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Season 3 of Cobra Kai has turned up the pressure on the rivalry front, but the dojos’ biggest challenge is yet to come.
After doing some soul-searching, Daniel took Daniel to Japan and Johnny for… well, a bar stool, a visit from an old friend helped the two opposing senses bury the hatchet. After yet another power-grabbing confrontation with Cobra Kai, Johnny’s new Eagle Fang dojo and Daniel’s Miyagi-Do group finally united against John Kreese’s violent thug gang and the “merciless” teachings. As a bloody exchange of fists between the students razed LaRusso’s house, Kreese, Johnny and Daniel agreed to sort things out the old-fashioned way: with a karate tournament, of course!
Here, executive producers and co-showrunners Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg describe the season, including Daniel and Johnny’s new partnership, Kreese’s traumatic backstory, the show’s portrayal of bullying and what if season 4 will be the final battle for the soul of the valley.
TVLINE | Have you always planned that the third season will end with the union of Johnny and Daniel? And why is this point in history the right time for them to mash their beef? Can’t imagine it will be completely smooth sailing for them.
CURE | We have always known how to give them this moment. We’ve always thought this was the time for that to happen, but we’re doing it in a way where we’ve also established who these characters are. They are both very strong in spirit in their own philosophies, ideals and pasts. There seems to be a very distinct battle ahead, a very clear border and a set of circumstances that brought them to this moment, but time will tell if history repeats itself and they fall back into old ways, or if they leave. being able to weather the storm and lean on each other to do the hard work of what it means to form a partnership.
TVLINE | The end of Kreese’s flashback gave us essential information about Cobra KaiHe’s the biggest villain. Why does he still have such an interest in the dojo, even after all these years?
HURWITZ | Cobra Kai is in his blood. He founded Cobra Kai. It was important for us to take this character that you’ve known all these years – who’s just plain bad… he’s Darth Vader, he’s evil – and understand where a guy like that comes from. A guy who regularly talks about “no mercy”. Why is this so important to him? We meet him in Season 3 before Vietnam and see that he was a full-fledged underdog, perhaps with a more tragic life than, say, Daniel or Miguel. To deal with the situations he was faced with there, to live that experience of mercy and to see that the world does not necessarily reward good behavior… it had a profound impact on him. It was a traumatic experience that he carries with him to this day.
We’ve always asked, “Why would John Kreese create a karate dojo?” From the start, it is because he believes he has something to offer young people, life lessons that he believes are important for these children to know, to defend themselves in life. In his mind, he teaches people what is needed to get through life. Seeing that Cobra Kai was back brought that spirit back to him. He had given up on life in many ways. Then having a front row seat to see Johnny change some of the fundamentals that he thinks were important to Cobra Kai was too hard to take. He’s as determined as he was when he started the dojo many years ago to educate the youth of the Valley to prepare for the world they are going to face.
TVLINE | At the end of the finale, Kreese turned to his former army buddy Terry for help. Has this role already been played and, if so, who will play it?
HURWITZ | Just because Kreese has contacted someone doesn’t necessarily mean he’s coming back to the show. That said, on our show, we try to bring back as much as possible the original actor who has played characters in the past. We all loved the character of Terry Silver in The Karate Kid 3 and his portrayal by Thomas Ian Griffith, so if this character were to return for Season 4, we’re hoping he would be the one to play him.
SCHLOSSBERG | There is no confirmation, anything can happen, really. But I will say: if you like Terry Silver, this is probably the best show to listen to to see if he turns up. [Laughs] But we can’t promise anything at this point because it’s all a mystery.
TVLINE | Why was Daniel’s return to Okinawa important to his script and how did it help him prepare for the drama that unfolded at the end?
SCHLOSSBERG | Mr. Miyagi’s legacy is a big part of his psyche, and seeing the Miyagi name tarnished as a result of what happened at school… he bears that responsibility. He is more of an emotional wreck than ever and needed Mr. Miyagi’s help. There are different ways to connect with the past. There is prayer, there is going to a cemetery, and for some people, it is taking a journey to connect with their roots. Mr. Miyagi’s Okinawan homeland is the birthplace of Miyagi-Do karate for Daniel, so it really provided the emotional and psychological answers to his questions.
By connecting with some of these characters from Karate Kid Part II, especially Kumiko, she is able to give him insight into Mr. Miyagi’s mind. Sometimes when you get older and browse through your parents’ belongings if they are deceased, you will see something that is theirs and realize something about them that you didn’t think of as a child. We have always loved this idea that Daniel viewed Mr. Miyagi as that wise and omniscient force that had all the answers to everything, and when Kumiko reads the letter to him, he realizes that Mr. Miyagi did not have all of the answers, and this Daniel was actually the thing that solved his life. He realizes that it’s normal not to have all the answers to everything. Mr. Miyagi did not.
TVLINE| Were there any behind-the-scenes discussions about how far you wanted to go about the bullying aspects on the show?
SCHLOSSBERG | We want the show to work the same The Karate Kid has worked, both in a classic sense of bullying, but also in a modern way. From the start of Season 1, we’ve incorporated aspects of cyberbullying, whether it’s body shame or slutty shame, things that are perhaps more contemporary topics even though it’s been going on for years. We want it to be relevant and universal, it really creates frustration in the audience like, “God, I feel bad for these kids. I want them to overcome. It’s the magic of The Karate Kid. It’s this outsider story.
Themes of bullying were linked to this story when we launched Cobra Kai to Ralph Macchio. It’s not just about bringing back all the characters we love and finding a fun Kreese story; it’s because this topic is as relevant as it ever was. This story and this frankness is very cathartic for people who go through this. You don’t want to disturb people too much when they can’t keep watching the show, but life can be disturbing at times. It’s not just physical violence, it’s mental violence. Children can become suicidal because of these things. We don’t want to be too afraid to bring up topics, but we try to be careful. Typically five minutes later there’s comedy as well. We go back and forth between having fun, but also tackling the serious themes of bullying.
TVLINE | Regarding Johnny calling his students “thoughts” or “penis breath” cracks, have you ever considered adding an LGBTQ character to illuminate the damage that kind of language could do?
HURWITZ | We talk about all kinds of characters to add to the world and think about how they would react or react to the mindset of Johnny – sort of unfrozen caveman, guy from the 80s – and compare his verbiage to the how today’s youth respond to it and the impact it can have. So we absolutely talked about adding characters from that community and, frankly, all types of teenagers that aren’t necessarily represented.
SCHLOSSBERG | Miguel in some ways, although not a gay character, represents the modern take and counterpoint. Sometimes Johnny won’t let him talk, which is part of the problem. In the very first lesson, Miguel calls him out for saying, “You don’t want to be a p-ssy, you must have balls.” Right away Miguel said, “Uh, I think you’re a gender stereotype here?” and Johnny is like, “Calm!” We hope the audience can tell from the students’ perspective that were aware that Johnny is late. He did not come to this place where [the bullying] has affected anyone in particular, but it’s something that is always possible to explore more over the seasons and that we get to know more students.
TVLINE | The series is already renewed for season 4, but have you thought about where the series could go beyond?
CURE | We have an end of the game in our heads. We’ve had one for a while, and it’s not in Season 4. It’s way beyond that. In our mind, we have a story of seasons that needs to be told before we get to that endgame. This will be an upcoming discussion with our new partners at Netflix. Can we write to this end of the game? Do we know this is happening? This is not always the case with television and we respect that. For now, we continue to write at the same speed and with the same path that we started from the start.
Now it’s your turn! Rate the finale and season below, then drop all your thoughts on Season 3 in the comments!
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