Cobra Kai Season 2

 

Sophomore seasons can be tricky however Cobra Kai nails it rather effectively with this second season, first shown in 2019. The storylines delve deeper into the differing methods employed by both Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence at their respective dojos and how these influence their young pupils. There’s also more looks back to the films primarily via John Kreese, the sadistic Sensei whom you could say sent the young Johnny off the rails. Now in his seventies, Martin Kove has lost none of his menace, indeed age makes him seem even more threatening as he manipulates various pupils like an evil puppeteer. 

The season is set during the summer holidays that follow the tournament and juggles the relationships between the pupils and the effect the dojo’s rivalries have on them. The difference in discipline between the two dojos is illustrated when Daniel’s pupils complain more about having to paint a fence than Johnny’s do about having to stand in a cement mixer drum!  

There is more space for the girls this season  though sadly not Aisha who seems to have been edged out (and indeed doesn’t return in season 3). A shame as she was a promising character. The big new addition is Tory (played by a lively Peyton List) whose initial snarky edge is given broader context. She proves herself a match for the boys in karate and drinking! She gets closer to Miguel as Samantha and Robby also become a (secret) couple. It’s not going to end well and kudos to the young cast for making very familiar plots seem fresh. Robby is a bit of a wet character though, the writers seeming to rely on actor Taylor Buchannen to make repetitive scenes interesting. This is notable when Daniel discovers Robby is Johnny’s son and the fall out is mild for this series but crucially Robby plays little part in it. However a scene where he stands up to his former friends is well presented and the character gets some big moments near the end.

Meanwhile. the friction between Johnny and Daniel show no sign of abating as the writers dream up new ways to maintain it. While this could seem a bit contrived- in one episode they end up on adjacent tables in a restaurant- it gifts us more scenes between William Zabka and Ralph Macchio which are always good value.  William Zabka benefits from a more nuanced journey this season as Johnny’s life becomes better (at least for a while) and he also reconnects with his past whether the former fellow gang members, Robby or – via an amusing discovery of Facebook, Ali his old girlfriend from the films. The scriptwriters and actor have made Johnny a great character much removed from the bully he was in the films. Ralph Macchio has a bit less to do this year much of his work involving Daniel training his new recruits in an elaborately constructed Japanese garden while wife Amanda becomes increasingly frustrated by his absence from the car business.

 

John Kreese is a powerful addition to proceedings. He growls and simmers effectively providing an antagonist who at times is like Darth Vader. Yet even with Kreese things are not quite as they seem. In fact for at least half an episode we actually start to feel some sympathy with him. His stories of bold escapades which he tells the pupils turn out to be either elaborations or just fake. He is staying, not in a plush hotel as he claims, but a homeless shelter. Yet we’ve already seen by this point just how he uses people. Johnny at first sends him away but despite his hard image, Kreese uses words in just as deadly a fashion as his martial arts. After a more seemingly sincere speech asking to come back to which Johnny acqueieses, only the viewer sees his sly smile as he walks away, job done! His approach seems to have the most effect on Hawk who ends up leading a raiding arty to trash Daniel’s newly established dojo.

 Hawk is the breakout character this season. At the start of one episode we flash back to Eli as the wimpering, bullied pullover clad nerd and then we cut instantly to his new Mohican topped re-invention. As well as being proof of Jacob Bertrand’s conservable acting prowess it is a demonstration of how Karate can change someone. Yet Hawk seems to be headed down the same road as Johnny, falling for Kreese’s enthusiasm for aggression. Betrand is a magnetic presence and, later, when Hawk’s newly minted tough exterior cracks for a moment he nails the transformation perfectly.

The difference in approach of both teachers is shown at the All Valley Fest, a sort of country show where Miyagi-Do’s calm, balletic display is interrupted by the running, shouting and fast kicks of the Cobra Kai. The kids of course find the latter more inspiring and cooler. And it has to be said that scenes over at Daniel’s dojo are a little less interesting though provide a necessary counterpoint.

There’s are fewer comedic moments in this season though William Zabka has a knack of making Johnny’s awkwardness with new technology amusing. There’s also Demetri, Eli’s former friend who’s experience trying out for Cobra Kai leaves him with a bloody nose and threats of legal action! Later he whines and moans his way through Miyagi-Do sessions with just as little enthusiasm. Played with nervous energy by Gianni DeCenzo, the character’s lighter touch is a welcome respite from his toughened up peers.  What doesn’t land so well is an older character who dubs himself Stingray. While the levity elsewhere is contained, he seems to inhabit another series altogether with broad slapstick that just seems an element too much. All the way through I was wondering why he was there, whether he would play some crucial part in the story but he doesn’t.

 The episode likely to be more appreciated older viewers is `Take A Right` in which Johnny is reunited with most of his old gang from the films because one of them is terminally ill. They break him out of hospital and go on a road trip and there are some reflections on how quickly time passes as well as full on fight in a bar! Yes, it’s a bit predictable and you just know the poor fellow will be found dead the next day. Yet there is a rough heart to the series that shows through in such episodes because you wonder whether a similar trip will occur thirty five years hence between some of the pupils when they are older.

 

What you don’t expect however is the incredible showpiece that forms the bulk of the season  finale `No Mercy`. All the tensions of the holiday season bubble over into an almighty ruckus that starts with Tory and Samantha before escalating to all the members of the rival dojos battling each other in the hallways. It really is a brilliantly realised sequence choreographed and filmed with skill. One section lasting over a minute consists of a continuous camera shot in which the substitution of actors with stunt people (normally done via stopping the action) is achieved `live` as our view swings from one side to another. The editing is seamless and a lot of the stunts are done by the cast to avoid too many cuts. Because there are so many issues between different characters all these separate fight mean something bigger and there are moments to make you cheer (Demetri finally gets the better of Hawk) and gasp (the way the confrontation between Miguel and Robby ends) or just cower in your seat (a game faced Tory rushing towards the camera!). It is directed with a bone crunching sense of reality even though its a heightened moment. As a set piece it is terrific television drawing together all the various factions into one dust up. The camerawork is amazing as well, twisting and turning with every move as the battle spreads out across the school.

 

The results leave Miguel close to death in hospital while as a sting in the tale of an already powerful episode Kreese has wrested control of Cobra Kai from Johnny who is prepared to walk away now. And Daniel too, promises to close his dojo. I’ve rarely seen an end of season clifhanger so absolute in tearing down every pillar of the series and leave you wondering- how on earth do you follow that?

The song `Cruel Summer` bookends the final episode and might well be a sub- title for all of season two. We’re offered several moments when characters finally seem to have achieved some peace and harmony only for them to be swiftly snatched away. What this does is create a narrative wherein we feel each character really does have their own agenda removing the first season’s occasional predictability.

It can a little rough round the edges at times – notably the scene were Robby takes on his former pals and films the results but his phone is planted in plain sight and his assailants don’t seem to notice!. I would say too (though not thankfully from experience) that the whole standing one leg on a chair drinking excessive amounts would not be able to last as long as it does. On a wider plain, the script’s treatment of Kreese can be inconsistent. When he turns up at the start he is well dressed, then we find out he’s homeless yet he seems to have enough money and knowledge to sort out the dojo’s accounts so surely he’d be living somewhere a bit better?

While the series works really well as a hugely melodramatic collection of falls out and punch ups underneath are questions about how we behave in the world, how we treat others and how `mercy` as a concept can be relevant in society today. As it is included on the title of no less than three episodes in the first two seasons its worth looking at the definition “compassion or forgiveness towards someone who it is within ones’ power to punish or harm”.  Kreese, with his experiences of warfare does not believe in it; he declares that “life shows no mercy”.. Johnny’s message remains mixed- he wants to roll back from Kreese’s teachings yet at the same time tells the students that Cobra Kai will “always be bad ass” So at the end the fact is that if Miguel had not shown `mercy` toward Robby he would probably not have ended up in hospital. Where does that leave the show’s message? It makes you realise what a good choice centring the show around a character who was seen as an antagonist turned out to be.

The ultimate binge show Cobra Kai fizzles with energy, characters and incident. Now for season three…