44: "Ex-Degenerate" (S6E15)

[00:00:04] Podcastica Ladies and gentlemen, I present the grand trophy to the winners of this year's Sekai Taika. Now officially, the world's number one dojo, Cobra Kai.

[00:01:17] Hey everybody, welcome to the podcast. I'm Jason. And I'm Richard. And I'm Rima. And this is Cobra Kai Cast. This week, for the last time, we're covering Cobra Kai Season 6 Episode 15, Ex-Degenerate. It's a somber occasion. Oh.

[00:01:39] I was, you know, when a show ends, sometimes I feel like super, it's ridiculous, but really sad. Like when Lost ended, I felt like I'd been through a breakup for a couple weeks after. You felt lost? I did. I felt hurt. And Cheers, that really got me. Cheers, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:02:08] I just felt like I just didn't want it to end. It was like, no. So good. Better Call Saul is another one. This one, I don't feel like that as much because it was so satisfying and it felt like the right time to end it because they won the world championship. I think if they would have extended it past now, it kind of would have felt like stretching it out past its time, you know? Yeah. I don't know.

[00:02:34] Maybe I'll feel differently after this podcast or something, but I am feeling kind of sad, but I'm more just like, yeah, this is the time. Yeah. I don't know. Yeah. That probably plays a part. You're right. I think with, if they had either cut it too short, you know, like let's say it got canceled too early and we didn't get to wrap it up in a satisfying way. Cause after season five ended, they weren't sure that we're going to get a sixth for a while there. Yeah. Yeah. So I think that plays a part.

[00:03:03] I mean, I feel kind of sad that this is like, we don't get any more new episodes, but at the same time, like, well, it's, there's nothing I don't think left to tell. So yeah, it's satisfying and it's okay, but it is kind of just like, oh man, it's, you know, when you, you know, just talking before we started recording, like, gosh, you know, back when we started, you know, and, and how, how long we've been doing it and didn't feel that long because, you know, having a good time doing it. So it feels kind of sad to wrap it up in that way. Yeah.

[00:03:34] Yeah, absolutely. It's a good time. And, uh, I always look forward to the podcast and the show and now that's gone. Well, we got one more left to go. And, uh, who wants to read the plot summary? Anybody? I, it's the final one. I think you should. This is all been, I should do it. Why don't we all say a word and then you say a word. Okay. Okay.

[00:04:04] Cobra Kai season six, episode 15 X degenerate. As Johnny prepares for his fight against sensei wolf, Daniel and chosen to help him train. Daniel reassures Johnny that win or lose. He's already won in life because he has a family that cares about him. On the day of the fight, Wolf taunts Johnny in the locker room, trying to get under his skin. When Johnny attempts to strike him, Wolf easily overpowers him and continues to manipulate him psychologically, boasting about his dominance over Johnny and his family.

[00:04:32] During the match, Wolf initially gains the upper hand scoring two points while using illegal moves to weaken Johnny. Between rounds, Daniel delivers a motivational speech drawing from Cobra Kai's aggressive philosophy to ignite Johnny's confidence. With renewed determination, Johnny fights back engaging in a fierce exchange of blows before ultimately scoring the winning points. Yay. As a result, Cobra Kai is crowned the champion dojo of the Sakai Tai Kai.

[00:05:01] Sometime later, Johnny moves into a new home with Carmen and his mother, Laura, while Miguel, Sam, Dimitri, Hawk, Robbie, Tori and Chozen continue on their respective journeys. Meanwhile, Johnny and Daniel now fully united as senseis combine the teachings of Cobra Kai and Miyagi-Do to train the next generation of students. Lovely. Dun, dun, dun. So what did you guys think of the finale?

[00:05:29] Did it, did it light your fire? It did. I thought it was the perfect ending to a glorious run of 65 episodes. Daniel, Johnny and everyone else involved in their karate journey, taking us all the way to the ending. I'm, uh, you know what else too? I'm, I'm just really glad I had like a solid ending. You know what I mean? It's like, there was no ambiguity. Everybody's story came to an end.

[00:05:57] There was no setup for a spinoff or nothing like that. It was just a nice, solid, happy ending for the whole family. Yeah. That's what I like the most about it. Yeah. I mean, we watch a lot of shows where I like things to be kind of ambiguous and gray area. This isn't one of them. Nope. This is a comforting show. They addressed everything.

[00:06:26] What do you think Rima? I agree. I was completely satisfied. I think that it wrapped up everyone's story nicely. Honestly, I'm glad I had a happy ending. I mean, I think it was, even though it felt kind of predictable, uh, you know, that Johnny would win. It was still great to see because you still got to go through the journey and it wasn't like easy. So we still had like a whole journey to, to get there. And I think they wrapped up everything really nicely.

[00:06:56] The only downside was watching it after we had recorded the last episode that we had did. So I'm in bed. It was bedtime for me. And I was so pumped that I couldn't hardly go to sleep after like, between, between being super pumped up with all the action, um, and all the feel goodness. And then lots of, lots of tears as well. There were a lot of tears shed. Um, I was like, well now I can't sleep. So that was like maybe the one downside.

[00:07:24] I was just watching it again today to get ready. And I, I get more emotional watching this show than any show we podcast on. It's fucking ridiculous. I'm just like, Oh my God, this is so good. And I'm like, God, I always think about all the people, you know, who like podcasts, but didn't bother with this show cause it's so different.

[00:07:48] And I don't know, I guess it's probably just not some people's thing, but I'm like, you're missing out, man. It's so good. I mean, I don't see how you can't be emotional. It's made me question some of my likes because I'm a huge fan of the star Trek franchise, but I've never felt these emotions watching star Trek. I'm like, does star Trek suck? Oh no. Question all your life choices. Yeah.

[00:08:15] I mean, they just know how to get you revved up on this show. The show runners did such a great job at hooking us in and getting us to care. And then like making us think that I'm even, even though it is predictable, it's just, it's very, they're very good at framing everything in a way that you feel so triumphant when it goes well. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:08:40] I mean, even though, I mean, I know I said predictable, there's a lot of things that happen in the show that are, that you can predict, but it doesn't, doesn't make it less satisfactory. It still gives you enough challenges, you know, that like, Oh, will, will they pull this off? You know, will, will this go well? Will this go their way? It's still for me anyway, makes me still question sometimes like, Oh crap, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe it's not going to turn out. Yeah.

[00:09:04] Well, they did the whole thing where Daniel talked about Rocky and how Rocky lost. And, but it was okay. It felt like a win because he gave it his all. He's trying to cheer Johnny up, like not to take the pressure off. But the, the main reason why I think Daniel was saying that was to make us think that maybe Johnny could actually lose because we all presume he will win.

[00:09:31] So when he said that, I thought, nah, I think they're just trying to trick us and he's just going to win of course. Right. But it still left that little kernel of doubt, you know? Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Just in the back of your mind there. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. It did for me. Well, this show, building upon what you just said, Rima, you care for the characters, you know? I think maybe I'm like, you care for characters in other shows. It's been such a long journey.

[00:09:59] You've watched them grow and, and, and meet all these challenges and, and stuff, you know? Like, like, like case in point, like, like the very opening scene when you see a, like a disheveled Johnny, maybe drunk, walking and drinking, uh, before you knew anything else. That scared the shit out of me. Cause the first thing I thought was, oh no, he lost. Yeah. Yeah. This is the aftermath. I don't know. Oh, Johnny! Yeah.

[00:10:29] I cared so much for the guy. I was like deathly afraid. All right. Let's get into our points. Rima, you want to go first? Sure. Um, golly, I don't even know where I want to start. Um, you know, I'm just going to go ahead and jump into it. Let's talk about the final fight, final fight ever of Cobra Kai. Uh, cause you know, for, for me, it's all been about Johnny.

[00:10:55] Um, so just referencing the, the, the callback that you were just talking about, Richard, um, you know, getting, getting that flashback. It was, I think a really good reminder of where Johnny was when we met him way back in season one, episode one, um, and how low he was in life and seeing like where he's at now.

[00:11:24] Cause I mean, Daniel made a point and I think a good one, when he was talking about Rocky and telling him like, you know, no matter what, you've got your family, you have us, you have people that care about you and you still have that after the fight, like win or lose, it doesn't matter. So seeing him at that super low where he didn't have anyone in his life and was feeling like such a loser. Um, and then the difference in today was, I thought a really great way to kind of

[00:11:54] bring everything back full circle. So I thought that was really great and kind of going in with that mindset, um, into this fight. Um, so getting into the fight itself, like that's just the kind of foundation of what I'm talking about. That's why I'm starting there because he gets his confidence really rocked pretty hard with, with sensei wolf, you know, in the locker room and he's already feeling

[00:12:18] kind of shaken, you know, in his warmups with, um, chosen and Daniel, you know, he's, he's shaken at his core. Um, and so going into the fight, that's still his mindset. Like they're not getting through to him as far as like getting his confidence up. Um, so getting into the fight, like when we, they had the Psychei Taikai and in Spain and the fight just broke out among everyone

[00:12:44] and Johnny got rocked by Wolf. Like he got badly beaten, didn't get one hit in. We saw him start to mouth off and then just get whacked in the face. And that was really funny. But also it was just like, Oh wow, he, this guy's way better than Johnny. And I, I didn't even consider, Oh, that's going to be important later because this is part of what shakes Johnny's confidence. You know, like they flash

[00:13:10] back to that a couple of times, you know, it adds to the tension of the moment. Cause as Johnny says, this is the first time he's like, not sure that he could win. Yeah, that was a really good. Um, I'm glad that they kind of intersected some of those, uh, callbacks to the original because he's had a little taste of that. You know, he's, he's got to feel how hard he can punch. He's already lost. Yeah. Yeah. He's already badly, you know, so he's already got that mindset. Like,

[00:13:39] you know, it's, and it's not just, you know, knowing, Oh, that guy's good. Like he actually went up against him there and knows how good that he is and what a challenge it's going to be for him to overcome. So there was some really great call outs, uh, during the fight. So one of them, you know, when they're, when they're in the middle of that fight and he gets a good punch in on him and Johnny starts bleeding on his mouth, it was a call back to when Daniel, um,

[00:14:08] I think he had got his lip busted whenever he was in the fight with Johnny or no, wait, sorry. That was no, sorry. Other way around. Johnny had got, had started bleeding when Daniel had gotten a hit on him and he went back to crease with his nose bleeding. It was kind of that same, um, thing that he did in this fight, he got his nose busted and Daniel was the one checking him out. So they're, they're still pulling in some callbacks to, um, karate kid, which is, it was really fun. And I, I liked also

[00:14:37] in the fight that Johnny was finally kind of coming to terms with the Miyagi-Do side being patient. That was one of my favorite part. Yeah. Yeah. It was like one of my favorite parts because it was like after all this time and all this fighting back and forth between Daniel and Johnny and this push and pull between my way is right. No, my way is right. Um, that they, that he finally sees both of

[00:15:04] them really see the value in each other's, um, train of thoughts with their dojos. And we get to see it here where they're, you know, starting to borrow each other's ideologies and they're, they're moving on from this, you know, you're the good one or I'm the bad one, or you're the bad one, or I'm the good one. And they go for this interdisciplinary approach with Johnny style of fighting. And he incorporates

[00:15:29] that into this fight, which ends up helping him win. And I think one of the standouts that made this fight, I think so important for Johnny was he went, he won by going against his core belief of strike first. Um, and instead letting Wolf come to him and it, you know, because you see him every time he kept coming back into the fight, he was just charging right at him. Like, that's just what

[00:15:55] he knows. And it's like what he was saying at the end, like offense is what I'm good at. That's my specialty. Um, and that's what he kept doing. But then when he won, it was because he had listened to what Daniel was saying, like, you know, let him come to you. You got to be on balance. And that's, that's what kind of made this whole redemption thing with Johnny perfect because he was able to, you know, come around to that way of thinking and go against his core belief. And instead of

[00:16:21] rushing in to try to score the point, he let Wolf come to him. Um, just like Miguel did in his fight. He took everything that he had learned from Cobra Kai to win and he won by sweeping the leg. So that was super cool. The whole fight was so great. Classic Cobra Kai move. Yeah. I mean that it's, it's, that's his version of the crane kick. But you know, that's, that's, that's Johnny though. It's like, he's not

[00:16:50] flash and pizzazz. He keeps it simple. You know, he's, he's, he's tough and just simple. And that's how, that's what made it really cool is like, that's how he won that was direct. Yeah. Just straight up. He just wants to beat people up. Yeah. Yeah. Stop being a pussy and go kick his ass. No, the whole fight was really great. It was really well choreographed. It did have me scared for a little while thinking, Oh my gosh, you know, is he, is he gonna,

[00:17:18] you know, is he gonna win? And frigging Wolf, Sensei Wolf kept getting in those cheap shots. And I thought he's, he's gonna wear him down. He's gonna hurt him so bad that he's not going to be able to like, maybe pull all the same moves like he normally would. Um, it was, it was a bummer there for a little bit. And it, you know, I felt like people in the crowd, like, Oh no. But the fight, you're right. It was so well choreographed. I, one thing I noticed, and

[00:17:45] probably this is true of all the fights, but for some reason I was really aware of it now. Like when you watch, um, lightsaber battles in Phantom Menace, they're spectacular, but they look like a choreographed dance, you know, everybody, you can tell they know exactly where the movements are going to be. But with the fight between Johnny and Wolf, they did a good job of him sort of fainting, like he's going to go one way, but then not sure. And Oh no, I have to block.

[00:18:12] And it just felt more real. Yeah. Not like a choreographed thing. And it wasn't, they weren't like perfect blocks. If that makes sense too, you know, you'd throw his hand up to block it, but it wasn't like you said, choreographed, nobody was pulling punches, nothing that is just kind of rolled off. Like, you know, I don't, I actually don't know if that's how it works in real life, but it looks good. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It was like,

[00:18:38] choreographed, but not over choreographed. It didn't look perfect. It didn't look super pretty. It did look like a real fight. Yeah. And I think modern fight choreographer, choreographers, choreography for movies, uh, they, they probably know how to make it look like that, you know, because they know that in the past things have looked too polished. So they know how to make it look a little, yeah. Yeah. So it's more real. She's got a hell of a lot of practice

[00:19:07] in this series. That's for sure. But I was going to say, um, also kudos to William Zabka. Jesus. I mean, he's in his sixties, right? I know. That was really him. He's in good shape. Yeah. He was doing a hell of a job. I can only hope for something like that, but I'm in my sixties. I can't even do it. What do you mean? Can't do it now? What are you talking about? You can totally do a round kick. You just have to go run on the beach.

[00:19:35] Come on, let's see it. Well, let me get my chair and I stand on that. Oh my God. That was amazing. You just have to go running on the beach and in running the streets with a crowd behind you and right up on a post and practice the crane kick and a little wax on wax off. You're good to go. Can't even run that far. Yeah, no, that's true. Yeah. I'd be lucky

[00:19:56] to run half a mile now. So, uh, Richard. Okay. I'd like to say a few words about the relationship between Johnny and Daniel. We are gathered here today. No, I'm just kidding. Uh, specifically, I, I've really enjoyed the dialogue between, uh, these two characters hats off to the writers,

[00:20:21] man. The, after so many years of, of, of rivalry is so satisfying to me. I still get a kick on this too. It's so satisfying to hear Johnny and Daniel coming to terms with their past and reminiscing like normal people do in these last few episodes, you know, uh, like for example, in episode 14, last episode, Johnny was saying how he was, he was better than Daniel in the tournament in 84.

[00:20:49] And he lost the tournament because he fought for revenge. You know, he was telling Miguel this and didn't fight to honor everything he learned. And to follow that up in this episode, uh, Daniel tells Johnny just before they go train, you know, uh, yeah, the crane kick only worked because you walked right into it. Yeah. You know, I still got to play. I replay all this dialogue in my head,

[00:21:15] uh, because I just really enjoyed how it was written and how they've come so far together. Another example, uh, for me was Daniel's speech to Johnny. You know, you, you touched on it a little bit, but when he comes over to the sideline and chosen, it's like, you got to say something to him. You got to say something. So Danny's like, well, well, how does Johnny think? What should I say to get into Johnny's head? He's like, stop acting like a little pussy and get out there and kick the living shit out of this asshole. Yes. So good. That was the best. I mean, it's like,

[00:21:45] there's so much, there's so much backstory and hard fought, like compromise between these two totally different personalities and beliefs, you know, and you can see that coming through in these, and all this dialogue. I've said it was great. In fact, I would controversially vote that as probably the best line in the episode, maybe even better than when, yeah, no, that was my favorite moment. Maybe when Daniel said, you know, you're all right, Lawrence, when they were holding up the trophy,

[00:22:12] that was probably a close second, but I think that was my favorite moment. That little speech he, when Daniel decided, like, who would have thought, you know, when Johnny rode up on the beach and saw Daniel flirting with this girl, came down and beat the shit out of him, that 40 years later,

[00:22:35] Daniel would be Johnny's sensei in a world karate tournament using Cobra Kai language and attitudes to motivate him. What? No way. And yet it's perfect, you know, because the show has always like re turn things on its head, recontextualized things. And this was like the ultimate form of that. And it was so satisfying. It was my favorite moment of the episode too. Yeah. Why? It was so good. Loved it.

[00:23:03] So good. And it was perfect. And I mean, that's, and that just shows, you know, like you're talking about their relationship and how far that they've come and how, how they finally understand each other because he knew it wasn't going to be something, you know, Miyagi inspired that got through to Johnny that he, he had to talk to Johnny and, you know, like what he knows and what he understands. And that's what I mean by like the whole interdisciplinary effect, like, you know,

[00:23:31] Johnny taking away what he needs, but then Daniel given him what he needs. He gave him what he needed, but then he had to give him one more talk about holding back or whatever he said. And that's important too. And that goes kind of into my first point, which is Applebee's mystery solved. So if you guys, I'll just go through in case people forgot,

[00:23:58] because this has been an ongoing thing in this show. In season one, Johnny's arguing with his stepfather, Sid, who just bailed him out of jail. And Sid said, uh, I think, I think that little incident at Applebee's would have taught you to keep your hands to yourself. And we're like, what? And then in season three, Johnny ends up in jail again. And one of the cops says, holy shit,

[00:24:25] Applebee's guy, but you don't know what they're talking about. Right. And then in season four, uh, he tells Carmen, Johnny tells Carmen, he's ready to tell Miguel about their relationship. And he's like, well, take him to dinner. What's his favorite restaurant. And Carmen's like, oh, he likes Applebee's. Uh, that's not going to work. I had a little incident there once. And Carmen's like, what happened? And he goes, all right, you know how they make that loaded potato soup. But then Miguel came in and interrupted. So we never got the end of the story.

[00:24:57] So in this flashback here, Johnny's visiting his mom's grave and, um, you know, he's there because he's saying, you know, I had it great with the tournaments, but I mean, the whole theme of the series, but ever since Daniel beat him. And then we learned later, probably more importantly, um, crease beat him up in the parking lot. His life has never been the same. He's felt like a loser.

[00:25:22] Right. And he has a chip on his shoulder. We've seen that he's quick tempered and he's quick to fight. Right. And, uh, so he tells, you know, his mom's grave. I got myself into a jam over at Applebee's. The police got involved. It's pretty much even odds. They lock me up. They have this new thing called high definition cameras. You can see me clear as day trying to drown this manager in this hot,

[00:25:48] just, you don't need to know the details. All it took was one asshole calling me a loser to send me off the defense. So for whatever reason, the manager called him a loser and he like tried to drown him in the potato soup, I guess. Right. The loaded soup. So, so, but why this is relevant to what happened in the tournament is because yeah, he needed that Cobra Kai talk to bring back his confidence. But I think

[00:26:17] the series has a lot been about, he also needs that balance. He needs, uh, to have more control over his emotions to not just fly off the handle. Cause it gets him in trouble more often than not, you know, and to not lose his temper. And, and as Daniel said, you walked right into my kick. That's the thing. He walks right into trouble because he can't control himself. And, and, um,

[00:26:43] so now he's using that part, the balance that Daniel teaches like, okay, hold back, let them, um, make the first move. And then I can have more control over it because I'm in control of my emotions. And then he responded by doing the sweep the leg, which is like I said, I think that's kind of the ideas. It's his version of the crane kick. It's the classic, um, Cobra Kai technique. And if he would've used that on Daniel in the original tournament, he only had one leg to stand on. So if he swept

[00:27:12] that and then turned around and probably could have won, you know, so, but he, he didn't have the patience for it. He was all revved up. And, and like he said, you know, bent on revenge in that first tournament. So, so, uh, anyway, I think part of the sort of story of this episode is that Johnny's tempered himself a little bit in a way that makes him more formidable, well-rounded balanced person,

[00:27:37] but, and we'll get into it, but as we see with how he, um, coaches his brand new students at the end, he hasn't changed that much. And we, we love that too. I think. Yes. Yeah. We don't want him to lose his edge. No. All right. What's next? Uh, well, I wanted to talk a little bit about, um, this,

[00:28:04] you know, after everything was, uh, said and done, uh, this new partnership, uh, between, uh, Johnny and Daniel and their dojos. So not only is Cobra Kai, you know, back in operation, uh, with, with Johnny at the helm, which so great. So, so happy, uh, to see his dojo doing really well, but we also get

[00:28:28] Daniel, uh, continuing to run Miyagi-Do, um, really great scene with, you know, him and Amanda when, you know, he's cause he's like, Oh, this is it, you know, wrapping it up. I'm, you know, not going to do this anymore. And they've had so many conversations over the years about how much trouble karate has brought them. Right. Uh, I thought you said you were going to stop. Well,

[00:28:50] after this, yeah, it's always after this, well, after this, um, so, you know, Amanda there at the end kind of being like, you know, who am I kidding? You know, this is, this is who you are and you're so great at it. And it obviously makes Daniel really happy. So he gets to keep running, uh, Miyagi-Do and instead of just having, you know, Cobra Kai and Miyagi-Do, they are separate. They have decided to

[00:29:15] kind of have this joint venture and have like this partnership where, um, kids get to train at each dojo. And it was really great, you know, as Johnny's going through that conversation, you know, like, you know, this is what I'm good at and this is what I'm going to teach you. And yes, we got to see some classic Johnny. It was good to see that, that we haven't really got to see that side of Johnny as that sensei in a little while. So it was really good just to see him, you know, like making fun of the kid,

[00:29:43] you know, with glasses or, you know, Hey, Miguel Diaz might be a national champion now, but he was a dork when he started out here. He was a dork like this guy. Well, maybe not that bad, but still. Yeah. Really just, you know, good old classic. I mean, that's, you're not going to completely change who he is. Has he grown and evolved? Yes. And, and so much for the better, but he is still to

[00:30:09] the core, you know, Johnny, uh, Cobra Kai Johnny. But it was, I thought are such a really great, you know, idea to, to, because I mean, look at how much advantage it's given some of the kids that have trained in both, you know, we had lots of kids that, you know, were Cobra Kai and then they went to Miyagi-Do or maybe back to Cobra Kai. And you can see how, how, um, you know, it gave them an advantage of many times. And then Johnny got to see it for himself too, you know, in his final fight

[00:30:38] and how, you know, he, yes, sticking to some of his core Cobra Kai, um, skills that he learned, but then also bringing in some of that Miyagi-Do and things that Daniel was able to teach him, you know, helped him, you know, um, you know, be a, a great fighter too. So I love this whole idea that they're going to be sharing students. And then they even loan them out like, Hey, I think,

[00:31:01] uh, you know, Devin should, you know, represent your dojo in the all Valley. And Oh, I think this person would be better over here because, you know, they're, they're really strong right now over here. And yeah. So I just, I love that, that they, they get a full well-rounded training where they get to learn the offensive, but then also the defensive as well. So that was one satisfying

[00:31:25] part for me, uh, there at the end was, you know, seeing that they're all still getting to, to be fulfilled. You know, Daniel, I know has a success, successful life and things, but this part really brings, um, him, uh, some fulfillment and Johnny's living his dream with, you know, reviving Cobra Kai and also been able to kind of redeem the name of Cobra Kai to kind of claim it as his own, you know,

[00:31:52] kind of take it back. And so that, that was just, it just really made me happy. Yeah, that was great. Yeah. Let's sort of wonder, like you're a, you're a parent and you're like, okay, I'm going to, I'm going to take my kid to Cobra Kai. They won the championships. This is great. And they're like, yeah. And you're going to, half the time, you're going to have to go over to the other side of town. Get to drive over to this other dojo. Yeah. Okay. Which means because, because Stingray said they were going to open

[00:32:22] another dojo, right? So wouldn't Miyagi-Do also have to open another dojo? Ah, we don't need to think about that. I was wondering how many times, like, can they paint that house? You know, and they, they constantly have these kids coming over. There should be so many coats of paint on there. They should try a different color sometime too. Jeez. Yeah. I was like, how many times can they paint that house? They're going to sand that deck down to nothing. I know. That's right.

[00:32:53] Pretty funny. Rich? Well, we could go over what, where everyone's going in the future. Like, I enjoy that. I enjoy it when they give you, you know, the send off for, for the characters. Sam, Sam was going to Okinawa, right? To do like a one-year education program. And she gets to spend time with Miguel for part of the summer. Yay.

[00:33:21] Until he comes back and goes to Stanford, which he got accepted. That's pretty cool. They both get what they want. Sort of. I mean, interesting to me about that, she, he shows up, you know, and, um, she's wearing the octopus necklace, which he had bought for her. Yeah.

[00:33:44] Because that he won her an octopus on their first date at golf and stuff. So it was a symbol of that. But, um, anyway, um, he's going to go for a month or something. Is that what he said? A couple of weeks? Yeah. A couple of weeks or something. Yeah. Deferred for a couple. Yeah.

[00:34:00] Yeah. So I, I think usually, um, when that, when someone goes away like that, there's a pretty good chance in real life that they'll probably split up. Maybe. I don't know. Maybe I'm being a little pessimistic, but that's what I saw. I forget if I mentioned this on the podcast before, but when I started college and I was in the dorms and I was on a co-ed floor.

[00:34:23] So that it was half girls, half boys. And all of the girls had boyfriends when the semester started. And by the time, uh, we were halfway through, they were all broken up every single one of them. So I guess if there was any ambiguity in this episode, it would be, uh, well, maybe they're not going to stay together.

[00:34:44] Who knows? I mean, yeah. And they're young. So I, I mean, I know probably a lot of people watching would be like, Oh, I hope they get married and that's fine. But I'm just, if you want a little dose of reality, it's okay. If they don't, it happens, you know?

[00:34:59] Yeah. Long distance is hard. When you're young, it's the hardest. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's really hard. And, you know, they're going to be open to a lot of new experiences and people like college is a lot different than like high school and you'll get around so many different people. And yeah. So, but you know, let them, let them have their last little bit, you know, they, they see,

[00:35:28] Yeah, it was nice. They seemed okay. Like it was a real mature moment that Miguel had when he learned that Samantha was, you know, when she got accepted and they seem to kind of accept that. Hmm. This could be the end of our relationship. You know, like, I don't think that they want to break up or anything, but I'm sure that, and I'm sure that they'll try to keep things together, but might just over the natural course of things could just end up drifting apart because

[00:35:58] You know, they're not, and it's okay. Like I said, it's okay if that happens, but you know, they can enjoy it while it lasts. Give them one more adventure together. Yeah. I also thought, so Miguel was all pissy at Robbie because he thought he needed the tournament more because it would help him get into Stanford. And then he won the tournament, but didn't even end up needing it to get into Stanford. Yeah. And then Robbie got a job doing karate, even though he didn't win. I thought that was kind of interesting. Yeah.

[00:36:28] That is interesting. Both got played for their strengths, right? Yeah. Speaking of which, yay for Tori and Robbie. They are now going to have a career in marketing and branding, traveling all over the place with a life-changing base salary, as they put it. I wonder if being right out of high school as they are, they're looking at the base salary and like, they're like, wow, $22 an hour. That's so life-changing. We're going to be rich.

[00:36:59] I remember after we graduated high school, we both got jobs at the Hershey factory because Jason's mom used to work there and we got paid something like 10 or 11 bucks an hour. And I felt the same way. I was like, oh my God, this is so much money. Yeah. Then we, we worked all summer and then we went to Hawaii for like two weeks and spent it all. Oh, to be young. It was supposed to be for college.

[00:37:22] Uh, Dimitri and Hawk off to Caltech. That was a fun scene. I felt the excitement, you know, two kids running off to college like that. And they're wearing their real genius shirts, which is, uh, you know, It's a total callback, I think. Great movie. And it takes place in, um, Caltech. And that car looked familiar too. I couldn't put my finger on it, but something about that car. I don't know.

[00:37:49] That, um, Stingray was driving Johnny's original car that I think he, Oh yeah. The challenger. Yeah. Is that what it was? The challenger. Yeah. Yeah. Uh, of course, Daniel and Johnny getting, well, everything they each desired, like Remo pointed out more karate. But this time I think we can assume with more of a financial and professional success. Right. And chosen travels to see Kim Da-yoon. Yeah.

[00:38:19] She gave, she gave him a pretty welcoming smile. So hopefully that'll work out. Hopefully. Yeah. He doesn't fuck it up. Don't drink too much, man. And of course we already know what happened to the two bad guys. Kreese and Silver, right? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And I, I was thinking about, yeah, just Wolf, right? Where's Silver? But, um, I guess those are the people who died. Meaning when chosen got his tarot reading. Yeah.

[00:38:48] She said to people, you know, will die. I guess it was Kreese and Silver. I thought I would, I thought I would miss him a little bit, Kreese and Silver, but you know, it was actually rather refreshing to not have them trying to mess things up in this very last episode. I didn't, I didn't mind it at all. Yeah. They got a pretty good send off. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:39:11] I, one of the things I loved about the montage part of it, you know, when you see Johnny, um, taking Carmen up to their new house and see Demetri and Hawk and everything. Well, first off, so I'm going to go through the whole fight too, but one moment that really got me, I was already like feeling super awesome and Johnny wins. And then all of a sudden in comes, um, sweet child of mine. Yeah. And I was like, that's Riva's song.

[00:39:42] I totally thought about you. And then when they're doing the, um, montage showing what's going on, you know, Axel is going, where do we go? Where do we go now? And it's showing where they all go. Yeah. They timed it out really nicely. Yeah. The show has a good pace. Good pacing. Yeah. I can imagine what they have to pay in like music licensing. Cause they've, they've had some, so much great music in, in the show.

[00:40:10] And I'm like, Oh, what'd they have to pay for that? Yeah. We brought it up. Well done. We got, we got the song. You're the best too. Yeah. That that's my next point. Should I go into it? Yeah. Yeah. So yeah, man, we got it. And I love that. Um, we were all like, when are they going to play that song? I'm probably for years. We've been saying, ah, they'll probably save it for the last one. And then we got right up to the last one and we weren't even like that much going, what if they don't play it?

[00:40:40] We're like, yeah, it's going to happen. It has to. I told it. And I totally thought of you. I was like, Oh, Jason got it. He was, he was asking about it. Yeah. Yeah. So, um, first the, it's while they're training on the beach and, uh, Daniel and Johnny, and it's all, I feel like an echo of Rocky and Apollo. Totally. And it's, it's very appropriate. He just mentioned Rocky and Rocky and Apollo become friends later on.

[00:41:07] Um, the song you're the best around. I feel like I was thinking it's kind of like karate kids. I have the tiger, which is the song they play when Rocky and Apollo were training. But then that song was actually written for Rocky three, but it was replaced by eye of the tiger. That's all you're the best of the round. You're the best was written for the rock. Yes. Because you know, that's the same director directed karate kid. And the same composer, Bill Conti.

[00:41:36] And that's why that lyric history repeats itself, even though it was played the first time Daniel was ever in a tournament because it was written for Rocky three where history was kind of repeating itself. And, and when it plays here, that lyric does make sense because history has repeated itself in varying permutations throughout the whole series. Um, so that song was performed, performed by Joe Esposito, but the music was written by Bill Conti. I found out the same guy who did the score for all the karate kid movies and Rocky too.

[00:42:05] So it's just another thing in Cobra Kai that works on many different levels and is totally awesome. God, it all fits together. Like, like a jigsaw puzzle, man. Like all this was just like all just meant to happen. Right, right, right. It was meant. Wonder if they used AI to do all this. I know. Feels too smart. All right. Anything else, Rima?

[00:42:32] I mean, the last thing that I was going to mention was just like where the kids ended up. And I think Richard like covered that really well, better than what I could have. I think it was just great to see, you know, it wrapped up. It just felt satisfying. You know, I think with everything else that we've talked about, it just felt like, okay, I don't, I'm okay with where we're leaving them. So I think that was really good. So I, I don't have any main points, but I've got like several notes. So. Sorry, I stole that from you. No, not it.

[00:43:01] No, it happens. All right. Not a big deal. Well, I for once wrote down some bullet points for this last thing I want to say, which is just a reflection on the entire series. I have been smitten by this show, man. This, when this show started, it picked up like 30 years after the movies and focused on, you know, the legacy characters. And I remember thinking, how am I going to do that? All right. I'll just, I'll watch the first couple of episodes because Jason said, Hey, you know,

[00:43:31] they remade, they're extending the Karate Kid universe. You should watch the show. And I was just like, whatever. I don't know. I'll give it a shot. And then like fast forward a few hours later and I'm fricking binging the first two seasons. I'm like, couldn't stop. I couldn't find the remote fast enough. Right. It was, that was the show was just so much better than I thought it was going to be. The writing was great. The drama was great. The humor was funny. We talked about this earlier. I laughed. I cried. I got mad.

[00:44:00] I felt genuine excitement and joy at times for these characters and the actors. Kudos to the actors. Everyone played their parts. Well, I never felt distracted by bad acting, you know? Yeah. And then looking back, I think the show owners had a plan from the beginning and then they never strayed from it. They wanted to show the characters. And when I say that, I mean all the characters, but most of the time I'm thinking specifically

[00:44:26] of Daniel and Johnny, but they wanted to show the characters on a lifelong journey of challenges, growth and fulfillment. You know, uh, I read somewhere, I read somewhere that this program was a masterclass on how to reimagine a nostalgia property. Yeah. Yeah. And I couldn't agree more. And, uh, oh yeah. And also the eighties, of course, love the eighties. Hell yeah. Yeah. Uh, yeah. I just totally submit with this show.

[00:44:56] It's probably my second favorite next to, uh, the evil dead versus the evil dead. It's gotta be hard, hard to push that one out of the number one spot. Yeah. I mean, that show is another show that took an old thing and made it great for current times. You know? Yep. Yeah. It just ended too soon. So this one's got a little bit of an edge on that one. Yeah. We need that satisfying ending. They've talked about doing a cartoon at some point.

[00:45:25] I wish they would fucking do that. That'd be so cool. Yeah, man. That, that was great. Rich. I love the way you just talked about that. Thanks. For once put a little thought into it. So I don't sound like a complete moron. No, shut up. It's been awesome. Uh, well, I have like a ton more points, so you're going to have to listen to me for a while. Go for it. It's the end. You can chime in. Yeah. We're going to, we're going to chime in.

[00:45:55] So, um, the Applebee's mystery was solved and so is the Miyagi assault. Assault. Yeah. Yep. And seeing Johnny visit his mom's grave, I was thinking, I hope we see Daniel's mom again because she should get some props in this show about parental figures. You know, there wasn't a lot of focus on her, but this is about the importance of role models and good parenting. And she was there for him. So I'm glad.

[00:46:25] And then she showed up and I was like, yes. And her kind of, um, job was to tell the story of what happened with this, with Miyagi and this assault that we learned about, uh, earlier this season. And so she gives Sam the pearl necklace and said it belonged to, um, that Miyagi gave it to her belong to his mother. When he had to leave Okinawa, his father gave it to him to sell in case he ever needed money, but he kept it, gave it to his wife. She passed away at the internment camp. Then a guard stole it.

[00:46:54] He confronted the guard to get it back. The guard attacked him. And so they fought. So when we heard he'd committed assault and robbery, that's what really happened. And reading the newspaper, you know, it is about it. The article, it sounded bad. Police are searching for the culprit in a violent robbery and assault. Jim Watkins of Lodi was hospitalized after a severe beating and the theft of a valuable necklace.

[00:47:20] And that language sounds so brutal, but we kind of forget that we're seeing assaults every episode on this show. Pretty much. You can say that about a lot of the fights, right? Yeah, that's right. If it was written up in an article, it would sound like that a lot of the time. Like when Miguel broke his back and everything. So I kind of wasn't totally surprised that we didn't get the full story of what happened with Miyagi and the Sakai Taikai. We just know that he killed his opponent.

[00:47:50] But because the showrunners have been saying they want to do a prequel series, I guess that's why they left that open, right? But I was actually kind of surprised that we learned what was behind this assault. I can't say that word right. Assault. The idea that we kind of misunderstood. Well, we probably thought there was a misunderstanding, but still what exactly happened with Miyagi and the jewelry, I think suggests that we probably don't know exactly what happened with Sakai Taikai either. And they hope to explore that in the prequel series.

[00:48:19] There's no news on any spinoffs right now, just that they're still hoping to get something greenlit. I think they're working on it behind the scenes, but you don't know if we're going to get it or not. Yeah. I thought it was real touching that it ends up with Sam to the necklace since she really adores Mr. Miyagi. She's like a grandfather to him, right? Yeah. And I think, well, he's more like a grandfather to her, I would say. Not her to him. Oh, yeah.

[00:48:46] But yeah, I think that's probably one reason why she wants to go to Okinawa, you know, because he's from there and she's curious about it. Yeah. That was another nice little wrap up in a tiny little bow. Jeez. Yeah. I wrote up a whole thing about when they were training. I liked when Johnny said, I'm going to run at him with a flying tornado. And Daniel says that could knock him out, but you're leaving yourself vulnerable. You might want to hang back. Let him come to you.

[00:49:15] Kind of already talked about that. But he's like, yeah, says the guy who beat me with a flashy kick, the crane kick only worked because you ran straight into it. It was so funny to hear him say that. Yeah. I remember kind of thinking that watching it, you know, but it also kind of goes against what Miyagi said about the technique. If do right, no can defense. But I think the point is just that Johnny could do well to not just run straight at things all the time to think a little bit first.

[00:49:40] By the way, Daryl Vidal, the guy who does the spinning kicks, who's now the ref, he came up with that crane kick. Oh, is that right? Yeah. And do something. Flashy. Um, do you see that when they're during the training montage, when they're running on, uh, when they're running, they ran past the old South seas apartment. Yeah. And his mom used to live. Mm hmm. That was cool. Yeah.

[00:50:09] At the tournament, um, when Wolf came into the locker room, just really psyched Johnny out, humiliated him. Kind of reminded me of Dutch and the other Cobra Kai with Daniel, but even worse. Yeah. You know, when they came in, um, I loved seeing pawn shop guy and convenience store guy watching the tournament at the bar. Oh, that was, I saw the, the, uh, pawn shop guy. I didn't know who the other guy was.

[00:50:36] He was a convenience store guy who like in the first season, I think it was the first episode. Johnny goes in there and orders a slice of pizza and he's just got holding it in his hand with no like gloves or anything the whole time. Yeah. Nestor. Put that on a plate. And, uh, what it was like, you think Lawrence stands a chance against this guy? Nah, he's fucked. Yeah. You're probably right. Yeah. That's what most of us were thinking.

[00:51:05] I liked that the rules were the traditional rules, three points you win. Cause it's kind of full circle, you know? Yeah. No more of this. Like that makes sense too. Yeah. With these old guys. Older. Uh, it was cool to see Daniel chosen and Johnny all in their black Cobra Kai gees and all the students in the classic Cobra Kai tournament outfits. I think some of them, Sam's one I can think of. I don't think we've ever seen her in a Cobra Kai outfit.

[00:51:35] No. I kind of like the color better actually. Yeah. Yeah. That's like Amanda said, Ooh, I like black. Uh, when they started playing the like intro music, when Dan, when Johnny was introduced, they, you know, whatever it was, then when he comes in, it had his theme. Dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun. Yeah. They always play that for him.

[00:52:03] And that just, that's so Johnny. It's not Karate Kid at all. It's something from this series. And I love it. If you go listen to the soundtrack, you can hear different versions of that song. Johnny's song. It's the best. Um, so the tournament starts. Wolf gets a couple of points plus a couple of legal hits. Daniel could see Johnny's afraid. And he says to chosen he's way off balance. I'm not sure Miyagi does going to help and try something else. You know how his mind works. You're a sensei.

[00:52:32] Wolf wants to obliterate him. You must do something. And then I'm going to go through it again. Cause it was my favorite part of the episode. Daniel calls timeout. Uh, and Johnny's like, look, LaRusso, there's nothing you can say. This guy knows his shit. He's on a whole other level. What dojo are you fighting for? What, what dojo are you fighting for? Cobra Kai. And does defeat exist in your dojo? Does it? No. Does fear exist in your dojo? No.

[00:52:59] And I know sure as shit know that pain doesn't exist either. So stop acting like a little pussy, get out there and kick the living shit out of this asshole. You hear me? Yes. Sensei. That was amazing. And then you see John, the look on Daniel's face after he walks away. He's kind of like, I can't believe I just said that. I hope that worked. Yeah. That was weird. And then, uh, Johnny goes out with renewed fire, gets a point right away. Everyone cheers. Wolf looks worried for the first time ever.

[00:53:28] And the pawn shop and convenience store guy are both like, okay, all right. Then Wolf needs him, knees him in the side. No point. But Johnny gets another point to, to next point. When, then that's when Daniel called time and said, I like you have your confidence back. Remember what you learned with Miyagi though. Trust me, you have to have balance. And, um, then they have one more flashback as they've had many of that kick to the face. Yeah.

[00:53:53] So just him remembering, don't walk into it again, you know, chill out for a second. Then, and then I like how, yeah, I've already said this kind of, but he steps back and you can see Daniel go, yes, good, good, good. And then he does the leg sweep. That's just like the perfect, perfect combo to do. There was a good like back and forth here. And then, um, then he smacked him. He spun and popped him in the face with the back of his fist. Yeah.

[00:54:19] And I don't know if this is an intentional callback, but when Daniel and Johnny first kind of fought on the beach, uh, Johnny's final hit to Daniel was a smack to the face with the back of his fist like that too. Yeah. Um, but then it's, he gets that last point point winner. Everybody's like, yeah, so much cheering, jumping up and down, putting him up on his shoulders. Daniel's like, you did it.

[00:54:49] You let him come to you. And Johnny goes, I couldn't have done it without you. And he looked at chosen you too. They all hug. That was so nice. Kisses Carmen and the baby. And then yeah. Gunther Braun. I present the grand trophy to the winner of this year. Sakai Tai Kai. And that's right when guns and roses came in. And then he goes down officially the world's number one dojo Cobra Kai and gives Johnny the trophy. And Johnny just looks over at Daniel LaRusso.

[00:55:19] Get over here. And he goes, you're all right, Lawrence. And I also thought that was of course a callback to when Johnny said, you're all right. LaRusso at the end of the original tournament. But also I just, you know how I've said, I admire Ralph Macchio for doing this series that kind of took him out of the hero spot and put Johnny there. Yeah. And here's Johnny at the end and kind of maybe William Zabka too, sharing the limelight. And it was just really nice. You know, I couldn't have done it without you. And yeah. Right.

[00:55:47] And then everybody's Cobra Kai, Cobra Kai, Cobra Kai. It was just couldn't have been any more glorious. Right. And I mean, everybody was shining as the hero in that scene. That was perfect. Yeah. Yeah. Perfect. Yeah. That was so cool. And that end there where Johnny doesn't make the same mistake he did all those years ago and rushing in because he changed his stance and they showed him, they showed his body change. He showed his feet change in stance. And I was just like, yeah, he's going to do it. That was cool.

[00:56:16] And it's interesting too. It kind of reminds me of times when I've just, whatever I've been doing isn't working. And then a situation comes up again and I remember, okay, I'm going to try it different now. Yeah. Let's see how this goes. You know, I'm not insane. Yeah. Whatever, whatever it may be. Also, you mentioned, you mentioned Wolf when Wolf confronts Johnny in the locker room. Yeah. If the first time I watched it, right.

[00:56:43] Johnny says, Hey, if you think you came here to psych me out before the fight, then you got another thing coming. But I was like super nervous when I was watching this the first time. And I like somehow mentally substituted something else. And so what I heard Johnny say was, Hey, if you, if you think you came here to psych me out, then you're absolutely, it's absolutely working. Cause I was so nervous. I was like, yeah, in the end it did end up working, but I had to go back and actually watch that scene again to see what Johnny actually had said.

[00:57:16] I was like, well, he's intimidating the fuck out of me. Yeah. He really, I mean, he had him down like in a corner, you know, you could hear the ring over him, like nearly breaking his arm. You could hear like the, I thought he, he had like already done. I mean, I'm sure it hurt, but I was like, Oh my God, did he like break his arm before they even get into the, into the fight that that was like problem with sensei wolf.

[00:57:44] It wasn't like competition to him where you just go in and you're, you know, yes, you're fighting, but you're, you're just, you're trying to score the points. Right. He's like really trying to like injure him. Yeah. You know? And that was what he kept like telling, um, Axel, uh, his student was like, this isn't like you're, this isn't a competition. Like you're in a fight, like you're out to hurt, you know, these people, you know, it's not about just going out there and scoring points.

[00:58:12] Um, so you kind of knew that's where his mindset was, but that dude was scary. All those cheap shots he kept getting in, you know, like I'm like, dude, you know, they just really needed a bad guy. It felt a little bit like the mustache twirling villain, you know, over time he would have been humanized too, I'm sure. And there even was a little like glimmer of that because there was a little bout, bowed towards Johnny. He was a gracious loser.

[00:58:41] So I'll, I'll give him that. Like it didn't redeem him in any way, but it like, I was like, I was, I was surprised by that, honestly. But, um, I thought it was a shocker, but I was glad to see him bow. Uh, yeah. I mean, I'm just, we've seen what they've done with every other person on this series, except for maybe Terry silver. So I'm sure if it would have gone on another season or two, Wolf would have been a good guy to probably maybe, I don't know. Maybe not.

[00:59:14] We never did get to see Axel again, huh? No. Maybe he, he's just out. Is he out? Maybe he quit for good maybe? Yeah. Yeah. He took his, uh, gee and went home. So, uh, Johnny, the new Cobra Kai, Johnny teaching his new students. And as you said, Rima is kind of telling them, you're going to learn both Cobra Kai and Miyagi Doe. Cause sometimes you need different things. And I liked that.

[00:59:41] You said they'll be learning from one of the best senseis in the world, referring to Daniel, just really nice. But then things started getting kind of intense and he's like, sometimes patience and defense are the keys to winning, but I can't teach you that. Cause my specialty is offense. And as they started to get into this typical rhythm of the way he's been with his students, I almost felt like, Oh, maybe this was all a big mistake. And he's still got the strike first, strike hard, no mercy behind him.

[01:00:11] Um, but I, I was like, nah, they won't, they won't end it. It was a mistake. So let's see what they do. And maybe they'll recontextualize what this motto means. And he said, strike first. It means be aggressive. And he's actually been saying that from the beginning. I went back and looked, um, when he was explaining it to Miguel in the first place, he goes, take that first lesson. Striking first is the initial step towards victory. Okay. Like when you're at a party and you see a hot babe, you don't wait for some other guy to go talk to her first. Do you?

[01:00:42] Miguel says, I mean, I've never been to a party. So he's like a big surprise. All right. Striking first is about being aggressive. All right. If you're not aggressive, then you're being a pussy and you don't want to be a pussy. You want to have balls. And Miguel goes, don't you think you're doing a lot of genderizing? And he's like, what? And he said, strike hard is give it your all. It's pretty straightforward. No mercy is the one that I was most curious about because that always just seemed flat out wrong.

[01:01:11] So I was interested to hear what he would say. Okay. And he says, it means not being Mr. Nice guy. It's the hardest one to understand, which I thought it was cool. He said that. But the fact is, if you're too nice, the world's going to walk all over you. A lot of you've been told your whole life that you're special. Well, that's about to change. I'm talking to you for us. Good God. Get a cooler pair of, or get some contacts, but I never want to see those in this dojo again. Understand? And then the thing he said about Miguel.

[01:01:38] Miguel Diaz may be a world champion, but when he first stepped foot in this dojo, he was a total dork. He was like this kid right here. All right. Maybe not that bad. But his fact is, Cobra Kai turned Miguel from a beta duckling into an alpha swan. Beta duckling. He said, we do not train to be merciful here, but I will bring out the best in you. And that is where there's two ways of clear indications that he's grown as a person.

[01:02:06] One was that he opened up by saying, I were recognizing, I can't teach you everything you need to know. Balance is important. Daniel's going to help you too. But here he says, instead of saying, um, we don't train to be merciful here. Mercy's for the weak. He says, but I'll bring out the best in you. That's like a pretty significant change. Then he says, um, he tells them to stop being weak little cry babies and start being the best versions of themselves, you know? So it's more like positive.

[01:02:35] There's that Johnniness, like insulting. Yeah. It's so much fun. And I think that's actually, I would guess how the writers feel about kids these days that don't be weak. Little cry babies be the best version of yourself. And I can't totally disagree with that. Honestly, I think it's a little more nuanced than that, but yes. Sure. I cannot disagree. Yeah.

[01:02:56] Um, so anyway, yeah, I, I, I thought, um, maybe it a little dubious his methods, but I wouldn't want it any other way. No. I don't know. True, true Gen X are in my eyes. So I'm, I'm all for it. Yeah. Yeah. Uh, but, and also, you know, he, he, he does, he, he said he's going to teach the offense because that's his specialty and he's going to leave the defense up to Daniel.

[01:03:24] So, so he can just focus on what he's good at. Yeah. That's right. Without one. And he's not saying that's all you need or I'm right. It's just like this part you need to, and I'm good at teaching it. And then the last thing is just sort of an overall, um, I mean, I think this episode just reinforces that the show has been more Johnny story than anyone else.

[01:03:48] And the talk at her grave, like you said, Rima kind of framed the stakes that he, he feels like a loser. And he says, you don't get second chances in life. And yet he did get a second chance. And, and this series is about, uh, maybe this is the last time I'll say this. I've probably said it a thousand times about the importance of good role models, mentors and parental figures.

[01:04:15] And in karate kid, Daniel was the underdog from the wrong side of the tracks. And Johnny was the rich bully, but Daniel met Miyagi and John, Johnny got beat up and abandoned by crease. But then in Cobra Kai, we saw, well, we saw the impact of that, that Daniel had a family and a business and Johnny was down and out and felt like a loser. And, and so in a sense, this series is all about how Johnny overcame that and got the second chance.

[01:04:43] And he found purpose by helping other kids who needed a role model. He became that for them, but he also got support from his friends around him, which was crucial. I think if there was any like positive role model for him, it was Daniel. Yeah. Daniel kind of parented him a little bit and you know, everybody else too. Like even all his friends, the kids helped him feel better about himself.

[01:05:11] And so it's just like, uh, you know, like the series has always touched me because I didn't have a good father figure, but I got a lot of that from you guys, you know, just my friends in, in high school, especially so important to how I turned out as a, as a person. And so I can really identify and it's just a great story with, with Johnny. And then he, you know, he told his mom at the beginning, there's no second chances.

[01:05:40] And I should just accept that I'm a loser. And then at the end, he just goes back and puts a picture of him, Carmen, Miguel and Robbie and the baby on her grave. And it's a good bookend of the beginning. Cause he told her you can't get second chances in life, but he did get a second chance. And that sort of symbolizes it, you know? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I'm so good. Yeah. More excellent writing. Okay. Notes. Rima, any notes?

[01:06:08] Um, the announcer and I forget his name every time. I think it's Daryl or Braun. His announce announcing, like I just, I want him to just announce everything in my life. He did that sensei wolf. That's Daryl. Yeah. Yeah. Did that howling. I was like that, you know, that dude practiced that in the mirror. How many times it was so freaking good though.

[01:06:38] He was so, so good, uh, as an announcer. Even that little moment with Braun coming over and handing him the microphone. Yeah. It was a nice little, happy little ending there. Yeah. He really just kind of helped hype up the whole thing. You know, I just thought that was a great addition. So love that. Um, we've talked already, you know, repeatedly about the, you're all right, Lawrence, uh, line that that's like, that's all just all I've ever wanted, you know, by the time that the

[01:07:07] series wrapped in and I got it. But then, um, the last line of the series, uh, being no mercy. Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. Perfect. Uh, to end it. Um, and then the post credit scene, um, there at the end when they're in that restaurant, uh, did you see the little bonus, um, characters that we got, uh, two of the show's creators,

[01:07:35] Josh held and John Hurwitz were there in the restaurant in that post scene. And they were pitching a show that links to another classic eighties film. Yeah. Little, little movie called back to the future. Yeah. And I think I read, they actually would do that. They want to. So it was almost like, Oh, maybe somebody will see this and ask us to do it. They put a pitch in the ending scene. Yeah. Isn't that funny?

[01:08:03] Like, look, look how successful this one was. Hey, well, they've also, they said they like a lot of things from back then. So they probably have other ideas too. And I would, anything they want to do, I would give it a shot. Yeah. Yeah. They'll probably be given like carte blanche to, to do whatever they want after, after this. But they were supposed to do a movie about in Ferris Bueller when they take Cameron's

[01:08:32] dad's pristine car and they leave it with some valet guys in Chicago and those guys take it off on a joy ride and you never see what happened. They were supposed to do a movie that showed what happened on that joy ride, but I don't know what happened to it. Wow. That's funny. That's an interesting pitch. Yeah. I think we covered most of my other notes, but if I get just a moment to say one thing,

[01:09:00] you know, I know Richard in one of his points that talked about like just the series overall. And I've said it a few times covering, um, the show here on the podcast, you know, that I never would have thought that I would have, you know, dug this series at all because I was not a fan back in the day when Karate Kid came, came out in the eighties and I watched it and I was like, eh, it's okay. Whatever.

[01:09:28] You know, wasn't, wasn't impressed, um, by it at all. And when I had heard about the series, I was just like, well, I didn't really like the movie. So why would I, why would I watch this? And, uh, you know, Jason had convinced me along with a lot of other people, you know, to, to give it a shot. And I'm, I'm forever grateful because it was a hell of a ride and it was super fun and

[01:09:57] super fun talking to y'all about it, um, every season. So I'm grateful for, for that. Yeah. Same doing these podcasts makes you so much more intimate with the show. Yeah, absolutely. And I, I, you know, it was my favorite movie for decades. And so I'm the opposite of you, Rima, but that also made me think I might not like it

[01:10:26] because how could it live up to my favorite movie ever? You know? Sure. I loved how they didn't just try to remake it the same. They did their own thing with it, but in a really reverent way. Yeah. Wow. Absolutely. We're all, we're all like, and then I'm like writing between you two guys. Cause I was like, that was a good movie, but it wasn't my favorite. Yeah. Interestingly enough to, um, crowded kid is on Netflix right now.

[01:10:53] However, it's leaving, I think the 31st of March. So if, if y'all want to like, you know, watch the movie and then the series and all that, you've got a short time to, at least on Netflix to, uh, to do that. It's a crime that things ever leave streaming. Oh my gosh. Don't get me started. Some things that you can't even get anywhere now. Yeah. Yeah. There's so much. You gotta like schedule times to watch shit now.

[01:11:20] I just, I, I wanted, you know, they had, I don't know if it was all, but a big old trove of Looney tunes cartoons on max. The old ones that used to appear before movies, before TV was even a thing. So they were more like adult meant to amuse adults too. And those just all got taken down. And I read, I was like, Oh man, I was going to watch through some of those. A lot of stuff's been taken down. They're pretty brutal sometimes. Yeah.

[01:11:50] Any notes left rich? Um, I had one. What was it? It was, uh, Oh yeah. I remember a second watch, uh, Wolf does a, an elbow to the mouth on Johnny. And, and, and, uh, you were saying, Rima, you know, he started to bleed and, and maybe have been a callback, but I got curious. I was like, how come an elbow to the mouth? Isn't a point. So I looked it up. And according to co-pilot, which is the AI for Microsoft edge.

[01:12:19] It said in karate elbows to the face are not typically used in sparring or point fighting. The goal of point fighting is to score points rather than incapacitate the opponent. Elbows are brutal as fuck. Even a glancing blow can cut someone wide open. Elbows were always my favorite whenever I was in craft class. Yeah. Got to learn all the elbow moves. And I was like, yeah, that's going to be one of my go-tos if I ever have the need, you

[01:12:48] know, to, to, to defend myself. Elbows, my favorite. Yeah. Elbows and knees actually now come to think of it, that those are, if you've watched MMA, some of those elbows and knees are some of the most brutal knockouts, man. Yeah. It doesn't take much. All right. I had a few notes.

[01:13:12] I was thinking if not for Terry Silver pushing to resume the Sakai Tai Kai, Johnny wouldn't have had his chance to shine. So Terry kind of changed his life forever. He didn't mean to. A little bit of a backfire there. Also got him killed. Yeah. Yeah. Probably not how he planned that. Yeah. He was going to die.

[01:13:38] Anyway, Dimitri and Yasmin, all that stuff I thought was as dumb as usual and made no sense. Oh, yeah. I didn't even think about that. Just kind of burst that one off. Yeah. Just doesn't work for me. I'm like, okay, I know what you're going for here, but it's just like, this is the least believable thing on this show. I almost equally.

[01:14:06] And I know maybe not everyone feels this way, but hated the whole thing with Stingray. It's just so stupid. Yeah. I wouldn't say I hated it, but it felt a bit contrived. Just to give him something to say. Yeah, it's not funny. Like on a show that knows how to make me laugh, I don't like it when I'm just like, meh, not laughing. But I know people like it. And this actor, he's, I think, come out of this the best. He's in like Scorsese movie or something. Oh, yeah. Yeah.

[01:14:36] All kinds of stuff. He's been nominated for some serious awards and some other roles and things. So he's. Gotta watch some of that. Yeah. I mean, he did kind of come out with, I don't know if it was because of this show getting him some recognition or what it was, but yeah, he definitely went somewhere. Yeah. Stingray was never one of my favorites either. So I guess for just nostalgia, seeing like some characters kind of coming back a little bit is kind of fun and nice, but I was just kind of like, okay, it's fine. Move on.

[01:15:06] Move on. Yeah. Right. It was quick. So, but I did kind of like when he said to all the people waiting in line while you're waiting, think about your life choices because it's a Fight Club reference. And then last, just Daniel and Johnny at the sushi place. And Daniel introduces Johnny to the concept of bills that you have to pay. He's still parenting him in ways. Yes. Yes. And then Johnny's like, all right, I'm going to go drain the main vein.

[01:15:35] Don't order without me. And then we get that, you know, flashback to Miyagi showing him about trying to catch a fly with chopsticks. Yeah. And then Johnny comes up and claps it dead. God, no mercy. No mercy. And that's just a perfect moment because it kind of pokes fun at the earnestness of the whole Karate Kid thing like the series always did, but did it with love, you know, it's

[01:16:05] a good, good ending. Yep. Perfect.

[01:16:09] All right.

[01:17:13] We're back. It's time for a little bit of news. So the movie Karate Kid Legends starring Ralph Macchio and Jackie Chan comes out May 30th. Uh, you know, of course people wonder how much connection it'll have to Cobra Kai. I suspect not much. It's set in New York city and maybe some in Beijing, although I don't know if Daniel will go to China, but, um, he'll be traveling, you know, it is in the same universe, but Cobra

[01:17:42] Kai showrunner, John Hurwitz said we were knee deep in making the final season of Cobra Kai. When we find out, when we found out about that movie happening. And, you know, we just wanted to make sure that there were no contradictions so that if fans watch it, they're like, well, Cobra Kai said this in this movie, said that and Ralph Macchio made sure of that, you know, there was nothing like that. So at least there's no contradictions, but it's going to be its own thing. Well, if that's the case, that was the perfect time to make that movie.

[01:18:11] Well, they were knee deep in season six. Yeah. Why? They don't have any contradictions. Oh, so they can. Yeah. Or have to like ride around it or something. Yeah. If the movie had come out somewhere in the middle. Yeah. I mean, they were supposed to release it, uh, sometime ago, I think at the end of last year, but they pushed it out just so it wouldn't conflict with the end of this, of the end of Cobra Kai. Okay. Next.

[01:18:40] I asked chat GBT, who are the better fighters in Cobra Kai? The actors, not the characters. And it's chat GBT. So we have to take it with a big grain of salt, but it's, I thought it'd be fun. It gave me a list of 10 and I'll go in reverse order. It says in Cobra Kai, many of the actors have varying level of martial arts, stunt and athletic backgrounds. Here's some of the strongest real life fighters among them. 10. Gianni DeCenzo, Dimitri.

[01:19:07] Gianni didn't have any martial arts experience before Cobra Kai and his character started as one of the least skilled fighters in the show. But over the seasons, he trained hard and improved significantly. While he's not on the same level as the top tier fighters of the cast, he still learned a lot and executes his fight choreography well. Nine. Martin Cove, who played John Kreese. Cove has trained in martial arts for years, but mostly for movie choreography rather than actual combat.

[01:19:33] At 78, he's more of an old school tough guy than a real fighter at this point. 78. I know. I'm glad he made it through the damn thing. Eight. Una O'Brien, who played Devin Lee. O'Brien has some real martial arts training, but there's not much info on her actual fighting skill compared to others on this list. Still, she brings strong energy to her role. Seven. Peyton List, Tori Nichols. We might not agree with this list, by the way, of course.

[01:20:03] No formal martial arts background before Cobra Kai, but she's trained extensively for the show and does many of her own stunts. Her fight scenes look legit. Six. Xolo Marjuvenia. Miguel Diaz. Came into Cobra Kai with no martial arts experience, but thanks to years of training for the show, he's developed into a strong athletic fighter with great technique. My boy, Miguel. Number five. Jacob Bertrand, who plays Hawk. Like Xolo, he didn't have prior martial arts training, but he's a natural.

[01:20:33] His movements are crisp, and he's one of the best among the younger cast when it comes to executing fight choreography. Four. Yuji Okamoto, Chozen. A legit karate practitioner who has maintained his skill over the years. He's got real technique and brings authenticity to his fight scenes. Three. Tanner Buchanan, Robbie Keen. He has a background in taekwondo and is easily one of the best real-life martial artists in the younger cast. His speed, flexibility, and technique set him apart.

[01:21:04] Number two. Sella Austria, Kim Dae-yoon. A highly trained taekwondo fighter. Austria is one of the most legit martial artists in the Cobra Kai lineup. Her kicks and striking technique are on another level. And number one. Ralph Macchio. No, I'm just kidding. Thomas Ian Griffith. Terry Silver. The undisputed best real fighter in the cast. Griffith holds a black belt in karate.

[01:21:31] He has extensive martial arts experience and moves with the precision of a lifelong practitioner. If anyone in the cast had to step into a real fight, he'd be the most dangerous opponent. Interesting. Did not know that. I mean, if you think back to Karate Kid 3, he looked pretty legit in that. Yeah. You know? Yeah, but I think we talked about that at one time. Yeah. This isn't counting the actual karate masters at guest starred, right?

[01:22:00] I don't think so. I think it's just the main characters, I guess. Yeah. You could tell. They knew their stuff. Yeah. Like Axel. Because I think he had legit training. And then Zara. Oh, shoot. What was the girl's name again? The one that. Zara. Yeah. Zara. I think I was going to say that. She's a robot champion. Yeah. She's like legit. And then Sensei Wolf. Yeah. I don't think it was counting them. Yeah.

[01:22:31] Okay. Cobra Kai showrunners, Josh Heald, John Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg talked with Variety. I think soon after the final episodes dropped, they said, looking back to when you created the show in 2018 for YouTube Red, was this always the ending you envisioned? Josh Heald says, this is the ending we wanted to build up to. That's not to say every word of dialogue and every character who's on screen for the last episode was firmly in our heads. That would be insane to keep that much story in there.

[01:22:59] But in terms of the big story beats, themes, moments, the way that Johnny lands, the way Daniel resolves, all those big feelings, we had that plan in our heads. We didn't want the plane to take off without knowing how we were going to land it. We could not have foreseen the Sakai Taikai and all its twists and turns, but we're thrilled that we got the chance to deliver our goals, which was to end this the way that we always intended. Yeah, that's great. Yeah.

[01:23:27] Johnny still has his brash, non-PC sense of humor to the very end. He even calls a new Cobra Kai student four eyes. Did you always want him to go through this personal journey but maintain his same sense of humor? John Hurwitz says, 100%. Johnny Lawrence is Johnny Lawrence till the end, but he's a more evolved person. And that's where we were looking to go. We didn't want him to suddenly be Mr. Nice Guy and soft. He's still a badass. He's still going to tell it like it is, but we now understand that it's coming from a good place.

[01:23:55] When he's calling him four eyes, that's part of the training in a sense that he views it is not going to scar this kid. It's going to make him stronger to become a better version of himself. That final scene was one of those moments where we were getting chills on set. As fans of the show ourselves, those early episodes where Johnny was in that dojo, there were so many great feelings that we had as viewers watching him instruct a class like that. But now we see a Johnny Lawrence who's finally wrangled the beast that is Cobra Kai and those words on the wall to be the best version of them.

[01:24:24] And he's now the best version of himself. They say, uh, in the final episode, Johnny teaches the new definition of Cobra Kai's motto strike, hard strike first, no mercy. It's about bringing out the best in his students and pushing them. How did you land on that new meeting? Josh healed says we had every type of discussion you can imagine about the Cobra Kai credo. Does it change? Is it there at all? Is it something new? Does it evolve?

[01:24:52] We landed where we landed because it felt the most authentic to Cobra Kai. The show wasn't about Cobra Kai in and of itself changing. It was about the person who's teaching those lessons, wielding its power and teaching everybody in that room, what it means and interpreting it for them. We didn't want to leave this world in a way where we're saying this is wrong. We're saying there are actions that are wrong. Words are words and they're meant to inspire. If you can look at them the right way, you have an opportunity to be your most powerful self. We arrived at that after gaming every possibility out.

[01:25:25] They said, uh, the Karate Kid legends movies coming to theaters this summer and will include Ralph Macchio as Daniel. But will that really be the end of the Karate Kid and Cobra Kai universe? Heald says we have plans to overstay our welcome in this universe as much as they'll let us. There's nothing official we can talk about yet, but we've never stopped talking about how to continue to evolve the series stories within this universe with both Sony and Netflix. We will continue to have those conversations until there's something to speak about in an

[01:25:55] official capacity. Cobra Kai never dies, but the series Cobra Kai is ending. This is the finale of the mothership, but that's not to say we're never going to see these people again. As long as he continues making money, right? Right. I mean, we'll see. Like I'm surprised actually that we haven't heard anything yet, you know? Yeah. So I wouldn't, I wouldn't say it's guaranteed. We'll get something else, but. I'll wait until after the movie. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

[01:26:25] Right. And then the last thing is, uh, Williams Apka talked with entertainment weekly. They said, you knew that Cobra Kai would build to some kind of redemption for Johnny Lawrence, but Johnny Lawrence, but tell me about the first time you read that finale script. What stood out to you the most about how the show wrapped up his story? William's Apka says it wasn't necessarily in my mind anyway, about redeeming him in his all Valley title or a world title.

[01:26:53] It was never about getting a trophy. It was always about redeeming him and having him grow into his better self. They told me when they pitched the final season that Johnny was going to ultimately win the whole Sakai Tai Kai, which I couldn't really get my head around. We were all waiting to see who was going to get picked, but I never in a million years thought it was going to be Johnny. Then they said he's going to win the whole thing. And I said, wow. But then I read episode 13 and saw the scene with crease and that moment where it all comes

[01:27:19] out for him to have this moment of honesty and purging with crease, which is only made possible by the work crease has done on himself. When I read that, I got choked up. I literally got tears in my eyes. I said, this is amazing writing. Yeah, certainly is. Yeah. They said, what was it like filming that confrontation with crease? And how did you get in the head space? He says, I mean, some scenes you read and you get pregnant with instantly. And that was one of them. That's a funny way to put it.

[01:27:49] I just knew what that feeling was. And I just wasn't ready to go there yet in rehearsals or at home too much. And I just came to the set that day with a lump in my throat and knew that something was about to happen. I didn't know what. Marty was in the same head space. It was originally written to play standing in the stands, looking over at the tournament. But our director pulled us into this hallway, which made it really kind of intimate and moody. And sometimes when you do some of those scenes, you don't really know how it will go.

[01:28:18] You just walk away from it feeling like something big just happened. And the response from Hayden Schlossberg, especially, he said, that seems going to help a lot of father son relationships. Yeah, those were real tears, man. Yeah, that's right. They said, on a lighter note in the finale, Johnny gets a taste of his own sensei style when Daniel gives him what I like to call the pussy pep talk. How did you keep a straight face watching Ralph Macho call you a pussy? I didn't.

[01:28:48] When I first came over to Ralph, first of all, I love seeing him in a black gi. I'll say that a million times. He belongs in Cobra Kai. Laughs. When I came over to do that scene where he gives me that pep talk halfway through, it just dawned on me how ridiculous it is that LaRusso is calling me a pussy. And I burst out laughing so hard. It was just so surreal. It just twisted me around. But he did a great delivery on that and really got me going. What a great full circle for these two characters.

[01:29:18] He said, they say, creators, John Herwish, Josh Heald, and Hayden Schlossberg have always been very open about wanting to do potential spinoffs that have some ideas in the works. Have they talked to you about any potential spinoffs? He says, we've had conversations about on a lot of projects, so I'll leave it at that, but nothing specific. I'm aware of all the talk of all the spinoffs and everything, and I feel like there's more in the tank. But I think that this story has to crescendo and land and do its magic first before we start planning new tent poles. Wise decision. Yeah.

[01:29:48] They say, the final episode begins with that wonderful scene with Johnny visiting his mom's grave. But you said in a recent interview that initially the episode was supposed to open with a scene between Johnny and Dutch played by Chad McQueen, who passed away last year. Do you know what that scene with Dutch and Johnny was going to be? He said the opening scene originally was going to be a flashback of Johnny visiting Dutch in prison and just almost saying similar things about how we're washed up and the best days are behind us.

[01:30:16] It was totally very similar to the graveyard scene. And Dutch is basically saying, we don't get second chances. It didn't work out for Chad. He hadn't passed away at that point yet. He just wasn't able to do it. And so the guys came up with this idea for visiting his mother, which was just as effective, if not more, actually. It's great because the flip side of that, literally, the next day we're filming the tournament scene. So it's a great recap of where we started. I don't know how I feel about that.

[01:30:44] It would have been more depressing if he visited Dutch in prison. Yeah. Maybe it's better off, huh? Yeah. Not doing it. This next one, I debated whether I would read it on the podcast because I don't always read all the answers or we'd be here forever, but I thought it was fun to hear him talking about the other characters. So they asked all the characters got nice send offs in the finale besides where Johnny and Daniel ended up. What character send offs made you the most emotional?

[01:31:15] He says, well, the airport scene, seeing Sam go to Okinawa. I wasn't there when they shot it, but on paper, it looked beautiful. And I love that Miguel goes with Sam just to get her set up over there. And as a parent, that scene really hit me hard. I love where Robbie ends up at peace with himself and with Tori and starting his life fresh. And of course, where Johnny and Carmen end up and he's able to provide the home. Thanks to the great character played by Adam Hirschman. That's the real estate guy. The finale is so well constructed.

[01:31:43] The writing and the stories and all the performances, everybody was so dialed in and just poured their hearts into it. Episode 12, which I directed. That was the last episode that was filmed. We had a few pickups to do in LA, but for the most part, the bulk of the show was in the can. So when I was behind the camera, I was really directing the last scenes of these actors. When Peyton, who plays Tori and Mary were in the kitchen talking about training together, that was the last moment that they were working together. When we got the shot, I said, Mary, is there anything else you want to say?

[01:32:13] And she goes, oh no, is this happening? She got all teary eyed. And Ralph and Courtney, who plays Amanda, their very last scene when they're at the bar and they're at the winery, that was their last scene together. I got to say cut. And then Ralph gave a speech. That was special. And then last, they said, finally, seeing that Johnny Lawrence is behind you for now, are you going to keep up your karate training? He said, oh, 100%.

[01:32:42] After this experience, it's baked into me. I will absolutely be continuing and hopefully even working with kids and inspiring the next generation. Nice. Pretty cool. He's going to start his own dojo. That's awesome. Might not be a bad way to retract. Yeah. That scene in the airport where they were sending Sam off to Okinawa, that felt like a real tear fest too with all the La Russas. Yeah. They were all genuinely sad and crying. Yeah. I know.

[01:33:09] I've noticed that a lot in final episodes of series. They don't have to act too much because they're really not going to be seeing each other. You know? Yeah. Voices are cracking. Tears are flowing. Lips are quivering. All right. Let's get into some feedback. Damien Vettel says, perfect ending to a perfect show. Perfect statement. Yep. Cho Brothers, how would you rank the seasons?

[01:33:38] I'll go season one first, season six, part three second, season four, season six, part two, season five, season three, season six, part one. And then season two as eighth place. Hmm. I mean, I can't remember anything. I think I would just go one, two, three, four, five, six, part one, and six, part three. Let's get to six, part two.

[01:34:08] I would, I mean, I agree. I remember feeling like season two was probably my least favorite. And, um, at this point I'd put season six, if, you know, not breaking into parts, but just doing all seasons. I would probably put that at the top just because I thought they landed it so freaking well. Yeah. But season one's up there too. Yeah. Absolutely. Season one. Yeah. I don't know.

[01:34:35] It's been, I haven't went through and done a rewatch in quite some time. So they're not as very fresh in my memory to be able to properly rank them. Yeah. But, um, they all have their moments. Yeah. They all do. I mean, when, when they went, when he went to Okinawa, I think in season three, that elevated that season to me. That was cool. Yeah. Uh, Maria Lawson says the end of the series was extremely satisfying.

[01:35:02] It was the perfect thing to watch right now to take me out of some of the stress in my daily life. Yeah, me too. I smiled, cried and laughed all the way through the finale. I never knew how much I wanted Johnny's story until now. Me too. I never would have wanted it. And I'm so happy we got it. Thanks for sticking with covering the show. I'm glad you watched it. Yeah, that's nice. Uh, Juan Frosto says when I first heard of the show, I took the bait and signed up for YouTube bread.

[01:35:30] I'm so delighted at everything this show delivered and loved listening to all of your recaps. On personal note, I have really enjoyed the chemistry that three of you have and would love to hear you podcast on something else. I've been a podcast to go listener since before the walking dead. I think the first episode I listened to was the review of the movie, the thing. Oh, what a nice thing to say. Yeah, it's really nice. Thank you.

[01:35:54] Well, I think we're going to at least cover the 2010 Karate Kid reboot because it has Jackie Chan in it and then do the Karate Kid Legends movie with Jackie Chan and Ralph Macchio coming out in May. Yeah. We got that to look forward to. Yep. All right. Here's a call from Steve Brown. Hello, Cobra Kai cast.

[01:36:23] This is Steve, and this is going to be for the finale of Cobra Kai. I can't believe I waited this long to record this. I've had so much stuff going on in my life. That's ex-degenerate. Hey, so we're starting with a flashback. August 10th, 2017. Is that before the series started? Must be. Seeing Johnny in that state before the series started. Oh, spoiler alert for the first OG Rocky movie. He loses at the end, I guess. Maybe not a spoiler, really. Oh, we got the best. We got the song. It's coming up with this training montage. I love it. You're the best.

[01:36:52] Oh, so now we get closure on the newspaper article and what Mr. Miyagi did. I don't know why I'm getting emotional about this ending, but wow. All right. Here we go. Into the final fight. The final fight. About Matt. Everything's coming up great. Tori and Robbie get contracts with some sort of marketing company. Have a lawyer check him out, though. Oh, what's going on now with the, what's the tournament guy's name? Ooh, Wolf getting in Johnny's head. Called him a loser. Not good. And this, already starting the fight.

[01:37:22] These guys at the bar, are they anybody we know or are we just two random bar guys? Oh, even Daniel walking out into a Kovac high-gey. Well, the prize didn't go over the rules and whether there's rounds or not. There's points up on the board. They're going to score points somehow. I love Daniel using the same words of the original Kovac high. No, no fear in this dojo. No defeat in this dojo. Go out there. Go out there and fight. Ooh, I had to back it up and listen to it again.

[01:37:50] Oh, is Johnny going to use the crane kick? Ooh, no. But he did that flip up from the ground and just punched him. Oh, let's. Winner, Johnny Lawrence. And now this celebration is great. And there's still like almost 20 minutes left. Dear Wolf asked about silver. And there was kind of just a, people just shook their heads. So maybe there'll be something with that. I don't know. Oh, you're all right, Lawrence. Daniel just said, just like at the end of Karate Kid, we said, you're all right, Lure. So I love it. Oh, and Chosen goes back to the girl from the other dojo. What's her name?

[01:38:17] I see we bookend the episode with Johnny coming back to his mother's grave. Oh, and Sam's wearing the necklace. And Mikkel's going to Okinawa with her. And I'm still getting choked up. No, Stingray is back being part of Cobra Kai. Johnny is going to always be Johnny. Take those glasses off. Guys are talking about a new back to the future. Oh, and Danny sees the fly with the chopsticks. And he's remembering Mr. Miyagi.

[01:38:45] Johnny just slaps the fly out of the air. Oh, all right. Oh, what's the next show we're going to watch? That was a roller coaster, wasn't it? All right. What's next? Done with that. That was awesome. Brad Holt writes, OMG. I have been waiting for this post.

[01:39:13] I was weak and watched the final three episodes last week. This final was so satisfying. I'll go down as one of the best series finales of all time. I was laughing, crying, and laugh crying throughout. My one big want for this season was a, you're all right, Lawrence? Comment from Daniel. And they delivered. I was so pleased. I don't think there needs to be any spinoffs from the show, except for a Miyagi prequel. But I'd certainly love to see the occasional reunion movie.

[01:39:44] It's funny. Jillian Moreau. Jill says, hi, Jason, Rich, and Rima. I don't have episode-specific feedback, but wanted to leave something as the series is now wrapped. What a series it was. I was super late to the party, having never been a huge fan of the movies. I honestly only ever watched the first one, maybe two, and they were fine. I just wasn't blown away. I didn't start watching the show when it came out.

[01:40:10] However, back in November 2022, I had the pleasure of working with Paul Walter Hauser, Stingray, at Rhode Island Comic Con all weekend, which also featured Ralph Macchio on the side of us and William Zabka on the side of him. So I became super invested in the fandom that weekend and knew I had to start watching the show. So glad I did. I'm so thrilled I got to come back and listen to the coverage you guys gave over the series. I loved it. It was super fun. It was a super fun watch.

[01:40:37] And even though they got a little cheesy and predictable at times, especially those over-the-top villains, it was still hella entertaining. Thanks for the coverage and insights, especially seeing I had not seen them all, all the movies. So having that extra background definitely gave things a little more context than just the in-show flashbacks. I'm glad they wrapped it when they did, as I feel like the story came to a good closure point. Looking forward to the new movie, though, and I'm sure you'll cover it, so I'll definitely be listening. Take care.

[01:41:05] I think you should go watch Karate Kid 3 just so you can get a real full appreciation of the character of Terry Silver. Yeah. I'll agree with that one. Thanks for writing in. I'm glad you wrote in. All right. Here's a call from Nathan Eshelman. Hey, Cobra Catcast. This is Nathan. Great turn to your face because my favorite character, Julie Pierce, did not make an appearance in this show.

[01:41:36] As you might imagine, I'm a little bereft. So I'm accepting condolences in the form of thoughts and prayers, well wishes, and monetary donations. You know, earlier in the season, when Daniel found the treasure chest of Miyagi memories, and Miyagi's name was spelled like it was spelled in the next Karate Kid.

[01:42:02] It felt like they were leaving the door open in case they were able to get Hilary Swank at the last minute. But it wasn't meant to be. I'd like to give a shout out to our friend, Mike C. Our main man, Mike Mulcahy himself, for holding visual with me in the Discord chat, hoping for our big moment that never came.

[01:42:28] One interesting thing I found out is that all of the Karate Kid movies have novelizations. There are books written, I think, based on the movie screenplays. So that's one more way to spend a little more time in this world now that the show's over. So I'm going to start off by reading the book version of my favorite Karate Kid movie. 1994's The Next Karate Kid. Yeah, I said it.

[01:42:58] So, where does that leave us? I am going to light some candles, cry, dance to the cranberries with some monks, and then take them out for bowling afterwards. Hopefully we'll see you covering the next movie. Take care. Well, now we've got to cover the next Karate Kid for Nathan.

[01:43:26] Well, if it's in, we did cover that. Oh, the 2010 one. Oh, yeah. But he's talking about for the next Karate Kid. Oh! With Julie? With Julie Pierce. Yeah. I misunderstood. Sorry. If it's any, I don't think this is going to be a consolation to you, Nathan, but maybe a little. I don't know. Maybe not.

[01:43:49] But Hillary Swank is in this, the newest episode of Yellow Jackets. I don't know if you watch that show, but if you want to see her, I enjoyed seeing her in it. She's great. And she's going to be in it going forward, at least for a while, as long as they don't eat her. Oh, yeah.

[01:44:12] Doblino Bob Grippy says, love the way pawn shop dude and corner store dude watched the Sakai-Takai in the bar together. I always thought Kreese would be redeemed by finding out his girlfriend was alive and well and single and ready to mingle. Long live Terry Silver. Terry Silver spinoff. Quicksilver never dies. It explores... But he's dead. Yeah.

[01:44:39] It explores Dinah talks and his dealings. Carmen is a total hottie. Sensei Wolf also played Cole Young in the 2021 Mortal Kombat. He did. And I actually really enjoyed that one, by the way. Favorite characters? Terri Silver, Chosen, and Johnny. And season one and two, Anthony. That's interesting. Least favorite?

[01:45:08] Dimitri, Sam, and Nicholas. Especially the way he let Noah die. Oh, and Porch Dick, he got his. He's going into Walking Dead here. Yeah. I was going to say... Oh, okay. I was like, wait, this is Nicholas. Yeah. Any spinoff I'd want to see is Johnny-based, Terry Silver-based, or Chosen-based. Where it starts with him and Sensei Kim. But then she asks for his help to bury her grandfather's body. But then it's apprehended, leaving Chosen in charge of that branch of Cobra Kai.

[01:45:37] You have to cover the 2010 Karate Kid flick in preparation for Karate Kid Legends. I think we're going to do that. Johnny and Daniel running and training on the beach was like Rocky and Apollo, except they were wearing pants. Instead of very, very short shorts and an afro. It would have been ultra funny if when Johnny looks at Daniel before backing up and scoring the last point, Wolf just punched, kicked him right in the face. Out of nowhere. Bam. Fan theory.

[01:46:07] If the mats were blue or red back in 85, Johnny would have won. How many band t-shirts does Johnny have? Probably in Johnny's mind, not enough. Because I know I don't have enough. Love the line, I'm going to drain the main vein. Totally Johnny-like, piss under the bridge. P.S. You have to cover Enter the Dragon.

[01:46:31] I went to see it one day re-released in 2023, celebrating its 50th anniversary with my older cousin who never saw it. I was worried there would be no seats available. Turns out, only about five people in the theater. Oh, no. You know what? I've never seen that. I've seen it on TV. I want to watch it. Not bad. Thanks, man. Glad you're watching along with us. Here's another person who's been watching along with us, Alex Kruger.

[01:47:02] Hey, y'all. Alex Kruger here, leaving feedback for the Cobra Kai series finale, Ex-Degenerate. I'm not going to go beat by beat this time because, honestly, I ran out of time to record. So thank you, Jason, for reminding me. And full disclosure, I watched all of these episodes when they first dropped, pre-typed all of my feedback as I went, and always intended to do a second re-watch before I wrote and recorded this one. But then a glut of Prestige TV happened and my baseball podcast started back up. So here's what I recall and here's what I got.

[01:47:31] I really appreciate that they aren't going to even try to hide the Karate Kid and Rocky Parallels anymore. That training montage with the running and the beach was frigging everything. Hell yeah. The Miyagi truth. So the Miyagi truth makes so much sense about the incident, the necklace, yada, yada, yada. The guy almost beat death. And honestly, though we don't have all of the details until the prequel, of course, it's enough to explain the situation and why it all matters. I love the reveal being from Mama LaRusso, too. Oh, chef's kiss.

[01:48:01] Now, gentlemen, you have often pondered how Dimitri could end up with Jasmine. And I get it, but let me posit this theory. It's the same way Pete Davidson gets anybody. Shy enough, personality, but massive big D energy, baby. Good for him. I remember jumping on the couch and hollering when Johnny won the tournament, not with the crane kick, not with any other crap, but by sweeping the leg in a body bag. Perfect. These dudes know how to write nostalgic television.

[01:48:31] Yes. Really happy they resisted the urge to let Daniel catch the fly and let Johnny be Johnny, showing the difference between these two and whose story this has always been. Yep. Folks, this show, your coverage, all of it, A+. And thank you for letting me and the other commenters be a part of it. But that leaves me with one last spinoff idea. All right. I fully accept that this is similar to my first spinoff idea, but with a delightful twist. Here we go.

[01:48:58] While Sam and Miguel, who has come to help Pac, say goodbye to Okinawa at the end of Sam's year abroad, they are interrupted by a drunken Chosen who explains Kim Da-eun has been captured and he needs their help. Naturally, Tori and Robbie just so happen to be in Okinawa for a publicity event and go to try to liberate her when they are captured by Interpol agents and learn that this is much bigger than some little dojo beef.

[01:49:22] It's there that they meet their handler, the NSA officer assisting on the case, Julie Pierce. That's it for me. Thank you all again for loving this show as much as we have and giving us a platform to share in that love together. Now, on the next Prestige TV show, keep up the great work and remember, praise Kier. Praise Lumen. Man, that couldn't have been timed any better. Nathan, I think that's your show, right? Yeah.

[01:49:53] He's like, yes! Thanks, Alex. Alex hadn't sent in his voice message, but I was like, hey, we're recording today. Aren't you going to send something in? So he sent that in. It was great. Yeah. That'd be great. Glad you got it in there. And Gary Hewitt writes, I just have to say, what an absolutely perfect ending. Emotional, epic, and so well-earned. Johnny finally getting his moment. Chills.

[01:50:19] Seeing Daniel step out in the Black Cobra Kai Gi to back him up, that was next-level storytelling, proving just how far these two have come and what amazing arcs they've had. And when they lifted that trophy together, I swear I had full-body goosebumps and the biggest grin on my face. Tell me I wasn't the only one expecting Johnny to pull off a crane kick at the end. That would have been legendary. As for what's next? I'd be all in for a Mr. Miyagi prequel, but honestly, I don't know if I want a spinoff with the main characters.

[01:50:49] Cobra Kai wrapped things up so perfectly, I'd hate to see them mess with such a satisfying conclusion. Let's hope the Karate Kid legacy doesn't leave us deflated after this. No, and one last thing. Who else caught how much the finale mirrored Rocky Balboa? An aging fighter stepping into the ring one last time, proving himself, his family, and the world that he still got that one last fight and fire in him. The Rocky homages throughout this series have been awesome.

[01:51:17] But that one hit hard. It would have been great if you guys did one last retrospective episode on Cobra Kai season one, episode one, just to see how far the characters have come. No pressure. LOL. Stay badass. When he says Rocky Balboa, he means the movie that's called Rocky Balboa, where Sylvester Stallone was like 60 years old or something. I don't know how he was, but yeah, yeah, yeah. Yep. Good call.

[01:51:48] All right. I saved Mike Caruso for last because he's been calling in most regularly. Well, Steve too, but I like to put him up front because he can summarize the episode for us. But anyway, here's good old Mike. Hey, Jason, Riemer, and Richard. It's Mike rolling up with a 40 in a brown paper bag to leave my feedback on season six, episode 15, X degenerate. While I still can't before they locked me up for a little incident I had at Waffle House.

[01:52:18] Oh, nice.

[01:52:53] And so the curtain falls on Cobra Kai. It's a series that I feel like I would recommend to almost anyone. It's a series that I feel like I would recommend to almost anyone. I don't know. I don't know where to begin and don't even really think I could scratch the surface.

[01:53:21] But what I will try to do is follow up on my You're the Best and Dutch and Julie Pierce watch stuff. And obviously we got You're the Best. That was freaking awesome. A little bit different from the situation that I thought we would get it in. It's a training montage as opposed to like actually at the tournament. I thought maybe it would be during an action sequence because it was during an action montage in Karate Kid.

[01:53:51] So I thought there might be some symmetry here, but we did not get that, which was fine. I was cool with how it worked. It felt very 80s to get a training montage, and I think that worked well with the song. As far as Dutch and Julie Pierce goes, I went into this episode fully expecting that we wouldn't get them. Not really super disappointed by that because it wouldn't really fit. It would be extraneous at this point. But, you know, a little hopeful that we would still.

[01:54:21] And we didn't, of course, which is fine. And as has been said, there's really not a lot of room for them in the story. It would have kind of felt forced. And I totally agree with that. That said, as I was watching it, you know, fully not expecting to see them. We get to the airport scene. And Sam is, like, you know, going through the motions there, finding her ticket, whatever, pulling out her necklace. No, that came later.

[01:54:49] But anyway, like, it was clearly going somewhere as we're following Sam through the airport. And I'm like, oh, what's going to happen here? Is she going to run into, you know, was her name Alicia from the first couple of series? I forget her friend's name. But and then it dawned on me. Oh, my gosh. Maybe she'll run into Julie Pierce and get some, like, friendly woman to woman going out on your own sort of advice. That could work maybe and not feel super forced.

[01:55:18] Maybe a little forced, but not super forced. Of course, that's not where the scene ultimately went. It was Miguel catching up with her. But somehow I tricked myself for a moment into thinking like, oh, shit, it's going to happen, isn't it? So while I'm mildly ashamed that I allowed myself to get tricked into thinking that Julie Pierce was going to show up at the end of the episode, I'm not super crushed by the lack of her and Dutch's appearance.

[01:55:43] If anything, I feel kind of bad for those next Karate Kid fans that were really looking forward to Julie Pierce possibly showing up. Shout out, Nathan. And I feel like I do feel like it's a loose end in a show that really like to tie up loose ends and make sense out of things that maybe we had questions for or about in previous movies. It feels like pretty much the only thing they didn't address. So part of me still wishes they have. But, you know, I can live with it.

[01:56:11] I think I think it was fine what they did with it. And that's a wrap on Cobra Kai. Man, thank you guys so much for your podcast. I've had just a lot of fun listening to it.

[01:56:34] And it really took the show to the next level for me, especially because I think you guys are like super thoughtful and insightful. And you really get me to think in ways that I don't always think on my own. You know, you're really thought provoking in that way. And I really enjoyed listening and laughing along with you guys.

[01:56:57] I honestly even decided to watch Cobra Kai because I knew Podcastica had a podcast on it and it was getting advertised as coming to Netflix. And I was like, well, what the hell? I'll give it a shot. And here we are. The first couple of seasons, seasons three and four, I like binge watch the series and sent my voicemails in advance.

[01:57:22] And starting last season, season five, I watched the series along with you guys for the same with your episode counts that you would do. So, yeah, it's been a lot of fun just coming along for the journey. So, thank you, Podcastica, for kicking so much ass. Have an 80s guitar solo. Cheers, guys.

[01:57:51] You're the best around because you stayed badass. That was so great. Thank you. I'm really glad we had a chance to have him come guest too. Yeah. That's cool. Mike, if you're watching any other shows we do or if you want to get involved in some other way, we should talk. Absolutely.

[01:58:21] All right. That is our show. Thank you so much to everybody who followed along with us, especially people like Mike and Steve Brown and Alex who regularly called in. But to everyone, we, of course, would not do this without you guys. And big thanks to everyone who co-hosted with us. Dan, Ben, Erica, Damien, Steve, and Mike.

[01:58:49] I hope I didn't forget anyone, but I think that's everyone. And thank you guys. You were the perfect co-host for this. Thanks, Rima. I'm so glad you ended up enjoying it. And when Cleans and Roses came on, I was like, yes. And that you took Krav Maga and you talked about some of your martial arts experiences. That was really cool.

[01:59:15] And Rich, just as a teacher, you added so much talking about what it's like to be around kids and how the kids in the show remind you of it and everything. And also just that you and I lived through the 80s together. And you knew how much I love this movie and everything. So it's been one of the highlights of my podcasting career over the last 15 years, 14 years. Awesome. That's nice.

[01:59:43] Well, and a big shout out to Jason, too, for putting all this together for us. It's been a great ride this last five years. Yep. Very enjoyable. And if you guys want something else fun to listen to while you wait for Karate Kid Legends to come around, which we'll cover, you know, what comes out in a few months here.

[02:00:02] I recommend watching Ash vs. Evil Dead on Netflix and going back and listening to me, Rich and Chris from Talking Dead talk about that because we had a fucking blast talking about that. And you can find Ash vs. Evil Dead cast and all our other podcasts at podcast2get.com. So I hope you check them out and see if there's anything you might like on there. Definitely need a rewatch of that show. Yeah, me too. I haven't seen it in a long time. I got the DVD set. Ooh, smart.

[02:00:33] All right. That is our show. Thanks for listening. And always remember, as a wise man once said, don't be a pussy. Cobra Kai. Cobra Kai. Cobra Kai. Woo!

[02:01:52] No mercy.