Cobra Kai Season 4 Review – Do It Your Way

Before I even start, I’m going to drop a major spoiler here. For some reason, likely never to be fully known to us…Carrie Underwood appears in this season of Cobra Kai. Yes, for real. It was…something. No, it’s not something I’ll deduct points for, but yeah…it was odd. But thankfully, the rest of this Cobra Kai Season 4 review will be filled with a lot of less odd things, because this season was awesome.

At the end of Cobra Kai Season 3, the “gentlemen’s wager” was made. At the All-Valley tournament, if Cobra Kai lost, they were done, for good. But (as we would find out later on in Season 4), if LaRusso and Lawrence’s combined efforts to take Kreese down failed, then it would be THEIR dojos that were done for good. So…how would it all go down? That’s not an easy question to answer, as Cobra Kai Season 4 made sure that there was nuance in just about every major storyline. Starting of course…with Daniel and Johnny.

Because also at the end of Season 3 was the promise of Johnny and Daniel FINALLY putting aside their differences to focus on the greater good. Or at the very least, getting rid of the greater evil. But as EVERYONE suspected, it didn’t go well to start…or as the season continued.

And ironically, that was a key overarching storyline of Cobra Kai Season 4, the idea of being stuck in one’s ways so much that anything other than the path you were taught is “wrong” or “corrupt. Both Johnny and Daniel have been well and truly stuck in the mud with their ideals since almost literally episode 1. So them working together and teaching their “Unified Dojo” was not going to be easy.

But what Cobra Kai did in the first two episodes was try and put the two masters in each others shoes. Showing why aggression CAN work in the right ways, and why playing defense can save your life (as Daniel noted in regards to how he saved Johnny from Kreese at the end of Season 3.) This was honestly a lot of fun, and it played out throughout the season as Johnny used defense in a fight, and Daniel used his aggression in a meaningful way to get through to one of his kids.

And throughout the season, both Johnny and Daniel have to learn that “your way isn’t the only way”, and they’re reminded of that by multiple people, and by the end, they finally get it, and it’s a powerful moment when it happens.

As for the kids…they’re not alright. Well, some of them aren’t, anyway. I won’t mince word here, part of the reason why Season 4 isn’t the best season of Cobra Kai is because they go HEAVY with the teen angst and drama and at this point…most fans are over it. Especially when it comes to the relationships that Sam, Robbie, Miguel and Tory have and how they come off at times.

Sam was easily the most polarizing character this season (yeah, it’s not Robbie, shocking, I know), but not for the reasons you think. Because on one hand, she was a big part of why Daniel and Johnny made things work during her final fight at the All-Valley, and again, it was a powerful moment. But other parts of her season were just cringe.

Such as with her now eternal rivalry with Tory (more on her in a sec). In a key scene about midway through the season, Sam goes and visits her friend from the first two seasons in Aiesha (a WELL-deserved return!) and Aiesha tells Sam that you can strike first (the Cobra Kai way) but have it be a positive thing in terms of changing enemies into friends.

The literal next scene is Tory being confronted by Sam and being told that if she even looked at her the wrong way, she’d beat her for the third time. I’m sorry, did you NOT hear what your bestie said? Because that wasn’t it!

What’s more, like in a previous season, Sam was the instigator in just about every violent incident that involved Tory. So as a friend of mine noted on Twitter…Sam was the bad guy, especially given Tory’s arc this season.

As we finally saw in Cobra Kai Season 3, Tory is much more than her tough girl act lets on. She’s the only one who can take care of her mother, and she works jobs to pay for her family. But, naturally, because of her actions in the riot and then the house fight, she’s made serious enemies. Ones’ that cost her a lot in this season.

…but…as Kreese of all people points out to Amanda, not everyone has a “storybook life”, and we see a great intertwining story between Amanda and Tory as the former finds out the truth about Tory’s life and tries to help her in honest and meaningful ways. Even having Amanda reveal a dark part of her past to Daniel to show why she’s so committed to helping Tory. And it’s great!

I loved it, and I loved that Tory’s taking of Amanda’s advice led to good things happening to her. Including her going back to school, getting help with her mother, and so on. As well as by the end of the season, seeing how Cobra Kai wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.

But when you weigh that against what Sam did for most of the season, it shows that Sam is an entitled snob at points and is mad at anyone not helping her. Even using the cringe line of “everyone has a sob story” again while venting about why her parents are helping Tory.

Really Sam? So what’s your painful growing up story? Would love to hear it.

Then, there’s Kenny, a smaller part, but one that again played huge in the narrative of Cobra Kai Season 4. Not the least of which was because it showed just how alluring, addicting, and dangerous something like Cobra Kai can be. Yes, we’d seen it with Hawk, and even Robbie to an extent, but this was different…this was darker.

Because the tale of Kenny is the tale of someone who had no one around to help him (Hawk had Dmitri and Miguel, Cobra Kai was more about getting confidence, and Robbie was honestly just a lost kid who got a helping hand from the wrong person). He was being bullied, and constantly humiliated for no reason other than he was the new kid.

So when he was told by his brother (a great connection to Season 3) to seek out Robbie Keen and Cobra Kai, how could he say no? And when Robbie became a mentor to him, and helped him fight his bullies, how could we not do anything but applaud at points? That is…until the darker Kenny emerged. To the point where he beat up someone who was literally defenseless, and Robbie could do nothing but watch in horror at the sick smile that grew on Kenny’s face when he promised to make his bully’s life miserable from then on out.

Robbie straddled a line this season, and for the better. But at the end, him admitting that he was wrong to his dad, and wanting to fix things because he made them worse was great. And sometimes you can’t ask for forgiveness until you finally realize that everything you thought you knew…was wrong.

I waited until now to talk about Terry Silver’s arrival because quite frankly…he’s essential to this season, even if he doesn’t make an impact right away.

Big spoiler here, he’s the only big “returning character” from Karate Kid past that shows up (outside of a certain ending cameo…) and that’s fine. Because his return is very much a tale of what happens when someone makes peace with the past…and then the past returns to show them “their true self”.

Because as teased at the end of Season 3, Kreese makes a call to Silver for help. But in a fun twist…Terry wants none of it. He’s filthy rich, living a healthy lifestyle, has a stunning partner, and so on. Why would he want to get back to karate?

What’s more, he actually pokes fun at his cartoonish villain self from Karate Kid III and noted how he had to get over that version of himself to “be happy”. But was he happy?

His de-evolution back into the psycho that even made Daniel LaRusso shiver was well handled. Because at first, you honestly believed him in terms of his “growth” and bringing in “wisdom”. Even trying to rein in Kreese when he started talking certain nonsense. Or pushing his luck instead of focusing on the goal of the All-Valley Tournament.

But as things start falling apart, so does he, and it leads to a HUGE twist that even I won’t spoil here because it sets up a LOT going forward, and shows that sometimes…you can’t fix crazy.

In truth, I was honestly a little surprised that they didn’t do more with Miguel this season. To be clear, they do enough, especially in regards to how he embraces Miyagi-Do in a way that sets off Johnny, or how he’s worried about his future with Sam if he doesn’t “measure up” to the LaRusso’s “standards”. And a certain “I love you scene” that is absolutely heartbreaking to watch. But when you find out at the end he’s going to find his father…you know they’re going to play that big in Season 5.

There were lots of other big character moments that I think were great. Including Hawk getting his redemption many-fold and even beating Robbie to win the male side of the All-Valley Tournament. Us FINALLY getting the rematch of ages between Daniel and Johnny…it was really good. Sam and Miguel’s “swapping loyalties” because it suited where they were on their paths, and even Dmitri showing his worth by bringing back Hawk to Miyagi-Do and even holding his own in the tournament.

Heck, a board meeting for the All-Valley Tournament was done with such detail that it was a standout moment. Who knew?

And yes, the comedy for the most part was solid, with the best scene being, “Don’t be there.”

Funny picture above aside, you can’t do a Cobra Kai Season 4 review without talking about the fight scenes. They actually hired new fight coordinators for this season, and the results were surprisingly great. They dedicate the last two episodes of the season to the All-Valley Tournament, and the 1-on-1 matches that they show are great. Both men’s and women’s.

The fight between Hawk and Robbie, and of course the final fight between Tory and Sam are standouts both visually, and how they tell a story. They also make sure the shots are done to where you FEEL the impact at points, and it’s just a wonder to behold.

There’s even a fight at the prom that is basically a literal dance fight…and it totally works! Seriously, Cobra Kai can almost do no wrong when it comes to their fight scenes, and with Season 5, the challenge will be on to top what has happened here. Because it no doubt will be hard to do…again.

So, what DOES hold back Cobra Kai Season 4? Well…a few things.

I already mentioned the “teenage angst” bit and sadly there’s a LOT of it, and while some does apply to the story, some is just poorly crafted. Like with the love quadrangle that has now formed between Sam/Miguel/Tory/Robbie. Ugh.

Second, LaRusso’s OTHER child in Anthony gets a side story in connection with Kenny…and he’s STILL a cringe-character. We’re supposed to feel bad at the end when Kenny beats him up…but it’s honestly very hard to sympathize. What’s more, both Daniel and Amanda felt that it was “impossible” that Anthony became a bully…and yet in Season 1 we saw that he was a total jerk with no respect for his parents or anyone else, so…why did they not think he would be a bully?

Third, while the show did a good job with building up character tension, at times they overplayed their hands or tried to “twist the knife” a bit too much. Like with us meeting Tory’s scumbag aunt, or with Johnny pushing it too far with Miguel multiple times. Or Daniel and his “holier than thou” act which at this point…he really should’ve been over, especially after Season 3’s finale.

Fourth, while I did like Terry’s return to madness, it did come at the cost of both logic and Kreese. In a key episode, Terry teaches the class about how “everyone has a weakness” and even saying that Kreese had one, then played that weakness to win a bet. But later on, Kreese’s weakness is “revealed”…to be Johnny Lawrence, he doesn’t want to “hurt him” and just wants him back into the fold, and that led to the big twist with Silver.

…say what now? Kreese didn’t have that weakness when he almost killed Johnny last season. And if he just wanted him back into the fold, why was he trying to shut down his dojo and not make him teach karate anymore? Furthermore, they literally show Kreese’s weakness in that training session that Silver one. Kreese’s weakness is his arrogance. He always thinks he has everything won, and then it slips away from him at the end…just like in the training session…and then with Silver at the end.

Oh, and don’t get me started on Stingray, that didn’t add up…

Finally, because we KNEW that Season 5 was coming (and has already finished filming apparently) we knew that certain things had to happen, else there would be no plot for next season. And that led to a key result in the All-Valley being all but guaranteed before the final match even started.

Still, even with these criticisms, Cobra Kai Season 4 shines, and with a new unified front for Daniel, and a new mission for Johnny in regards to Miguel, things are only looking bright for Season 5 when it comes. And I can’t wait.

Check out our other Cobra Kai coverage:

• The Outerhaven’s Cobra Kai: Season 3 Review
• Cobra Kai Season 2 Review – Prepare For War
• The Outerhaven’s Cobra Kai Season 3 Spoilercast
• Cobra Kai Season 5 Won’t Be The End According To Creators