It's kind of impressive that with just one word, they managed to make Karate Kid III make WAY more sense: "Cocaine!" Enjoying the show as always, though I will say I'm really starting to loose patience with the whole "will they/won't they be friends!?" back and forth with Daniel and Johnny. While I don't expect them to ever be close, It's just beyond predicable at this point and I really just wish they'd settle into a less volatile patter.
Hopefully we will see that in season 5. We've seen a progressive character arc for both of them since season 1.
That's just it though, there hasn't been much of an arc between those two, they just repeat the same patterns over and over. It's not even two steps forward, one step back, it's one step forward, one step back!
There was a lot of forward steps in their relationship this season. There were minor regressions but they are no where close to were they were at the start of the series or previous seasons. The season ends with them both joint mentoring Sam at the tournament.... plus announcing it to the crowd. There is no backing away from that. That was the big pay off but after Daniel and Johnny agreed to let the other train them in the others style.... can any of us ever imagined that before this season? Johnny complained and made wisecracks but still went though with it. Unlike Daniel’s own son who cheated by paying someone to clean the cars for him.
One significant marker of progress was at the end of the All-Valley Tournament, when Daniel not only invited Johnny to serve as co-coach for Sam, but also made a point of reminding the announcer that Johnny is a two-time All-Valley champ.
Yeah, that was a very nice moment that showed a lot of growth on Danny's part. I think Johnny probably resents that Danny seems to get all the attention and glory for his famous "kick" win. It was good for Danny to acknowledge that Johnny is a legit champion in his own right as well.
That was a fun season. Not as good as 1-3, but really decent. I enjoyed the character arcs, especially Eli, Demetri, Robbie, and Tory. The season finale was awesome and I'm happy to see the Daniel/Johnny arc really starting to pay off. I wasn't expecting Spoiler: this guest Chozen to show up again, so a pleasant surprise. I was wondering what happened to Stingray, so another fun appearance there when he pops up. I would like to see them wrap everything up in season 5 though. It seems like things have aligned for a final season and I don't want to see them drag it out.
I especially like the character development for Tory. It feels like in a lot of ways this is the first time she's actually become a rounded character, rather than just a big ball of stress and anger. (And in helping her, Amanda becomes a more rounded and likable character as well.) The connection between her and Robby is believable and kind of sweet. And while I couldn't root for her to win in the All-Valley, knowing what was at stake, I totally sympathize with her hunger to prove herself. And with her chagrin at realizing what Silver did, and that perhaps she isn't a true champion. I will look forward to seeing how she handles that revelation, and what she does. Kreese even gets a few nice moments, and some character growth. I like when he remembers what he did to Johnny all these years ago (and, it seems, realizes this is when he lost Johnny), and chooses to let Tory fight in her own way. Of course, this means he is no longer ruthless enough to be our Big Bad, and so he has to go....
Per the showrunners: “There are characters and storylines that we’ve considered that, from the beginning, we would have said, ‘Okay, that’s a season,’ and that storyline ended up being an episode or two. And then there’s the opposite of that where you say, ‘Okay, this is a season,’ and now we’re going to extend that into multiple seasons. So we’ve always looked back at our original plan with open eyes because with so many new branches and so many new characters and interactions and what you’re seeing during production when, ‘Oh wow, these two people together, there’s something interesting about that duo,’ you want to lean more into it and when you do lean more into it, it naturally pushes other things along and further out. It’s changed at times, but it also hasn’t. We still have an endgame plan. We’re still writing beyond Season 5. But it’s been fun to bring in those new characters and storylines and let them lead the way sometimes.” ... “We’ve never said from the beginning how many seasons there would be. I think we always viewed it as at least six was sort of in our heads, but we’re still figuring out exactly what the length for that landing is for all the reasons that Josh mentioned.” How Many Seasons of Cobra Kai Will There Be? Show Creators Offer an Update (collider.com) Netflix generally only likes to produce 3 seasons of its television shows (something I think is bizarrely short-sighted), but it's always possible they will make an exception for something as big as Cobra Kai. 3 seasons on Netflix would bring us through season 6.
I keep forgetting about that. Going to a season 6 would also give them more time to set up another All Valley tournament (unless they do a big time jump in season 5 which I doubt).
Stingray is creepy as fuck and I hope he ends up sharing a prison cell with Silver and/or Kreese by the end.
Yea... Stingray is so needy for attention that he's more than willing be used for fodder to trap Kreese. As much of a piece of work that Kreese is, he showed an ounce of empathy/sympathy towards Tory. As empathetic/sympathetic that Silver appeared, he showed that he was that much more of a piece of work than Kreese is. They're mirrors of one another.
True. And he bought the letterman jacket from a thrift store, because he was home schooled, and would not have made varsity if he had been an alumnus.
Kreese has nobody to blame but himself. He's the one that decided to go rattle Silver's cage so he could continue a 35 year vendetta against people he first met when they were teens and he was a grown arse man. Silver is an addict in more ways that one, and anyone that deliberately goes out of their way to enable someone trying to stay sober deserves all the blowback they get. In my mind Kreese is still the worst of the pair since while SIlver is clearly a sociopath, it's also clear that to some extent he can't help it. Kreese can help it, but chooses not to and instead uses people as pawns in his own little ego stroking game.
Yeah, I didn't like that Kreese started with the redemption arc hints at the end there. He's a panto villain through and through, albeit elevated by a more grounded performance. I want to boo and hiss when he turns up. It's good that he learned from his mistake in terms of trusting Tori when his way meant Johnny lost 40 years ago, but you can still say that's all his ego; he wants her to win and he had to do something different to do that. Keep him a out and out villain, being bitten by the rabid dog he unleased. Please
Everyone's going to get redeemed by the end. Season 5, Mike Barnes will turn on Terry Silver. Then in season 6, aliens who use a martial arts tournament to decide whether or not planets are worth conquering show up and Mike Barnes now has to fight for the fate of humanity... and the valley.
I'm predicting Stingray will surprise us and become the ultimate villain of the show. The final episode will end with him killing his enemies and taking over the Cobra Kai brand.