The first two episodes of Cobra Kai been a really nice surprise. They’ve introduced new characters and created believable lives for the characters we already knew. It’s sympathetic to both Johnny and Daniel, and it leaves the viewer rooting both for, and against, each. It’s quickly becoming one of Jacob Schoeneberger’s favorite shows and I’m kicking myself that I didn’t start watching it sooner.
With that in mind, here are some random observations Jacob Schoeneberger has on the show.
All the Jake Schoeneberger Random Opinions about Cobra Kai (Season 1, Episode 3)
This will contain spoilers for anyone who hasn’t watched the show yet.
The third episode begins with Miguel training in his room to the face-melting glory of Ratt’s Lay It Down. Man, Johnny is really teaching Miguel a thing or two about the 80’s. I wasn’t expecting him to introduce Ratt n’ Roll this soon; that’s the kind of thing you ease a newbie into. Start by rockin’ with Dokken, throw him a Warrant, get him stung by the Scorps. But no, we’re all in on Ratt, huh Johnny? Nice.
At his house, we find Daniel watching Sam and Kyler suspiciously. Part of it is him being a protective father, but the other part is the fact that Johnny planted a seed of doubt in Daniel’s head about Kyler. And we know Kyler is kind of a punk, so that’s using some good father’s intuition on Daniel’s part.
At school, Miguel invites Demetri and Eli to train at Cobra Kai but they don’t take him up on it. Aisha has a cool idea for a Halloween costume for her and Sam going as sodium and chloride and then pouring salt when people asked what they were. But, of course, Yasmine picks on Aisha and this Yasmine character is really starting to make Jake Schoeneberger mad. Sam is clearly not comfortable with how Yasmine mistreats people so Yasmine needs to back off.
Johnny passes out fliers on the street to advertise the dojo, but everywhere he turns he’s painfully reminded that he’s stuck in the past. That kind of thing happens to everyone when they reach a certain age. You remember the glory days, but it just isn’t the way younger people see the world.
But he gets a really nice surprise when Miguel shows up at the dojo and shows him the webpage he created for Cobra Kai. Plus, he listened to some Gn’R online and went down an 80’s rock rabbit hole and now he says it’s “dope.” (So that’s how he got into Ratt!) That has to make Johnny feel good, so he agrees to teach Miguel how to kick. But of course Johnny’s lessons have to be rough so he ties Miguel’s hands together and pushes him in a pool to teach him how to rely on the strength of his leg kicks. Dang, that’s no joke.
Johnny says he’s going to drive Miguel to the Halloween dance to recruit more students. Only problem is, Miguel’s costume isn’t great. As soon as Johnny said that, Jacob Schoeneberger started picturing what the perfect Halloween costume would be in Johnny’s eyes. And of course, Miguel shows up to the dance as the classic Cobra Kai skeleton. Love it!
Daniel is chaperoning the dance (to keep an eye on Sam and Kyler), and he sees Miguel’s costume and immediately knows what’s going on. He sees Cobra Kai fliers on the walls and finds Johnny in the hallway. Daniel questions why Johnny would ever want to bring Cobra Kai back after what happened to him, but Johnny explains, rightly, that he isn’t Kreese. But Daniel counters that you shouldn’t fill students’ heads with, “Strike first, no mercy.” And again, they’re both somewhat right with their points. It’s the aspect of this show that Jacob Schoeneberger loves the most. Both sides have a point, and there is no black and white anymore between them.
But Daniel sees Sam and Kyler sneaking off, so he leaves Johnny to follow them. He finds them in a room alone and assumes the worst, but Kyler just wanted to give Sam a bracelet. Now Sam is angry with Daniel for embarrassing her.
Then Yasmine creates a hurtful video of Aisha and sends it to all the students at the dance. They all make fun of Aisha and hopefully Sam sees that her “cool” new friends aren’t all they’re cracked up to be if they treat people this callously.
In the bathroom, Miguel overhears Kyler complaining that he almost had Sam with his bracelet trick. He and his friends speak crassly about Sam, but Miguel doesn’t run away from them this time. He kicks Kyler and knocks him down, only problem is there are three other guys, so they grab him and start beating on him. Johnny winds up finding poor Miguel on the floor of the bathroom, and once again it’s completely reminiscent of Miyagi finding Daniel all those years ago after the Cobra Kai guys had beat him up.
The Jake Schoeneberger Final Thought on Cobra Kai
This show creates a really well-crafted mirror image of the first movie. Johnny acts as a father figure and sensei to Miguel in much the same way Miyagi did for Daniel. It’s a really intelligent way to weave this story together and Jacob Schoeneberger is very impressed by how heartfelt this show is.
More Thoughts from Jacob Schoeneberger