Cobra Kai - S02E03 - Fire and Ice

Let's Talk - Cobra Kai
Episode 14: Cobra Kai - S02E03 - Fire and Ice

Jason Connell and Sal Rodriguez break down Season 02 - Episode 03 (Fire and Ice) of the Cobra Kai series and much more.

Synopsis: Daniel pulls out all the stops in an effort to recruit new students to Miyagi-Do Karate. Johnny reflects on some of the major relationships in his life and responds to Daniel's promotional efforts with his own.

Original Episode: S02E03

Recorded: 10-21-19
Studio: Just Curious Media
https://www.JustCuriousMedia.com/

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Transcript

Episode 14: Cobra Kai - S02E03 - Fire and Ice

[0:00:00.8] JC: Welcome to Just Curious Media, this is Let’s Talk – Cobra Kai. I’m Jason Connell. 

[0:00:05.2] SR: And I’m Sal Rodriguez.

[INTERVIEW]

[0:00:07.3] JC: Here we are, season two, episode three, Sal.

[0:00:10.6] SR: Yeah, we’ve made it this far and I’m going to keep going into the deep waters.

[0:00:14.5] JC: The name of this episode is Fire and Ice.

[0:00:17.7] SR: You always notice the episode names. I unfortunately never notice the episode names.

[0:00:20.8] JC: Well, I do tend to look them up on – 

[0:00:23.0] SR: Yeah, it’s not there ready just as Cobra Kai in the beginning.

[0:00:25.6] JC: I look it up for differentiator. Plus, I like to have the IMDB rating, this one Fire and Ice scored an 8.8 rating on IMDB. So, we open with Johnny at a pawn shop of all places, of which he visited in season one as well when he was trying to sell things. But in this instance, Johnny bought a computer from the pawn shop.

[0:00:49.5] SR: I like that he says, “I wanted an Apple but you sold me a lemon.”

[0:00:52.8] JC: Great line.

[0:00:53.0] SR: I like that line. But then the guy says, “It’s actually, it’s a Dell.”

[0:00:55.8] JC: Right. And Johnny can’t even figure out how to turn a computer on.

[0:01:00.1] SR: No. He opened it and then he was pushing some button, who knows what button that was on the side.

[0:01:05.7] JC: The guy is just like taking a little bit of mercy with Johnny. Like, “Let me turn that on for you there, pal.”

[0:01:10.7] SR: Yeah, so then he boots it up and then he sends Johnny on his way. And then meanwhile, so Johnny tries to teach himself.

[0:01:16.4] JC: Computer. Well, I have a 90-year-old grandmother Sal, that’s actually pretty computer savvy but this is ridiculous. 

[0:01:24.4] SR: What has Johnny been doing all these years? Seriously. I mean, anybody who is not computer savvy, I’m like, “What have you been doing the last 25 years?”

[0:01:31.4] JC: Well, we have said this before about him, it is as if he’s been frozen in time, Encino Man style.

[0:01:37.0] SR: Yeah.

[0:01:37.9] JC: Brandon Fraser, if you will.

[0:01:39.0] SR: Yeah, he’s been in a time warp. Rip Van Winkle. But I got to hand it to him for teaching himself. He sat in his office, and he’s teaching himself computer and I love that he finally figures out how to go online.

[0:01:53.1] JC: With the Cobra Kai WiFi password is?  Strike first.

[0:01:56.9] SR: Okay. I like how he called the guy for help and the guy goes, “Dude, this is a pawnshop, not the geek squad, figure it out.”

[0:02:01.9] JC: That was pretty funny as well.

[0:02:03.3] SR: That’s when I learned it was a pawnshop, I didn’t really know it was a pawnshop at first because my brain’s not thinking, you’re going to get a computer from a pawnshop, I just don’t think that.

[0:02:09.6] JC: I think that was the exact same pawnshop they tried to sell the Atari and he tried to sell his old Walkman. I’m pretty sure that was the same actor as well.

[0:02:17.6] SR: The same guy?

[0:02:18.0] JC: Yeah. I think it was. I have to go back and look that up.

[0:02:20.2] SR: I like that that guy was a smart alec, though.

[0:02:23.6] JC: So, he gets online and you’re right. I remember when I first got online like early 90s, like in chatrooms.

[0:02:29.5] SR: Early 90s?

[0:02:30.2] JC: Early 90s. 

[0:02:30.5] SR: Okay. I didn’t get online till maybe the mid to late 90s.

[0:02:33.2] JC: Hang on, let me think about this.

[0:02:34.7] SR: I got my first yahoo email address in about 98.

[0:02:36.8] JC: Okay, early 90s, it’s 93, 94. I’m online, Oklahoma State University, there was like a computer lab with all my friends were lined up. I’m on there just looking up Quintin Tarantino, Reservoir Dogs It takes an hour to load a page but you’re blown away because there’s things that you love.

[0:02:54.1] SR: Sure.

[0:02:54.5] JC: We all got in the same chat room and acted like we didn’t know each other.

[0:02:57.6] SR: Okay, that’s funny.

[0:02:58.6] JC: That’s hilarious.

[0:02:59.3] SR: But you know what? The first time I got online, I had a girlfriend at the time, I’d been using computers but I had never been online. So, I finally get online and my girlfriend, she knew what my plans were. Because I had heard about the porn online, I’d heard about it.

[0:03:16.5] JC: Of course.

[0:03:17.5] SR: I told her, “Okay, Debby, I’m going to go on the Internet, I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” And she knew. And I was all about the porn all night long. My first time online home alone in like maybe like 97.

[0:03:32.7] JC: You’re very Johnny Lawrence. Because he’s looking up hot babes. Of course, he does do some iron eagle, blood sport.

[0:03:40.6] SR: That was funny.

[0:03:41.7] JC: Chuck Norris and what’s he finally come across?

[0:03:46.8] SR: He sees a commercial for Miyagi-Do which surprised me also.

[0:03:51.4] JC: Of all things.

[0:03:52.7] SR: Yeah. So, Daniel does this commercial and then he decides to take a dig at Cobra Kai by saying don’t be a snake in the grass. And then he offers free lessons, he says, “It’s not about the money, it’s about the karate.”

[0:04:06.2] JC: But there’s also footage from The Karate Kid which means the crane is obviously in the ad which means somebody had to have filmed it and they got a really good footage of it.

[0:04:17.7] SR: There is the footage of the crane and Johnny Lawrence getting kicked in the face in the Miyagi-Do commercial, is that legal?

[0:04:25.7] JC: Well, it’s been long enough but I’m just shocked that someone had high quality at this All Valley Tournament in ‘84. It’s like, not only were there banners made from obviously great Sports Illustrated type photographers that were there that day. Banners hanging of Daniel, doing the crane. Someone has a great low angle shot of it and of course Daniel has the footage.

[0:04:46.7] SR: Sure.

[0:04:48.3] JC: Which shows Johnny taking it yet again. He can’t live this moment down.

[0:04:52.1] SR: But if someone puts a – if Daniel uses Johnny in Daniel’s commercial, can’t Johnny sue him?

[0:04:58.8] JC: Well I bet you that the All Valley Tournament owns this footage. I’m going to make that assumption. 

[0:05:04.4] SR: Yeah. 

[0:05:05.4] JC: And if you’re on the premises, you’re signed your right away to be in it. So, Daniel somehow has gotten the footage because he’s two time all champ.  He’s big time.

[0:05:12.4] SR: And he’s a member of the committee.

[0:05:14.0] SR: Exactly.

[0:05:15.1] JC: Johnny’s also two-time champ but not in the good graces.

[0:05:17.8] SR: No. He had a lifetime ban before he overturned it.

[0:05:20.5] JC: Although, he did not.

[0:05:21.6] SR: Well, before he had them overturned with the lifetime ban.

[0:05:24.0] JC: But it was on Cobra Kai and not on him.

[0:05:26.2] SR: Not on Johnny Lawrence exactly but on Cobra Kai.

[0:05:29.0] JC: Johnny Laurence is now reigning champ. Cobra Kai’s back on top. But Johnny Laurence does not have the skills, the personal skills, the people skills that Daniel has.

[0:05:39.8] SR: No, but I couldn’t believe when I saw that commercial, I couldn’t believe that – for one thing, I don’t think anything forecasted this commercial happening, right? That’s why it caught me of guard. I wasn’t expecting this commercial.

[0:05:49.6] JC: No, even Johnny’s like, “Uh, ads.”

[0:05:52.3] SR: Yeah, exactly. He laments ads and then it’s a Miyagi-Do commercial.

[0:05:55.5] JC: it’s Miyagi-Do. Pretty funny. But yet, Johnny cannot escape Daniel or Mr. Miyagi or anything.

[0:06:04.3] SR: No, very much a throwback to what was it? Season one, episode one?

[0:06:07.4] JC: Yup.

[0:06:08.0] SR: When he sees the commercial.

[0:06:09.6] JC: Yup, right.

[0:06:10.5] SR: He’s always – Johnny’s always getting hit with – 

[0:06:12.4] JC: He’s always seeing Daniel in some way, shape or form. Plus, as you just said, lessons are free which is totally going to monopolize Johnny’s business.

[0:06:21.5] SR: Well, so you think. I know that in the past, for many years as I worked as a personal trainer and when you give out stuff for free, people don’t really appreciate it.

[0:06:29.0] JC: That’s true.

[0:06:29.7] SR: People don’t appreciate free stuff, even if it’s good.

[0:06:31.8] JC: That’s true.

[0:06:33.3] SR: Yeah.

[0:06:33.6] JC: You got to put value on something.

[0:06:34.4] SR: I mean, look what happens further along, we should expect a larger turn out and we don’t have it. So, obviously, the offering stuff for free is not working.

[0:06:42.2] JC: So, now we have a nice LA montage and it ends at the beach and specifically, on a Cobra Kai volley ball. That’s very nice.

[0:06:52.8] SR: They got merch.

[0:06:53.6] JC: Very Side Out, if you remember that C Thomas Howell movie from the 90s. So, now we’re at the beach and we see Hawk and Moon and Demetri playing volley ball and there’s a Cobra Kai towel. There’s a lot of Cobra Kai swag all of a sudden. Somebody’s paying for this.

[0:07:09.7] SR: I’m looking for the Miguel bubble head. Yeah, that’s what I’d like to see.

[0:07:13.3] JC: Yeah, the current champ bobblehead.

[0:07:14.8] SR: Look what happens to them, cute girls walk up to Demetri, think he’s a member of Cobra Kai. Very reminiscent of when my older brother who is a fire fighter loaned me his LA city firefighter sweatshirt or he gave me a sweatshirt shortly after 9/11. And I was walking around with this firefighter sweatshirt right after 9/11 and I’m telling you, women were approaching me, grabbing me, hugging me, taking photos with me because of this damn sweatshirt.

In this little moment, Demetri is like, “Hey. Yeah. Cobra Kai, right here,” getting some attention from the ladies.

[0:07:46.8] JC: Back to your sweatshirt, did you ever take it off?

[0:07:50.4] SR: I slept in it. The truth is I didn’t want to impersonate, especially since it was from my older brother. So, when women would approach me, I would tell them, “No, I’m not a firefighter but my brother is.” I should have lied.

[0:08:01.7] JC: No, 9/11 is pretty. No, I think you did the right thing. 

[0:08:06.0] SR: I did do the right thing. But just because you do the right thing, doesn’t mean you may not regret doing the right thing.

[0:08:09.5] JC: That’s okay. I’d rather you regret it than regret the other way around. It’s morally and ethically right. 

[0:08:12.1] SR: There’s been a lot of times in life where I’ve regretted doing the right thing. Yeah.

[0:08:17.6] JC: That shouldn’t be one of them.

[0:08:18.0] SR: What do you call that? Regretting doing the right thing? I have a few of those in my life.

[0:08:22.7] JC: Morals. Okay. Now, Demetri refers to the All Valley Tournament as, “The Rumble in Reseda”

[0:08:29.3] SR: Did he?

[0:08:30.0] JC: Yeah, it’s a great little slogan. Although, it’s not in Reseda but still it’s cool. 

[0:08:35.3] SR: Well, we did find out that the original All Valley was at North Ridge.

[0:08:39.3] JC: It’s north ridge.

[0:08:40.0] SR: Cal State University, North Ridge. It still is, it’s still there, same place, okay. North ridge, yes.

[0:08:46.7] JC: So, Miguel shows up and is concerned. And Hawk thinks it’s the Sam thing but he tells him, “No, it’s sensei and Robby.”

[0:08:56.9] SR: Yeah.

[0:08:59.2] JC: Now we’re at LaRusso Auto and Daniel surprises Amanda with lunch because she’s pretty upset with him for spending the marketing budget on this Miyagi-Do ad.

[0:09:10.0] SR: Yeah, she asked if h e’s going through a midlife crisis.

[0:09:12.3] JC: Because he didn’t ask her permission.

[0:09:13.8] SR: No.

[0:09:14.1] JC: Whatever budget that costs because it wasn’t cheap ad. It wasn’t like he grabbed his iPhone, that really came in with the crew and put this thing together with music. But she’s not pleased with him. And then, what does Anoush share with us?

[0:09:27.8] SR: Anoush shares the video probably on YouTube because there’s lots of comments so he shares the comments and some people commented on the commercial calling Daniel, Daniel LaRacist and accusing him of cultural appropriation.

[0:09:41.6] JC: Ouch.

[0:09:42.8] SR: Daniel’s like, “huh?" I don’t even think – He’s a little Johnny Laurence-esk, even he was out of the loop a little bit, like “What do you mean cultural appropriation? What are you talking about?”

[0:09:50.1] JC: He’s like, “Mr. Miyagi loves that song.”

[0:09:51.5] SR: Yeah, that’s his favorite song, you know? I guess they had like the flute type music, right? So, Daniel’s defending himself but yeah, I like that Daniel LaRacist, that was pretty funny.

[0:10:01.3] JC: So, he’s Asian white washing.

[0:10:03.2] SR: Yes, that’s what they call it. I like puns by the way. that’s why I like Daniel LaRacist.

[0:10:07.2] JC: I know, that was pretty good. Before that though, I meant to say, there’s a reference that Anoush makes to Amanda because she’s like, “Anoush, you’re not going back to Encino, you’re staying here. We need you at north Hollywood.” and he says, “I’m not in north Hollywood guy, my skin’s too sensitive for tattoos.”  Now Sal, you live in north Hollywood.

[0:10:27.4] SR: Yeah, I do.

[0:10:28.1] JC: What is this reference?

[0:10:30.2] SR: I think that implies that North Hollywood is a little more downtown whereas Encino is a little more up town. He’s more likely to meet people with tattoos in North Hollywood than he is in Encino.

[0:10:39.6] JC: Because there’s a big arts community in north Hollywood.

[0:10:42.7] SR: Well, there is the last 20 years, they’ve created the NoHo Arts District which is a portion of North Hollywood and that’s where I live. I live in the NoHo arts district officially or really adjacent to it. Yeah, it’s a whole lot of theaters, karaoke, there’s a famous place called Tokyo Delves, a very famous sushi place in Lankershim that has like whacky sushi antics.

Yeah, it’s a very hip and happening area. In fact, often times, I will drive down Lankershim in the NoHo Arts District and notice I’m one of the older people in the area.

See, a lot of young people – there used to be an arts college, art institute there on Lankershim. There’s The El Portal Theater there as well. So, yeah, it is a sort of young, hip area. Whereas in Encino is a little different, it’s a little more suburban, old money in Encino. I think if were selling luxury vehicles, I would probably rather work in Encino.

[0:11:32.5] SR: Okay.

[0:11:33.2] JC: And a lot of tattoos in north Hollywood.

[0:11:34.2] SR: Yeah, there is more face tattoos on Lankershim.

[0:11:36.9] JC: Now we’re at the Cobra Kai dojo and Hawk confirms, Robby is Johnny’s son.

[0:11:44.3] SR: Yeah. Interesting moment because we learn that they learned in sort of a more subtle way. I’m waiting for a bomb to drop. Like I was waiting for Johnny to drop a bomb or Daniel, somebody to drop a bomb. Whereas we kind of learn this news a little more subtly by the student’s gossiping among themselves.

[0:12:02.5] JC: That’s true.

[0:12:03.3] SR: So, it kind of came on not as strong as I thought it would.

[0:12:05.5] JC: Well, they had strong suspicions.

[0:12:07.8] SR: Well, it started with Miguel noticing Robby’s picture on the refrigerator.

[0:12:12.2] JC: Right. Well, even before that though, they knew something was different when Johnny addressed them after they won the championship. He was like, “We’re not doing that anymore.” And Miguel is like, “Is there something that we did? Is there some sort of connection to Robby?” So, I think there was just enough things in motion, it’s not a bomb, it’s kind of confirmation.

[0:12:29.2] SR: Yeah. So, now, at this time, I’m thinking, “Well, what are they going to do with this information?”

[0:12:32.0] JC: But they’re interrupted by Aisha who comes over and shares the Miyagi-Do commercial with them both.

[0:12:38.7] SR: And she makes it a point to let them know that the commercial disses Cobra Kai.

[0:12:43.1] JC: Well, if you watch it, you’d know it disses Cobra Kai.

[0:12:45.9] SR: Well, it’s a subtle diss because you have to know Cobra Kai to get the diss.

[0:12:48.9] JC: Right.

[0:12:49.8] SR: It’s almost like a rap battle: you got to know what’s going on, on both sides.

[0:12:52.1] JC: Well, Cobra Kai students know.

[0:12:53.5] SR: Yeah, well definitely. And us as viewers, we know, you say – you reference a snake. You know what you're talking about.

[0:12:59.4] JC: It’s kind of a cool scene because as they discuss it, we come out of it and Kreese and Johnny are both watching the ad. Nice inner cut there.

[0:13:08.2] SR: Yes.

[0:13:09.8] JC: And Kreese says he should have taken care of Mr. Miyagi when he had the chance.

[0:13:13.6] SR: Yeah. I was waiting for Johnny to give him the eye roll.

[0:13:18.9] JC: Yeah, Sal. I believe Kreese had the chance and Mr. Miyagi bested him.

[0:13:23.9] SR: Yeah. That’s why I rolled my eyes like, Üh,hello?” And I was waiting for Johnny Lawrence to give him the side eye but he didn’t.

[0:13:31.2] JC: No.

[0:13:31.3] SR: Yeah. And then, Johnny says, “Free Karate? How am I supposed to compete with that?” He thought, “Well, if they’re going to give karate, of course people -”, we go back to what I said a minute ago, people don’t appreciate free stuff. They don’t.

[0:13:44.7] JC: But Johnny then says, “I got a plan.”

[0:13:48.8] SR: And I’m wondering, “What is he going to do?” I’m thinking he’s going to go paint another dick on a billboard, that’s what I’m thinking.

[0:13:55.3] JC: Well, not so fast.

[0:13:56.6] SR: That’s Johnny style. Or it was.

[0:13:58.7] JC: It was. He’s still a little more grounded now.

[0:14:00.4] SR: Okay.

[0:14:00.8] JC: And actually, some of the things he was doing is working. He’s got students that won the All Valley Tournament. So, he’s starting to build his own confidence as a sensei and hopefully starting to make some smarter decisions. 

[0:14:15.8] SR: But he and Kreese over here, you hear murmurs coming from the students. You hear them talking and that’s when Kreese says, “This is an act of war and it needs an immediate response.” You could tell that Kreese is trying to instigate here.

[0:14:26.8] JC: Oh, for sure.

[0:14:28.4] SR: And that’s when I go, “Oh, come on Kreese! What are you trying to do here?”

[0:14:31.0] JC: he’s trying to control.

[0:14:31.7] SR: Yeah.

[0:14:32.5] JC: Puppet master.

[0:14:33.8] SR: Johnny says, “Yeah. I know what needs to be done.” Yeah, but what did Johnny say that I’m thinking - my first thought is, “Oh no, Johnny.”

[0:14:38.8] JC: Hide the spray paint.

[0:14:40.0] SR: Yeah, exactly, what’s he going to do now?

[0:14:42.7] JC: Now we’re at Miyagi-Do Dojo and Robby and Sam were training, sparring. So, they break and Robby thanks Sam for helping him with his home situation.

[0:14:51.9] SR: He basically says, “Thanks for letting me stay with you guys,” right? All of a sudden, he’s got a Jacuzzi. he said, “I had to deal with lights shut off, now I got a Jacuzzi.”

[0:14:59.5] JC: Well, it’s because she took the initiative and brought Daniel, her father, into the situation. Of which Robby was not going to do. 

[0:15:07.9] SR: I think that if I were Robby and I was living in Encino in a beautiful home, SOB, south of the Boulevard.

[0:15:14.2] JC: Wow.

[0:15:14.2] SR: Yeah, I’m not going to go back to my old apartment, with my absentee mother.

[0:15:19.7] JC: I know, he’s really genuine about it though because he’s got too much pride to have shared that situation with Daniel.

[0:15:25.4] SR: Sure.

[0:15:26.0] JC: But Samantha saw what it was and they investigated and fixed the situation for him, which is wonderful.

[0:15:32.7] SR: Yeah. So, now he’s living with the LaRusso’s.

[0:15:35.2] JC: They should also just set him up at Miyagi-Do and to stay there like Daniel used to.

[0:15:39.6] SR: Yeah, that would make sense. Let him stay there. It’s a house. Interesting, yeah. I didn’t think about that.

[0:15:46.3] JC: So, then, as Daniel enters, so do some new potential students, who saw the ad and they’re inquiring about free karate.

[0:15:53.7] SR: Yeah. But guess what, Daniel says, “Yeah, you want to join Miyagi-Do? you can start by painting the fence.” I think that was – I would have cautioned Daniel to not come on that way. Don’t come on that way.

[0:16:04.1] JC: Hold that card. Give them something.

[0:16:07.7] SR: Offer them some Kool Aid first, I mean, come on, offer them some lemonade.

[0:16:10.3] JC: Explain the hierarchy, maybe your credentials. Yes, he jumped in early with painting the fence. There’s some paint cans and some brushes out back.

[0:16:20.3] SR: Yeah, he just told his kids to get to work. And one of the kid’s like, “Oh, yeah. This is bullshit. Just to scam to get kids to do your yard work.”

[0:16:26.2] JC: That was hilarious. If you noticed while he says BS, music even changes.

[0:16:30.9] SR: Yeah, there was like, it was almost like the DJ, like the needle. But then he goes, “Come on, let’s go check out that place with the snake.” You know what they mean. These guys leave and Daniel standing there with the look on his face that look of dejection. I was like, “Ah, poor Daniel.”

[0:16:43.4] JC: he tried but he came in too early for sure. that was a really funny scene. Then the other kid said, “My mother said you can’t trust a car salesman. You got to read the fine print.”

[0:16:53.0] SR: That was funny. Yeah. And that’s true, let me tell you something: if you’re going to go to a car dealership and you’re going to sit there for three, four hours, as I’ve done a few times. Yeah, read the fine print. You’re going to be paying for a warranty you didn’t even want, trust me.

[0:17:03.8] JC: Now we’re back at Cobra Kai dojo and Johnny is making his own ad. He starts by kicking flower pots of dirt on his students. He’s calling out lame meditation BS and self-defense and he’s promoting self-offense, bone crushing, face smashing, good old American karate. The way of the fist.

[0:17:29.0] SR You know what I would say that that’s a good approach. Particularly, again, no mention is made of mixed martial arts or UFC or Bellator, there’s no mention of that. But here we are in 2019 so that spirit is in the air. So, I believe that his approach, the kick ass approach which is the traditional Cobra Kai approach, I thought was good.

I thought, “Okay, I like this, I think some viewers will respond to this commercial. Yeah, I want to learn how to kick ass. Sure. Fight some bullies, kick their asses, yeah.”

[0:17:54.9] JC: It’s kind of like the flyers that they had before. ‘Learn how to fight.’

[0:17:58.3] SR: Yeah.

[0:17:59.3] JC: He’s really on the nose.

[0:18:00.5] SR: Yeah, no fence painting here.

[0:18:01.7] JC: But unlike Daniel spending whatever they had at LaRusso Auto Group for the commercial, Johnny’s banging this out with a student and an iPhone. And he says before he goes back in the office, “Now, I want a chrome Cobra Kai. I want Thunderstruck. Use Thunderstruck as the song.” No rights by the way and hash brown that with team karate.

[0:18:25.7] SR: I like hash browns.

[0:18:26.5] JC: I messed that up. “Hash brown that with team Cobra Kai and yeah, let me know when it’s done.”

[0:18:31.5] SR: I like that and that was just one take.

[0:18:33.5] JC: He’s like the Ed Wood of this world. “Yeah, we’re good. That’s good, right? No budget, we banged it out one take. Do you know the song Thunderstruck what he was speaking of? 

[0:18:44.1] SR: No, is that an 80s heavy metal song?

[0:18:46.7] JC: Yeah, Aisha’s like, “The rights for that, sensei, are going to be more than we have.” “I got the cassette in my car, we’re good.” Clueless. He knows nothing about music rights.

[0:18:57.1] SR: I got to hand it to him though, I, as a professional actor, have done some commercials in one take, I banged it out in one take. So, the fact that Johnny bangs out a commercial in one take, I am big time impressed. So, Johnny finishes this fantastic commercial which I totally love, enters the storage room, followed by Hawk and Miguel and they come in to ask about Robby.

[0:19:15.7] JC: They know the answer to this question but they want to hear from their sensei.

[0:19:19.7] SR: Yeah. So, what do they ask him? “Is Robby your son?” Did they ask him point blank?

[0:19:22.7] JC: Yeah, not in an aggressive way. but they do ask him and to his credit, he didn’t shy away from it.

[0:19:30.1] SR: Sure.

[0:19:30.5] JC: He admits it. And he said, it’s none of their damn business.

[0:19:34.2] SR: Yeah, he says to go clean mats for the rest of the week.

[0:19:36.5] JC: Exactly.

[0:19:37.6] SR: It’s like their punishment.

[0:19:38.7] JC: But you can see hurt in their eyes, especially Miguel’s, when they just hear it from him.

[0:19:44.1] SR: Yeah.

[0:19:45.5] JC: Because they’re really confused. 

[0:19:47.5] SR: Well, because Miguel has a different relationship with Johnny than all the other students do.

[0:19:52.2] JC: Exactly.

[0:19:52.8] SR: I mean, he’s his neighbor, he met as neighbors and friends originally. 

[0:19:57.2] JC: It’s a father/son type relationship.

[0:19:59.0] SR: Yeah. Johnny has had dinner with Miguel’s mother, right? Johnny has been over for dinner, met the grandmother. I mean there is sort of a different relationship. 

[0:20:06.8] JC: I never thought about this either but Miguel could be looking at him thinking, “why do you have this estranged relationship with Robby?” Initially I thought Miguel was thinking about it for very selfish reasons. But he could question his own sensei, his own father figure can’t even have a relationship with his own son. 

[0:20:25.0] SR: Or I was also thinking maybe Miguel is thinking, “Sensei and I have a relationship, why hasn’t he shared this with me?” If you have friend who hasn’t shared something personal with you, you’re like, “How come you didn’t tell me?” I had a friend that had surgery, was in the hospital, later on she never told me. I am like, “Why didn’t you share this with me?” I felt hurt that she thought she couldn’t share that with me. 

[0:20:45.6] JC: It is probably a lot of that. It is probably some of a lot of things but you are right. It’s definitely at play. “How come he didn’t tell his big secret? I got to come find out here from you.” 

[0:20:55.2] SR: And then listening, standing in the doorway is Kreese. Kreese is overhearing this, watching this unfold and we wonder what is going on his head as he is hearing this. 

[0:21:08.6] JC: So now, we cut to the Valley Fest. 

[0:21:09.4] SR: And I am wishing this were a real thing. 

[0:21:11.9] JC: So, I was going to ask you, growing up in the Valley, how many Valley Fests have you attended? 

[0:21:15.8] SR: The San Fernando Valley is a very special place. It is long been considered as a suburb of Los Angeles. Currently I would say over the last 10, 20 years, greater Los Angeles is starting to overtake the San Fernando Valley. I have sat down with LA seated council members and talked to them about this, about the overtaking of the San Fernando Valley by the rest of Los Angeles. And I feel the San Fernando Valley losing its own identity. 

There have been movements in the past, secession movements. There have been pushes to remove the San Fernando Valley from Los Angeles and make its own city but it just never come to be. I think it should have come to be. I think the San Fernando Valley should have left Los Angeles because the San Fernando Valley is losing its own identity present day. 

[0:21:59.4] JC: So, do they have Valley Fest? 

[0:22:00.7] SR: I wish. In fact, speaking of, for years I used to run the LA Marathon in years back. I used to wish there was a San Fernando Valley Marathon. I even planned out a route at one point. 

[0:22:09.7] JC: As long as it is not the summer. 

[0:22:10.9] SR: No, the San Fernando Valley would be a great place for a marathon. Mostly flat. 

[0:22:14.4] JC: Yeah as long as it is in the winter. 

[0:22:16.2] SR: Fall or winter would be good. 

[0:22:17.3] JC: They do not be in a 115-degree weather. 

[0:22:19.4] SR: The LA Marathon is in March. That is spring so it could be around - Yeah, fall would be good. Fall would be a good time in San Fernando Valley marathon. So no, the whole time I am watching Valley Fest in Cobra Kai I am thinking, “I wish the San Fernando Valley had a Valley Fest.” 

[0:22:32.2] JC: Yeah it looked pretty cool. 

[0:22:33.0] SR: No, there is no actual Valley Fest, to my knowledge whatsoever.

[0:22:36.7] JC: Well, Valley Fest is a real think in Cobra Kai world and Daniel and Amanda are setting up shop for LaRusso Auto Group. But then what does Daniel say? 

[0:22:49.1] SR: So. Amanda and Daniel start chatting about Miyagi-Do and then she makes a joke about, “Oh you guys should do a demonstration on the stage.” So, Amanda brings it up and that is when Daniel was like, “Oh that sounds like a fantastic idea.” And Amanda’s was like, “No, no, I was only kidding.” He’s like, “No we are going to do a demonstration.” And then he is trying to sell Amanda like, “Oh, we’ll tie it into LaRusso Auto. Miyagi-Do demonstration brought to you by LaRusso Auto. It is going to be great.” 

So, he is trying to convince Amanda that’s going to be tied in and bring more business to LaRusso. Amanda is concerned that the Miyagi-Do is talking all of Daniel’s attention and time away from LaRusso Auto Group and in a way it is. In fact, Amanda, right now, is probably having to grab the reins of LaRusso Auto Group because Daniel is running off with Samantha and Robby. 

[0:23:32.6] JC: But she does say, “People would like to see you in your old gi.” So as much as she is probably carrying a heavier load it is not a bad thing – 

[0:23:44.1] SR: Was that a flirtatious remark though? She was like, “Oh I would like to see you –” 

[0:23:45.6] JC: Yeah, but it wasn’t negative. She didn’t squash his idea. Actually, she knows this is important to him. Her daughter is in it now and if he gets thing right and going, at a successful company people don’t always stay in charge. Sometimes someone leaves the company. So, who knows, maybe this is – Daniel’s meant to go do this.

[0:24:05.7] SR: Well you know what, now that we are talking about it, I am wondering if the day will come where we will see Amanda as a member of Miyagi-Do? 

[0:24:13.2] JC: All right, good luck with that. 

[0:24:15.0] SR: Who knows what the future brings? 

[0:24:16.9] JC: The last time they rolled around in the mat; Anthony happened. I don’t think they are going to have a third kid but who knows. Okay, so now we are back at Cobra Kai Dojo. Johnny heads out and chats with Kreese after a quick exchange with the local vagrant. 

[0:24:31.6] SR: Yeah, she made something like, “Oh are you taking me home baby?” He’s like, “You wish.” She is still there. She’s been living there. 

[0:24:37.5] JC: She is never leaving man. She is never leaving. 

[0:24:39.3] SR: Well, because Johnny employed her as a sign spinner for a while.

[0:24:42.0] JC: Totally, should give her more to do. 

[0:24:43.4] SR: Yeah, have her spin some more signs. 

[0:24:45.4] JC: And then Kreese and him chat briefly. 

[0:24:48.1] SR: And there is Kreese there ready to instigate it again. 

[0:24:50.2] JC: So, what’s he say? 

[0:24:51.2] SR: “This doesn’t look good. Daniel training your son.” Oh boy, talk about instigating. You are going to have another man training your son in the karate? 

[0:25:00.1] JC: It doesn’t look good, Johnny. 

[0:25:00.9] SR: Oh no, so Kreese says, “I guess it is still good you still have that Mexican?” Meaning Miguel. And then Johnny says, “Miguel is from Ecuador.” And then just under his breath you can hear Kreese say, “601.” 

Really easy to miss. 6- and one-half dozen of the others is what he meant. Like you know, Ecuador, Mexico whatever same thing. , he is digging, he is instigating. Another man is training your son. So, then Kreese also adds to further it, “You better hope LaRusso doesn’t sink his mitts into him.” 

In other words, LaRusso took your son? LaRusso is going to probably take the Mexican and then Johnny ponders Kreese’s words for a second as he enters his vehicle what was it? A Charger? Okay. 

[0:25:43.1] JC: So, it does have an impact on Johnny. As well as the fact that Miguel and Hawk spoke to him earlier and he could see the hurt in their eyes. So, he goes home, walks across the courtyard checks in with Miguel and takes him out to dinner. And at dinner, he shares with Miguel a lot of personal things, which is not Johnny’s way. It is a great scene. It is nice to see these two bond and what do we learn in this situation? 

[0:26:15.2] SR: Well, he starts by saying, “You see that building across the street?” So, they’re eating burgers in an establishment across the street from a hospital where Robby was born. So that is where he says, “You see that building over there? That is where Robby was born.” What was the date? I know you’re always keeping track of dates. February something.

[0:26:30.5] JC: February 4th, 2002. 

[0:26:33.8] SR: I wonder what is the significance of that date is for the Cobra Kai world? 

[0:26:37.9] JC: Yeah, I don’t know. 

[0:26:39.0] SR: We’ll have to look up what went on. 

[0:26:40.9] JC: Well this came out in 2019, so he is 17 years old. Young enough to fight in the All Valley Tournament. 

[0:26:47.1] SR: February 4th I believe he would be an Aquarius. For you, horoscope lovers. So, Johnny is totally laying it all out for Miguel. And I think Miguel is surprised that he is doing this in fact at one point Miguel says, “You don’t have to tell me this sensei. This is personal stuff.” And Johnny continues and he let him know that his son Robby was born across the street and instead of going over there to be a part of his son’s first day on earth, he was just getting drunk and depressed because his mother had just died.

So that was interesting. So, he was grieving his mother as his son was being born. 

[0:27:21.7] JC: And he was scared and he said he failed Robby on the first day of his life and he’s been failing him ever since. And then he went on to say how training Miguel has been very special for him. He will always be on his side and he’ll have his best interest at heart and that was really touching.

[0:27:40.9] SR: Yeah, very much so. He was committing to Miguel as his friend and sensei. But I am also wondering if in that moment he was just – what would be the phrase where you’re just, “Well I don’t have a relationship with Robby and it is probably never going to happen.” 

[0:27:55.1] JC: Yeah because he is his dad but he never really was his dad. He is his biological father. 

[0:27:59.2] SR: Sure. So, I wonder if he was kind of in that moment committing to the relationship with Miguel and almost releasing relationship with Robby?

[0:28:06.9] JC: Yeah, you are like the son I never had.

[0:28:08.4] SR: Yeah, really and now I am going to cry. 

[0:28:10.8] JC: It was really nice to see Johnny open up that way because you’re always wanting to and now, we know him so much better than we know him in the Karate Kid. And for him to be this guy that he really hoped he was because he was not Kreese. In fact, it reminded he is not Kreese because now that Kreese is back, we see he is not that. He is very Daniel-esque. He is a good guy. And it would be nice to see him and Robby reconnect and even have a new found relationship. 

But it also special to see what Daniel and Robby have. So, you know I don’t necessarily need Robby and Johnny to have something they never had if it is not meant to be. But not to be on bad terms.

[0:28:49.2] SR: Yeah, well I know that when I rekindled the relationship with my own father after a decade of not speaking, I realized when I sat out with my dad, I was in my late 20s and I realized that whenever I was trying to get will never be gotten. And whenever I thought we should have had, we never had and we are never going to get. So, it was very healing and cathartic for me to have a dinner with my dad because I realize that if I am searching for a dad, it is not going to happen. That’s it, it is over. 

[0:29:15.1] JC: You could have something new. 

[0:29:16.7] SR: Yeah, it would be a brand-new relationship. It is not like I am trying to recreate something. Yeah that is what it would be so – 

[0:29:22.4] JC: And that is when him and Robby potentially could have. 

[0:29:25.5] SR: Yes. So, as he opens up his heart to Miguel, shares part of his life, part of the history of Robby, Aisha texts Miguel. And Miguel says, “Excuse me,” checks his phone and Aisha tells him about the Valley Fest Demo with Miyagi-Do. 

[0:29:43.0] JC: That’s exactly right. And you could tell Johnny lights up a little bit. 

[0:29:47.1] SR: I am still thinking what his plan is because at this point, we don’t know. 

[0:29:51.1] JC: So, we are now at Valley Fest. 

[0:29:54.5] SR: Oh yeah and I am excited to see this because really I am watching this as a Valley person like, “Why don’t we have this? Why isn’t there more of a pride in the Valley?” I think we had a few movies. There was a culture, we had a Valley Girl and all of that. There was the oh my god – 

[0:30:08.7] JC: The Karate Kid. 

[0:30:09.3] SR: Hello? Oh my god. For sure. Like totally. 

[0:30:12.1] JC: Yeah Nick Cage. 

[0:30:12.9] SR: Yeah, my sisters were valley girls. But then it is just a whole new world now so no I – 

[0:30:17.5] JC: Fast Times at Ridgemont High.

[0:30:18.5] SR: Yeah. So, the Valley Fest I am just like literally chomping at the bit like, “Oh, I wish we actually had this.”

[0:30:24.2] JC: So, Daniel shows up with Robby and Sam and they’re getting things ready. And then there is reference to the sheets of ice from The Karate Kid II. 

[0:30:32.8] SR: Well, let’s not forget also before we got to that, so what is funny is when they first open up on Valley Fest you see the Raymond, the 80s guy talking 80s stuff from the hardware store. 

[0:30:40.9] JC: Yeah, “Hey, you remember Caddy Shack?”

[0:30:42.4] SR: Yeah and that was hilarious, he is already eating a funnel cake. 

[0:30:45.1] JC: Yes, hey funnel cakes are good man. 

[0:30:46.7] SR: I like funnel cakes. I don’t have them with jam or jelly, just the powdered sugar that’s it. 

[0:30:51.5] JC: Who puts jelly or jam on?

[0:30:53.2] SR: Oh, they put Nutella. All kinds of stuff. 

[0:30:55.0] JC: Just give me the powdered sugar. And let me be, please. 

[0:30:59.0] SR: Yeah so, he is there ordering that. It is a real nice scene. Everyone is walking around with balloons. It is a real happy carnival type atmosphere. It looks like a lot of fun. 

[0:31:05.5] JC: Sal, we do see the sheets of ice or at least the same concept from The Karate Kid II. And let me take you back because you have not seen Karate Kid II recently. 

[0:31:17.4] SR: No and I’d like to apologize to our listeners. I will watch Karate Kid II, I promise. I pledge. 

[0:31:20.6] JC: Sorry listeners on Sal’s behalf. And there is bar scene in the movie where Daniel is provoked and there is a wager and he’s got to go through sheets of ice and Mr. Miyagi is there. So, a young Daniel-san has to do something he’s never done but yet, well trained. So, Mr. Miyagi’s wonderful student and he does it. 

[0:31:46.1] SR: Well if you remember from Karate Kid, when Miyagi breaks the bottles on the car that was his first time doing that. 

[0:31:53.4] JC: That is exactly right. 

[0:31:54.3] SR: Yeah, so there is always a first time for everything. 

[0:31:56.0] JC: So, Daniel is going to bring this trick. I guess he has been doing it for a while. Maybe he does it at dinner parties with Amanda. I am not sure. But he is going to bring in – that is going to be the big crescendo to the Miyagi Do exhibit, if you will. 

[0:32:08.1] SR: Sure. It is pretty neat, sheets of ice. It’s pretty neat, yeah. 

[0:32:11.5] JC: So now it is night fall, the Miyagi-Do stage is set and the three of them are doing some – it is a cool scene, it is like silhouettes and they are doing some movements around the Miyagi-Do style the circular motion and then what happens? 

[0:32:26.5] SR: Well they are doing all of these moves. Daniel busts out with the staff, starts swinging the staff. You have Robby jumping over the staff. I think doing a summersault. You have them acting as aggressors to Daniel with the staff and they fight him off and so forth. So, they do this little demonstration. 

[0:32:42.8] JC: Then Raymond chimes in. They cut to Raymond and they come out and he’s like, “Ninja Turtles!”

[0:32:49.3] SR: Yeah, Donatello is my favorite one. 

[0:32:51.7] JC: Yeah because he had a staff. 

[0:32:52.2] SR: He has a staff. Yeah, okay so that dude is hilarious. So, he is going to be showing up more. I didn’t know yet. When the first time they ordered in the funnel cake, I just thought they brought him in for that scene. I was like, “Hey that is the guy from the hardware store!” So, all of a sudden – 

[0:33:02.5] JC: So, Daniel starts to set the ice up. 

[0:33:04.5] SR: Yeah he starts to set up the grand finale and then here comes Cobra Kai chanting “Cobra Kai. Cobra Kai,” the same way when they enter the All Valley Tournament. The same entrance. 

[0:33:14.8] JC: These guys know how to make an entrance. 

[0:33:17.5] SR: They really do and you just see the look on Robby’s face, Daniel’s face, Samantha’s face, “What the hell is going on?” 

[0:33:24.2] JC: Because they have their own stage and it is as if it was put together for two months. Literally it was one day. 

[0:33:31.1] SR: Yeah, I wonder how Kobra Kai was able to set up an adjacent stage under the nose of Miyagi- Do? How were they able to do that? How did the festival director not notify Daniel and Samantha what was going on? 

[0:33:45.4] JC: And as nice as Miyagi- Do stage was and it was. It was subtle, it was clean, it was nice, Cobra Kai just went the whole way with it. 

[0:33:54.0] SR: Yeah, it is a rock concert time. 

[0:33:55.9] JC: Kreese is even with the lighting guy, calling for more sparks. 

[0:34:00.1] SR: More sparks, which I totally love because that was reminiscent of More Cowbell. That was the More Cowbell moment by Kreese, more sparks rave reference. 

[0:34:09.0] JC: I need more sparks. Yeah so, they got the Cobra Kai’s jumping on the stage doing some amazing things.

[0:34:17.6] SR: Oh, and I love that Hawk grabs Demetri out of the crowd and had Demetri hold the boards as he does some wild kick. 

[0:34:25.2] JC: He does a crazy flying kick and he elevates off someone else. It was a great feat. 

[0:34:31.3] SR: Hawk has some pretty cool moves. He busts the board. Demetri is like, “Ooh my god!” 

[0:34:35.6] JC: Yeah, he was impressed. 

[0:34:37.1] SR: And then they start throwing merchandise from the stage. 

[0:34:39.9] JC: Yeah, they got merch everywhere. 

[0:34:40.7] SR: I am waiting for a t-shirt cannon to come out here. 

[0:34:43.2] JC: Is Terry Silver behind this? The deep pockets because all of a sudden, they’ve got – well they do have a lot of students and Johnny you know, maybe he is just funneling back into the system so. 

[0:34:54.9] SR: We have our core group of students but then there is a lot of other students as well. So, yeah, Cobra Kai is growing in student body. I love where they were throwing off the merch off the stage. I thought that was hilarious. 

[0:35:04.3] JC: It is so well choreographed. It is as if Cobra Kai does this every night of the week all over the nation. 

[0:35:10.3] SR: Yeah, almost reminiscent of a Cirque du Soleil evening. 

[0:35:13.9] JC: Exactly. So, this all leads to the big finale. 

[0:35:18.3] SR: Yeah. This is to rival the ice chopping that Daniel would have done.

[0:35:23.6] JC: Of which nobody knows and no one saw. 

[0:35:25.8] SR: If you think about it, a contrast because Jonny ends up breaking cement blocks on fire. So, you think about fire and ice, those two contrasts. 

[0:35:35.1] JC: Also, the name of the episode. 

[0:35:37.0] SR: Hello. Hello. 

[0:35:39.5] JC: Well done, Sal. 

[0:35:41.1] SR: No, you well done. I don’t even notice that. 

[0:35:43.1] JC: It took you a while but you got there.

[0:35:44.1] SR: Oh, it took me 30 minutes. Okay so Johnny breaks the flaming cement blocks. The crowd goes nuts. And Amanda comes over to Daniel, Robby and Sam leads them away and the camera pans down to the ice melting. 

[0:36:02.0] JC: Daniel has never looked so defeated.

[0:36:04.4] SR: Yeah.

[0:36:05.6] JC: Or maybe he has recently in Cobra Kai world. But he’s down and you feel for him.

[0:36:11.0] SR: Sure.

[0:36:12.6] JC: I would have preferred it if he even got to the finish of his and then Cobra Kai started. It was the fact that they just lost all the interest, everybody’s shifted focus and ran to the other stage.

[0:36:23.5] SR: Audiences are fickle.

[0:36:24.4] JC: They are fickle and I think there’s room enough for so many different types of karate. You know, there’s not just one style, but it’s a shame that it has to happen like this.

[0:36:34.8] SR: Well they completely robbed the spotlight. But again, this is going back to that commercial. Daniel took a dig at Cobra Kai in the commercial by saying, “Don’t be a snake in the grass," so he’s like, he took a dig, so I would say Daniel kind of started this particular conflict.

[0:36:50.5] JC: It’s true, it didn’t help. 

[0:36:53.8] SR: But when yeah, you had at the end be rescued by your wife, come and take you away. You and your daughter and your main student being taken away by your wife, probably end up at Applebee’s for dinner.

[0:37:02.4] JC: Yeah. That’s the end of episode three. Wow.

[0:37:05.6] SR: Man.

[0:37:08.6] JC: Great episode.

[0:37:09.2] SR: What a ride. Yeah, this episode was a lot of fun, I liked it.

[0:37:11.6] JC:  A lot of good karate, a lot of good moves. We learned more about Kreese. Johnny opens up, very good episode and seven more to go.

[0:37:20.1] SR: All right, I’m ready.

[0:37:21.2] JC: All right.

[OUTRO]

[0:37:22.2] JC: Thank you so much for listening and we greatly appreciate it if you could subscribe and rate us on Apple podcast, Google podcast, stitcher, Spotify or wherever you get your podcast. If you have time to leave us a short review, it would really help us as well.

[0:37:38.5] SR: We also encourage our listeners to follow us on social media @letstalkcobrakai for Facebook and Instagram and @talkcobrakai on Twitter and if you have any questions that’s a great place to message us.

[0:37:49.5] JC: Lastly, you can now become an official supporter of Let’s Talk – Cobra Kai on Patreon. And, you can stream every episode as well as our other shows, from our website which is justcuriousmedia.com