It feels weird to say this, but Cobra Kai Season 4 got back to the show's roots without going off the rails too much. And for that, the newest season of the Netflix hit show turned out to be another fantastic ride from start to finish.
First of all, the show runners got back to focusing on the karate. And they did so with yet another ironic twist that is so simple and cliched, yet works to perfection. They brought Danny and Johnny together and made them work on the same team leading a combo dojo. Johnny's offensive-minded Eagle Fang dojo joined with Johnny's famed defense-first Miyagi-do, with the goal to take down Cobra Kai at this year's All-Valley tournament. You would think that a combination of those styles would blend perfectly, right? Perhaps the egos were the problem, because to Danny and Johnny, it needs to be one style or the other. They're so stuck in their ways that, at one point, they even decide to spar in a winner-take-all match for total control of the class because teaching together was confusing their students. In as predictable and cliché a fashion as possible, their fight ends up in a tie (and was all over social media).
One of my favorite moments saw each sensei try out the other's techniques. Danny's brawl with hockey players was so comical and empowering. Watching Johnny struggle with simple stances and not understand how the chores could help his technique was so much fun. As an aside, it was also fun to watch them both try to lead class at the same time. Seriously, guys, take turns or something!
Relationship drama was abounding, as always, but by this point in the series' life, the conflict with the characters felt far more earned and natural. Miguel, for example, feels some tension with Sensei Lawrence, in part due to Johnny's relationship with Miguel's mother. Sam, Danny's normally perfect little girl, is at stage in her teenage life when finding her own way is the most important thing, which causes typical drama. Hawk goes through a silly existential crisis after losing his mohawk, as if that's what defined him (he, of course, needs to learn to gain motivation from within). Tory continues to deal with real-world drama (a high schooler who needs to work to keep the family afloat is tough for anyone) only gets worse when Sam's mom gets involved; of course, as any kid knows, parents meddling in their teenager's life only embarrasses said teenage, which is exactly what happened. No matter the story, each character had relatable, realistic pressures, all of which were only amplified within the context of karate.
Tension even follows the new characters. For John Kreese, he decides that if Danny and Johnny get to team up, he should have a partner. So he recruits none other than Terry, another blast from the past; Terry was his friend in the original movie who was a terrible influence. We learned in Season 3 that Terry owed Kreese everything after getting captured in Vietnam. Kreese is the one who busted them out, and Terry looked up to him for that. But Kreese finds Terry in the present as a sold-out rich guy who went soft. If any mean, evil character is capable of bringing the former meanness out of a person, Kreese can. But Terry actually goes so far to the extreme that even Kreese starts having doubts. It wasn't for very long, but watching the key moment when Kreese actually showed a crack in his armor and let his guard down enough to sympathize with someone else was incredibly shocking, yet handled well enough to get the point across that Kreese is, in fact, a real human being.
The other new character was Kenny, a middle-school kid who gets bullies, which drives him to seek out Cobra Kai, of course. This was my least favorite story of the season by far. Kenny was just an obnoxious, misguided kid whose video games raised him more than his parents did. The actor who played him wasn't my favorite, nor was the guy who bullied him. Turns out Danny's son Anthony LaRusso is the one who bullied him. Not only was Anthony one of the least interesting characters of the season, but I am worrying that the writers are trying to plant the seeds for another generation of kids to follow in future Cobra Kai seasons (I've read they're planning on at least two more). I sure hope not. There are enough characters who have been invested in long enough to make them more interesting.
All the pressures throughout the season built up to an incredibly strong, entertaining finale: the All-Valley Tournament. Boy, was that a spectacle! Back in my sports-writing days, I remember the pageantry that surrounded the introductions of the finalists at the state wrestling tournament. There was nothing better. This All-Valley intro turned into the greatest sports event in town. We even get a ridiculously out-of-place cameo from Carrie Underwood! I got so pumped for the tournament, especially knowing the incredibly high stakes. So many fighters had so much they were fighting for. The dojos were fighting simply to stay open because of the crazy bet between Cobra Kai and Miyagi-do. One of the better story arcs going into the tournament was the addition of an all-girls tournament (as well as the new technical bracket). That gave us the perfect reason to watch Tory and Sam duke it out for the championship.
My biggest complaint with the All-Valley tournament (the tournament lasts over the final two episodes) was with what they did to Miguel. His injury returned after no hints of it all season. Miguel is my favorite character, so I was sad they didn't give him a chance to defend his title. Instead, Miyagi-do turns to Hawk, who didn't really fit the moment based on how his character arc went all season. He felt more or less thrust into the spotlight because there was no one else to capitalize on the moment. He and Robby did put on an EPIC fight, though.
The twist at the end when we found out how Terry compromised the entire tournament was genius. And really, this will be enough of a reason for Kreese to question Terry's enough and disband their Cobra Kai empire (They planned on expanding their dojo all across southern California), so I'm hoping that happens. But alas, Kreese was given another reason to cut ties with Terry: he got framed! Terry betrayed Kreese in a move that completely caught me off-guard. I can't wait to watch even Kreese turn to Danny and Johnny for help next season (apparently Danny brings in a recruit of his own a la a Marvel post-credit cameo).
This show is so good, and I'm already invested in the next season!