Cobra Kai 1.10

Mercy

The 2018 All-Valley Under 18 Tournament begins. Cobra Kai is represented by Miguel, Aisha, Hawk, and several other of Johnny's students. Robby also signs up for the tournament. Zander, the 2017 champion, is also there.

Miguel, Aisha, Hawk, and Robby all make it to the quarterfinals. Aisha gets eliminated in the quarterfinals. Sam is there with her parents and her brother. She has a chat with Aisha after her quarterfinal match. It starts off a little bumpy but it ends with Aisha encouraging Sam to get back into karate.

Miguel goes on to face and defeat Zander in the first semifinal match. Hawk and Robby square off in the other semifinal. Hawk is eliminated for striking Robby during an official pause in the fighting. Robby's shoulder is injured but he insists on continuing.

Robby and Miguel face off in the final. Robby is still hurting. Miguel gets away with an illegal move. The fight goes the distance but Miguel wins in the end. He looks around for Sam but she has already left with her mother and brother.

Danny takes Robby, after the tournament, to see Mr. Miyagi's old house. He explains that he is planning to turn it into a dojo, Miyagi Dojo. He can't stand to see Cobra Kai and Johnny Lawrence victorious.

Johnny is hanging out in the Cobra Kai dojo late at night when he gets a visitor, John Kreese, his old sensei.

Thoughts

This is the final and longest episode of the first season.

I was expecting that Kreese would should up in this episode but I wasn't sure when it would happen. He has the final line of the episode and it is very meta, as if he speaking directly to the audience.

I thought going in that Miguel would lose to Robby. I wasn't surprised to see them face off in the final. I was a little surprised to see Miguel win. I suppose there will be lots more chances for Robby to get some payback.

Johnny’s students, most notably Miguel and Hawk, have taken his lessons to heart to such a degree that they cheat. He taught them No Mercy but he didn’t tell them to play by the rules. They use what he taught them on his son. They don’t know of Robby’s relationship to their teacher. They just know that Robby is the guy who seems to be getting between Miguel and Samantha.

It looks like Sam is going to get back into karate. My guess is that she will train with her father at Miyagi Dojo. Considering how things are between her and Miguel I don't know what to expect of their relationship in the next season.

My long range guess is that Robby is going to come back and win the tournament at the end of the next season. The final round will be a rematch between Miguel and Robby. Miguel certainly seems to have taken a turn to the dark side. Johnny seems to regret that but he mostly has himself to blame. Will Miguel get redeemed? What about Hawk? The ending to this season is definitely bittersweet. It feels a little like the end of Rocky (1976).

I have some quibbles with this episode but nothing major. They do a good job of glossing over things that they don't want to explain. I will probably at least give the next season a try.