Netflix’s Cobra Kai is an original series based on the Karate Kid franchise that was very popular for millennials in the ’80s. In the Karate Kid movies, dojo Cobra Kai is the infamous, opposing dojo; program creators Robert Mark Kamen and Josh Heald decided to rebrand the Karate Kid movies into a show that was set years after the movies took place.

While the Karate Kid movies were based around Daniel LaRusso, played by Ralph Macchio, the writers of Cobra Kai wanted to focus on the so-called bad guys of the original movies, such as Johnny Lawrence, William Zabka, Daniel’s high school bully. 

Along with keeping iconic, original characters from the movies, the screenwriters added the main character’s children, friends, and opponents for a twist that was possibly lacking in the later Karate Kid movies.

Cobra Kai takes a closer look at the lives of the main characters from the movies as they’ve grown older; while their ages have changed, their love for karate has not. And while the series is based on the original movies, it still does a great job of incorporating flashbacks into the episodes for people that may have not seen the movies in a long time or have never seen them before. 

I haven’t seen the first Karate Kid movies because it wasn’t something that my parents ever introduced to me growing up, but Cobra Kai looked like an interesting series nevertheless. 

The series delves deep into multiple situations that the main characters face throughout their daily lives but also throughout their never-ending passion for karate. The screenwriters created a sense of nostalgia just by bringing back older characters from the movies that viewers thought they would never see again. Although I haven’t seen the movies, I can still appreciate what the actors and writers are creating.

The show is very well done, and although it’s already three seasons long, it doesn’t feel drawn out. Every episode introduces new situations, characters, settings, problems, or solutions, so it’s hard to get bored while watching.

Not only do the actors do a great job of portraying their characters, but they also excel at putting themselves in their characters’ shoes. Jacob Bertrand, who plays Hawk, was put into private karate lessons to learn and perfect everything he knows today. While most roles that Jacob played prior to Cobra Kai didn’t include karate, he is obviously a natural. He worked hard to get into his role and learn the ways of karate so he could portray his character better on screen.

Not only does the nostalgic elements of Cobra Kai and the hard work that goes into shooting get viewers, but also the trending hashtag on TikTok has brought a new audience to this show. While I had already watched two of the three seasons when the hashtag started, I could tell this hashtag was spreading awareness.

There was so much advertisement for this show and I think all of it was well deserved; the show was portrayed wonderfully and the actors were flawless in their work. Everything about Cobra Kai felt real and in the moment. While the third season was just released, I can’t wait for another.

A lot of time and commitment must go into stepping into the actor’s character’s shoes, but it’s all worth it when  watching their art take place on the screen. Everything looks flawless and lifelike; it feels like I’m a fly on the wall watching the events take place.