Cobra Kai (The Karate Kid TV Sequel)

And...finished.

Honestly, I never thought this show would last as long as it did. I am a guy that tends to think that most shows tend to go on a bit too long, and very rarely have a satisfying ending. Two of my favorite shows ever (Lost and BSG) failed to stick the landing, especially Lost, even if I have grown to like the ending at this point. That said, I really enjoyed the final season of Cobra Kai, and I have to say it pretty much nailed the ending. I do think it went on a bit too long, but the weaker material is really more in the middle seasons, and I like all the seasons to varying degrees.

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Spoilers ahead for the final season:

Anyway, the show had sort of drifted away from its original formula of gobs of 80s-inspired cheese slathered on the central point of the rivalry of Daniel and Johnny, which tended to highlight their different approaches to the martial arts, but it always remained fun and several writing and casting choices that appeared risky at first, ended up paying dividends, so the show managed to stay afloat for its entire run. I liken it to the floating wooden disc in Daniel's back yard. Sometimes it capsized, dumping the proceedings into the drink, but like those intrepid students in the various dojos, the show would clamber back up and find its balance quickly.

I for one thought the show was heading for shark-jumping territory when they teased Terry Silver a few seasons ago, but man did they strike gold with this guy. He ended up being one of the more memorable villains on television in recent years: Thomas Ian Griffith can chew scenery for days, is an actual trained martial artist, and his towering presence really helped to sell the level of threat he needed to portray.

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While the show had perhaps taken on too many teen characters, the writers smartly chopped many of them away for the final season, and made the correct choices on who they ended up focusing on for the final run of episodes. Miguel and Tory were always the most interesting of all the kids, and while I had concerns the writers would cop out and go the Sam and Robby route at the end, they correctly focused on Tory and Miguel, while simultaneously resurrecting the Cobra Kai dojo and putting Johnny back in charge. That's why we showed up in the first place, right?

Ah, Johnny. Look, this guy has charisma for days, is a pretty decent actor, and I just adored how his character developed over the seasons. I can't think of a better ending for this iconic character, and I was thrilled how it all turned out for him. I was also less annoyed by Daniel by the end, even if the Daniel LaRusso character will always remain in the annoying column for me. It was cool to see Daniel in a Cobra Kai gi, and the scene with Daniel and Johnny holding the trophy and Daniel delivering the "You're alright, Lawrence" line was pretty much perfect.

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A couple more quick notes:

This show had a knack for being cheesy and over the top for most of its run time, enough to make it easy to overlook contrivances and logical inconsistencies, while maintaining the ability to suddenly delivery really poignant and emotional dramatic scenes. I was taken off guard multiple times, especially by Peyton List, and both my wife and I were reaching for tissues at various times during the show's run. Bravo for managing to not get preachy about social issues for the entire show, too. Quite an achievement these days

I was impressed with the kids that went ahead and took up marital arts and got fairly good as the show progressed. Although they obviously had stunt people doing the super crazy stuff, many of them got good enough to be pretty damned convincing for many of the scenes. You know, until Rayna Vallandingham as Zorah showed up. Once they had a 13-time world champion out on the floor, the differences in speed and agility were like night and day. That girl is scary.

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Goodbye Cobra Kai. Thank you for all the years of nostalgia, fun, tears and laughter. A truly Gen-X experience that managed to construct a generational bridge between two groups of people that couldn't be more different. All it took was heaps of cheese and some bad-ass martial arts.

Just remember: Stay true to yourself, and don't be a pu**y! ;)