Episodes
Thirty four years after losing to Daniel LaRusso in the 1984 All Valley Under-18 Karate Championship, Johnny Lawrence struggles ...read more Thirty four years after losing to Daniel LaRusso in the 1984 All Valley Under-18 Karate Championship, Johnny Lawrence struggles to make a living as a handyman while Daniel runs a successful car dealership chain in the San Fernando Valley. One night, Johnny saves his teenage neighbor Miguel Diaz from a group of bullies at a nearby strip mall before he is arrested for assaulting them. After being released from police custody, Johnny gets a visit from his wealthy, bullying stepfather, Sid Weinberg. Sid gives Johnny a check and officially disowns him. Drunk, Johnny drives to the All Valley Sports Arena and relives his last encounter with his former sensei John Kreese when his car is wrecked in a hit-and-run incident. Despite his protests, his car is towed to one of Daniel's dealerships for repairs. The next day he goes to the dealership in an attempt to take the car back, only to run into Daniel. The meeting not only reignites Johnny's smouldering enmity for Daniel but he also finds out that Daniel's daughter Samantha was one of the passengers in the hit-and-run incident. He returns home and tells Miguel that he will be his sensei and opens his own Cobra Kai dojo with the money he received from Sid. show less
Miguel begins his karate training with Johnny bullying him for his asthma and low self-esteem. Johnny is informed by the health ...read more Miguel begins his karate training with Johnny bullying him for his asthma and low self-esteem. Johnny is informed by the health department that the dojo needs a lot of work before he can officially teach students. Meanwhile, Daniel and his wife get into an argument after discovering that Samantha has invited her friends over to their home for a pool party in their absence. While reconciling with his daughter, Daniel finds out that Samantha is romantically interested in a boy called Kyler and offers to invite him to a family dinner. At school, Miguel befriends two social outcasts named Dimitri and Eli. During lunch, they talk about the rich girls Samantha hangs out with and discover that Kyler is one of the bullies who attacked Miguel a few nights ago. Johnny is informed that his son, Robby Keene, has been caught with drugs at school. During dinner, Daniel notices that Kyler has recently been in a fight and learns that Kyler received his injuries from Johnny. Kyler however, lies about why Johnny attacked him and Daniel goes to the dojo to confront Johnny over the incident. show less
Johnny tries to recruit more students to the dojo and Daniel decides to chaperone the school Halloween dance. Miguel's ...read more Johnny tries to recruit more students to the dojo and Daniel decides to chaperone the school Halloween dance. Miguel's karate training is stepped up as Johnny urges him to use the Cobra Kai creed of "Strike hard. Strike first. No mercy" in his everyday life and urges him to attend the Halloween dance. Daniel embarrasses his daughter Samantha during the dance and Miguel overhears Kyler and his friends talking about Samantha as a sex object. Miguel attacks Kyler but he is overpowered and severely beaten by the bullies. Johnny, who has been at the school handing out flyers for Cobra Kai finds Miguel in the bathroom and takes him home to his mother, who is a nurse. show less
Johnny's son Robby learns of the new dojo and is embarrassed by his father's recruitment methods. Meanwhile, a LaRusso ...read more Johnny's son Robby learns of the new dojo and is embarrassed by his father's recruitment methods. Meanwhile, a LaRusso Auto billboard is vandalized and evidence leads Daniel to suspect Johnny as the culprit. Daniel's daughter, Samantha, sees Kyler bullying Dmitri and Eli by mocking Eli's deformity and throwing Dmitri's backpack in the trash. Kyler asks Samantha to the movies where he aggressively attempts to coerce Samantha into having sex. When Kyler persists, Samantha embarrasses him in front of everyone and leaves, making him furious. Johnny tries to confront Robby after he learns that Robby has been skipping school. When Johnny tells him not to throw his life away, Robby rejects him and points out that Johnny left him as a child and that Johnny's own life is wasted. After seeing a father eating with his young son, Johnny pleads for Miguel's mom to let him continue his training, vowing not to fail him again. When Miguel comes back, Johnny tells him that he has good offense, but must work on his defense and counter attacks. show less
Miguel continues to train hard. Improving both his karate skills and his general health. Daniel tries to make a shady deal that ...read more Miguel continues to train hard. Improving both his karate skills and his general health. Daniel tries to make a shady deal that could shut down Cobra Kai, but hurts innocent business owners in the process. Samantha's heavy-set classmate Aisha Robinson joins Cobra Kai despite Johnny's initial misgivings about training girls. Samantha dumps Kyler after he makes sexual advances toward her in a movie theater and afterward discovers that he has been spreading nasty rumors about her in school. When Kyler embarrasses her at school, Miguel stands up for her and attacks Kyler and his friends. Miguel defeats them all in an impressive display, gaining Samantha's respect. Robby decides to try and reconcile with his dad but when he sees Johnny acting in a fatherly way with Miguel, he feels he has been replaced. Daniel's wife notices the changes in his behavior since the reopening of Cobra Kai, leading Daniel to visit the grave of Mr. Miyagi to reflect and ask for wisdom. As Daniel begins to drive away, he recalls a discussion he had with Miyagi about maintaining balance in life, not just karate. Note: This episode is dedicated in memory of Noriyuki "Pat" Morita. show less
Daniel tries unsuccessfully to persuade Samantha to go back to karate. The footage of Miguel's fight at school goes viral ...read more Daniel tries unsuccessfully to persuade Samantha to go back to karate. The footage of Miguel's fight at school goes viral and brings many new students to the Cobra Kai dojo but Johnny cannot suppress his old ways and bullies them, embarrassing Eli in front of the entire class. Thanks to Miguel, Johnny is forced to remember what it was like for him as an outcast with an uncaring stepfather before he discovered Cobra Kai. The next day, Johnny admits that he has been tough and cruel to his remaining students but refuses to apologize, telling them that life is not fair and if they cannot deal with his behavior then they will never be able to overcome the challenges that life will throw at them. He vows to give them the tools to make them strong. Eli returns to the dojo with a distinctive mohawk haircut, which makes Johnny nickname him "Hawk". Meanwhile, Robby gets a job at LaRusso Auto with the sole intention of making his father mad and Miguel and Samantha slowly begin to become friends at school. Robby finally decides he wants to learn karate under Daniel's tutelage after seeing him practice his karate forms. show less
Johnny uses painful methods to train his new students. Miguel asks Johnny for advice on girls and Johnny manages to give him a ...read more Johnny uses painful methods to train his new students. Miguel asks Johnny for advice on girls and Johnny manages to give him a boost of confidence which leads to Miguel asking Samantha out on a successful date. Johnny tries to enter Cobra Kai in the city karate tournament only to learn the dojo is banned for life due to the transgressions committed in The Karate Kid: Part III. When Johnny goes to the meeting of the athletic committee to try to persuade them to reverse the ban, he is opposed by Daniel, who is a committee member. Johnny tells the committee that his teachings are different from those of John Kreese and Terry Silver, revealing that Kreese himself is dead. He says that he has learned from his past mistakes and that his dojo is now a place where people who get bullied are taught self confidence and how to stand up for themselves. The committee is convinced by what seems to be Johnny's genuine sincerity and allows Cobra Kai to compete, which infuriates Daniel. Later, not knowing that Johnny is his father, Daniel takes Robbie under his wing and begins to teach him the philosophy and techniques of Miyagi-do karate. show less
Despite Daniel's strong objections, the All Valley Sports Karate Board decides that Cobra Kai is allowed to compete in the ...read more Despite Daniel's strong objections, the All Valley Sports Karate Board decides that Cobra Kai is allowed to compete in the All Valley Karate Tournament, so Johnny ups his game with additional training and unconventional methods. Daniel's family learns about Cobra Kai being in the tournament, and only Samantha thinks that Cobra Kai has changed because of Miguel. Daniel's cousin decides to take action. While talking to Johnny, he tells Miguel about his first girlfriend, which was Ali Mills, and the events of Karate Kid in his perspective. While skateboarding to Daniel's house, Robby meets Samantha. Johnny warns Miguel to stay away from Daniel's family. Later that night, Johnny eats with Miguel's family. It is revealed that Miguel's mom was pregnant at 18, and when she found out Miguel's dad's job was illegal, she then had to get away from him as far away as she could. While talking to Miguel, when Daniel comes to meet with Samantha, she says that she is talking to some guy from her science class, leaving Miguel slightly hurt. The board's decision seems to have only heated up the rivalry between Johnny and Daniel. Daniel bonds more with Robby, but Robby refuses to divulge the info about his father. Miguel wracks up the confidence to go to Daniel's house even though Daniel hates Cobra Kai to introduce himself as Samantha's boyfriend in order to ease the conflict between Johnny and Daniel. When Miguel goes to Daniel's house, he sees Samantha and Robby bonding, leaving him heartbroken. Daniel's cousin and his thugs go to Johnny's car and wrecks it, before Johnny defeats them. Johnny then steals one of the motorcycles, and rides off to confront Daniel. show less
After Johnny's car is burned by Daniel's cousin and his thugs, Johnny confronts Daniel. The two bond together on a car ...read more After Johnny's car is burned by Daniel's cousin and his thugs, Johnny confronts Daniel. The two bond together on a car ride where they end up visiting Daniel's old apartment and reveal their stories before they met. Meanwhile, Samantha is grounded after her mother learns she was previously involved in the hit-and-run incident with Johnny, causing her to miss many calls from Miguel. Robby breaks her out and decides to go to a party Miguel is sponsoring with her, however Miguel and Robby end up going head-to-head because he is drunk and accidentally hits Samantha, causing Samantha to think all her father's words about Cobra Kai are true. When Johnny returns Daniel to his home seemingly friends, Daniel introduces Robby to Johnny. The fact that Johnny knows that Daniel doesn't like Cobra Kai, and that he's training Robby, his own son, makes Johnny infuriated. When Robby defends Daniel from Johnny, Johnny angrily leaves, and Daniel kicks Robby out of the house, because Daniel believes that Robby only wanted to get hired under Daniel so that he could get back at his own dad. show less
In the season finale we witness the annual All Valley Under-18 Karate Championship. Cobra Kai returns with a full team led by ...read more In the season finale we witness the annual All Valley Under-18 Karate Championship. Cobra Kai returns with a full team led by Miguel. Robby too participates as a fighter unaffiliated with any dojo. Things go well for Cobra Kai with Miguel and Hawk advancing to the semifinals. A cheap shot from Hawk to Robby in the semifinals dislocates Robby's shoulder and Hawk is disqualified. Daniel approaches Robby and advises him to find balance in his life by letting go of his anger toward his father. After talking to Aisha, Samantha confronts Miguel and they end up arguing again. Upset, Samantha leaves the tournament and finds herself back at the family dojo where it becomes apparent that she still possesses impressive karate skills. Daniel assists Robby back into the ring and agrees to him fighting as a member of Miyagi-do Karate with Daniel as his coach. Miguel quickly realizes that Robby's shoulder is injured and targets it to get the win 3–2 and Johnny realizes that Miguel has been corrupted by his teachings. After the match, Daniel takes Robby to Mr Miyagi's old home and reveals that he plans to use it as a dojo to continue Robby's training and teach others Miyagi-do karate in order to defeat the Cobra Kai. Meanwhile, at the Cobra Kai dojo Johnny gets drunk but seems unhappy. He hears someone enter the dojo and is confronted by a shadowy figure praising him for getting Cobra Kai back on top again. The figure is revealed to be Kreese who ominously says the real story of Cobra Kai has only just begun. show less