Cobra Kai season 2 marked the return of Johnny Lawrence and Daniel LaRusso from the beloved Karate Kid franchise. Dealing with consequences from season 1 is the major theme of the second season and provides great character building and introduces new characters that were welcomed. If you missed our season one review of Cobra Kai, catch up on it below!
Cobra Kai Season 2 Review: Great Lessons, Great Building
As said at the top, the character building, and tearing down of characters for that matter, is perhaps the best part of Cobra Kai’s second season. We see our favorite characters, like Miguel Diaz and Johnny Lawrence grow into their own and change for the better. Then the other favorite characters, like Hawk, are torn down and given new, and not always positive, motives.
Then there are new characters introduced in season two that are welcome additions to the show. At the end of season 1, we saw the return of John Kreese, who we know from foreshadowing in season one, is no good at any point in time. Then there is Stingray, my favorite new character. Stingray, played by Paul Walter Hauser, is an older guy for the Cobra Kai dojo and provides welcome comedic relief on the high school shenanigans going on in the dojo with a hint of immaturity. He fits in perfectly, but in the sense that he almost fits in with the team.
Learning from Consequences
The major theme of Cobra Kai seson 2 is consequences and dealing with those consequences. Without spoiling too much, Johnny Lawrence must deal with the consequence of having Kreese back in his life. Cobra Kai does a good job mixing in the teenager and adult struggles into the narrative as well. Daniel LaRusso has to deal with his old/new passion as an adult while juggling real life things like being a husband, father, and business owner.
Robby Keene, Lawrence’s son, also deals with the consequences of his past life as he struggles to do right. He finds a love interest that has him wanting to do more and do it right. But, old ghosts still haunt Robby and he has to battle those demons.
The Finale
The last episode of Cobra Kai season 2 isn’t another tournament, thankfully. Instead we have an all out school brawl that changes the pace for the series. In season one, we had the All-Valley Tournament and it was neat and organized. This time, it’s chaotic but the choreography was well done. There are tons of matchups that we were hoping to see and we got to see that beef somewhat settled.
The end of the episode sets up the narrative for season three. While I won’t spoil that here, watching season three’s trailer will do so. I will say that season three will bring new themes between Lawrence and LaRusso who both look to right the wrongs done in the past 30+ years of Karate Kid lore.
You can catch Cobra Kai on Netflix as season three debuts January 8th, though that’s subject to change according to the rumor mills. But if you wish to support The Fight Library and the actors from the show, you can buy seasons one and two of Cobra Kai on Amazon below!
Double Hammerfist 