‘Cobra Kai’ Season 3 Receives Critical Acclaim

On January 1, the highly anticipated third season of the hit show Cobra Kai premiered on the Netflix streaming service. Based on the 1984 film The Karate Kid and its sequels, Cobra Kai stars William Zabka as Johnny Lawrence, the main rival of Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) in the first movie, who reestablishes the karate dojo Cobra Kai in order to stop being seen as a washed up loser by his peers and his son Robby (Tanner Buchanan). Like the two previous seasons of Cobra Kai, season 3 received critical acclaim from both fans and critics, many of whom called it the best season yet.

The third season of Cobra Kai picks up where the season 2 finale left off, in which Johnny and Daniel receive most of the blame for the massive school fight that broke out at the end of the previous season. Johnny’s star pupil Miguel (Xolo Maridueña) is crippled after fighting the former’s son Robby, who is arrested for accidentally causing his injuries. The season revolves around Johnny starting a new dojo after John Kreese (Martin Kove) stole Cobra Kai from him, while also finally putting an end to the feud between him and Daniel, which had been occurring since the show began. In addition to this, several flashbacks are shown of a young Kreese during his time in the Vietnam War, and how it transformed him from an honest and kind individual into a ruthless and unstable monster.

Many fans loved season 3 for showing Johnny and Daniel make amends with each other and bringing back Elisabeth Shue as Ali Mills. In addition to Shue coming back, both Yuji Okumoto and Tamlyn Tomita return as Chozen Toguchi and Kumiko, who previously appeared in The Karate Kid Part II. The ending of the season also hints that Thomas Ian Griffith will return as Terry Silver, the main villain of The Karate Kid Part III. The fight scenes once again received acclaim for the impressive choreography and length. The performances particularly from Zabka, Macchio and Kove also received praise due to their chemistry and impressive acting abilities.

Overall, this season is another win for Cobra Kai, with fans hoping to see the fourth season premiere sooner than later.