Cobra Kai season 4 review: The perfect balance of nostalgia, thrilling fight scenes, and cheesiness

The hit spinoff series to the original Karate Kid franchise has returned for a fourth season on Netflix with higher stakes and bigger fights

Cobra Kai Season 6

Story:

Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) and Daniel LaRusso ((Ralph Macchio) must set aside their differences to combine their rival dojos, Miyagi-do and Eagle Fang Karate, to beat the all-powerful Cobra Kai in the All-Valley Karate Tournament. The stakes are high as the outcome of the tournament will decide the fates of all three dojos.

Review:

When Cobra Kai debuted in 2018, there was understandable scepticism about the revival of a franchise that appeared to have long run its course. However, the show became a surprise hit and the rest, as they say, is history. Hit sitcom How I Met Your Mother may have played a significant role in the conceptualisation of Cobra Kai after William Zabka and Ralph Macchio made guest appearances in the show as fictionalised versions of themselves. Barney’s (Neil Patrick Harris) theory that Zabka’s character Lawrence is a misunderstood hero is the premise of season one of Cobra Kai. The first season was praised for its character development while maintaining its nostalgic elements from the original Karate Kid trilogy.

Seasons two and three followed a similar pattern and found great success. The idea that ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ rings true for Cobra Kai as it has found great success by simply expanding the scope of the narrative. Of course, this poses a risk that the novelty of it could turn stale but to its credit, the showrunners Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg have managed to keep the audience invested and excited for each episode in season four, despite using several familiar tropes from earlier seasons. The on-again-off-again friendship between Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence is at times frustrating but is the narrative’s central plot device and connects several storylines in the series.

In season four, the partnership between Daniel and Johnny does not last long as their obvious differences in ideology and styles of Karate come into conflict, yet again. However, their students appear to have found a middle ground and are willing to embrace Miyagi-do’s defensive style and Eagle Fang’s offensive style while preparing for the tournament. This has given interesting juxtapositions as Samantha LaRusso, Daniel’s daughter, is willing to embrace Johnny’s karate while Miguel Diaz, Johnny’s protege, has warmed up to the ancient ways of Miyagi-do. Evidently, fatherhood remains the central theme of Cobra Kai.

Cobra Kai’s greatest strength is the fact that it can effortlessly tap into the nostalgia from earlier films and make it an integral part of the stories being told. Each season of the series introduces characters from yesteryear to great effect, and season four is no different as Terry Silver (​​Thomas Ian Griffith), the notorious character from The Karate Kid: Part II (1986) is one of its most interesting characters. Terry Silver’s character development is well-crafted, albeit requiring better justification for his actions throughout the season. In fact, Griffith’s performance as Silver is one of the stand-outs of the season as his nuanced portrayal of the complex character is essayed with craft and elegance.

Silver’s relationship with John Kreese (Martin Kove) is instrumental in setting up the foundations for season five. The character development of John Kreese in the previous season may have been slightly over-the-top but for season four, these minor deficiencies appear to have been rectified. The complexity of his character is thoroughly fleshed out and significantly redeems his arc. The other primary characters such as Mary Mouser’s Samantha LaRusso, Xolo Maridueña’s Miguel Diaz and Jacob Betrand’s Eli "Hawk" Moskowitz also have well-established arcs this season. However, Peyton List’s Tory Nichols has the most well-developed narrative this season. Her redemptive arc was transitioned within the story with the help of the excellent screenplay between Courtney Henggeler’s Amanda LaRusso and List’s Tori.

Miguel, Johnny and Robby Keene’s (Tanner Buchanan) relationship are further examined while Robby is also portrayed as someone who has matured as a character. While some of the storylines could be deemed as ‘cheesy’ or melodramatic to an extent, it works well for Cobra Kai, simply due to the fact that the series has successfully managed to keep the audience hooked at the end of each episode. The karate and the action sequences have been stepped up a notch and provide for a riveting finale. The fight choreography featured in the final episodes is perfectly choreographed and makes season four one of the best in the series. As mentioned earlier, Terry Silver’s introduction may have appeared unwarranted at the beginning of the season but ended up being one of the season’s best characters. It is a testament to how the series continues to perfectly balance the nostalgia of the Karate Kid series with the contemporary themes of Cobra Kai. The Danny LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence rematch, midway through the season, is one of the highlights of the series. Zabka’s excellent dark humour remains a breath of fresh air even in season four.

Verdict:

Season four of Netflix’s Cobra Kai expands on the original concept and delivers on an engrossing season which could arguably be its best season since season one.

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