WARNING – CONTAINS SPOILERS!

An opening shot with the cliffhanger the show left us in season one kept the loyal viewers on the edge of their seat waiting for the characters to interact and provide the dialogue after years of no contact with each other. You can feel the hatred between the two people and just how intense the scene is, with the tension so high it’s hard to contain yourself. This is all within the first five minutes of the first episode. What a great way to start the new season of such an astonishing show. This isn’t any other typical show, there are many different combinations that make this show original. If you ever saw, “The Karate Kid”, then you know that this show is a continuation of the iconic franchise. If you haven’t watched the movies then you should probably go do that right now or whenever you have the time to do so. With that being said, if you watched the movies and haven’t watched season one of “Cobra Kai” then you should do that as well.

Season two of “Cobra Kai” brings us a new sense of action packed madness, a whole new level to the craziness that was season one. The the story was flowing greatly right from the get go and there wasn’t anything complicated or messy about it. The direction of what was happening was clear, as well as both sides of the story between the old arch rivals, Johnny Lawrence (played by William Zabka) of Cobra Kai and Daniel LaRusso (played by Ralph Macchio) of Miyagi-Do Karate. Both dojos have a rivalry between each other that all stems from the senseis, Daniel and Johnny, that started when they were teenagers. Fast forward 34 years and their conflict still lives on along with their personal problems intertwining with each other. Each scene this season brings is made to be justified, there is never a scene that is just there to take up time. In every scene there is a reason and that’s to move the story forward. Each second brings us closer to the story developing between two characters or the explanation of why one character did what they did or so on. It’s not only rare that a show does this but it exemplifies how a show should be structured and directed.

Depending on who you are you may not like some of these characters based on how they act. Whenever we see Daniel or Johnny on screen we learn that they are growing characters still learning what it takes to be a good mentor. Johnny has a bad beat up past and this has affected him throughout his life while on the other hand Daniel’s past has been overall good to him and he’s become successful due to this.

We see Johnny try to redeem himself for his past and help his students become more confident while Daniel tries to put an end to that with good intentions, he just doesn’t know Johnny’s side of the story. They are the characters to feel most connected to and are the reason why the nostalgia is there. The newer characters such as Samantha LaRusso (played by Mary Mouser), Miguel Diaz (played by Xolo Maridueña), and Robby Keene (played by Tanner Buchanan) all have a love/hate triangle between each other. Samantha still knows how to hold her own like in season one but the only difference is that this time we get to see her skills put to good use. Although she doesn’t mean to, she is one of the main people that start most of the problems on the show. She is a catalyst for this season since the final fight wouldn’t happen if it weren’t for her actions. She is very sweet and nice but when she’s angry you definitely don’t want to be on her bad side.

Miguel is the definition of the saying, “pick on someone your own size.” In season one we watch Miguel go from zero to hero with the help of his sensei, Johnny. This season we see him questioning the methods of Cobra Kai and if their rules, “Strike first, Strike hard, No mercy”, should be taken to heart when outside the dojo. We see the relationship between Johnny and Miguel grow as a father-son type of connection as Johnny is redeeming himself for not being there for his actual son and helps Miguel, who has no relation with his father. As the season moves forward Miguel tries to right the wrongs he has made before and the once viewed bad guy is seen as good. The same can’t be said for Robby though, who is Johnny’s son.

Johnny hasn’t been there for Robby for most, if not all, of his life and Robby in season one is rebellious and breaking the law due to this and his drunk mother. He changes for the better by the end of season one though with the help of Daniel who becomes the father figure for Robby. In this season, Robby is doing his best to stay away from Cobra Kai and especially his father since he believes Johnny can never fix their relationship and holds that grudge. By the end of the season the anger and resentment built up inside of him gets to the better of himself and his actions come at a consequence.

The music soundtrack of course has a mix between contemporary songs and classic 80’s rock. They include songs such as: “You’re the Inspiration” by Chicago, “Dance Hall Days” by Wang Chung, “Back in the Game” by Airbourne, and “That’s my Girl” by Fifth Harmony. It’s the best of both worlds that brings the classic nostalgia into a fresh new taste. This can especially be said for Kari Kimmel’s cover of Bananarama’s “Cruel Summer”. Kimmel’s rendition of this “vintage” song brings the newness back in it like how the original did in the first “Karate Kid” movie. It is a smart move and a nostalgic move on both the director and the creator’s part, they know that when we listen to the song during season two it automatically grasps onto the older audience and intrigues the younger audience.

You can watch “Cobra Kai” by streaming it online on Youtube if you are buying their premium service, Youtube Red. If you don’t have their premium service then don’t worry. You can get their one month free trial before committing to the $11.99 per month payment.