Netflix
It seems that Cobra Kai has finally, in its fifth season (out Sept. 9 on Netflix), reached the apex of its learning curve. Cobra Kai, a reboot of the classic 1980s Karate Kid trilogy, is told from the perspective of the first film’s villain. Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) is a walking stereotype of a disgruntled, middle-aged white man: He peaked in high school and continues reliving his glory days. In the meantime, all of modern pop culture has passed him by. He doesn’t understand “Goggle,” Facebook, or the patriarchy.
Worst, Johnny is now bullying people the same way he was bullied when he was a karate student—but this time in his own dojo, named after the “Cobra Kai” club of his youth. This is in stark contrast to what OG Karate Kid-turned-successful car salesman and pillar of the community Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) did with his life. But with Johnny up to no good again as Cobra Kai, it is Daniel who co-opts the traditional teachings of Mr. Miyagi to take action.
Many, many hijinks ensue, mostly consisting of Daniel, Johnny, and their students staging karate fights at school and the mall at every juncture. And in case Daniel and Johnny’s never-ending feud wasn’t enough, Cobra Kai has impressively been able to bring back most of the movies’ other antagonists. That includes original Cobra Kai sensei John Krease (Martin Kove), silver fox Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffin; call me), and Chozen Toguchi (Yuji Okumoto). Much of the time, these villains are fairly one note. But by introducing increasingly Bigger Bads each season, Cobra Kai at once humanizes all of its characters—and allows them to see that there’s more to the world than karate.