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[Spoiler Alert]
Title: Cobra Kai (Season 4)
Year: 2021
Rating: 8/10
First of all, I want to say that I absolutely loved this season, although I had somewhat higher expectations for some reason. This season is probably about the same par as season 3, in my opinion.
The biggest adoration I had for this season was the complete comparisons between Miyagi Do and Cobra Kai/Eagle Fang. Specifically both of their understanding that BOTH their styles can work sometimes, and the fact that obtaining them both better, it's always better to have balance, and that's what Miyagi-Do is all about, even if you think its wrong. I loved that Daniel finally, by the end, understood that his way is not the only way, and that there can be more, and Sam is a symbol of that. Speaking of that, it was pleasing to see the idea of making YOUR OWN STYLE, which is what Sam does. Also, Cobra Kai learning Miyagi-Do Karate was an interesting tactic, learning their moves so they can beat their moves, what a powerplay play. Except I wish one factor came into play, the fact that learning Miyagi-Do may bring peace and tranquility to the student's minds, therefore less aggression, which didn't happen, although that can be explained by Robby only explaining Miyagi-Do's moves, and not life/soul teachings.
Again and again, I love the relevance of Star Wars within Cobra Kai. They're so similar, even though, because of the amount of side changes with the characters, it's hard to perfectly pinpoint which character is who, especially because a lot of characters resemble the same character in Star Wars.
Of course, another thing that has to be said in Season 4 of Cobra Kai, I pretty much love every scene that Terry Silver is in. It was just so great to see his character again. Knowing that, I was still slightly dissapointed by his character, I was expecting more of the Terry Silver we knew and fell in love with, the craziness, the manipulation, the energy. I am aware of the time that's passed and the need to make it realistic, but still, I wanted more of that.
I also liked that they hid they hid the insanity of Terry Silver in Karate Kid III by his constant bumps of cocaine, which is a common theme is ex-soldiers. I was very interested by the damaging relationship between Terry and Kreese, therefore I saw something coming where Terry would betray him by the end. That was a smart play, but I do believe Kreese belongs in jail anyway.
That reminds me, I found it interesting that Kreese wasn't all evil this season/near the end. I'm happy they did something different rather than just being his repetitive war-like mindset. It's true that Johnny Lawrence is his weakness. It was an original way to go story-wise, to make Kreese less of a villain than Terry, and allow Tory to choose how she wants to fight, rather than repeating history and telling her to do something disrespectful like he told Johnny.
A specific moment I HAVE to mention in this season was the scene where Miguel found Johnny drunk on the floor in his flat, and took him to the bed, where Johnny speaks about him trying his hardest to be a good father to Miguel, having to deal with his father troubles when he was younger. Then, Miguel says he loves him, and Johnny replies "I love you, Robby", emphasising the idea that Robby put in his head earlier, that Johnny is just trying to be a good father to Miguel to make him feel better for messing up with Robby, which obviously isn't true, he loves Miguel. But, I just wanted to say that that scene was, in my opinion, the best scene in the entire season. It broke my heart, especially because of the recent exploration of Miguel's and Johnny's father-son bond. AND Xolo Marideuna's (Miguel) acting in that scene was PERFECTION, that was the best acting he's had, the pure emotion in his face got me. This leads me to saying how Miguel was on a completely different path to everyone else this season, I saw he was having some spiritual problems, in a way, his heart wasn't in it, he wasn't focusing on things elsewhere, which is why I love the arc Miguel is going to go on in Season 5, to find his father in Mexico (who's repeatedly been told is a very, very bad man), and that's going to cause problems with Johnny, as he sees himself as a father to Miguel, meeting Miguel's father is going to be big. There are theories out there that his father could be Mike Barnes, but I don't think so at all, I think he's a new character. But Mike Barnes will come into it in the future.
Eli's arc was much better this season too, he slightly shed his "hawk" persona, due to his loss of confidence and charisma, he even got the point of quitting Karate. His arc can moderately be named a redemption arc, but done very minimally and unfocused on. I loved the moment where he got his confidence back when Moon kissed him, and he easily won against Kyler without getting hit once. His fight against Robby was legendary, primarily because they both shown each other respect fighting this time, and they are quite equal, they both know Miyagi-Do and Cobra Kai, each one each lesser than the other. I always wanted Eli to be a champion in the tournament, so it's perfect that they did.
Daniel's son (Anthony) had a much bigger part this season, which I vastly appreciated, I like that he was the bully this time, which connected well to Daniel's speculation of being the bullying, except way more obvious. Although, it was clear that Anthony didn't necessarily want to bully him, it was just him trying to fit in with his friends (which, by the way, I hate that one kid with the curly hair). I'm happy they shown the psychological aspect of Anthony's behaviour due to his family life, which made complete sense, being in a rich, spoiled family, it can make him like this, which Daniel and Amanda should have realised sooner. Of course, Daniel started from the bottom up, like some people in Cobra Kai, which begs me to say there's a big theme of social class, from lower and higher, going from higher to lower. As much as Anthony shouldn't have bullied, I do like him, or the idea of him, being Daniel's son. I hope his arc in the next season is becoming the best fighter he's supposed to be, just like Miyagi said when he was born.
By the ending of Cobra Kai when Daniel was at Miyagi's grave, I wasn't expecting Chozen to be there, instead I was expecting Hilary Swank's "Julie Pierce" from 'The Next Karate Kid', who I have no doubt in my mind Daniel knows, considering I believe Daniel and Julie would have met some time, most likely at Miyagi's funeral. So, it would be amazing to see her in the game, as much as I hated the movie with my heart. Her character would be a good addition.
Now, I'm certain to believe that this is the end of the All Valley Tournament in all of the Karate Kid-Cobra Kai universe, considering our characters will be older now, and the drama is greater than the tournament now. The least we'll get of the tournament is small mentions.
I also just want to convey my idea I've always had that Cobra Kai is practically just fan service to the Karate Kid franchise. I seriously imagine it to be a fan fiction on Wattpad. I just wanted to mention that considering this is my first review on my new film critic Instagram account.
If you haven't watched Cobra Kai, I definitely recommend! Especially if you've watched any of the Karate Kid movies or love drama or martial arts. They kiss the movies perfectly.
By @brofilmcriticwnie
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Quando si parla di revival, sequel, reboot e spin-off, tendiamo sempre a storcere il naso ancor prima di vederli sullo schermo. Il motivo? Sono veramente rari i casi in cui un’opera derivata riesca a reggere il confronto con la serie o il film originale: salvo rare eccezioni (Angel e The Originals, ad esempio) dalla nuova trilogia di Star Wars al revival di Veronica Mars, da Una mamma per amica – di nuovo insieme a Heroes: reborn, di esempi di sequel non proprio riuscitissimi ce ne sono a bizzeffe.
In un mare di delusioni si erge Cobra Kai, figlio della saga cult degli anni Ottanta, The Karate Kid.
Fin dal pilot, la serie si è rivelata un esperimento vincente in quanto è stata in grado di rievocare un classico in maniera molto intelligente, di trovare il giusto equilibrio tra l’essere un’operazione puramente nostalgica e il tentativo di dare profondità a dei film che, figli dei loro anni, presentavano trame e personaggi stereotipati e macchiettistici.
By @not_a_show
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Cobra Kai (2021) es una serie que sigue la rivalidad de los sensei de karate Johnny Lawrence, Daniel LaRusso y John Kreese, una rivalidad que tendrá repercusiones para sus dojos y alumnos. Recientemente pude terminar de ver la Season 4 y debo decir que me ha encantado. ¡Cobra Kai está sensacional!
La mejor cualidad de Cobra Kai sigue siendo su excelente manejo de los personajes. Me encanta la atención que se le brinda al desarrollo de sus personajes. Se siente que se quiere contar una historia buena, profunda y humana. La historia provee más que simplemente karate y comedia. Aplaudo mucho eso. Inclusive, hay veces que me sorprende en ese aspecto.
Hablando de los personajes, en la Season 4 me asombraron muchas escenas. Se puede resaltar cuando en el torneo All Valley aceptan formar equipo dos senseis; cuando Kreese rechaza una oferta y detiene a Terry; cuando un borracho Johnny hace una confesión que le rompe el corazón a Miguel. Dichas escenas llevan a Cobra Kai a un nivel impresionante.
Algo que también me pareció increíble de la Season 4 es su desenlace. ¡Así se termina un season! La forma en que preparan lo que viene próximamente está espectacular. Terminé la season súper emocionado, con muchas ganas de ver la próxima.
¿Ya la viste? Cúentame tu opinión.
By @rodriguezone3
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