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This past weekend, everyone’s favorite karate dojo returned as Netflix dropped Cobra Kai season 5. The story picks up right where we left off with season 4 and jumps right back into the action as Daniel LaRusso, Johnny Lawrence and Chozen try to take down Terry Silver.

Today we’re reviewing season 5. There are major spoilers ahead. Reader beware.

As we discussed in the past, Cobra Kai is a near perfect series. The show has offered up a style of nostalgia that resonates well with the original audience of The Karate Kid universe all while appealing to a new audience. Cobra Kai season 5 expands that even further with themes not only from the original Karate Kid movie, but old school kung fu and samurai flicks from the Hong Kong heyday.

Cobra Kai season 5: Shift in Inspiration

The early seasons of Cobra Kai were directly influenced by the original movies and the 80s that has Johnny Lawrence held in a time capsule. Cobra Kai season 5 draws influence from more than just The Karate Kid franchise. Instead it pulls from Kung Fu flicks in its entirety. It’s inspiration comes from the Bruce Lee movies, Ip Man, and even Kung Fu Hustle.

While it’s always been based on dojo rivalries, Terry Silver’s over the top personality is more akin to the original movies that inspired The Karate Kid itself. We see dojo fights similar to Bruce Lee going into a rival dojo for disrespecting his master and this gives us huge gang fights that are masterfully crafted.

What makes this season so good is the fact that it shucks Cobra Kai of the past and reinvents itself in a new but adjacent genre. It seems fresh even though that we have almost all the same characters with a few new.

In addition to the fight scenes, the story is well crafted, as is the case with most Netflix stories these days. Again, it’s fresh and Terry Silver plays a convincing bad guy. In the final battle against Chozen, Silver pulls out a sword, upping the ante for everyone involved. This brought the series from The Karate Kid to 47 Ronin territory. We had the shot of Silver’s blood-soaked blade that was straight out of samurai flicks.

The writers did a great job of pulling from different movies outside the Miyagiverse and kept the show feeling like it was something new. Now with Silver gone and Miyagi-Fang going international, there are plenty of new stories we can explore abroad.

Falling Short (only a little)

While Cobra Kai season 5 was absolutely phenomenal, it wasn’t perfect. But what is? My chief complaint was we didn’t get to see The Karate Bad Boy do much of anything. The writers brought back Sean Kanan’s Mike Barnes but totally underutilized him. We had the opportunity to put together an Avengers-esque moment with Daniel LaRusso, Johnny Lawrence, Chozen Toguchi, and Mike Barnes all teaming up to take on the big bad Terry Silver. Instead, we got the gang split up and Barnes almost immediately incapacitated. I really hoped to have a scene like the opening of Age of Ultron where we get the team all fighting and the camerawork and choreography brings us from member to member in action and working together. But that could be an issue with my expectations and hoping for too much.

One thing that did bother me to hell and back was Miguel and Sam breaking up again. I understand they are high schoolers and they can be dumb in relationships but the two split seemingly every season. It’s tired. Have them grow in a relationship. Show growing pains, not a split.

Finally, the John Kreese scene. I’m glad they kept Kreese confined for the most part and let Terry Silver go completely off the rails. But him escaping from jail in a Joker-like manner with “My Way” by Frank Sinatra in the back was an obvious Joker reference. Kinda corny, even for Cobra Kai. But he’s out and he can be a nuisance once again. I’m all for it. Especially after the gang is done internationally.

Overall rating: 9/10

Once again, John Hurwitz and Josh Heald delivered on Cobra Kai. They have said that there is an end they are working to. But for now, we are blessed with another season coming eventually. Cobra Kai takes what made it awesome, keeps it at heart and reinvents what else is left.

The showrunners also did an awesome job bringing in MMA fighters like Tyron Woodley, Eryk Anders, and Stephen Thompson which is great to see. Cobra Kai gives Karate Kid fans all they want and more.

With the new Karate Kid movie announced, we may be on the way to seeing the gang back on the big screen, albeit likely not in this installment. But maybe we could see a big budget Cobra Kai movie on the big screen as it’s finale. A man can dream.

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Last week, Hulu dropped Mike episodes five and six. Now we are at the dark part of Mike Tyson’s life and the writers did a good job portraying these times. Despite my criticism of this show in the previous two weeks, this week’s episodes were much better done.

Reader beware! Spoilers for Mike on Hulu lie ahead!

Mike on Hulu: Dark times make for good television

We are starting to see some of the reasons why Mike Tyson wasn’t happy with Hulu for showing his life story. While it isn’t a good thing that Tyson wasn’t paid on his life’s story and he wasn’t even consulted, Mike on Hulu pulls no punches and isn’t afraid to make Iron Mike look bad.

Mike shows how bad and how dark rape can be. Regardless of what you think about Tyson’s conviction for rape in the 90’s, the scene itself set out to do a job and executed. Li Eubanks nails this as she’s screaming in the background, pleading for mercy, and narrating just how awful the experience was.

In addition to that, these two episodes, which were the best of the show so far, had zero boxing scenes in it. The directors did a good job to show the turmoil in Mike Tyson’s life and how it affected everyone around him. There weren’t many good people around Tyson at the time and it was depicted well.

Still Struggling

While these were the best and actually branched into good television instead of below average like episodes one through four, the show really feels like it is not going to deliver on the series finale.

We’re going to see Mike Tyson back in the ring. We’re going to hear the “My style is impetuous” line. We are going to see Evander Holyfield get his ear bitten off. But it seems like this should be the buildup and not the climax of the series. But we cannot say for certain the writers of the show won’t pull off the Hail Mary and make the last two episodes great. Only time will tell.

Mike on Hulu dropped episodes there and four last week (likely to get the onslaught of disgruntled Mike Tyson fans through quicker) and today we have to drop a review. Having watched over the past Labor Day weekend, I can say that episodes three and four of Mike on Hulu was a big improvement from the first two episodes. While some of the problems still remain from the original episodes, some of the twists taken on the characters made the show shine. Let’s begin.

Mild spoilers ahead, reader beware!

Mike on Hulu: The Good

Much like last week, the boxing in Mike was well done. While it’s not a “Creed” performance which starred Tony Bellew, it does well to show the power possessed by Mike Tyson in his heyday. There’s blood everywhere and the slow motion, 300 style shots with contorted faces continue to be entertaining.

Two new characters introduced was Robin Givens and Don King. Ohhhh, how they nailed Don King’s slimy, sleezy personality. Robin Givens and the actress who played her, Laura Harrier, were also spot on and as a big part of Mike Tyson’s life, omitting her would be blasphemy.

But Don King was perfection. Russell Hornsby absolutely nails the conman boxing promoter who has put fights together throughout the years despite being one of the most corrupt individuals in the sport’s history. He is sleezy and just out for no good and Hornsby nails the role.

What went wrong?

Much like the first two episodes, the same criticisms will apply here. While Trevante Rhodes does a good job impersonating Mike Tyson’s mannerisms, subtle shyness, and quiet tone and lisp, it comes off as just an impersonation. He’s a great actor but some of the lines just don’t work for Rhodes.

Second, Buster Douglas was a mammoth of a human being in the show. Why? Douglas is a larger man now but at the time of the fight he wasn’t fat nor shredded like the show told us. Mike on Hulu takes what makes Buster Douglas beating Tyson in Japan and makes it something completely different.

In Mike on Hulu, Douglas is a brick house; square and muscle bound. But in all actuality, he was almost the same as any boxer Mike Tyson had faced before. He was in shape, sure, but nothing like what we were shown. It made Mike’s fall from champion to what we will soon see in the next two episodes less heartbreaking. Douglas was a monster in the show, but not in real life. He was almost an Average Joe compared to Mike Tyson and his aura.

Overall: Still mid

Mid, as the youngsters like to say. Mike on Hulu is worth a watch but it’s not going to blow your socks off with story you’ve never heard. That’s because they didn’t consult Mike Tyson on this and because of it, the show comes off as unoriginal.

Two more weeks of this double episode nonsense. At least we have Cobra Kai season five the next day to cheer me up.