cobra kai season 3 (2020) review
The bloodless and largely consequence-free fights and fight choreography in seasons one and two of Cobra Kai were competent enough to not be distracting. The show smartly leaned into its primary strength, nostalgia, and peppered in just enough of the classic Karate Kid hand-to-hand stuff to keep those seeking action engaged. It’s a delicate balance and the first seasons had it mostly figured out. That is, until that extended final battle of season 2. The overly long school-yard dust-up was critical narratively as it set up Miguel’s injury, Sam’s PTSD, and the “karate is doing more damage than good” through line of season 3. It also shone light on the primary weakness of the otherwise outstanding show: the fights. The fight choreography isn’t just toothless and poorly conceived, it’s laughable. The producers chose to (mostly) hire actors who are actors first and not martial artists or stunt-people. I understand this decision as the hook of Cobra Kai is more nostalgia than martial arts but the frequent student-on-student clashes of season 3 which (mild spoiler) occur entirely outside of the structured environment of a karate tournament look and feel like actors flailing about and falling down awkwardly. I suppose a case can be made that this is the charm of Karate Kid. I found it distracting. Why do the blows have consequences only when the plot requires it? They couldn’t do a better job of hiding the painfully obvious stunt doubles for Kreese and Daniel LaRusso? Overall, season 3 is the campiest yet with certain lines and their delivery feeling cartoonish, stilted and too on the nose. Cobra Kai generally wants to be taken seriously but then gives us dialogue that feels ripped from the worst of Saved by the Bell (the one from the nineties). At other times the writing is excellent with William Zabka benefitting from the most logically satisfying arc. If you liked season 1 and 2 of Cobra Kai, you’ll like season 3. It’s a bit unfocused compared to the first two but ends perfectly to set up the already announced season 4.