The Right Path
Episode 4 of Cobra Kai Season 3 begins in Japan as Daniel pitches his dealership to Dayona. Unfortunately the deal has already been done and things certainly look bleak for Daniel’s dealership. With Daniel struggling, he decides to visit Tomi Village which, of course, is Mr Miyagi’s hometown. Times have changed though and now the place is a bustling, commercialized hotspot for shops and customers. Through a cheeky bout of product placement, we see a number of brands have moved in and made it their own. Among those still in the village is Kumiko who used to be Daniel’s old romantic flame. They sit together and catch up on what’s happened before reading out old love letters written by Mr Miyagi… including one sent a week before Miyagi died. They toast to Daniel’s future, as Kumiko promises that things will work out. Only, he’s interrupted by Chozen showing up. Back at Cobra Kai, Kreese rallies the troops into training; play smart and you’ll always come out on top. This much is especially true at school when Demetri’s science project is destroyed by Hawk. Hostilities continue at school as Sam and Hawk look set to explode at any moment. Instead, they decide to channel that into a football game where they intentionally tackle their opponents to the ground every chance they get. That eventually leads them straight over to the Principal’s Office. At the hospital, Johnny learns Miguel’s surgery was successful but it’s still unknown whether he’ll walk again or not. Johnny heads up to see Robby instead, who’s currently doing community service. At the soup kitchen, Johnny and Robby come to blows again, leading to him telling his Father to leave. While drowning his sorrows in alcohol, Kreese arrives to talk to Johnny. He tries recruiting him back to Cobra Kai but when he mentions Miguel, Johnny threatens to kill him if he goes near the kid. Instead, Kreese turns his attention to another member of Johnny’s family – Robby.
The Episode Review
Cobra Kai’s latest episode takes us back through time as we see fragments of the Karate Kid films interspersed throughout Daniel’s journey to Okinawa. Interestingly, the episode doubles up as a commentary on commercialism although the product placement is a little jarring and in your face. Despite that, the show continues to weave its character drama around John Kreese being the ultimate antagonist while both Johnny and Daniel try to deal with their own personal demons. With Chozen showing up at the end, it leaves the door wide open for a conflict between Daniel and him to spark back up after all these years. For now though, Cobra Kai bows out with another decent episode.
