When Cobra Kai premiered, it dared to ask the question: “Could an ’80s bad guy really redeem himself?” The answer was a resounding yes. Taking place after the events of the Karate Kid films, Cobra Kai flipped the script on the story by focusing on Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka), after being defeated by Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio), Johnny’s life took a spiral until he finally reopened the Cobra Kai dojo. In an age where legacy sequels like Creed, Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens, and Jurassic World are commonplace, Cobra Kai strays from the beaten path and is far better from it. The focus on Johnny also reveals that he’s become the spiritual successor to Daniel’s teacher, Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita).
At first glance, it seems like Daniel would have been the one to uphold Miyagi’s lessons. Miyagi was the one who taught him karate and guided him to victory, after all. But as Cobra Kai progresses, it’s clear that Johnny is the one who’s adopted Miyagi’s way of passing on wisdom through karate. He helps the students in Cobra Kai grow through his unorthodox teachings, and this in turn helps him to grow as a person. Daniel, on the other hand, winds up becoming somewhat inflexible when it comes to teaching karate — a flaw he has to work to overcome throughout Cobra Kai’s runtime. In a way, Cobra Kai flips the script on The Karate Kid‘s narrative, with Johnny being the hero and Daniel being the antagonist, and part of its appeal is watching how they both grow.
Johnny and Miguel’s Relationship in ‘Cobra Kai’ Is a Mirror to Daniel and Mr. Miyagi’s
The biggest parallel between Johnny and Miyagi comes from Johnny’s relationship with Miguel Diaz (Xolo Maridueña). Much like how Miyagi saved Daniel from Johnny and bullies in The Karate Kid, Cobra Kai‘s first episode ends with Johnny beating up bullies who attack Miguel, though it lands him in jail. Johnny also takes his own approach to teaching Miguel karate, though his lessons include a tougher form of teaching. While Miyagi taught Daniel karate via the “wax on, wax off” method, Johnny uses tough love and Cobra Kai’s methods of “strike first, strike hard, no mercy” to hone Miguel’s fighting skills. Yet as time goes on, Johnny becomes a far better teacher than his ruthless sensei, John Kreese (Martin Kove). When Miguel uses an underhanded method to win the All-Valley Under-18 Karate Championships in Cobra Kai Season 1, Johnny downgrades him and other Cobra Kai students to white belts, forbidding cheating in the process.
Johnny’s growth as a teacher runs parallel to Daniel’s. While Daniel reopens Miyagi-Do, it’s less about teaching karate and more about undermining Johnny at first. Daniel also takes Miyagi’s lessons way too strictly instead of adapting like Johnny does at first, as he still idolizes Miyagi to a fault. Johnny and Daniel’s rivalry also affects their relationship with their students, and their loved ones, in the early seasons of Cobra Kai as Daniel takes on Johnny’s estranged son Robby (Tanner Buchanan) as a student while Miguel strikes up a romantic relationship with Daniel’s daughter Sam (Mary Mouser). Eventually, the two start working together to train students when Kreese retakes control of Cobra Kai, but Johnny’s more unorthodox methods clash with Daniel’s rigid training. Both Daniel and Johnny learn that their respective styles work better together than apart, mirroring how Miyagi took a unique approach to his karate teachings.
Much Like Mr. Miyagi, Johnny Goes Through Some Dark Moments in ‘Cobra Kai’
As Cobra Kai goes on, more parallels between Johnny and Mr. Miyagi start to crop up, especially in Season 6. Johnny developed a romantic relationship with Miguel’s mother Carmen (Vanessa Rubio), and the two learn that they’re having a daughter together. But Carmen suffers complications from the pregnancy in Season 6, almost losing the baby as well as her life. This mirrors the tragedy that impacted Miyagi’s life; in The Karate Kid, he tells Daniel that he lost his wife and son due to complications from childbirth. Season 6 expands upon this, as Daniel learns that Miyagi was once arrested for armed robbery and killed a man during the Sekai Taikai torunament — which greatly shakes his faith in his mentor. But rather than disrespecting the legacy of the Karate Kid films, this plot development shows that Miyagi was human, and it reflects that if he could grow into a wiser man, so could Johnny.
Season 6 also features a touching moment where Johnny reconciles with Kreese, as they both come to terms with their past actions. While Kreese’s redemption arc in Cobra Kai left much to be desired, his admitting that he had a hand in the darker parts of Johnny’s life is a genuinely touching moment. So is the moment where Johnny breaks down in tears and embraces his former sensei; up to that point, Johnny had been the typical ’80s macho guy. By embracing his feelings, Johnny becomes a more well-rounded character and a better teacher, mirroring how Miyagi overcame the shadows of his past to become Daniel’s teacher and friend.
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The ‘Cobra Kai’ Finale Features Johnny and Daniel Passing on Mr. Miyagi’s Lessons
What makes Cobra Kai such a compelling series is how it forces Johnny and Daniel to grow. Johnny has to pick himself up after his failures in life, while Daniel has to learn to truly embrace the fluidity of Miyagi’s teachings. The duo even train each other in their respective methods, beginning with Cobra Kai Season 4. Johnny teaches Daniel “how to be a man” with his Eagle Fang style, while Daniel trains Johnny in Miyagi-Do (to hilarious effect). Things come full circle with Season 6, as Daniel helps train Johnny for the Sekai Taikai, even telling him the reason that Johnny lost to the “crane kick” Daniel used is because he ran into it. Johnny eventually uses that to his advantage and wins the Sekai Taikai, bringing his journey full circle. Cobra Kai co-creator Jon Hurwitz said that this was the goal from the beginning. “This was this joint victory between Johnny and Daniel: Daniel [has] finally come to the realization that it’s OK not to be Miyagi-Do all the time, that Johnny[’s beliefs] had some value … and Johnny recogniz[es] Daniel’s beliefs were valuable as well. These two people with very different philosophies in life can come together as one and win the day,” Hurwtiz said in an interview with Tudum. No one would have expected Johnny Lawrence to become Mr. Miyagi’s successor, but Cobra Kai proves that he became a mentor in his own right.
- Release Date
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2018 – 2025-00-00
- Network
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Netflix, YouTube Premium
- Showrunner
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Jon Hurwitz
- Directors
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Hayden Schlossberg, Jon Hurwitz, Joel Novoa, Jennifer Celotta, Steven K. Tsuchida, Sherwin Shilati, Marielle Woods, Steve Pink, Lin Oeding, Michael Grossman
- Writers
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Josh Heald, Ashley Darnall, Chris Rafferty, Bill Posley