Cobra Kai: The Complete Series

Honest talk up front...
Truth is, I was prepared to punch in this review about two weeks ago. I’d written a longer, more detailed season-focused review and appreciation of this series created by Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg, but a random technical disaster struck my cloud storage. But something happened where I lost (at a guess) about 30% of my stored review drafts, including roughly 15 gigs of full-scale Blu-ray and 4K images. One day, all of that material was there; the next day, it was just gone. The folders are still there, but the images and documents? Poof, gone, and tech support hasn't been helpful. Lost in that mystery data purge was my full draft review of Cobra Kai: The Complete Series. To that, I just don’t have it in me to start this from square one all over again and hope to get the same level of season-by-season detail, so I apologize for delivering a briefer, but no less enthusiastic look at the series. 

Short version of the long version that disappeared: Cobra Kai is a blast! The series picks up three decades after the events of the first film. But we’re not following Danny LaRusso (Yute #1 Ralph Maccio), we’re trailing his nemesis, Johnny Lawrence (non-Yute William Zabka). While LaRusso went on to enjoy more Karate-fueled adventures and open a series of successful lux car dealerships, Johnny Lawrence has essentially puttered around L.A. like Uncle Ricco, living in the past and never taking accountability for his own destiny. Estranged from his son Robby (Tanner Buchanan), Johnny’s life takes a twist when he stops some bullies from beating up his new neighbor, Miguel (Xolo Maridueña). With a renewed sense of purpose and direction, Johnny reopens the old Cobra Kai dojo with the same ethos to Strike First, Strike Hard, No Mercy. 

Of course, no series that runs a strong six seasons and 65 episodes is that succinct. Old rivals become friends, new friends become enemies, and dark faces from the past return for their slice of revenge. What I think I love and respect the most about Cobra Kai is how well the creative team, Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg, mined that nostalgic Karate Kid gold without it just squeezing the juice out of the memberberries. It’s clear from the very first episodes that these guys were fans of the films but had a desire to do more than a simple nostalgic retread. Even as old faces like Martin Kove and Thomas Ian Griffith returned, their characters don’t feel like forced additions but rather a genuine expansion of a story that started in 1984. I was especially worried when Griffith's Terry Silver returned because he's such a goofy, over-the-top character, but damn, the show runners and writers made it work! 

I was actually something of a late joiner of the series. I honestly didn’t think YouTube was going to take off for programmed material like this when it’d be competing against its own vast wasteland of content. After two seasons, Netflix took over the distribution, and the series found new life and new viewers (myself among them). That’s how I watched the first two seasons, and that’s how I finished out the series. I may not have binged each season as soon as they dropped, but I kept up with it, and I wasn’t disappointed. In fact, I actually wondered how long it could go and stay as good as it was. 

Evidently, that was six seasons. While I wouldn’t call Cobra Kai a perfect series, I’d say some of the plot lines precariously threaded the needle of being 90210/The O.C. with karate fights, but it remained compelling. The series never drifted into that level of cheap teen-driven soap-opera melodrama. Sure, some plot lines and relationships amongst our young cast could feel a bit contrived, but the show was always balanced by the evolving relationship between Zabka’s Johnny and Maccio’s Danny. They’re the heart of the series, and through 65 episodes, their dynamic was always in focus. 

Short, short version: Cobra Kai is a damn great show - watch it if you haven't seen it! If you've already watched it once, watch it again!

Vital Disc Stats: The Blu-ray 
Cobra Kai: The Complete Series kicks streaming in the ass and takes the prize on Blu-ray physical media from Sony. The series is spread over 13 Region Free BD50 discs. Each season gets its own standard Blu-ray case, two discs for Seasons One through Five, and Season Six gets three discs. All of the cases are held together in a paper slipcase. While that might be a bummer for some, I’m just happy it wasn’t one of those crappy oversized Epik Pak cases! Each disc loads to a standard static-image main menu with basic navigation functions, letting you play all episodes on the disc or select a specific episode. 

Some may lament the lack of a 4K release, but I will give credit where it's due, and this series looks terrific on 1080p Blu-ray. Each of the 1.78:1 transfers is a top-tier effort. I was a little worried when I first pulled out the discs and discovered there’d be roughly five episodes per disc. That’s some strain under average encoding conditions, but Sony managed to pull it out and deliver an image that remains sharp, clear, and stable throughout. In the absence of compression artifacts such as banding or pixelation, facial features, fine lines, and textures remain crystal clear. Colors are robust throughout, with some lovely, warm California-sun-graded primaries. Skin tones are healthy and human throughout. Black levels and shadows remain on point, lending to some nice image depth as well. Splitting the episode load across more discs might have improved the picture quality, but I’d be willing to bet that the improvement would be nominal. Previewing several episodes in each season, I found nothing amiss, aside from some subtitles...

NOTE: There is an oddity with some subtitles in the fifth season. Whenever a character isn't speaking English, there are burned-in yellow subtitles while coded white subtitles overlap the same text. Even as incidental as it is, it's a bit distracting and affects episodes 3, 5, 6, and 9 - and only in that season that I noticed. As I understand it, MovieZyng is working through Allied Vaughn and SPHE to deliver replacement discs. I'm not 100% clear on the details, but email [email protected] with proof of purchase, and they should respond with replacement instructions. I assume at a certain point they'll only be sending out fixed sets, but we haven't heard of a new barcode number or if they're going to do that thing where the barcode is now yellow instead of white like Paramount did so many moons ago. 

As with the video transfers, each episode of Cobra Kai kicks in the door with a robust and active DTS-HD MA 5.1 track. From LaRusso Auto to the growing class size at Cobra Kai to the karate tournaments and fights, there’s plenty of sonic activity to keep those channels engaged. I liked that the series wasn’t wall-to-wall action, but also didn’t let too much downtime linger either. Dialog is king and takes center stage, but there’s plenty of ambient audio elements popping up so that even in the quietest moments, there’s something happening to keep those surround channels engaged. Obviously, the more active and busy the scene, the more dynamic that surround soundscape becomes. Free of any issues (unless you want to consider those subtitles an audio defect), each episode I enjoyed throughout the series sounded great. 

As for the bonus features selection, there’s some really good stuff, and then there’s a bit of frivolous disposable stuff. Up front, I’ll say the Pilot Episode and Finale Episode featuring Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg are the highlight extras of the entire set. Between the two bookending episodes, the trio discusses their enthusiasm and excitement for creating the series, but also what it took to see the series through to a suitable finale. Early on in the series run, there were a few decent featurettes, but then as the series goes on, the bulk of the extras roll to simple deleted/extended scenes montages and bloopers. Perhaps not the most comprehensive or exhaustive collection of extras, but all things considered, this is better than what passes for average extras these days. 

Season One - Disc One:

• Pilot Audio Commentary featuring Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg

Season One - Disc Two:

• Deleted Scenes
• Cast Chemistry Reads
• Exploring Musical Identities of Cobra Kai & Miyagi-Do with Composers
• Musical Performances at the Whisky a Go Go with William Zabka

Season Two - Disc Two:

• Deleted Scenes
• Gag Reel
• Easter Eggs
• Fists & Fury: Fight Choreography Featurette
• Into the Dojo: The Characters Featurette
• Making Faces Reel
• Stingray Reel

Season Three - Disc Two:

• Deleted Scenes
• Blooper Reel

Season Four - Disc Two:

• Deleted Scenes
• Karate Dad Featurette
• Blooper Reel

Season Five - Disc Two:

• Deleted/Extended Scenes
• Blooper Reel

Season Six - Disc Three:

• Finale Audio Commentary featuring Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg
• Deleted/Extended Scenes
• Blooper Reel

I’m not a fan of “binge watching” a series or a new season of a show. In theory, it’s fun to have it all available for one go, but in practice, I like taking my time to savor the moment, especially if a show is really entertaining. Once Cobra Kai broke out of YouTube Red and landed at Netflix, that was my approach. Partly, I was worried it’d get canceled again, but I was also amazed by how much I was enjoying this series. We’ve seen so many mediocre or squandered legacy reboots of dormant IP over the years that I didn’t want to get my hopes up. I also didn’t want to get too attached lest the series turn sour or shitty. But, one episode after another, one season after another, Cobra Kai broke new ground for the franchise and remained solid entertainment. Sure, I wouldn’t call it the best show ever made, but damn, Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg did right by Karate Kid fans. Now the series breaks away from Netflix for an impressive complete series Blu-ray release. Outside of a very slight issue with some subtitles that is already being addressed and should be fixed soon, this is a terrific release. The 1080p video transfers for each episode are excellent, matched by an equally impactful DTS-HD MA 5.1 track. Bonus features are decent if a tad slim, but two great series bookending commentaries are a bright spot for that lot. At the end of this second writeup, I’m calling this Highly Recommended. 

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