On Dec. 31, 2021, Netflix’s “Cobra Kai” season four is set to release. “Cobra Kai” fans have waited almost a year for the new season release since finishing season three, which was released on Jan. 8, 2021. 

“Cobra Kai” is a Netflix karate series sequel to the 1980s movie franchise, “The Karate Kid.” The show presents the two main characters in the present day. Daniel LaRusso (played by original actor from “The Karate Kid,” actor Ralph Macchio) is a successful car salesman who gained a lot of success from his All Valley Karate Tournament win from the ‘80s. Some might say that due to his success, he has turned into somewhat of a jerk. Johnny Lawrence, the bully/side character (played by original “The Karate Kid” actor William Zabka) peaked in high school and went downhill from there. He lost against Daniel in the original movie at the All Valley Karate Tournament and has been known as a loser ever since. 

In present-day Los Angeles, California, where the original movie was set, we see Johnny down in the dumps about his difficult life in poverty. One day, he meets Miguel Diaz (played by Xolo Maridueña), who begs Johnny to teach him karate after seeing him fight off Miguel’s bullies. After teaching Miguel, Johnny finally reopens his karate dojo, called Cobra Kai, and makes a living teaching other kids in the city karate. Daniel, the original main character, takes notice of Johnny’s career and finds inspiration to start teaching his daughter, Sam (played by Mary Mouser), karate again and opens up a smaller dojo named after his original karate instructor, Mr. Miyagi. 

Daniel opens up Miyagi-Do Karate with his daughter and another boy named Robby (played by Tanner Buchanan). hen John Kreese (played by Martin Kove), the original evil Cobra Kai dojo instructor returns, things start going downhill with him starting to take over Cobra Kai and succeeds after Johnny hands it over to him out of anger at his students.  Eventually, Johnny has to create his own separate dojo called Eagle Fang to separate from Cobra Kai and John Kreese after he cannot get it back from Kreese, who has completely taken over everything. 

The actors in “Cobra Kai” play their characters well. While some of the characters in the show are unlikable, that does not mean the actor was not portraying the character well. 

For example, Tory Nichols (played by actress Peyton List) does karate for Cobra Kai and is a very aggressive character who is all about violence and beating people up. She did not even have a change of heart to turn over to the good side when the majority of Cobra Kai students did and made me look at her like she was a villain. 

She does have a rough family life and is mothering her whole family since her mother is ill. She also lives in a poorer area because she does not gain much income. Because of this, her bad behaviors and where they could possibly come from are understandable. On the other hand, Peyton List is a great actress; she was in a few of my favorite childhood shows, like “Jessie” and “Bunk’d.” She also portrays Tory and her mean-spirited ways quite well

There was another character in the show that was okay in the beginning and turned bad after he learned karate, but then redeemed himself near the end of season three. This character was Eli Moskowitz, but is now known as Hawk. 

In the beginning, Hawk was a shy boy who was always bullied because of a scar on his lip, and he did not know how to stand up for himself. He was a character viewers could have sympathy for. But then, after he joined Cobra Kai, he became a bully himself. He beat people up, and he even broke his ex-friend, Demetri’s, arm on purpose. 

After Johnny and Daniel formed an alliance, however, he finally caved and left the dark side to do what was right. He even reformed his friendship with Demetri. This was surprising. After viewers did not see Tory in the new “Let’s take down Cobra Kai” dojo, it was unclear whether viewers would see Hawk, considering he had the same mean habits as Tory and also came from a difficult background. However, it was encouraging that he redeemed himself and did what was right. Jacob Bertrand did an amazing job playing this mean yet sometimes funny character.

Like the other previous seasons, season three left on quite a cliffhanger by having karate dojos led by Daniel and Johnny teaming up after a harsh rivalry to fight the wicked Cobra Kai dojo, which was now corrupt and led by John Kreese.

There is a lot to be excited about for the next season. There will likely be more characters added into the show, possibly from the original “Karate Kid” movies, too. They have already brought back several original characters to the show, which  makes the show seem more accurate to the original films. Seeing the characters all grown up but still playing their character is really cool. 

Overall, “Cobra Kai” has a pretty good cast whether the characters are the OGs or not, and the creators all have a lot to bring this season four. There has been a lot of good and bad character development throughout the previous three seasons. Sometimes the acting is a little bit two-dimensional and unconvincing because the portrayal of high school students is a little bit over-the-top. But anyhow, “Cobra Kai” is still a really fun and entertaining show that people of all ages can watch and enjoy. 

What are viewers to expect in “Cobra Kai” season four? Maybe a possible “Cobra Kai” grand finale to end the show considering there are four whole seasons. Or maybe another cliffhanger that we can obsess over until a possible fifth season comes out. But before the ending, viewers will obviously see Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang try to defeat Cobra Kai. Also, what kind of plans or tricks does John Kreese have up his sleeve? Can Daniel and Johnny put up with each other after years of rivalry? Will Terry Silver (played by Thomas Ian Griffin), a karate friend of John Kreese from “The Karate Kid III,” return? What dojo(s) will win? Make sure to go watch the other three seasons so you can be ready for season four, and look out for the “Cobra Kai” season four review in January!