Ralph Macchio stars as Daniel LaRusso in "Cobra Kai" on Netflix.
Look at the faces of the two lead actors on Netflix’s “Cobra Kai,” whose third season premieres Friday on Netflix. These are two faces of nostalgia.
There’s the ageless face of Ralph Macchio, reprising his role at 59 of Danny from the “Karate Kid” movies. To an uncanny degree, Macchio looks exactly like he did in 1984. His face feels like a metaphor for the impulse to keep everything exactly the way it used to be.
Then there’s Billy Zabka, reprising his role as Johnny, the arrogant rich kid who was the villain of the first “Karate Kid” movie. Zabka is 55 and looks it, with a craggy face and lines under his eyes. It’s a far more interesting face than that of the snotty rich kid he played 36 years ago. Johnny’s a fascinating character, in part because he’s so different than the Johnny we used to know.
“Cobra Kai” became a streaming hit when it moved from YouTube Red to Netflix in 2020, and still seems caught between competing ways of looking at the past. When it’s trying to be just like the original “Karate Kid” with a new generation of teenagers, it’s a vanilla, disposable soap opera.
But when it’s commenting on the original movies in a wry postmodern way, it’s a fun show. This season in particular features several surprise cameos that will tickle fans of the original movies.
The original premise of “Cobra Kai” was that it would be a revisionist show that would focus on Johnny, whose life fell apart after Danny demolished him with a flying crane kick at the end of the first movie. Johnny grew up to become an alcoholic, divorced sad sack, bitterly reliving his past defeats in his head.
Danny, meanwhile, grew up to become rich and successful, so convinced that he’s the hero of his own story that he has blind spots about his own behavior. Danny may be a better human being, but I’d rather grab a beer with Johnny.
Once the storyline expanded beyond that tense rivalry, it was not always to the show's benefit. Johnny and Danny run competing karate dojos in the San Fernando Valley for a new generation of teenagers. The show spends a lot of time with these younger characters, all severely underdeveloped compared to their middle-aged mentors, even as the show puts them through typical teen soap opera twists and turns. Much of Season 3 is spent trying to tie up the loose ends left by Season 2, which leads to a fragmented, sometimes frustrating show.
This season also features a lot more of Martin Kove as John Kreese, Johnny’s truly villainous sensei in the movie. Kreese initiated a hostile takeover of Johnny’s Cobra Kai dojo in Season 2. Kove seems to be having a great time playing a cartoonish monster, but the decision to present Kreese's origin story in flashbacks (bullied teenager, tour of duty in Vietnam) feels like a symptom of the show spreading itself too thin.
Also on streaming: If doing more meditation is one of your New Year’s resolution for 2021, Netflix has partnered with the app Headspace for the “Headspace Guide to Meditation,” a new animated special premiering on Friday.
January 01, 2021 at 09:00PM
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Crane kick off 2021 with the new season of 'Cobra Kai' on Netflix - Madison.com
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