Let's Talk - Cobra Kai

Cobra Kai - S02E06 - Take a Right

November 21, 2019 Just Curious Media Episode 17
Let's Talk - Cobra Kai
Cobra Kai - S02E06 - Take a Right
Let's Talk - Cobra Kai +
Help us continue making great content for listeners everywhere.
Starting at $3/month
Support
Show Notes Transcript

Let's Talk - Cobra Kai
Episode 17: Cobra Kai - S02E06 - Take a Right

Jason Connell and Sal Rodriguez break down Season 02 - Episode 06 (Take a Right) of the Cobra Kai series and much more.

Synopsis: Johnny goes for a ride with some old friends. Kreese continues to exert his authority at Cobra Kai.

Original Episode: S02E06

Recorded: 10-28-19
Studio: Just Curious Media
https://www.JustCuriousMedia.com/

Listen:
https://LetsTalkCobraKai.buzzsprout.com/

Watch:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNfekAT0gN4to-6j2iKhGQw/

Follow:
https://www.facebook.com/LetsTalkCobraKai/
https://www.instagram.com/LetsTalkCobraKai/
https://twitter.com/TalkCobraKai/

Hosts:
https://www.instagram.com/MrJasonConnell/
https://www.instagram.com/SalvadorLosAngeles/

Support:
https://www.patreon.com/LetsTalkCobraKai/

#justcuriousmedia #letstalkcobrakai #mrjasonconnell #salvadorlosangeles #cobrakai #thekaratekid #daniellarusso #johnnylawrence #mrmiyagi #senseikreese #ralphmacchio #williamzabka #patmorita #martinkove #allvalleykaratechampionships #martialarts

Support the show

Episode 17: Cobra Kai - S02E06 - Take a Right

[00:00:00] JC:
Welcome to Just Curious Media. This is Let’s Talk - Cobra Kai. I’m Jason Connell.


[0:00:05.0] SR: And I’m Sal Rodriguez.


[0:00:06.4] JC: All right, Sal. Here we are. Season 2, episode 6.


[0:00:10.7] SR: Yeah. We’re coming into this episode and I'm sad going into this episode.


[0:00:14.7] JC: Why so?


[0:00:15.6] SR: Look, we open up on the vandalism of the Miyagi-Do dojo.


[0:00:20.1] JC: Okay. I got you. I got you.


[0:00:21.8] SR: I mean, that was sad to watch.


[0:00:23.2] JC: I thought you’re sad because there's only five episodes left.


[0:00:25.6] SR: Well, yeah. I am sad about that also. This is the end. I am sad about just seeing people destroy the Miyagi-Do dojo was really painful to watch.


[0:00:36.0] JC: Heartbreaking. This episode is entitled Take a Right. It's 9.1 rating on IMDB. You're right, we open at Miyagi-Do dojo with a montage of things being put together with I believe, the score from the Karate Kid.


[0:00:53.9] SR: Really?


[0:00:54.8] JC: Which is a little tip. Right when I thought Daniel and company would make an appearance, I was surprised.


[0:01:04.8] SR: Yeah. Because you think that it's our gang fixing the dojo.


[0:01:09.4] JC: Yeah, putting it back together.


[0:01:10.7] SR: Yeah, that's what you think is happening. They're rebuilding, right?


[0:01:13.4] JC: But no.


[0:01:14.2] SR: No. You see from the back, it's Miyagi. It was a flashback to something we've never even seen before, which was Miyagi putting together his home initially.


[0:01:23.5] JC: Initially. Except before he met Daniel-san to come on and help him restore, if you will. Yeah, what a cool idea.


[0:01:31.8] SR: It's like a body double from the back, right?


[0:01:33.8] JC: Right. It was tastefully done.


[0:01:35.5] SR: It really was. It was a nice homage and they didn't go any further. You see the back, you know it's him and then they cut back. Now we see that it is –


[0:01:45.6] JC: Daniel looking at the mess.


[0:01:46.9] SR: Yeah.


[0:01:47.9] JC: That was a nice moment. I could see the creators just not being able to control themselves. When they do it, they do it for good reason and their execution is amazing. These guys nail it every time, every episode.


[0:02:02.6] SR: The show is a perfect example of when the creators and producers are fans.


[0:02:06.9] JC: Exactly.


[0:02:07.5] SR: I think it really makes a difference.


[0:02:09.0] JC: Right.


[0:02:09.5] SR: In fact, I think maybe the fan should have taken over the Star Wars franchise and taken out of George Lucas's hands.


[0:02:14.8] JC: Sooner?


[0:02:15.8] SR: Yeah.


[0:02:16.2] JC: I'm glad it's in J. J. Abrams’ hands. Very capable and I've enjoyed.


[0:02:20.1] SR: Oh, that's right. George Lucas isn't a part of Star Wars anymore.


[0:02:22.7] JC: No, that's why it gotten good again. Well, at some point in time this is true with a lot of professions. Too much success takes away the hunger. Therefore, it's hard to be as creative as you want to be.


[0:02:35.7] SR: Sure. Any comedian, any great top comic would tell you their best work was in the beginning, not later once they got rich and famous.


[0:02:41.5] JC: It’s rare. I mean, even people who I strongly admire, who actually came to my hometown as I spoke to in earlier episodes and made two films back-to-back, The Outsiders and Rumble Fish, Francis Ford Coppola. He hit it out of the park early in his career with Godfather, Godfather 2, The Conversation, Apocalypse Now. 


His films much later left a lot to be desired. Do I need to say Godfather 3? Certain people make genius work in the beginning and they never live up to that. Other guys like Martin Scorsese continues to put out good films, but he is an exception to the rule. Most people do not continue to make great content.


[0:03:21.1] SR: Sure. When you see something like Cobra Kai, we are seeing people who love the product. They love the content.


[0:03:28.1] JC: The authenticity of it.


[0:03:29.1] SR: Yeah, they were fans making a show.


[0:03:32.1] JC: There was a void. I mean, Karate Kid 3 came out so long ago. The last two films had nothing to do with Daniel. Yeah, there was a void. There was an opportunity. My goodness, it fell in the right hands.


[0:03:44.5] SR: What was the last film? Was it the one with Jaden Smith?


[0:03:47.4] JC: Right.


[0:03:47.9] SR: That was the last one.


[0:03:49.0] JC: Yeah, but had nothing to do with this story going.


[0:03:50.4] SR: No. When was that though?


[0:03:51.8] JC: I'm going to guess it's 2010.


[0:03:53.6] SR: Wait, was Will Smith involved as producer in the Karate Kid that his son was in?


[0:03:59.3] JC: I believe so.


[0:04:00.1] SR: He was.


[0:04:00.5] JC: Yeah.


[0:04:00.9] SR: Okay. Then that piggybacked –


[0:04:02.3] JC: It just stayed and that it probably got involved with Jerry Weintraub and then he stayed attached to the property.


[0:04:07.8] SR: Okay. Does Will Smith do martial arts?


[0:04:09.6] JC: I don't know. These are great questions for Will Smith.


[0:04:12.3] SR: Yeah, I wonder.


[0:04:13.0] JC: I don't know.


[0:04:13.8] SR: I mean, I can trace my interest in Karate Kid. I can tell you my stories, but I'm curious as to how Will Smith got involved. Maybe some emotional involvement. Maybe he left Karate Kid when he was young.


[0:04:23.5] JC: I didn't mind that film. In fact, I want to go back and watch the 2010 film again. I like Jackie Chan a lot.


[0:04:27.9] SR: Oh, sure.


[0:04:28.9] JC: It was a different take. It was abroad. It wasn't in the states. I'm glad they didn't try to actually remake the movie beat-by-beat. Therefore, there is a void since ’84 and that magical first film came into being. This show, how smart to lock down Ralph Macchio, William Zabka, the authenticity of that and the storylines. Very, very, very well executed. All we need now is Elisabeth Shue.


[0:04:59.1] SR: Yeah, I know. Yeah.


[0:05:00.3] JC: Let’s hope. Fingers crossed.


[0:05:02.0] SR: If Elisabeth Shue pops out –


[0:05:04.9] JC: Forget about it.


[0:05:06.3] SR: I will faint.


[0:05:07.8] JC: Okay. Now we’re at the Cobra Kai dojo and Johnny is punishing the students to find out who trashed Miyagi-Do dojo.


[0:05:15.3] SR: Yeah. He wants to know who's the culprit. It gives Cobra Kai a bad name.


[0:05:19.7] JC: Exactly.


[0:05:20.2] SR: It brings down the name of Cobra Kai. Johnny's trying to bring the name up, meanwhile the name is getting dragged down and he wants to get to the bottom of this. Unfortunately in these types of situations, much like when you were in PE in middle school or high school, one student messes up, everybody gets punished. I think the military does that too. They're having to do all these floor exercises. Burpees, I think they were doing burpees –


[0:05:45.1] JC: They were doing burpees. Countless.


[0:05:47.2] SR: Countless and endless burpees. In fact, during this episode I'm marveling at how much time they could spend at the dojo these kids.


[0:05:54.7] JC: Yes. Well, it's summer break.


[0:05:56.5] SR: Are they on summer break?


[0:05:57.5] JC: Yeah.


[0:05:58.1] SR: Okay. Oh, then I expect a beach scene soon.


[0:06:00.8] JC: Johnny gets a call and then Hawk shares to Kreese that he should come clean to Johnny about trashing Miyagi-Do dojo. What does Kreese say?


[0:06:10.6] SR: “Say nothing.”


[0:06:11.9] JC: He'll handle it.


[0:06:12.8] SR: Before that, Kreese made that comment, which is very telling obviously, another Kreese moment when he says, “Who's going to break?” Right? He's almost teasing them. “Who's going to break? Who's going to be a stool pigeon and squeal on themselves and the rest of the group?”


[0:06:27.9] JC: That's right. Now we're back at Miyagi-Do dojo and Sam, Robby and Demetri try to lift a huge rock as former Cobra Kai students show up.


[0:06:38.0] SR: Yeah. A bunch of people showing up wanting to join Miyagi-Do. Now, these are former Cobra Kai Robby. Was not having it. Robby wanted no part of Cobra Kai coming to join Miyagi-Do.


[0:06:48.6] JC: He’s flashing back to the mall, the food court scene the big showdown and he thinks these guys are her to infiltrate and do something dirty I mean, they already trashed the dojo. He doesn't know it wasn't these guys there was that moment where Robbie says once a Cobra Kai always a Cobra Kai implying you can't change, but Robby of all people is the living example of people that can change.


[0:07:11.7] JC: Good point.


[0:07:12.6] SR: Robby wanted to rip off LaRusso Auto. He was stealing the code from Amanda.


[0:07:17.2] JC: Very true.


[0:07:17.9] SR: Now he's living with them. They trust him. He's part of their family now practically. He's living example that people can change. Hypocritical when Robby is like, “Once a Cobra Kai always a Cobra Kai,” implying people cannot change when Robby, people can change. You yourself are changing.


[0:07:35.0] JC: Yes. Demetri throws out another Game of Thrones reference and says, “They're like the Wildlings.” Meaning you can't trust them, they're going to come here with ill purposes. Daniel once again counters, because he knows his Game of Thrones as much as Demetri does. Points out that Jon Snow got along with the Wildlings and they formed a strong union. It squashes Demetri's concerns.


[0:07:58.9] SR: I'm imagining Daniel and Amanda binge watching Game of Thrones together, because it’s not kid’s show. Their kids probably aren't watching this, right? Game of Thrones is very adult, I understand.


[0:08:08.3] JC: I don’t know. Anthony strikes me as the type of kid that would like Game of Thrones.


[0:08:12.9] SR: Isn't Game of Thrones very adult? I’ve never seen it.


[0:08:16.1] JC: There's time to cover your eyes. There's some sex scenes in it, but I bet you young Anthony has seen some episodes.


[0:08:22.4] SR: Speaking of episodes and young Anthony, we haven't seen or heard of him in a couple of episodes.


[0:08:26.1] JC: Not much. No.


[0:08:27.9] SR: Where is he?


[0:08:29.1] JC: I don't know.


[0:08:29.8] SR: What is he doing? Anthony, where are you?


[0:08:33.3] JC: Johnny got this call and it's urgent. We don't know what it is, but we're about to find out.


[0:08:38.2] SR: Well, he just says, “I got to go deal with something.” He leaves Kreese in charge of the instruction of the dojo. He says to him, “Do what you got to do.” Kreese responds – these lines from Kreese where I just go, “Uh!” Kreese says, “Don't worry. I will.” You go, “Ah! He's going to do something bad.”


[0:08:58.4] JC: He wants him to find out who did it, meanwhile Kreese already knows who did it.


[0:09:02.3] SR: Kreese already knows who did it and prompted Hawk to do it. Well hang on, let me be clear, we don't know for sure that Kreese told Hawk go vandalize Miyagi-Do, but he did put a bug in his ear about what? Revenge?


[0:09:18.1] JC: Yes.


[0:09:18.6] SR: About the, “Hey, buddy. The fight is not over until you say it's over.” He was prodding him. We don't know if he said go vandalize, but he was definitely prodding and hitting Hawk when he was vulnerable.


[0:09:30.1] JC: Absolutely. Now we see where Johnny was going and it is to the San Bernardino Hospice Center. If you know anything about these types of places, it's for people don't have much time left.


[0:09:41.0] SR: Okay. You know who I thought it was going to be?


[0:09:42.5] JC: Who?


[0:09:43.5] SR: I thought he was going to see his stepdad in there. That's just what I thought, right?


[0:09:47.3] JC: Ed Asner.


[0:09:48.2] SR: Yeah. Well, who else would it be in a hospice center? Who else would be there?


[0:09:52.4] JC: I don't think he would have rushed at all.


[0:09:53.6] SR: That's true. That's what I thought at first.


[0:09:55.2] JC: Sid.


[0:09:56.3] SR: Yes, Sid. I was surprised to see the old gang.


[0:10:00.6] JC: Well, first he sees Bobby, ex-Cobra Kai from the original Karate Kid. Come to find out that Tommy is pretty sick.


[0:10:11.2] SR: Yeah. We don't know exactly what he has, right?


[0:10:13.0] JC: Well, he does say it's gone to his brain at that point in time.


[0:10:15.5] SR: That one to fight cancer though.


[0:10:16.7] JC: Yeah, it spread he doesn't have much time left. Johnny has an exchange with Tommy and tells him he was a tough fighter, he always was and still is. He references the 83 All Valley Tournament.


[0:10:30.0] SR: That was interesting to hear.


[0:10:31.5] JC: When he beat Vidal in the semi-finals to face Johnny in the final.


[0:10:36.6] SR: Yes. The final was Tommy versus Johnny in the 83 All Valley. Holy cow, we didn't know that till now, right?


[0:10:42.4] JC: No. Johnny said, “He didn't make it easy on me.” He must have beaten a very accomplished fighter. We don't know if Vidal was 82 champ. We do not know.


[0:10:54.7] SR: I want to see the list. One day, we got to see this entire list, right? What is it? 50th anniversary of the All Valley? Was that what it was?


[0:11:00.5] JC: Yeah.


[0:11:01.2] SR: Okay. I want to see the names. I want to see all the names.


[0:11:04.5] JC: Creators, please give Sal a list. Just make it up. Throw a Kreese in there somewhere.


[0:11:10.7] SR: Kreese is 1971 champ.


[0:11:13.4] JC: That's my birth year.


[0:11:14.1] SR: No, it would have been before that, because if Kreese was in Vietnam early 70s, he was over 18, it would be like 1975 champion maybe.


[0:11:21.5] JC: That's after that.


[0:11:22.5] SR: What?


[0:11:24.2] SR: Oh, Jesus. No, no, no. I mean, like 1967 maybe. There we go.


[0:11:28.6] JC: Then they're joined by Jimmy, another ex-Cobra Kai. Not as big of a role as Tommy and Bobby both had in the original Karate Kid, because it's speaking lines. You recognize them right away. Jimmy, a bit player in that. To me, Dutch was another big player, but he's not in this.


[0:11:45.5] SR: Now wait a second, do we know why Dutch was not in this Cobra Kai episode? They say that later on we know why he's not there. We know why Dutch is not there. The actor. Do we know why the actor is not there?


[0:11:56.3] JC: He is Steve McQueen's son. Being Steve McQueen's son, I think he went through a little acting stint and he's probably not acting anymore and nor does he need acting anymore. Yeah, that would have been nice to bring Dutch back. He was such a good villain.


Reminds me of Hawk in a lot of ways. Hawk reminds me of Dutch. Yeah, I would like to see Dutch as well. I was hoping we're going to see him. Who knows what the future holds? In this particular episode, no Dutch.


[0:12:23.2] SR: Well, we learn where Dutch is. There could be a Dutch reunion at some point.


[0:12:27.8] JC: Yeah. Exactly. They step outside of the room; Jimmy, Bobby and Johnny and what do we find out?


[0:12:35.0] SR: We find out and Johnny finds out that the guys have a plan to take Tommy out of the hospice and give him a night to remember, because they don't think he's going to make it through the night. They don't want him to die in the hospice. I mean, how many of us want to die in some hospital bed?


[0:12:50.6] JC: He's got a 24 hour release.


[0:12:52.5] SR: Yeah. They allow them to take Tommy out of the hospice, which was odd that the hospice would allow that.


[0:13:00.1] JC: I'm not sure they didn't think he's going to make it through the night. They just don't know how many more nights he has. He has a 24 hour release and they're going on a road trip.


[0:13:09.3] SR: Yeah, this is actually pretty special and magical that your old friends reunite at your bedside at your 11th hour and take you out on a night trip. Wow, I'm about to cry. It really is a real special moment. As a cinephile seeing all these Karate Kid guys, they're on camera –


[0:13:26.5] JC: Now we’re cool.


[0:13:27.3] SR: Here what? 35 years later, is that where we are?


[0:13:29.5] JC: Yeah, exactly.


[0:13:30.1] SR: Holy cow. This is one of those pause the video moments where you go, “Wow. I can't believe they're all on the screen together like this.”


[0:13:37.3] JC: It's pretty cool. Now we're back at the Cobra Kai dojo and Kreese continues to push the students and now they're doing rope drills.


[0:13:45.5] SR: This is where I'm wondering how much time do these people have to stay at the dojo?


[0:13:49.5] JC: They live at the dojo.


[0:13:51.1] SR: Surely, their parents would be like, “Where are you?” Yeah, they're on the ropes now and the battle ropes as they call them, those big thick ropes that you see in the gym now. They didn't have those ropes back in the 80s and 90s. Now you see these ropes at all the gyms now.


[0:14:03.3] JC: I do like those ropes by the way.


[0:14:05.0] SR: They are pretty fun. I've used some at 24 Hour Fitness. They are pretty fun. In fact, I have a battle rope myself in storage. I will use it at the park one day, but it's at storage for now. Yeah, they are just being worked to death pretty much. In fact, I would imagine by this point you would wish that you were back in the cement mixer. That's probably easier.


[0:14:22.7] JC: I noticed that Raymond is now referred to as Chubs.


[0:14:26.0] SR: Oh, Raymond the hardware store worker, the 80s guy. Yeah, he's there. I got to hand it to him. He's in there.


[0:14:32.6] JC: He's about to throw up, he said.


[0:14:34.0] SR: He's the only adult on the floor.


[0:14:36.2] JC: Exactly. Then Kreese gives a speech and says to meet him in the main dojo for the real training.


[0:14:45.2] SR: Okay. Kreese is using this opportunity while Johnny being kidnapped by his old buddies to take Tommy out on this excursion at the end of his life and Kreese is swarming in there.


[0:14:58.3] JC: He's in.


[0:14:59.1] SR: Oh, yeah. He's like, Kreese is glad Johnny's gone.


[0:15:02.8] JC: Oh, yeah. It's all working out.


[0:15:04.7] SR: This is back to 1984 again. This is Kreese, the head of the dojo leading the class. This is back in time.


[0:15:11.9] JC: 1984. It's like 74, or however old Johnny was when he ran into him, probably in the mid to late 70s.


[0:15:21.1] SR: This is Kreese’s home. This is where he feels he belongs anyway.


[0:15:25.4] JC: Now we're at Larusso Auto and Amanda's on the phone with Daniel, who yet again cannot make it to work.


[0:15:32.2] SR: Missing the second sales meeting in a row. Now Amanda is one of these women who's warm and loving, but she's about business. She is a businesswoman. Her partner is running off on these karate missions.


[0:15:47.7] JC: He’s got a new business.


[0:15:49.3] SR: Yeah. She's like, “Oh, you're missing the second sales meeting in a row.”


[0:15:52.4] JC: He's like, “I just got a bunch of new students. They literally just showed up.”


[0:15:56.9] SR: Yeah. I almost felt at this point she's just be like, “Okay, look. You go run Miyagi-Do karate schools and I will run LaRusso Auto.” That would probably would make sense at this point.


[0:16:07.0] JC: Yeah. We've talked about this in a previous episode. I think this happens at companies. They built this thing at some point in time, it's run by someone else, so he could take a sabbatical. If this really is a fruitful venture, Miyagi-Do dojo and now it's becoming more so. I mean, it was just him and Robby, or just him and Sam, no. More students are coming, he's gaining from it.


[0:16:30.6] SR: You remember also, all these students are taking karate for free.


[0:16:34.7] JC: Yeah, it’s not making them any money right now.


[0:16:36.7] SR: Miyagi-Do is a not-for-profit business. Amanda has to see all this time her husband is spending on a not-for-profit business. Meanwhile, the profit business is suffering because it has an absentee owner.


[0:16:49.1] JC: They're going to need a 501c and make this thing legitimate, or Amanda's going to shut it down.


[0:16:54.2] SR: Yeah, pretty much.


[0:16:56.2] JC: Daniel is now breaking up an argument with Demetri and I believe it's Chris.


[0:17:01.4] SR: Yeah. He says, “This nerd called me an imbecile.” I like that he called him a nerd. “This nerd called me an imbecile.”


[0:17:10.0] JC: He gives them a task, a very hard task to solve together, so they can work through their differences.


[0:17:18.7] SR: Yeah. He has them lift up this stone that was felled.


[0:17:22.3] JC: Or not lift up yet. Just figure out how to lift it up.


[0:17:25.8] SR: Well, he says to lift the stone to work on teamwork. What do you think this thing weighs? It's got to weigh what, 600 pounds easily.


[0:17:31.7] JC: Yeah, probably. Yeah.


[0:17:33.2] SR: 600 pounds stone laying on the ground that was knocked over by Cobra Kai, Hawk and buddies, to be specific. Not Cobra Kai. Johnny was not a part of it. Knock over the stone, vandalize the place and now these guys’ task is to lift up the stone. They start bringing up the fulcrum.


[0:17:50.6] JC: Fulcrum technique. Now we're back to Johnny and company, if you will. They're all on motorcycles.


[0:17:57.2] SR: Where did these motorcycles come from?


[0:17:59.3] JC: Awesome, first of all. Now they got motorcycles.


[0:18:01.9] SR: Well, a switch. Also talk about flipping the script. In Karate Kid, they were on dirt bikes, these are hogs.


[0:18:07.7] JC: No doubt. Now we're doing a mash-up montage going back and forth between footage from The Karate Kid, them on those motorbikes and them on their hogs now.


[0:18:19.5] SR: What was that movie with Tim Allen and –


[0:18:22.2] JC: Wild Hogs.


[0:18:22.7] SR: Is that what that was? Yeah, that’s what this reminded me of.


[0:18:25.0] JC: Yes, exactly.


[0:18:26.2] SR: I always imagined the middle-aged guy on their Harley.


[0:18:30.0] JC: Yeah. Cool.


[0:18:31.0] SR: What would you have think if they would have had dirt bikes again? Would you have supported the dirt bike decision?


[0:18:35.2] JC: That would’ve been cool too.


[0:18:35.8] SR: Yeah?


[0:18:36.3] JC: Yeah.


[0:18:36.9] SR: That would have been actually funny if you would have them on dirt bikes, because yeah, their youth was dirt bikes and then later on they’re on the road bikes now.


[0:18:43.2] JC: It's really beautiful. The landscape was beautiful, the foliage was great, a lot of great colors. It's a beautiful scene, them out on bikes.


[0:18:50.3] SR: Were they wearing helmets? They were wearing helmets.


[0:18:52.0] JC: Yeah. Well, I think most states have a helmet law now.


[0:18:54.6] SR: I know for sure Arizona, which I go to yeah, maybe once a year I wind up in Arizona, particularly Sedona. There's no helmet law in Arizona.


[0:19:01.9] JC: Not smart.


[0:19:04.2] SR: There is something about that air blowing through your hair and –


[0:19:07.5] JC: Yeah. Get on a bicycle. Even on a bicycle it's dangerous.


[0:19:11.8] SR: Okay, so these guys had their helmets on, which is you should do law or not.


[0:19:16.3] JC: I agree. They're riding along and they wind up at a bar and we're catching up and reflecting on the old times.


[0:19:24.8] SR: We see the guys ride through the forest. You don't know where they're going at first. At first, I thought they were going to the lake where Miyagi trained Daniel-san on the rowboat, also where –


[0:19:34.0] JC: Daniel trained Robby?


[0:19:35.3] SR: Yes. That's where I thought they were going. Wasn't that Big Bear also?


[0:19:38.4] JC: I'm not sure where it was.


[0:19:39.0] SR: I don't remember. Anyway, they wind up going into Big Bear Lake and then winded up at this bar, sitting down, having drinks, talking about the old days.


[0:19:46.3] JC: Speaking of Big Bear Lake, I love Big Bear Lake. I rent cabins there from time to time. I take Miko with me.


[0:19:53.7] SR: Well, you didn't recognize the SEMA on the show then?


[0:19:55.6] JC: I didn't know the bar and I should probably look it up. I didn't know the bar per se, but I do know the area quite well. I've gone out throughout different times of the year, it's always beautiful, and so is Lake Arrowhead, which is very similar to that. 


They're at this bar and it's really nice to hear these guys conversing again. Not in a hospice center, where it's a bit cold and everyone's afraid to show emotion. They're letting their guard down and we're hearing some old stories and we find out about one Cobra Kai remember that we had no idea.


[0:20:24.8] SR: Yeah, well these guys are all catching up. We know that they have not been in communication with each other. They haven't been Facebook friends for all these years.


[0:20:32.2] JC: Well, Tommy and Bobby could be. I mean, we don't know if some of these guys –


[0:20:34.9] SR: Okay. Well, Johnny then was reintegrated back into the crew, so the other three guys could have been hanging out as buddies and they invited Johnny back into the fold then again, so he joins them. Then we learn that Dutch is in prison in Lompoc.


[0:20:50.7] JC: Five years.


[0:20:51.5] SR: Which I believe is an actual prison over there.


[0:20:53.1] JC: Yeah, I think so.


[0:20:53.7] SR: We don't know why he's there, right?


[0:20:55.7] JC: I'm going to guess that it was some assault.


[0:20:59.8] SR: Well, whenever you look at a prison term and somebody's over 2, 3 years serving time, you know that it wasn't for writing bad checks. You know it was probably something physical, or something really bad.


[0:21:10.1] JC: Absolutely.


[0:21:10.5] SR: Felony.


[0:21:11.5] JC: Yes. I would not put it past the character Dutch to grow up and do something that crossed the lines.


[0:21:17.9] SR: Yeah. Look how differently they've all turned out. One of them is a pastor. We don't know yet what the other guys do.


[0:21:22.8] JC: Yeah, Bobby is a pastor.


[0:21:23.6] SR: Bobby's a pastor. We don't know what the other guys do.


[0:21:25.3] JC: Tommy, me we don't know what he is doing. He's just the one who's not in good health. Jimmy seems like a super nice sweet guy. I didn't recognize him from head of the class, until we looked him up just a little while ago. I’m like, “Oh, my gosh. I never knew it was that Cobra Kai.” Because again, Jimmy was a lesser known Cobra Kai to Bobby and Tommy.


[0:21:47.1] SR: Yeah, I don't think he had his face in front of the camera as much as the other guys.


[0:21:49.6] JC: Didn't have as many lines.


[0:21:51.2] SR: No. What a treat it is. They're all sitting there, they're all catching up and this is where Johnny reveals that he opened up a dojo.


[0:21:58.6] JC: What's it called?


[0:21:59.7] SR: Yeah, that was – Yeah, they go, “What's it called?” He goes, “Cobra Kai.” They were like, “You brought back Cobra Kai?” Then Johnny says, “That's not all that's back,” and you know he's referring to Kreese.


[0:22:09.6] JC: We stopped there. Well, they continued to talk, but we cut back to Cobra Kai dojo, where Tory spars with a new student. As that student falls down, Kreese instructs her to do what?


[0:22:22.5] SR: To kick him.


[0:22:23.6] JC: Finish him. She stops.


[0:22:26.8] SR: Well, Miguel raised that red flag indicating a point. Tory has scored a point. Basically, the fight’s over for their purposes, right? Kreese says, “Uh-uh. Finish him.” There's that little pause and that's when Miguel has his, “Wait a second. This isn't how Sensei Lawrence instructed us.” 


There's that moment where Kreese has to then recalculate and readjust. He doesn't want to blow his own cover. That's what he says, “You’re right to defend your sensei's approach. You are correct. In a tournament it's about the points, but on the street there are winners and losers and there are no losers in this dojo.” That's a familiar line that Kreese has said. He says it right to Miguel.


[0:23:06.4] JC: Well, Tory stopped for a second and questioned things, but she was then moving towards the kill shot.


[0:23:12.4] SR: Tory was going to do it.


[0:23:13.5] JC: She thought, she went and Miguel had to really interrupt.


[0:23:18.0] SR: Yeah. I mean, we learn later her reasoning. Yeah, she was going to go for it.


[0:23:22.3] JC: I mean, not kill the kid.


[0:23:23.5] SR: No, but she was going to –


[0:23:24.8] JC: Hit him again.


[0:23:25.8] SR: Hard kick him in the ribs or something. Sure.


[0:23:27.8] JC: Now we cut to Miyagi-Do dojo and Daniel has the newer students inside, the ex-Cobra Kai students. Sal, what does Daniel ask the new students?


[0:23:38.3] SR: This is fantastic, because these are the former Cobra Kai students that Daniel is trying to retrain.


[0:23:44.2] JC: Yeah, reprogram.


[0:23:45.1] SR: Reprogram. Daniel asked, “What is the purpose of karate?” Then one of the students says, “Strike first, strike hard, no mercy, sir.” Daniel's like, “Ah! You've been brainwashed.” Then he asked what is the ultimate lesson? Somebody answers, “Don't be a pussy,” which is total Johnny Lawrence coming through there.


[0:24:03.5] JC: Now we're outside and Demetri and Chris are still having issues. They’re not getting along very well. This leads to Daniel coming outside and admitting what to everyone?


[0:24:14.9] SR: This threw me off completely, because I couldn't tell if Daniel was making this up for the sake of instruction and tutelage, because this was news to me. Daniel tells his students that he was once a member of Cobra Kai.


[0:24:31.2] JC: From Karate Kid Part 3. Now we've talked about this very briefly, but it was so many episodes ago. I think it was the first episode. I talked about how I had only watched it when I was 19 and couldn't even finish it. I believe he'd become a Cobra Kai. Well, I'd recently seen Karate Kid Part 3 and it's true. Daniel does become a Cobra Kai for X amount of the movie.


[0:24:57.4] SR: Wow.


[0:24:58.1] JC: Yeah, that's why I've encouraged you, Sal, to see Karate Kid Part 2, what you recently did.


[0:25:04.6] SR: I am in the middle of watching Karate Kid 2.


[0:25:06.4] JC: Part 3, so we can do special episodes of those as well.


[0:25:12.1] SR: Yeah, but see, this is blowing my mind because if I had watched Karate Kid 3, I would know this, right? Without watching Karate Kid 3, I was just like, “What?”


[0:25:21.5] JC: Yeah, it's true.


[0:25:22.5] SR: Daniel LaRusso was a member of Cobra Kai?


[0:25:24.7] JC: Yeah. That's everyone's reaction, including Samantha's.


[0:25:27.7] SR: She didn't even know her own dad was a member of Cobra Kai at one time.


[0:25:30.5] JC: He wasn't proud of it, but he had to show them that a person can change.


[0:25:36.2] SR: Well, also show them that a person can be sucked into something.


[0:25:40.3] JC: Well, that's right.


[0:25:41.5] SR: That they probably shouldn't get involved with when you're vulnerable. There are these moments where all of us are vulnerable, either through sadness, or through disappointment, or whatever, or through broken heartedness like Miguel's been with Sam. Those are the moments when you're vulnerable. Those are the moments when the devil gets on your shoulder, or Kreese gets on your shoulder.


[0:26:01.4] JC: Same difference.


[0:26:02.5] SR: Whispers in your ear. Look out for those moments. When you're down and out, look out for people coming to whisper in your ear.


[0:26:09.6] JC: Now we're back at the bar and the Cobra Kais – I call them Cobra Kais. The gang can't believe Kreese is back.


[0:26:18.1] SR: Did everyone think Kreese was dead?


[0:26:20.5] JC: They didn't act like Johnny did. They were more shocked that he was back in the scene. I don't think they had Johnny's perspective, right? Johnny was the closest. Maybe he'd heard some things through the grapevine. After that moment in time, Karate Kid Part 2, those guys probably never looked at Karate again.


[0:26:38.3] SR: Well, it just occurs to me that Kreese trashed Johnny's trophy, got him in a headlock for second place. Yet, he didn't do anything to the other guys who didn't place at all.


[0:26:50.5] JC: They weren't champs.


[0:26:52.2] SR: Wow. The higher on the ladder you are at Cobra Kai, the more wrath you have to experience from your sensei. That's how it works. Is that just normal for dojos?


[0:27:03.0] JC: In the circa 70s, 80s, Cobra Kai is.


[0:27:05.7] SR: Okay. Yeah, these guys are surprised to hear after what they saw in that parking lot at the All Valley afterward, “What? You're hanging out with the guy that tried to kill you in the parking lot?”


[0:27:15.8] JC: Yeah, exactly. Johnny tries to explain that things are different with Cobra Kai and Kreese this time around. Then Tommy changes the subject and he wants to play some pool.


[0:27:27.0] SR: Yeah. They go over to play some pool and they see this jerk pushing this girl around.


[0:27:32.3] JC: Yeah, man-handling this woman.


[0:27:34.0] SR: Yeah. Then if that's not bad enough, because she walked off, that could have been the end of it. Then they get into Johnny's face. He's got those giant dangly earlobes.


[0:27:44.0] JC: Gauges.


[0:27:45.3] SR: Yeah. He's got the – I think that it goes reverse. He has the big earlobe things, whatever they are. It’s like in the world of gauges, the lower number is bigger.


[0:27:56.5] JC: Right.


[0:27:57.4] SR: Yeah. What would this be like? A 1?


[0:28:00.0] JC: It probably. It’s huge.


[0:28:01.0] SR: He has a giant huge earlobes that get ripped off once the fight starts. Now he started the fight, right?


[0:28:06.8] JC: Absolutely.


[0:28:08.0] SR: Yeah, he was definitely instigating.


[0:28:09.4] JC: Johnny is not a guy that you want to mess with in this situation.


[0:28:13.4] SR: You don't want to get in his face. All of a sudden, here we are Cobra Kai's kicking ass.


[0:28:18.8] JC: Of which we've never seen this group of Cobra Kais in that type of fight.


[0:28:24.1] SR: Not even when they were young.


[0:28:25.8] JC: No. We saw them attacking Daniel with the Halloween costume and Miyagi attacking them. They were young. We saw them in tournaments.


[0:28:33.8] SR: Sure. Or we see Johnny kicking ass in front of Reseda Flats.


[0:28:36.0] JC: On the beach.


[0:28:36.9] SR: Or on the beach.


[0:28:37.8] JC: That was it. We’ve never seen them in a bar fight. It was a really cool scene. A good fight.


[0:28:43.3] SR: Yeah. They did great. Tommy dying of cancer, yet he kicks ass.


[0:28:47.9] JC: Oh, man. They all had some moves still.


[0:28:49.7] SR: Yeah. It was really great to watch, really satisfying. Satisfying for the Karate Kid fans to see all these guys kicking ass, especially at their age.


[0:28:56.8] JC: They dominated and they took out all the aggressors.


[0:28:59.7] SR: Yeah, well that guy with the gauges, his buddies started jumping in. It became a bar brawl and Cobra Kai and ex-Cobra Kai, they kicked ass.


[0:29:09.2] JC: They messed with the wrong middle-aged guys.


[0:29:11.3] SR: Yeah, yeah. You don't want to do that.


[0:29:12.9] JC: Now we're back at Miyagi-Do dojo and Daniel is explaining his time at Cobra Kai, basically explaining Karate Kid 3, which we just talked about, how he got into it, how he got lured in the dark side, because Miyagi wasn't training him at that time and he was asked to be in the tournament. Again Sal, you do need to see it. Please watch it soon.


[0:29:34.3] SR: Wait. Who was the sensei then in Karate Kid 3? Or the sensei of Cobra Kai?


[0:29:38.2] JC: Terry Silver.


[0:29:39.8] SR: What?


[0:29:42.1] JC: Yeah, because Kreese was a little MIA, laying low.


[0:29:45.6] SR: We meet Terry Silver in Karate Kid 3?


[0:29:48.9] JC: You’ve got to see this.


[0:29:49.9] SR: I got to see Karate Kid 3 now.


[0:29:51.2] JC: Now is the tournament up to the standard of what we're used to? No. In fact, I have a lot of bones to pick with Karate Kid 3’s tournament. I'll save that for that special episode. The movie is worth seeing.


[0:30:05.0] SR: I will. I will. I'm going to see Karate Kid 3. I got to. Hell, I might even watch the cartoon, The Karate Kid cartoon.


[0:30:10.5] JC: Well, I know I'm going to that next.


[0:30:12.0] SR: Yeah, I might. I’m just going to watch all of it.


[0:30:14.2] JC: He tells them that Cobra Kai teaches power and that you can get caught up in it. My analogy is always to the dark side. The students take this in. The ex-Cobra Kai students totally understand this.


[0:30:27.9] SR: Yeah, and you know what? This is also reminiscent of when didn't Johnny say at one time in his class, “I was once like you,” right? A nerd, or a geek, or an outcast.


[0:30:38.4] JC: Still got babes though.


[0:30:39.5] SR: Yeah. I still got babes though. This is now Daniel saying to his students, “It wasn't so much that I used to be a member of Cobra Kai. The real message is I used to be just where you are. I was where you were. I was you.”


[0:30:52.3] JC: He was lacking a sensei at that point in time.


[0:30:55.5] SR: Because Miyagi had died.


[0:30:56.5] JC: No, no, no. Miyagi just chose not to train Daniel for another tournament.


[0:31:01.3] SR: Oh, I see. I need to watch Karate Kid 3. Listeners, watch Karate Kid, Karate Kid 2 and Karate Kid 3.


[0:31:07.6] JC: Listen to our special episodes.


[0:31:09.1] SR: Yeah. Let's Talk Cobra Kai special episode of Karate Kid is available to listen to right now.


[0:31:13.5] JC: It sure is.


[0:31:14.7] SR: Yeah. Be sure to tune into that.


[0:31:16.3] JC: Now we're back at Cobra Kai dojo and Miguel's training as Tory walks in and he shares his concerns about Kreese.


[0:31:23.9] SR: Yeah, he talks about the no mercy concept. Tory shares the story about her mother that used to work at a restaurant, that used to bring the leftover food home to the family, but when she was found out, she was fired. Her analogy or her reasoning is the world doesn't show mercy, so why should you? Uh, I'm almost so jaded enough in life where I almost agree with that thing.


[0:31:48.1] JC: She's been hardened.


[0:31:49.0] SR: Yeah. You know what? It's rough out there. The world is a tough place. You got to survive. The world ain't showing us no mercy, so why should we show mercy? Yeah, it's one of those things where a tough world makes you tough, or a cold world makes you cold. It's a tough place to be and it is going to that dark side. It really is. You start to go towards the darkness. You start to at least face the darkness. Maybe you're not entering it like Darth Vader, but you're starting to face in that direction. I recommend you be careful.


[0:32:18.6] JC: Now back at Miyagi-Do dojo, Demetri and Chris have solved the problem.


[0:32:24.4] SR: They used the fulcrum technique. This pivot point is like an axis for lifting the weight. These guys developed a little tool using the fulcrum, using an axis to lift up this –


[0:32:36.5] JC: Giant boulder.


[0:32:37.8] SR: Yeah. I'm sure it weighs at least 600. At least 500.


[0:32:40.2] JC: Using leverage. You couldn't get enough people to get good hands, good control to lift it up. They tried a much weaker prop earlier, like a weak stick or something and –


[0:32:49.3] SR: Yeah, and it just broke.


[0:32:50.2] JC: Broke. You need the right thing, the right axis point as you say and they got it to work. They put the big boulder back in place.


[0:32:57.9] SR: Daniel’s words, as a team anything is possible. Daniel’s not only teaching individuals karate, but creating a team, creating a Miyagi-Do community. That's what he's trying to do here.


[0:33:13.1] JC: At the next All Valley tournament, it's going to be a great showdown with Miyagi-Do dojo, which is now represented by more than just Robby and they're a strong team, verse a well-oiled Cobra Kai squad. Just think about it, Sal.


[0:33:30.2] SR: Wow, the 2020, or would it be the 2019?


[0:33:33.2] JC: 2019.


[0:33:34.2] SR: The 2019 All Valley.


[0:33:36.1] JC: Yes.


[0:33:37.3] SR: Yeah. That's going to be pretty interesting.


[0:33:39.1] JC: The 51st anniversary.


[0:33:40.7] SR: Miguel defending his title.


[0:33:42.5] JC: Yes.


[0:33:43.7] SR: Well, who's the top pick on Miyagi-Do, would be Robby to fight. All right.


[0:33:49.5] JC: The oddsmakers are going crazy now. Now we're at the Cobra Kai campsite and Tommy and Johnny catch up.


[0:33:57.4] SR: I don't know where the other guys are. They're out doing whatever. Maybe they're asleep.


[0:34:02.0] JC: Making a tent, making some food. I don't know.


[0:34:04.8] SR: For some reason, I imagine them playing cards. I don't know why I imagine that.


[0:34:07.2] JC: Maybe they’re playing cards.


[0:34:07.9] SR: They're off and it's just Tommy –


[0:34:08.8] JC: It’s just Bobby and Jimmy, so you know. Tommy shares that he was in love with Ali their freshman year.


[0:34:16.8] SR: What's funny is when he says, “I want to share something with you. I want to tell you something,” I was not expecting – I was expecting anything, but that.


[0:34:23.1] JC: I totally agree.


[0:34:24.2] SR: Yeah. Yeah, he says he was in love with Ali in their freshman year. Wait, in their freshman year when Tommy was in love with Ali, was that before Johnny got together with Ali?


[0:34:32.3] JC: Yeah, he says that, “But you came along later and made a move first.”


[0:34:36.8] SR: Oh, okay. That's funny. That reminds me of when I was in high school, one of my high school girlfriends named Jessica, my friend Albert and I are at the bus stop waiting for the bus, we see Jessica. We didn't know her. I said, “Oh, she's so cute.” He said, “Are you going to go talk to her?” I go, “I don't know.” He said to me – I’ll never forget. He said, “If you don't go talk to her, I'm going to go talk to her.” I was like, “Oh, okay.” Then I made my move and then Jessica and I dated for a while.


[0:35:00.4] JC: There you go.


[0:35:01.4] SR: Yeah. You have those moments where your friend – what would have happened if I didn't make my move? Albert would have made his move and Albert would have dated Jessica, instead of me? Holy cow.


[0:35:11.5] JC: It's a nice exchange between these two, because Johnny shares that he never really let someone get close to him after Ali. He's been harboring a lot of bad feelings since high school, regret if you will. Tommy says to him, “You still have time.” The one thing that Tommy does not have.


[0:35:29.3] SR: Yeah, and this is one of these moments where as a viewer and as a fan, you just got to reflect on your own life. If you're young, you think you're going to live forever, right? As you get older and you see that clock and that calendar flipping quicker, that's when your mortality kicks in. Otherwise when you're young, no. You don't know it. You don't think about it.


[0:35:49.0] JC: What's beautiful that Tommy and the situation or state that he's in, it's still comforting Johnny and he looks up to him. He's champ. They admire Johnny. That’s really nice.


[0:36:03.7] SR: Johnny's been carrying this with him this heartbreak from high school, carrying that with him all these years. I couldn't even imagine that. I will say that as much heartbreak as I've had in my life, giving and receiving, I don't think I'm carrying much pain from high school, yet Johnny still carries that from high school. Holy cow. That's a burden.


[0:36:24.7] JC: I mean, that's the story that these creators wrote. I mean, in reality, Johnny loses the fight against Daniel in ’84, but gives Daniel the trophy, right?


[0:36:35.3] SR: Yes.


[0:36:36.7] JC: Right then and there, let's just call it Karate Kid 1, there's no other Karate Kid films or no TV show, you assume that hey, he learned a lot there. That kid was a jerk, he was a bully, he has respect for Daniel. Hopefully he's on the right side of things now. 


Cut to Karate Kid 2, he gets beaten up by his sensei and his trophy destroyed in the parking lot. That may have changed him. They chose to give the guy the sad reality, regret. My world is Johnny grew up and married another girl and had a great life. It's an interesting take. They made him have 35 years of regret, because he lost Ali. He obviously got married.

[0:37:20.3] SR: Had a son.


[0:37:21.0] JC: Had a son as he's spoken about in previous episodes. Never showed up to be part of that. Ran at the bottle. Didn’t know how to be a dad, because he didn't have a dad.


[0:37:30.0] SR: Mourning his mother as his son is being born.


[0:37:32.2] JC: Exactly. All of that. It's interesting choice that they made and they have crafted a really interesting character through that. It's a tough pill to swallow to see someone take 35 years of regret and amazed that he's still standing. He could’ve easily drank himself to death, or had a much worse life.


[0:37:53.8] SR: Well, what's interesting is when you look at all the parallels that take place in the Karate Kid in Cobra Kai universes respectively and you watch Karate Kid 2, you see Miyagi had carried stuff with them. Do we all carry stuff with us?


[0:38:08.2] JC: No, that's a good point. He sure did. There was some scenes in the Karate Kid Part 2 that were very touching, but we'll save that. You're right. It's a real interesting way to take it, because they gave Daniel and we've talked about this before as well, seemingly a better life.


[0:38:23.7] SR: Yeah, seemingly, sure.


[0:38:25.3] JC: Financially, sure. Family, sure. They're both still a little off-balance.


[0:38:32.4] SR: Well, in Karate Kid 2 we hear Daniel talk about the death of his father, which we didn't hear about in Karate Kid, nor have we heard about in Cobra Kai.


[0:38:40.9] JC: He just talked about how he lost his father.


[0:38:43.5] SR: Yeah. We get to hear about his father, period.


[0:38:46.2] JC: Right. Because you don't learn a lot about his father in Karate Kid 2.


[0:38:49.0] SR: No. You get to hear him speak of his father at least.


[0:38:51.3] JC: Yeah. He wasn’t left. He didn’t leave his mother and he don’t have this dead-beat dad.


[0:38:55.8] SR: He got to be with his dad as the dad was dying, which is pretty powerful.


[0:38:59.2] JC: We still don’t know who Johnny’s father was.


[0:39:01.6] SR: No. I keep wanting to think his father is Kreese, but we’ll see.


[0:39:05.2] JC: Maybe you don't want to think that.


[0:39:06.5] SR: Maybe I don't want to, but I'm just wondering, he's the usual suspect in a situation like this. Well ,who else would Johnny's dad be besides Kreese? I hope I'm wrong.


[0:39:15.8] JC: It's a really great moment between Tommy and Johnny and probably one of Tommy's last. As I've already said, Tommy has nothing but respect for Johnny and it's really sweet, that after all these years they still hold one another in high regard.


[0:39:31.4] SR: Yeah. Very special and touching scene. I'm all about the outdoors and campfires. It was a real, real cool scene.


[0:39:38.2] JC: I mean, it's sad that Tommy's not surrounded by family at this point in time, which leads you to believe there is no family for Tommy.


[0:39:44.5] SR: Yeah, you can wonder where his family's at. Does he have any kids? Does he have a wife, an ex-wife, anybody? Yeah. I guess if you're hanging out with your old high school buddies at your 11th hour, that's it. That's what you got.


[0:39:56.5] JC: That was one of his last requests. Now we're back at Miyagi-Do dojo and the places is – it’s back to normal. Daniel leads the class in unison in some kata.


[0:40:08.1] SR: Yeah. The dojo’s back to normal. It's all fixed up. It's all –


[0:40:10.6] JC: It’s beautiful.


[0:40:11.7] SR: Okay. The vandalism has been taken care of.


[0:40:14.0] JC: Wiped clean. Whitewash the vandalism. They've brought team unity and Miyagi-Do dojo has never been stronger.


[0:40:21.7] SR: Well, there's never been this many dedicated students ever.


[0:40:24.3] JC: No. They blew their registration away.


[0:40:27.3] SR: What are we up to? About 12 now? 10 and 12 students, I think.


[0:40:30.4] JC: Yeah, it could be 10 to 12 students. Now we cut back to Cobra Kai dojo and Miguel apologizes to Kreese.


[0:40:38.6] SR: Yeah. I didn't like seeing that. I didn't like seeing Miguel doing that, because Miguel's a good person. Miguel wants to do the right thing. Miguel's not Hawk. I like Hawk. Hawk has his troubles obviously and I'm mad at Hawk for trashing the Miyagi dojo. Miguel, I think is – he's a little bit of a better person, I think, a little more introspective maybe. 


When he went up and apologized to Kreese, I think because Miguel thought he did something wrong. Miguel thought, “Oh, I should not be trashing my sensei, or my sensei’s sensei.” Miguel wanted to do the right thing, apologize to Kreese as Kreese is doing arm curls. Those were about I think 30s. 25s, 30s. He's doing his arm curls there.


Because the thing of it is it's not so much that Miguel apologizes, it's who he's apologizing to and how the person he just apologized to will use that apology against him later in some way, in some manipulative fashion. When you apologize to Kreese, Kreese has you and that's where I don't want Miguel or anybody to be.


[0:41:41.0] JC: Yeah, he says, “It's okay to be loyal to Johnny, but he's a little messed up and we’ll get him on the right track.”


[0:41:47.9] SR: Yeah. This is almost like him putting his arm around. I'm like, “Hey, you and I both together will help Johnny.” Another is come onto my side, come onto my team and we'll help Johnny. You and me together.


[0:41:59.6] JC: He's confused. I mean, Johnny initially taught him this way, changed his tune after the tournament and Robby's involvement. Miguel and Hawk and others started to see the difference. They're very impressionable. They see Johnny teach one way and then change his mind and Kreese is going back and saying, “No, no, no. That was the right way. Let's get back over here on this side.” They don't know what to do, but they're thinking, “Yeah, that makes sense.”


[0:42:25.7] SR: Well, he's introduced as your sensei’s sensei.


[0:42:27.9] JC: Yeah, so obviously he knows the way he created this. Johnny's not here. He entrusted him to run the show, so sure, we'll go do that. It's tough. It's dangerous.


[0:42:38.1] SR: I remember once I was in a position between my mother and grandmother. My mother and grandmother were fighting and I was standing in the middle like, “Huh? What do I do?” I just stayed out of it. It's those confusing moments where you’re like, “Well, we're on the same team, but this is my sensei, but this is my sensei’s sensei, so it's like your grandparent and all.” Yeah, it could be confusing for the students.


[0:43:00.9] JC: Miguel is good-hearted and there's some things that he recognizes that aren't right. I meant just to see how Miguel progresses through this. I wouldn't be shocked if Miguel trained at Miyagi-Do.


[0:43:12.5] SR: Wow.


[0:43:12.9] JC: Now I don't know if that's going to happen. There's so many things that could happen in this season and in season three. One thing I have learned is prepare to be surprised.


[0:43:23.3] SR: Yeah. Cobra Kai is good for delivering those surprises that make me back up.


[0:43:28.4] JC: Robby and Miguel both switch dojos. Mind-blown.


[0:43:32.7] SR: Wow. Yeah, it could happen. Anything can happen.


[0:43:35.1] JC: They show up at the All Valley ready to go and then they switch teams somehow. I don't know.


[0:43:41.4] SR: It's interesting. It could happen.


[0:43:42.7] JC: They're pushing the envelope on this show and I greatly appreciate it.


[0:43:45.9] SR: No, what you see is that the possibilities are endless. Things can go in any direction.


[0:43:51.2] JC: We're back at the Cobra Kai campsite, ex-Cobra Kai campsite and Tommy isn't waking up. You have Bobby and Jimmy yelling, trying to wake Tommy up, while Johnny is waking up just on his own and realizes what's going on.


[0:44:07.8] SR: I was a little surprised by their reactions, because he's not waking up, but what was the reason why you took him out of hospice in the first place?


[0:44:15.2] JC: I know, but no one wants to see it happen on their watch, right? If there's a chance to revive someone, you're going to try. No, I don't think they have any notion about Tommy living that much longer. They're also in the middle of an incredible adventure, relatively speaking. You're always going to try to revive someone.


[0:44:35.9] SR: They didn't do any CPR.


[0:44:37.9] JC: No. They called 911. That goes into motion while we cut back to the Cobra Kai dojo and Kreese gives a speech as we cut back and forth between the campsite, as they try to revive Tommy, as well as shots at Miyagi-Do. Sal, this is a really beautiful sequence scored by The Show Must Go On by Queen. It's a very powerful montage.


[0:45:05.0] SR: Well, not to mention, I think where the show is going at this very moment. They haven't delved there yet. They haven't touched that yet.


[0:45:12.7] JC: No.


[0:45:13.4] SR: We're getting into death now. They haven't gone there yet, right?


[0:45:16.5] JC: Nobody.


[0:45:17.5] SR: Not in Cobra Kai.


[0:45:18.7] JC: I mean, Mr. Miyagi passed away, but we went to a grave site. We weren't there to see his passing.


[0:45:24.1] SR: Okay. Yeah. This is hard to watch on many levels, because there's the backstory of not only Tommy, but also Rob Garrison. We're starting to get to a real –


[0:45:35.8] JC: Yeah, this is an incredible sequence. Kreese begins his speech, which is Cobra Kai is not a hobby. It's not a club. Cobra Kai is your brothers and your sisters. You're all Cobra Kais for life, because Cobra Kai never dies. While that speech is being delivered and the song is playing underneath it, we are cutting to see what the EMTs are working on Tommy.


[0:46:02.8] SR: Yeah, checking his pulse, trying to see if there's any signs of life.


[0:46:05.3] JC: Because they're trying and Bobby, Johnny and Jimmy, they're all standing by. It's a lot to take in. I mean, to actually see death happen, that we're just hanging out and having a great day with Tommy. This seemed comes to a head as the EMTs pronounced his death. Not verbally, but just visually, because the song score is drowning out anything else. As Kreese speaks that last line, Cobra Kai never dies, they zip up Tommy in a body bag.


[0:46:42.7] SR: Yeah, which was a metaphor for the true fan and aficionado, you'll catch that. I must admit, I have to admit to the listeners to be fair, Jason caught it, I did not catch it. It's a throwback to the line from the Karate Kid when Tommy yells out, “Put him in a body bag.” Now here is Tommy being zipped up in an actual body bag.


[0:47:05.7] JC: Respectfully.


[0:47:07.0] SR: Yeah. Then Rob Garrison who plays Tommy actually dies shortly thereafter.


[0:47:13.4] JC: Yeah, he passed away. September 27th, 2019.


[0:47:18.4] SR: I don't think the producers knew he was battling any illnesses. I don't think Rob Garrison knew. Nobody forecasted this, but this thing is so eerie.


[0:47:29.2] JC: Or even if they did know, I mean, how moving is this, how sad, but how poetic to just play out Tommy's – Not many people in the Karate Kid-Cobra Kai universe get to play out their death on screen. I mean, Mr. Miyagi, he went on and made a fourth Karate Kid film without Daniel and the gang, but he passed away years later. They beautifully bring him in and out of scenes, but they had Daniel visit their gravesite, which was just wonderfully done. This is the first time I've ever seen something like this happen.


[0:48:00.7] SR: I was very happy to hear that based on when this was shot, based on when it aired, based on when Rob passed away that Rob was able to see this.


[0:48:10.2] JC: Yes, because they must have filmed this in 2018, came out in spring of 2019 and he passed away in September. Yes, he got to see this episode. I’m sure it was just riveting for him and all of his friends and family and then for him to pass. It's like, “Oh, my gosh. We just saw him pass in this beautiful episode.” I mean, this ended incredibly powerful and moving. If you know the song Queen, it just makes your hair on your back of your neck stand up. It's a very impactful scene.


[0:48:40.3] SR: Yeah, it was – I'm one of these people that will sit through things that are hard to sit through. This was hard to sit through. It was it was hard to see, again knowing the backstory with Rob, hard to watch him pass away onscreen, knowing that he passes away shortly thereafter. Very hard to watch. I'll tell you a beautiful send-off by Cobra Kai. I mean, not only for Rob Garrison the actor, but for the character Tommy to die under the stars at Big Bear Lake surrounded by your old friends. I couldn't think of much better ways to go.


[0:49:12.5] JC: Yeah. They did an amazing job.


[0:49:14.1] SR: Yeah, it was really fantastic.


[0:49:15.8] JC: I just hope that he was incredibly proud of it. He was great in the episode and had he lived longer, I would have liked to seen him in future episodes, if they brought the Cobra Kai gang back. Maybe they will with Bobby and Jimmy as Cobra Kai goes on.


[0:49:31.5] SR: It was my understanding that – I believe I did read an article that says they did plan to bring him back in some way before. I guess they went to the death though, or unless we're going to do flashbacks.


[0:49:42.2] JC: Yeah, they could do that.


[0:49:43.8] SR: We’re going to do some flashbacks, but they were going to have Tommy back on the show for more scenes.


[0:49:48.6] JC: Wow. Rob Garrison, wonderful job. You will be missed greatly.


[0:49:53.8] SR: Yeah, rest in peace.


[0:49:54.8] JC: Rest in peace. That's the end of another amazing episode of Cobra Kai.


[0:50:00.5] SR: Yeah. Talk about an emotional roller coaster.


[0:50:03.0] JC: Man. Whoo! Four left, Sal, in season 2.


[0:50:09.1] SR: I just want to – you know when you watch a show, it's called binge watching. I just want to binge podcast.


[0:50:14.6] JC: That's it.


[0:50:15.7] SR: Let's just bang out.


[0:50:17.3] JC: Knock it out.


[0:50:17.9] SR: Let's binge watch the four episodes and then just bang out the four episodes on a binge podcast. Has that been done?


[0:50:24.9] JC: Probably.


[0:50:27.9] SR: Oh, man. I'm besides myself. I don't even know. I'm at a loss of what even to expect anymore, or for this season. I mean, I don't even know what's going to happen, where do you go from here?


[0:50:37.1] JC: Expect the unexpected. That should be the tagline for Cobra Kai. Thanks so much for listening. We greatly appreciate it if you could subscribe and rate us on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify or wherever you get your podcast. If you have the time to leave us a short review, it would truly help us as well.


[0:50:57.0] SR: We also encourage our listeners to follow us on social media at Let's Talk Cobra Kai for Facebook and Instagram and @TalkCobraKai on Twitter. If you have any questions, that's a great place to message us.


[0:51:09.8] JC: Lastly, you can now become an official supporter of Let's Talk – Cobra Kai on Patreon. You can stream every episode, as well as our other shows from our website, which is justcuriousmedia.com. Thanks so much.


[0:51:24.0] SR: No mercy.

Podcasts we love