You're All Right, Lawrence

Cobra Kai (Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz & Hayden Shlossberg, 2018-2025)

Intentionally waited for the last part of the sixth and final season to be available before binging my way through all fifteen episodes. Whose idea was it to split the entire season into three parts and stagger it over nearly a year? Netflix pulled a similar stunt with the second season of Squid Game (2024) and it left many folk feeling short changed as it was nothing more than a glorified half season, than a proper one. But I digress, Cobra Kai Season Six is composed of fifteen episodes of teen drama and action that mostly delivers on its ridiculous premise, and most importantly, is a fitting send off to an Eighties intellectual property which succeeded in going forward where many of its peers failed.

It's not all perfect, however. There were a bunch of filler episodes in the final season; particularly most of Part One. Ideally, the whole season could have been streamlined into the previous one, but it's hard to hate on it when the other parts picked up the slack so well.

Season Six's most noteworthy moments (spoilers ahead):

• The Cobra Kai jungle cave reminding me of the Dagobah scene from The Empire Strikes Back (1980).
• William Zabka's performance during the Johnny and Kreese making up scene.
• Hawk's stars and stripes mohawk. 
• Kenny shitting himself in front of everyone.
• Surprised Hilary Swank's Julie Pierce from The Next Karate Kid (1994) didn't appear considering practically everyone else from the movies was in Cobra Kai at some point, including Darryl Vidal.
• Danny LaRusso being kidnapped and put in a dog cage in Barcelona. Genuinely thought this was going to wind up like the Hostel films. 
• The awful CGI Mr. Miyagi during Danny LaRusso's dream sequence with the skeletons. So unnecessary.
• John Kreese putting a final end to Terry Silver's villainous shenanigans and his final redemption on the yacht. Those final words "No!" and "Mercy!" So cartoonish, yet so satisfying.
• The other karate schools in the Sekai Taikai tournament. Namely, Iron Dragons, Furia de Pantera and Dublin Thunder.
• The epic brawl hilariously not being pulled from live television for nearly quarter of an hour, even after Kwan's death.
• Kim Da-eun murdering her evil Pai Mei looking grandfather.
• The cheap-as-chips Rocky training montage.
  
• Johnny Lawrence and Sensei Wolf's beef kicking off over steak at a food buffet.
• Dimitri and Hawk creating an ultra realistic, virtual fight simulation with some ancient Alienware PC for Robby's training.
• Iron Dragons' Axel Kovačević essentially being a Poundland Ivan Drago and Zara Malik being an obnoxious Instagram influencer.
• Tory, Miguel and Johnny bowling into the Sekai Taikai wearing Cobra Kai Gis again with AC/DC's Thunderstruck in the background.
• The expectation of Johnny Lawrence performing Danny LaRusso's trademark Crane Kick, but he sweeps the leg instead.

Truth be told, with so many characters in the show, it was always going to be hard to see each of them getting a truly satifying final moment from them. However, Cobra Kai did achieve some satisfying resolutions for its core characters. Obviously stoked with Johnny Lawrence finally getting an ending that he deserved, along with his first student Miguel getting to shine in those last remaining episodes. Even supporting characters like Dimitri and Hawk being like nerds again was satisfying. 

Make no mistake, Cobra Kai was never meant to be on the same level as top tier TV shows like The Sopranos (1999-2007). It totally embraced its cheesy Eighties factor unapologetically, entertaining me for the majority of its six season run. For that reason, Cobra Kai has been one of the most fun shows I've watched in recent years.

Squid Pro Quo

People risking their lives in a variety of demented playground style contests for money made for addictive viewing in Hwang Dong-hyuk's Netflix series Squid Game (2021). The  global phenomenon successfully managed to entertain and shock in equal measure. It also felt like a complete package in its nine episode run. Netflix commissioning a second and third season obviously makes business sense for the streaming giant, but just like film sequels, it runs the risk of being inferior and diluting the brand. For Dong-hyuk's creation, Squid Game season two is still a highly bingeworthy offering, but also a mixed bag compared to its sublime predecessor.

What's instantly noticeable about the second season is it being reduced to seven episodes. Hardly a red flag, but cause for concern considering it's significantly slower paced in getting to the actual games than before. Main protagonist, Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae), is a completely changed man after winning the previous tournament. Joined by cop Hwang Jun-ho (Wi Ha-joon), they now command a team of mercenaries searching for the location of the deadly games and the cryptic higher ups who run it.

Gi-hun becoming a contestant again leads to a few changes in both the variety of games and general theme of the show. His familiarity with the iconic first game Red Light, Green Light leads to more survivors, which consequentially means less prize money for everyone alive. This in turn leads to scenes where the survivors vote more often in proceeding with the next games. The winning majority dictating what happens next. This in turn has the voting losers forced to play on and risk their lives. Whereas the first season was a satire on capitalism, season two makes a prodding commentary on democracy, and how the exploitation of it. 

The new contestants are a varied bunch of desperate individuals: an elderly mother and her idiotic son are perhaps the most interesting of the new lot. The most odious of the bunch is Thanos, a Korean rapper, with eye rolling hood talk, who had me praying for his instant death. The actor who played him was terrible, too. The first season's players were far more memorable, however.

Season two's biggest offence is it feeling like it has been divided from the inevitable third season, thanks to its pacing and various sub plots being ridiculously drawn out. Thus, even with its violent finale and predictable cliffhanger, it doesn't come close to being as satisfying as its debut season. This reeks of Netflix's tampering, as other shows exclusive to the platform have intentionally been divided (Cobra Kai's sixth season).

Overall, Squid Game season two is a mixed bag. A series which continues to shine with its incredible premise and high risk stakes, make it easy to binge all the way through, effortlessly. However, the slower pace and drawn out story telling, replete with it all being told in less episodes, make it feel a little underwhelming compared to its monumental debut. Still, despite this criticism, Squid Game still left me feeling invested and wondering how it will conclude.

The Chozen One

Cobra Kai (Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz & Hayden Shlossberg, 2018-Present Day)

Spent the beginning of the year full of praise for season four of Cobra Kai, perhaps the second best in the series thanks to the superb return of the machiavellian villain, Terry Silver. This latest chapter in the series isn't really on par as its predecessor, but it's still entertaining and better than any of the increasingly overrated water cooler shows out there. Cobra Kai still pays respect to the past and adds to it rather than ridicule it. The farcical concept of rival karate dojos in a Californian set teen drama is still blessed with better writing than any show Jeff Bezos' deep pockets has ever invested in; take for instance an episode where Chozen tries to snatch an egg from each of his Miyagi Do students, initially feeling like a filler episode, but becoming a valuable lesson in teamwork and a crucial scenario in the season finale.

Season Five highlights include:

• John Kreese's young persona beating the ever living shite out of a gang of prison goons craving his Jell-O cup, and subsequently turning their leader into his prison bitch.
• Johnny Lawrence's one star reviews as an Uber driver.
  
• Terry Silver burning down Mike Barnes' furniture shop.
• Cobra Kai's main dojo looking like the set of the Death Star.
  
• Robby and Miguel finally putting their animosities aside with a fight; poorly moderated by Johnny Lawrence.
  
• Terry Silver shipping in a bunch of no-name senseis, looking like they're from a low budget action movie; including one guy wearing an eye patch.
• John Kreese and Terry Silver's 1980 flashback sequence. Terry wearing a double breasted blazer and an ascot tie.
• The revelation of Amanda LaRusso's cousin being Jessica Andrews from The Karate Kid Part III.
  
• Danny LaRusso, Johnny Lawrence and Chozen Toguchi drunk as hell and rocking out to Eye of the Tiger in the back of limo that's being driven by Mike Barnes.
  
• Chozen Toguchi versus Terry Silver fight scene. The choral music in the background turns a back yard fight it into an epic ‘duel of the fates’ type battle:
  

Cobra Kai: Season Five (Chozen vs. Terry Silver fight scene)

Joel Novoa, 2022