“Cobra Kai” is back. Season 4 began on Dec. 31, 2021, and my family is watching what is perhaps the most surprising hit in a decade—and our personal favorite.
The show works for several reasons and has struck a chord with young people (my kids can’t get enough of it), largely by running against postmodern sacred cows and embracing some radical ideas: self-ownership, personal responsibility, and individualism.
![Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) faces his previous adversary, down-and-out Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka), who seeks redemption by reopening the infamous Cobra Kai karate dojo. (Courtesy of Sony Pictures Television)](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimg.theepochtimes.com%2Fassets%2Fuploads%2F2022%2F01%2F02%2FCOB_103_MH-10-19_0826_-Mark-Hill_YouTube-Originals_Sony-Pictures-Television-1200x800.jpeg&w=1200&q=75)
The Villain Turned Antihero
Lawrence (William Zabka) isn’t a likely protagonist. If there was a Mount Rushmore of ‘80s pop villains, Johnny Lawrence would be on it, wedged somewhere between Ed Rooney, Judge Smails, and Biff Tannen.In “Cobra Kai,” things have changed.
Lawrence is a down-on-his-luck, beer-swilling handyman who watches “American Eagle” alone in his grimy apartment. From his red Firebird, he sees billboards of his old enemy’s car dealerships, LaRusso Motors, popping up like acne across the valley. He’s divorced, estranged from his son, and gets arrested in the very first episode.
His life changes, however, when a young man in his building named Miguel asks for help to deal with some school bullies. (Sound familiar?)
Eventually, Lawrence agrees to train Miguel, yet Johnny is no Mr. Miyagi. He’s rude, a walking embodiment of “toxic masculinity,” and kind of a bigot. He calls Miguel “Menudo” and makes a crack about “more immigrants,” genderizes, and occasionally uses a derogatory word that refers to a female body part. At one point, he’s asked why he won’t let females into Cobra Kai.
“Same reason there aren’t women in the Army. Doesn’t make sense,” he says. “Don’t give me this sexist [expletive]. All right, I’m just saying women aren’t meant to fight. They have tiny hollow bones.”
Building Strength, Learning Discipline
Viewers see that Cobra Kai—the dojo that tormented Daniel LaRusso in “Karate Kid”—isn’t all bad. Under Lawrence’s tutelage, a crop of misfit students learn something important: They don’t have to be victims.“I’m going to teach you the style of karate that was taught to me. A method of fighting your [ahem] generation desperately needs,” he says. “You’ll build strength. You’ll learn discipline. And when the time is right, you’ll strike back.”
This message is a bit controversial, but the writers effectively show it’s not just physical strength being taught. Lawrence teaches his students they have power and agency. One student, Eli, is mercilessly mocked at school for having a cleft palate. Even Lawerence mocks Eli, calling him “Lip.” (He refers to other students as Crater Face and Nose Ring.)
If the storyline ended there, we’d see Lawrence as little more than a cruel bully who hasn’t changed at all since LaRusso kicked his face in at the All Valley 30-plus years earlier. Instead, however, after briefly quitting Cobra Kai under Lawrence’s abuse, Eli comes back changed (in ways that are both good and bad).
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZFBtHG3okI[/embed]
The Moral: Take Control of Your Life
Undoubtedly, some will find Lawrence’s antics appalling; others will find them funny. What’s important is that “Cobra Kai” is essentially offering a Jordan Peterson philosophy for living—use your power and agency as an individual to take control of your life.Lawrence doesn’t stay a down-on-his-luck, Coors-swilling fix-it man who watches “American Eagle” alone and is mistaken for a homeless dude. After getting fired, he cleans up his life. He starts a dojo. He takes on Miguel as a student. He drinks less. He learns to teach his students valuable lessons, and not demean them. He cleans his apartment.
This last item might sound meaningless. It’s not. It fits right into Peterson’s philosophy of self-ownership as a path to personal growth.
Self-Reliance: An American Credo
Self-reliance was once an American credo. Considered the key to a fulfilling life—the great essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson noted that “Nothing can bring you peace but yourself”—the philosophy has fallen out of fashion. But it’s a theme that runs throughout “Cobra Kai.”Through the first three seasons of the show, we see Miguel and his friends overcome life challenges not by tattling to teachers or running from threats, but by learning to face their fears and confront the externalities that face them. They make mistakes along the way. Friendships are broken. People get hurt.
But they grow stronger in body, soul, and mind, and learn that their newly discovered power must be balanced with other virtues, including mercy.
It’s realized by changing yourself.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBR5v89L6gk&feature=emb_imp_woyt[/embed]