Diwali by Katie Smith

 Why Cobra Kai Reminiscing Scene

By: Cole Cameron

 

            Cobra Kai is a sequel series to the Karate Kid movies from the 1980’s and has easily become my favorite storyline of any kind due to how the characters are respected while also allowing them to grow through a storyline that is able to keep it new and inventive while also using themes of history repeating itself. I could probably go on and on as to why I appreciate how different the series is compared to other things nowadays but for the sake of this, I will go over why one of my favorite scenes from the show works so well. Halfway through the first episode, we see where Johnny Lawrence has ended up in life since the events of the second Karate Kid movie and unfortunately, has not been doing too well. Despite his actions in 1984 towards Daniel, you cannot help but feel bad for him. Contrary to Daniel, Johnny is now the one that lives in poverty while also having other issues such as an alcohol addiction, depression, an abusive step father, a nonexistent relationship with his son, and has very much been treating the 21^st century as if it is still the 80s. Due to the lessons he learned through Cobra Kai as a teenager, they not only helped shape where he is at today but even led to an argument at work that got him fired. Johnny is then given a small moment of redemption where he defends his young neighbor Miguel from bullies at the grocery store resulting in him spending the night in jail. With the constant reminders of how successful Daniel has become in life, Johnny grows bitter and attempts to go for a drive and clear his head. While driving in his firebird, he listens to “Head Games” by foreigner while remembering events from his past and how his life has gone into a downward spiral. To me, the special thing about the scene is that not only do the flashbacks begin with happier moments of his life and transition to moments Daniel and Mr. Miyagi, but nearly everything that is flashbacked to is given some sort of conclusion later on in the show. For example, Johnny spends nearly the first two seasons of the show believing that Daniel was the entire reason he couldn’t get back with Ali but realizes that he still has time in life and shouldn’t waste it all thinking about the past which is something he realizes through his friends that were also in the flashbacks. I also appreciate the flashbacks of Daniel, Miyagi, and Kreese because they foreshadow how all of them are in shades of gray where they aren’t all good or all bad. The song choice is also perfect for the scene and the lighting because not only is it dark, but the song shows how Johnny obviously has a lot of inner demons that he is going to face in life. Johnny has easily become one of my favorite characters of all time and even his lessons that he ends up giving his students can be applied to real life and even worked wonders for me. Cobra Kai is hands down my favorite storyline and I can’t recommend it enough for anyone that enjoys characters that grows and expands throughout the storyline.