Netflix - Cobra Kai season 4: A great season full of twists and turns

By Mulder, 31 december 2021

"Listen to your heart
It knows right from wrong
Let it guide you
Listen to your heart
It will make you strong
Look inside of yourself and listen
Listen to your heart" - Little River Band

Cobra Kai is an American martial arts comedy-drama television series and a sequel to the original The Karate Kid films by Robert Mark Kamen. The series was created by Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg, and stars Ralph Macchio and William Zabka, who reprise their roles as Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence from the 1984 film The Karate Kid. The action takes place more than 30 years after the events of the 1984 All Valley Karate Tournament with the continuation of the inevitable conflict between Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) and Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka). Season 4 sees Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang dojos join forces to defeat Cobra Kai at the All Valley U18 Karate Tournament... and whoever loses must hang up their gi. As Samantha and Miguel try to keep the dojo alliance together and Robby goes after Cobra Kai, the Valley's fate has never been more precarious. What tricks does Kreese have up his sleeve? Can Daniel and Johnny bury the hatchet they've had for decades and defeat Kreese? Or will Cobra Kai become the face of karate in the valley?

After a timid debut on youtube Red, the Cobra Kai series entered its third season on Netflix last year and gained momentum. The bet was as daring as it was risky to follow up on the Karate Kid movie saga, which has remained in the hearts of many viewers despite the weight of years. While the first Karate Kid movie directed by John G. Avildsen released in 1984 has imposed itself as a cult movie, its direct sequel has surprised by its orientation and the fact of moving the action to Okinawa while keeping the same DNA with its training scenes and successful fight scenes. The third part released in 1989 and still directed by John G. Avildsen and with the same screenwriter as the two previous parts Robert Mark Kamen closed the cinematographic saga uniting Daniel LaRusso and Mr. Miyagi. This third film introduced the character of Terrance "Terry" Silver, a being as evil as he is wealthy, who created the Cobra Kai dojo with Martin Kove.

The first three seasons marked the return of Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) and his rival Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) but also in the supporting roles John Kresse (Martin Kove) and in some appearances Ali Mills (Elisabeth Shue) and other secondary characters from the second film. This new season marks the return of Terrance "Terry" Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith) who is determined to take back under his control the Cobra Kai dojo after having taken a step back and made a career of building a real financial empire. The main characters have certainly become older but have not lost their character and passion for Karate to the point of continuing to practice it and to transmit their knowledge. Johnny Lawrence's teaching method differs greatly from Daniel LaRusso's. In the same way, their rivalry is always present and despite the fact that they tried to teach together, their character makes them decide to remain friends but not to teach together anymore.

The first quality of this new season is that it continues to stay true to the DNA of the Karate Kid film saga and takes great care to bring to life quality action scenes while giving greater importance to the psychology of the characters. Showrunners Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg have not only found the perfect approach to the Karate universe and how the main characters have evolved over time. While Daniel LaRusso was able to create his family and have two children and open his car dealership, Johnny Lawrence did not succeed in his life and ran away from responsibilities to live day by day. By opening his dojo, he is not only trying to regain control of his life but also to give it a purpose. In the first scene of season four, the character of Terrance "Terry" Silver reappears and although he is no longer under the influence of various drugs seems to have mellowed at first glance, but the return of John Kresse in his life will bring back his bad instincts and put him back in front of Daniel LaRusso.

Season four is also the most successful season to date and does not hesitate to cite important influences at the very source of the Karate Kid film saga and the most important is another film saga, Rocky. The director John G. Avildsen has indeed given birth to these two cinematographic sagas as directors and in this fourth season two allusions to Rocky III fall perfectly and show us that Cobra Kai has solid baes and acts on the spectators as a dose of nostalgia in its pure state. We can easily understand the expectation of the spectators for this season and the important success met by this season since its broadcasting.

The numerous extracts of Karate Kid III in this new season remind us that this season gives a real importance to the character Terrance "Terry" Silver and the end of this season shows that we have not finished to hear about him. We are waiting with a real impatience to discover this season five and knowing that it has already been shot not having to wait a year to find these endearing characters.

Another great strength of Cobra Kai is to rely on an excellent cast of young actors which we will especially remember the actresses Mary Mouser and Peyton List who finally in this season have a much more important place and their final confrontation alone deserves to rush to see this new season that transcends not only the series but stands out as one of the best of the year 2021. To think that we had to wait until the last day of the year to discover it.

Synopsis:
A sequel to "Karate Kid" set in the present day, more than three decades after the events of the film. Johnny, seeking redemption, reopens the Cobra Kai dojo and reignites his rivalry with Daniel. Both men will be confronted with the demons of the past and the frustrations of the present.

Cobra Kai
Created by Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg
Based on The Karate Kid by Robert Mark Kamen
Starring Ralph Macchio, William Zabka, Courtney Henggeler, Xolo Maridueña, Tanner Buchanan, Mary Mouser
Jacob Bertrand, Gianni DeCenzo, Martin Kove, Vanessa Rubio, Peyton List, Thomas Ian Griffith
Composers : Leo Birenberg, Zach Robinson
Executive producers : Will Smith, James Lassiter, Caleeb Pinkett, Susan Ekins, Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg, Ralph Macchio, William Zabka
Producers : Katrin L. Goodson, Bob Wilson
Cinematography : Cameron Duncan
Editors: Nicholas Monsour, Jeff Seibenick, Ivan Victor
Production companies : Hurwitz & Schlossberg Productions (seasons 1-2), Overbrook Entertainment (seasons 1-2), Heald Productions (season 2), Counterbalance Entertainment (season 3), Westbrook Studios (season 3), Sony Pictures Television Studios
Distributor : Sony Pictures Television
Original network : YouTube Red (season 1), YouTube Premium (season 2), Netflix (season 3 - present)
Original release : May 2, 2018 - present