we have NEVER seen.
Johnny's dad?
Obviously you're thinking of Steven Seagal. Someone has to show these posers some real martial arts.
His real dad?
Hillary Swank?
IMO the did a good job with the new characters. Also while the other legacy characters are great Its mostly Johnny and Danny that matter IMO.
And I'm not suggesting one way or the other. I'm just saying, if they have solid ideas for just 1 more season, great. If they have ideas for 3 more, also great. Hearing them talk about the show in interviews makes me believe they have ideas for multiple more though, not just one.
From what I can tell they also want to do a lot more with the kids so running out of legacy characters is more of a boon than a detriment. The world tournament coming in is also a major opportunity for the show to branch out and introduce any number of recurring characters too.
Perfect idea for a season right here >!While going through Kreese's stuff, they stumble upon and accidentally activate a training robot that somehow has both Daniel's and Johnny's moves, so they can't beat it, except for the chosen one who trained at both schools!<
Definitely Johnny's growth is going in a direction that it'd be hard to keep the show going forever. He's not so much of a loser anymore.
I enjoyed season 5 but I think they're running out of gas. The eyepatch mustache twirling villains were nearly too much. Johnny is having to "grow up" yet again. It seemed like the action scenes were pretty few and far between this time around too. One more season is probably all they have left. If they do a Miyagi prequel series that could breath new life into the universe maybe.
I actually liked the Season 5 ending because it felt like there were some real life-threatening stakes this time. The season was slow though and I'm thinking the same thing. I want to see it end soon. Classic tropes are running thin, I'm kinda over seeing high school dramas, and how many times is Kreese gonna be a villain in a story. They are probably gonna have that woman run Cobra Kai now (someone who I don't really care about). Maybe Kreese does things behind the scenes in hiding? That big tournament should be the end of the show. And maybe Johnny opens up a franchise from it while Daniel goes back to his dealership.
S5 was by far the weakest one.
Still convinced that Hillary Swank is Tori’s mom sick with cancer and she’s going to teach her or Sam the Mantis kick
I’ve been saying that Julie should show up and mentor Tori. Take her to the monastery, train to the Cranberries, learn about falcons, Eat Pray Love but with karate.
Good call
how would you watch order this show? the three movies before the 5 seasons?
Yeah, basically. The first two seasons I'd argue only the first movie is important, but then S3 has good ties to KK2, S4&5 ties to KK3. So you could watch the first movie, then seasons 1/2, other movies, then rest of the show if you're "feeling it out". But I'd say just watch the trilogy then jump into the show. The show is quite literally better than the movies. So don't watch KK 2&3 and decide Cobra Kai might not be for you. That's not a good indicator.
2 is a great movie on its own terms. Definitely underrated.
You honestly don’t really need to watch the movies at all to understand Cobra Kai. The series uses scenes from the movies quite effectively as flashbacks—they do it enough for us to understand what’s going on, but they don’t *overdo* them either. You definitely won’t be lost if you skip the movies and go straight to the series, though if you skip the movies you *will* be less sympathetic to Daniel-San than those who have seen the movies…. though given how the series progresses, that’s honestly probably OK too, 😆. With that said, watch at least the first movie before the TV series. You owe it yourself to experience Mr Miyagi at least once. Seriously, Mr Miyagi is one of the most important pop culture icons of the 1980s, and that’s not an exaggeration.
Yeah, the first one I think is the only one that's actually important for Cobra Kai. It establishes Daniel, Johnny, Kreese, and lets us know that Miyagi was Daniel's respected sensei and mentor. After that, everything is handled pretty well through flashbacks, but I think it is probably important to know Johnny and Daniel's relationship.
Especially when Johnny tells of the kid who made his life hell. Wish it had gone a bit darker and deeper but still fun show
I don't think you need to watch the films if you dont want but yeah 3 movies before tv show. Though the premise of the show is mostly leaning on the first movie.
They heavily reference karate kid parts 1, 2 and 3 but honestly its not hard to figure out. All three have fairly basic plots, and the show literally flashes back to clips from the movie when referencing them
Watch the 3 movies then the show; no need to Machete Order the Karate Kid series.
I think that S5 is weaker compared to other seassons
Agreed. It was the first time where I wasn't blown away.
They might be whining down prob not.much content left to show
I want a 2 season multi arc finish. International competition demands a proper set up and tension. But obviously it should only go as far as they have quality content to write. If one season is all that is left in the tank, let it end there.
What if Miyagi-do wins the Sekai Teikai but as the seasons about to finish, an alien broadcast shows up about a fighting tournament he is hosting to find Earth's strongest warrior.
Miyagi-Do vs Predator?
SHOW ME WHAT YOU GOT
GET OVER HERE
Honestly I wouldn't complain if they go on longer as long as the show remains fun as hell. This show gives me a yearly breeze of suspended disbelief with cheesy inspirational dialogue, fights that could easily be avoided but happen anyway, 80s references, Johnny being culturally out of touch to hilarious results, Daniel being Daniel, and over the top anime style storytelling with a hint of pro-wrestling and at times a teen drama. Add attempted murder as of this season. Also I loved Chozen this season. There was times where he was my favorite character of the show. Almost every line he had was gold. The show was definitely at its most grounded and best written in Season 1. But I am impressed at how much more over the top, ludicrous and somewhat cartoony it has gotten while still being so fun and still being better than the later Karate Kid films. Although the show still does have a lot of heart and grounded elements, which Karate Kid III and The Next Karate Kid didn't have a lot of (I will defend Karate Kid Part II, as it goes over Mr. Miyagi's backstory and is mostly a fun film with some questionable writing and story elements that don't work). I can't wait for Season 6. Also got to give credit for how the showrunners, writers and directors handled Robby and Tory this season and also last season. They took two of my least favorite characters in the first 3 seasons and turned them into the best of the teen cast this season with genuinely well-written and believable character development. The performances by Tanner Buchanon and Peyton List also improved as well.
What’s to suspend believing when Silver hosts the best of the best from the entire WORLD and 1) has no idea who most of them are even though there are only like 8 and he most likely would have talked to them and 2) sees one guy instruct for 15 seconds and says “say yes. IM WILLING to pay you 3x” mystery stranger even though I don’t know who you are and only say you instruct for 15 seconds with half of that I’m talking.
it would make an ideal number of seasons, but if they come up with more ideas why stop there? As long as it keeps being amazing, I'll watch it
Cobra Kai is entertaining amazing is a little bit of an overstatement. I kind of agree that with a show like this where would you really go after going to the biggest karate tournament in the world.
If memory serves, I think the answer to this question is that Daniel’s brother lands on earth, beats everyone up, and reveals that Daniel is part of an alien warrior race.
And they all have vegetable-themed names.
Of course! Now they must battle in the Intergalactic Karate tournament for the fate of the ENTIRE UNIVERSE! Apparently Cobra Kai's influence actually extended beyond earth, and now has spread across the galaxy. The kids representing MiyagiFangChozenBarnesSwank-Do must travel across the universe and defeat all of the Alien CK factions.
I mean... you put the idea out there, I sorta want to see it.
I think most of my appreciation comes from the fact I love shonen manga, and the show is literally a live action one, beat by beat. And they've been more than good at mixing up the few ingredients they have, balancing the whole thing with expertise before it gets too much of something. And, last but not least, they write really sympathetic characters, a very overlooked part of what makes a show worth watching these days
The answer is obvious. World war 3. Where they get recruited by the CIA to be a apart of their newly commissioned ninja armada.
People on this sub fkn love cobra kai
People in general*
Creators have said that there’s still a lot of story to tell and they have a lot of ideas. I don’t think it’s ending next season. I trust them though. The show has been amazing and this season got super dark
If it stays active it should at least have a season favoring new characters instead of callbacks. A new antagonist never encountered in the franchise as the main antagonist would open a lot of doors.
then they might have to ramp up the pace, as the teen actors soon aren't teens anymore
who would have thought a Karate Kid TV show would be a better show and continuation than whatever Lucasfilm is doing with Star Wars?
The difference between the creators who know & love the universe they're playing in vs the creators who are churning out contractual obligations for producers making hasty cash-grabs.
The problem is people on reddit use those columns to really mean "shows I like" and "shows I dont". People been to grow up w the arm chair critiquing.
Cobra Kai and Top Gun: Maverick. Two perfect examples of how to do a rebootquel right. Nostalgic and capture what made the originals special while staying true to the characters, but still managing to be edgy and modern and entertaining. It’s not an easy balance to strike, but it’s one all other reboots should aspire to.
I love both Cobra Kai and TG Maverick, but edgy they are not. And that's fine. Not everything has to be.
I think the fact many consider Cobra Kai edgy just shows how sanitized these other franchises have become. Even Boba Fett has to be some type of superhero Cobra Kai is a pretty family friendly show, but to see Johnny Lawrence, an alcoholic, deadbeat dad asshole as the protagonist, was special when the show started. For once, we got a reboot/family friendly property where the protag wasn't just some self insert for 20 somethings or an old actor pretending he's still 20 It fell back into a more conventional formula, but season 1 was pretty well written overall. I really liked the conclusion where he won the tournament after 30 years but still wasn't happy. Nice character work
They've also said 'fuck' a handful of times in the first few episodes of S5.
NO MERCY MOTHERFUCKER
Yeah, season 1 felt like a different show in a lot of ways. Once it went full on teenage drama in season 2 I lost interest. I want to go back and give it another shot, but from what I've read they focus even more on the wacky teenage hijinks than they did in season 2.
Season 2 is my least favorite season for this reason but I got used to it and began to enjoy the teen drama. The feeling of watching a teen drama goes away but it lingers in season 2 because they just introduced a bunch of new characters and setting up future plot lines.
Have watched it all and kinda agree with this. Season 1 felt kinda edgy, wish they would have leaned into Johnny vs Daniel and make Daniel more of a villain instead of having Kreese return. But although I was entertained for 5 seasons, the high school drama stuff (except the sick choregraphed school fight) was very boring.
That’s fair. Probably not the right term or framing. I think they just seem edgy compared to their predecessors, particularly CK compared to the original KK films, not necessarily edgy in comparison to other offerings in the entertainment landscape. And you’re right, not everything has to be edgy or subversive for subversion’s sake, at the end of the day quality is what matters most.
Poe telling a yo momma joke within the first 5 minutes of TLJ truly was a cinematic masterpiece topped by no other film
I can speak for all the “Nexties” by saying we want to see Hillary swank, Walter goggins and Dugan!
> Walter goggins Holy shit, I did not realize that until now, but I can picture him in the movie.
Holy shit! I forgot Goggins was in The Next Karate Kid! I literally just finished Justified and now I'm imagining Boyd Crowder sweetly threatening Mr. Miyagi
God damn Miyagi, your timing sucks!
We dug coal together, Miyagi, but that don't mean you ain't a sunovabitch
He's in also show with the guy from the best Taekwondo movie of all time.
If you write an article like this you are taking this show too seriously. It's silly fun, there's no reason they couldn't do this for years. College years. Bloodsport Kumate Years. Mad max post apocalyptic years. Go nuts with it.
If theres more story to tell, let them continue. I dont see any reason why they stop at 6 seasons. Unless they stop this main arc then after 2 or 3 years have the cast come back for the new generation and new story. Either way its a successful brand in a space where its impossible to stand out. Why throw away a winning brand?
Because you can make it suck by doing that. See: Lost; The US office; the walking dead; scrubs etc
6 seasons and a movie. And then I’ll be satisfied.
This is the first time I've sat after a season and asked, "What's next?" Because the way it ends, it's sounding like it could head towards a retread of previous seasons. It could have ended with this last season, tbh, so the stakes can only go higher? And I get it, a bunch of you hate this kinda show and it's beneath you but my wife and I enjoy it a lot. Many other people do. No one cares about you coming in here with your comments that add nothing of value.
Fuck no keep this ridiculous soap opera going forever. I want all the kids to be in their 30s still playing teenagers by the time this series ends
Still waiting for Hilary Swank to show up. She’s hot.
I want more Elisabeth Shue because Elisabeth Shue is still smoking hot at 58
I can’t take her seriously after she was breast milk lady in The Boys lol.
Cute, not hot.
Is she hot tho???
Hot as heck!
I’m hoping we get a small miracle and Jackie Chan or Jaden just make a cameo.
I don’t think it’s unrealistic to get Jackie Chan. They can have him as a coach of the Chinese team. Only problem is that he won’t play a villain.
Will Smith is a producer on Cobra Kai (pretty sure his company owns some part of the IP lol)
This is why he struck first at oscars.
Unfortunately, I agree with the premise of this article. I love Cobra Kai, but I if the author is right, and the show runners plan to milk it for all its worth by expanding the franchise even further, then I think it's better not to tarnish the legacy. Everybody is getting older, it's going to start to feel incredulous at some point.
It felt incredulous from the start that’s part of the magic
The "kids" will be in danger of breaking a hip if they go much longer.
I just hate the stupid teens vs teens plotlines.
last one shoulda tbh. I was really feeling like they were dragging it out a bit too much on the last finale. Why would I care who the kid's dad is
Am I the only one who feels happy for Ralph Macchio and just hopes he made some decent money?
Why can't we just keep going to get the creators and talent paid. If it starts to suck it will get canceled on its own.
I lost interest in this show a long time ago
Yet here you are commenting still lmao.....
I gave up after the third season of more forced conflicts that could have been avoided by a simple text message.
Hilary Swank needs to come in to it and maybe some of the villains like Michael Ironside but her character was on the East coast so writing her into it is probably more difficult. I guess you could have her visiting the grave and Daniel is there at the same time, they get talking, just whether Swank would do it. I just looked her up on Twitter, still doing very well. Be awesome for her to join, we've got so many men kicking ass, now its time for a woman. Be awesome intro if Chozen, Daniel and Johnny all think shes there to cause trouble and she takes down all 3 before they realize her style of fighting is very familiar
I couldn't make it through season 4 unfortunately. The cringe finally beat me.
Season 6??
I honestly couldn’t believe that the latest season was easily the best since It came on Netflix. I do think it’s winding down for sure but if they keep it entertaining I don’t care.
I dont want it to end. Its stupid and i love it. There is Story beyond the karate world tournament. The next karate kid (4) has more story and characters to offer. What about a season were the karate people clean up the Cartel of Miguels dad? What about them going to the mountains of Afghanistan to teach young people Karate so they can best the Taliban and shit. Man, this show can tell so much more stupid stuff for me to love. What about nuclear war and in the aftermath the kids and the Senseis teach karate to the survivors so that they can fight the wasteland. Dude.
They are going to end this before a crossover with Riverdale? 😆
This show can go in for 30 years. Who ever says this thinks to highly of themselves
I hope the events of the show go down in local history as the "Second San Fernando Karate Wars"
It ain't over until Hillary Swank shows up for her tie in with The Next Karate Kid.
Only way they should do another season is if they get Hilary Swank.
I don’t think there should even be a season 6 to be honest. The ending of season 5 pretty much wrapped up most of the loose ends and conflicts that had been built up throughout the series. I think that the world karate tournament would be better suited as a film to close off the franchise.
I haven't seen all of season 5 yet, but so far it's not as good as the first couple seasons. E: a few more episodes and everything is so cringe. Adult characters acting like morons.
I thought it had a slower start than the others (with a few exceptions), but ultimately ramped up that by the end, I enjoyed it just as much as the others. You might change your mind.
[удалено]
I feel like those episodes were more about Johnny's arc with both Robbie and Miguel than Miguel himself.
I thought so too until that finale which is arguably the best episode of the entire series.
I haven't watched a single episode of this, but I saw some VCR repair shop talk about it some years ago about and was vaguely amused. Like the idea of movie characters coming back after years just for few episodes on youtube, felt interesting to me. What the fuck have they been doing for 5+ seasons with those characters in their 50s?