A couple of weeks ago, when I didn't have anything better to do, I decided to do something that I wasn't actually supposed to do. That is that, I went to Netflix and for some weird reason started watching the fourth season of 'Cobra Kai' series.
After all, after I had finished watching the show's lackluster third season, I was pretty sure that I wouldn't give the series any more chances. The third season was so poorly written and had so many things that didn't make sense, so I thought I couldn't take it anymore.
Yet, having now seen the fourth season, I have to say that I'm almost glad that I managed to come back to watching the series. This latest season, even though flawed, is without a doubt better and more coherent than the third season managed to be.
By that I mean that the biggest problem with the third season was that there was no real purpose on the show. The series lacked focus and real overarching plots that had meaning, which lead to the episodes and the season being all over the place.
Indeed, especially when it came to the completely unmotivated and out of nowhere group fight that took place at Daniel's home in the final episode, that was just embarrassing to watch. I just couldn't believe how awful and honestly insulting the 'climax' for the season was.
Fortunately, now that we got to the fourth season, this time the series has managed to breath some new air to the storylines. We don't have to suffer from all those side plots and detours that we had for John Kreese, Daniel LaRusso (Japan Tour) and Johnny Lawrence.
Indeed, as Terry Silver from Karate Kid III makes a return as a rich businessman, this brings a real villain to the series. Silver joins Kreese's Cobra Kai and this time brings unlimited resources for the dojo to beat the crap out of Miyagi / Eagle alliance - which story-wise works.
Quality-wise, the good thing about the season is that there's a fairly straightforward plot that keeps things interesting. Silver is a good addition to the show and his ulterior motivations and big plans - as a cultured man who is also ruthless - is good stuff.
Another good thing is that the fights are better motivated this time. Gone are most out of nowhere physical altercations that are this time replaced with the all valley high Karate tournament that has stakes + competent fighters (the actors are finally capable fighters).
On a negative side, there's no question that the fourth season still suffers from having too many 'soap opera' moments. Scenes that look like they might go somewhere character-wise reset really fast and don't really go anywhere (= lots of filler).
After all, especially when it came to the Johnny / Robbie family drama, this 'plot line' just kept going on and on and on for way too long. It significantly made the episodes less entertaining to watch, even though in the season finale we finally got a resolution of a sort.
Still, despite these issues that I had this season, when it comes to the season as a whole, I have to say that altogether the fourth season managed to surprise me positively. There was enough good stuff that kept me watching and made me come back for more.
In that sense, if you haven't watched the fourth season of 'Cobra Kai' yet and are hesitant based on the third season, you should give it a go. You should watch it, because even though there are some issues here and there, the season as a whole managed to be fairly watchable.
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