Cobra Kai Musings

Now that we have several seasons of “Cobra Kai” to view and analyze there are even more questions that arise.

Firstly, let’s address something that irks me every time I hear it. The joy, amazement a wonder that people project when they talk about Daniel LaRusso being a two time All Valley Karate champ. Yes, that is great that he won back to back tournaments but he wasn’t the only one. How about the guy who one back to back All Valleys just prior to Daniel? His name? Johnny Lawrence. Yes, Johnny meets Daniel in the finals as the defending champ. Yet, somehow, the committee and even Daniel seem to have forgotten this fact. They are equal in trophies. Daniel didn’t have a chance to come back a third time to defend as he aged out of the under 18 requirement. This shows that Johnny was actually younger than Daniel when he won his first All Valley.

There is a bit of confusion on Daniel’s age as far as I see. He moves to Reseda, gets a girlfriend and learns karate. Johnny is a senior as it is stated at the beach. Ali seems to be the same since she then goes off to UCLA. But Daniel doesn’t even get his driver’s license until right before the tournament which would imply that he turns 16 in December. This would make him a sophomore or young junior. Yet, then we see him coming to Mr. Miyagi’s the morning after prom (still in his tuxedo). And he does not seem to attend high school yet there are mentions of college and college classes during Karate Kid 3. It seems that Daniel’s age is as hard to determine as the ageless actor who portrays him.

Daniel’s daughter Sam seems to be the catalyst of all the tension much as Ali was in the original films. She goes back and forth between two suitors, adding to the rivalry. At least Ali totally broke and left Johnny before starting up with Daniel. However, even Ali was shown to waver under Johnny’s charms as she visited at Christmas. Could there be an Ali/Carmen fight in the future?

According to fan sites, Johnny was born August 20, 1967. He never met his father and was raised by his mother Laura and a stepfather. This places his birth before Kreese’s tour in Vietnam so the possibility of him being Kreese’s son are not an option even with the similarities in their names.

Kreese had a girlfriend named Betsy. She was sweet and said she would wait for him. She sent him her picture while he was in Vietnam. Before Kreese heads out on a mission a letter comes for him. All that is said is that the news must be kept from Kreese so he is in top form for the mission. A mission that he has to be ready to die during.

Ultimately, Kreese, his buddies and Captain Turner get captured. As Kreese and Turner are being walked to the platform over the snake pit to fight, Turner informs Kreese that his girlfriend is dead from a car crash. He just couldn’t tell him before so he wouldn’t lose focus. But what if this was a lie? What if Turner told Kreese that Betsy had died with the intent of making him lose focus on the fight they are about to undertake. Turner could have used that as a way to throw off Kreese mentally and gain an advantage. Unfortunately, it did not work and Kreese was victorious.

But did Betsy die? Why would news such as her being killed in a car crash being written by a family member or friend be mailed in a red envelope. A color that signifies love. Could that news have instead been that she was pregnant? If Kreese believed she was dead, he would not have looked for her upon his return. She would have been jilted and either given the baby up for adoption, married someone else or raised the child alone.

Which brings us to Tory. We know Tory has a mom who is ill. She has a younger brother. But we know nothing of her family beyond that. Perhaps Betsy had a daughter who in turn had a daughter and named her Tory. Betsy was said to have died while Kreese was in Vietnam in 1968 which would have been a perfect timeline for Tory’s mother to be born. There is even then mention of Kreese being her grandfather, or something like that. The other option is that she is an unknown granddaughter to Terry Silver who was also in Vietnam in 1968 and could have left a pregnant girlfriend at home. This would open up a true rags to riches storyline for Tory.

No matter what happens, the show does provide as many kicks, jumps and spins along with emotional punches as any All Valley Tournament.