A nostalgic show, Cobra Kai, returned on December 31st, and it is sure to keep channeling Karate Kid throughout the entire series. 

Season three left us with a teaser of the dojo having to compete in the All-Valley Tournament. This tournament shows up multiple times, from the four Karate Kid movies to Cobra Kai. 

The show’s baseline is the Karate Kid; Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) has grown up within Cobra Kai, and so has his rival, Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka). With knowledge of the Karate Kid movies, fans know of the past grudges and events that ensued between these two. From being high school bullies and victims to grown adults, we find out they still haven’t grown out of their karate phase.

With that being said, this season brings more nostalgia, along with a lot of drama. The comedy was also a highlight of this show. Johnny constantly says stuff that tells viewers he is getting old and lives in the past, with quotes such as “What is an uber?” His lack of knowledge of other genders—rather than just male or female—also gives viewers a good laugh.

The kids being trained by either Johnny or Daniel start to have their sensei’s actions reflect on their personalities. Those actions are good and evil, depending on the scenario. Season three teased that Daniel and Johnny had to team up to defeat Cobra Kai and the evil Sensei, John Kreese (Martin Kove). 

This season is good, but it is hard to beat an incredible Netflix series. The other seasons had significant character development. I was thrilled with some characters, but others lacked where they used to shine. I am delighted with others picking up their slack and improving. Many characters were lost but found themselves this season, which is powerful to see. 

This show does an outstanding job of modernizing The Karate Kid, since that movie was shot in the ’80s. It is nice to see whether or not karate would sell well with the general public throughout the 2000s. It allows for some comedy, but this season does the best when it comes to teaching lessons. There are many small lessons in each episode and overarching teaching that I have taken to heart, which can also be applied to our lives. 

The original Karate Kid has its moments of cheesiness, but I think that is almost needed for this franchise. It gives it some lightheartedness for all ages to enjoy. 

While I can’t say this show applies to one age group, I can say that many parents watched Karate Kid as children, and this show may have an even better impact for them since they get to grow up with their Daniel and Johnny who they knew and loved back in the ’80s.

Overall, this show receives an eight out of ten from me, but this season just brings in a seven out of ten. The lessons taught give it this score, but the writers could better build many of the characters. It is a quality show that I would recommend to anyone, even if you haven’t seen the movies.