For the past month the kids and I have been enjoying watching Cobra Kai on Netflix. Have you seen it yet? We LOVE it! I loved watching Karate Kid when I was young. Part 1 and 2. I was slightly obsessed with Ralph Macchio for a while, poster on the wall from Tiger Beat and everything. But then one of my friends said he looked like my brother and that was it for me. Eww. Watching Cobra Kai just brings this nostalgic feeling inside. I introduced the boys to Karate Kid when they were around ages 7 to10, so it was great that they knew the backstory. It made it so much more enjoyable.

Cobra Kai takes place about 35 years after the All-Valley Tournament where Daniel Larusso did the most iconic kick in cinematic history. It’s a “Where are they now?” show. Johnny is in a rut and not doing well at all, and Daniel has a family and owns a bunch of car dealerships. Now I am going to side-step. Any How I Met Your Mother fans out there? In How I Met Your Mother, Neil Patrick Harris’s character, Barney, believes William Zabka (Johnny Lawrence) is the hero of the story. He is the “Karate Kid,” and Daniel was the bad guy. Zabka even makes a few appearances in the show. This concept is seen in Cobra Kai. It was the first thing I thought of when we watched the first episode.

Johnny tries helping a kid in his apartment building (in Reseda, Danny’s old building) protect himself against bullies. Yes, I said JOHNNY! You see a completely different side to him. You find yourself cheering him on. He ends up opening Cobra Kai dojo to help the kids who are being bullied. Danny only sees the opening of Cobra Kai as a threat. He doesn’t see the person Johnny is now. The two have it out a few times, and they actual find some common ground a time or two. It’s just soooo good! I don’t want to give anything away, but Danny reopens Miagi dojo and starts training some kids of his own; one being his daughter, and the other Johnny’s son. Drama!

I highly recommend it to anyone who grew up watching Karate Kid in the 80s. They do such a great job of bringing back important clips from the two movies. I loved watching with my boys because it deals a lot with bullying, but it now  has that social media component which kids can relate to today. We can’t wait for them to release season 3!! It left off on such a cliffhanger.