All four seasons of Cobra Kai have led to Johnny’s growth, making him the best character of the series.
Let’s admit it, Johnny was an absolute prick in The Karate Kid. Hot-tempered, possessive, and privileged, coupled with being insecure, led to him always making the wrong choices.
It didn’t help that both his father figures (Sid and Kreese) treated him with abuse, called his kindness a weakness, and chalked out a world where rage and power is the only right answer. No mercy, and all of that.
When we meet Johnny in Cobra Kai, he is stripped of everything—money, power, and purpose.
We know that he had willingly walked away from Cobra Kai (in fact, there was a moment where he had buried the hatchet with Daniel in The Karate Kid, too), but Johnny lacked the agency to make anything out of himself until Miguel comes along.
Now, the reason he even decides to help Miguel is that he too had been bullied, not just by Kreese and Sid, but by kids like himself.
As a teen, Johnny decided to become a bully himself. But as an adult, he teaches Miguel to be strong enough to stand up to his bullies.
Johnny is still obviously flawed. He still follows the way of the fist, has skewered views on what it means to be strong, and had abandoned his own son for years on end.
But he is also one of the few Cobra Kai characters who is constantly improving himself, every season.
Behind his antics of making his students perform dangerous stunts is a man full of compassion. Let’s not forget all his attempts at being “awake.” (No, I am not apologizing for that joke).
He is also constantly trying to be a better father to both Robby and Miguel. Moreover, he gives Robby space because he knows some of his actions cannot be forgiven.
When Kreese comes knocking, Johnny forgives him and gives him a second chance even though the man had almost tried to kill him. In a way, Johnny adopts Mr. Miyagi’s teachings:
For a person with no forgiveness in his heart, living even worse punishment than death.
Mr Miyagi
When Kreese goes too far, Johnny puts his foot down to stop him, even if that means joining forces with his “rival” Daniel. Some of the best moments in Season 4 were how Johnny begrudgingly learned that the Miyagi-Do way had merit.
My unpopular opinion is now that the conditions have been flipped, with Johnny on the short end of the stick, Daniel is now unnecessarily unsympathetic despite being trained by Mr. Miyagi.
In contrast, without having any mentor to rely on, Johnny has worked up to being a better individual and, in my eyes, the best character on Cobra Kai.
About Cobra Kai
Cobra Kai is an action drama that is a reboot/sequel of The Karate Kid movies. It premiered on YouTube in 2018, and subsequently moved to Netflix. The series stars Ralph Macchio, William Zabka, Xolo Maridueña, Tanner Buchanan, Courtney Henggeler and Mary Mouser.
When Johnny Lawrence opens the Cobra Kai dojo to teach his bullied teenage neighbor, Miguel, how to defend himself, his age-old rivalry with Daniel LaRusso is ignited once more. Will their rivalry continue to affect their present lives and those they love, or will they be able to bury the past?
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