Emmy Catch-Up: Cobra Kai

Every year, I watch the six submitted episodes of every series I don’t regularly watch that’s up for one of the Emmy series prizes. Last year, I started watching the entire season of each show to get a better idea of the quality I missed, and I’ve decided to continue that this year.

Cobra Kai: Season 3, Episode 3 “Now You’re Gonna Pay” (B)

I’m doing my best to catch up on all the preexisting dynamics that I would know more about had I invested an additional ten or so hours to watch the first two seasons of this show. Evidently, there was some friction at the LaRusso car dealership, but the well-meaning Daniel and his formidable wife Amanda do inspire loyalty, which in this case helped them win back their ex-employee Anoush and in turn ensure that their number one rival didn’t buy them out. Daniel going to Japan to speak directly with the company that wanted to take their exclusivity elsewhere was a bold move, one that shows his dedication and what he’s willing to do to save his business. Johnny is exhibiting a similar type of commitment to doing the right thing, but unfortunately he’s made enough mistakes in his life that it’s not so easy. Sid certainly wasn’t willing to entertain the thought of doing anything to help him, and the money that Johnny did manage to scramble together earned him gratitude in a pivotal moment in Miguel’s recovery. As if karate wasn’t the cause of enough problems on this show, things appear to be booting back up again, and the fact that it all has to be off-the-record and secretive is only going to make it more potentially dangerous. It’s likely going to get more volatile before it gets better, and someone is going to get hurt again unless adults who actually want to help these kids be safe step in to ensure that there are proper rules and respect in place.