After watching the first espisode of Season 4 (and the second episode actually), I had this feeling of de ja vu. It reminded me of my youth watching the original movies come out every few years.
Remember how when the first Karate Kid came out in 1984 and it was a smash hit and everybody liked it? Me too, it was such a fun movie. Made me laugh, made me root for the good guy and fell happy at the ending.
Then remember how a couple years later the second movie came out and it was basically passable but didn't quite get to the same level as the first? I mean, it was OK and it had the characters you had come to like in the first one, and some new ones, so you liked it but just not quite as much as you had liked the first?
Then the third movie came out and by that point your interest was severely waning, the magic was mostly gone and you kind of just watched it and then completely forgot about it?
Then for some reason they made a fourth one and you were just like "I ain't even gonna bother with this one"?
I feel like my attitude to each season of Cobra Kai has basically mirrored this progress in my feelings towards the movies 30 plus years ago.
The first season was fantastic, I absolutely loved it. It was very fun to watch and just drew me into it. It worked really well as both a character focused drama and a comedy at the same time.
The second season didn't quite replicate that, but I still enjoyed it and wanted to see how the characters I had enjoyed in the first season would see their story unfold.
Then the third season came out and I noticed my interest waning. The series seemed to be slowly morphing from the interesting and complex comedy drama it had been in the first season to basically just a show about teenagers getting into choreographed fights with each other that didn't make much sense from their character's perspectives.
Now the fourth series is here and after watching the first couple episodes I have that same feeling I had when the fourth Karate Kid movie came out - this just isn't worth my time anymore. The character drama just isn't there. The teenagers have slightly re-organized the lines on which they define their gangs but otherwise its basically just them being angry at each other and planning on kicking each other and I just don't care anymore. Daniel and Johnny are still not getting along with each other and I have long since stopped caring about that too. Its just been sapped of the character driven energy (particularly from Johnny) that made the first season work so well. Bringing in a second tier bad guy from Karate Kid 3 who I had completely forgotten about isn't going to be enough to draw me in this time the way bringing Krees in gave the past couple of seasons a slight bump in drama. I think this one is over for me. It was a great show at its peak, but no more.
Remember how when the first Karate Kid came out in 1984 and it was a smash hit and everybody liked it? Me too, it was such a fun movie. Made me laugh, made me root for the good guy and fell happy at the ending.
Then remember how a couple years later the second movie came out and it was basically passable but didn't quite get to the same level as the first? I mean, it was OK and it had the characters you had come to like in the first one, and some new ones, so you liked it but just not quite as much as you had liked the first?
Then the third movie came out and by that point your interest was severely waning, the magic was mostly gone and you kind of just watched it and then completely forgot about it?
Then for some reason they made a fourth one and you were just like "I ain't even gonna bother with this one"?
I feel like my attitude to each season of Cobra Kai has basically mirrored this progress in my feelings towards the movies 30 plus years ago.
The first season was fantastic, I absolutely loved it. It was very fun to watch and just drew me into it. It worked really well as both a character focused drama and a comedy at the same time.
The second season didn't quite replicate that, but I still enjoyed it and wanted to see how the characters I had enjoyed in the first season would see their story unfold.
Then the third season came out and I noticed my interest waning. The series seemed to be slowly morphing from the interesting and complex comedy drama it had been in the first season to basically just a show about teenagers getting into choreographed fights with each other that didn't make much sense from their character's perspectives.
Now the fourth series is here and after watching the first couple episodes I have that same feeling I had when the fourth Karate Kid movie came out - this just isn't worth my time anymore. The character drama just isn't there. The teenagers have slightly re-organized the lines on which they define their gangs but otherwise its basically just them being angry at each other and planning on kicking each other and I just don't care anymore. Daniel and Johnny are still not getting along with each other and I have long since stopped caring about that too. Its just been sapped of the character driven energy (particularly from Johnny) that made the first season work so well. Bringing in a second tier bad guy from Karate Kid 3 who I had completely forgotten about isn't going to be enough to draw me in this time the way bringing Krees in gave the past couple of seasons a slight bump in drama. I think this one is over for me. It was a great show at its peak, but no more.