The Netflix series "Cobra Kai" is a continuation of the '80's hit movie "The Karate Kid," which starred Ralph Macchio, William Zabka, and Pat Morita who played the beloved Sensei Miyagi.
Flash forward almost 40 years, and it's almost as if nothing's changed: there's still rivalries, drama, and some awesome karate kicks.
However, the series became a big favorite in quarantine and honestly, I really don't know why I haven't watched it sooner. I'll have to admit that it isn't what I was expecting for a continuation of a couple of movies from 40 years ago, but I loved every minute of it!
1. There is so much character development.
The series is full of diverse personalities, and there's so much growth among all of the characters. It's hard to choose a favorite. It's hard to compare their ending personalities to the ones we first met at the beginning of the series.
2. The background stories on past characters are elite.
Something you get out of this series that you don't get from watching the original "The Karate Kid" is the chance to see the background stories of characters who were in the spotlight in the movie. Personally, I think those really help make a lot of sense when it comes to understanding why the characters are the way that they are.
3. There are so many plot twists.
The series doesn't follow a simple "one protagonist, one antagonist" story-line. There are so many different characters and different points of view to keep adding to the story as it goes. I've lost count of how many times I've gasped, yelled at my TV, and re-watched different scenes because I couldn't believe what had just happened. You'll definitely find yourself switching sides a lot throughout the show.
4. The karate is still pretty kick-ass.
There wasn't one moment where I didn't think to myself, "Wow, maybe I should start taking karate." Ralph Macchio and William Zabka had the moves back in the day, and they still do now.
5. Be ready to learn some life lessons.
There isn't much to learn about life when doing the wax-on wax-off move, but one thing the show does teach is that lessons taught in karate can be applied to real life. They won't always have the most straightforward answers or make the most sense at first, but they're worth hearing.
