By having most of its characters fail both in karate and in their personal lives, Cobra Kai season 4 proves that Mr. Miyagi’s “there are no bad students, only bad teachers” lesson has always been right. Throughout the entire show, many teachings from the Karate Kid films were either reutilized or given a new interpretation. In season 4, which counted with three dojos and four senseis, the consequences of Johnny, Daniel, Silver, and Kreese’s actions showed once again that Mr. Miyagi was the best mentor in the saga.
Cobra Kai has finally gone back to the All-Valley’s karate tournament after two seasons of anticipation. Following Johnny and Daniel’s bet against Cobra Kai, the stakes of the competition could not have been higher. The losing dojo would have to close the doors and leave a clear path for the other. That alone already placed a massive burden on the students and would have required a lot of dedication from the senseis.
After Cobra Kai‘s season 3 finale, audiences would imagine that the team-up between Daniel and Johnny would take the students to the next level. However, that was not achieved, as the constant arguments between the senseis prevented a real merger between Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang. Similarly, the dreaded pairing between Karate Kid 3‘s Terry Silver and John Kreese did not go well either and led to nothing but a betrayal. Caught in the middle of that cross-fire, the apprentices’ development was significantly affected. Miguel and Sam, for example, had demonstrated their interest in learning the opposite style but were constantly discouraged by their respective masters. As a result, Sam was not sure of what techniques to use during the finals, and Miguel did not even have the confidence to return to his match after an injury.
Cobra Kai’s best students, Robby and Tory, were also failed by their teachers. As pointed out by Terry, Kreese saw Robby almost as a replacement for Johnny and never as a true individual. As for Tory, who did have Kreese’s support, the validation that the character was looking for did not come. After bribing the referee, Terry Silver made Tory’s victory at the tournament lose all of its meaning and may have broken the character’s trust in the Cobra Kai dojo.
Season 4 of Cobra Kai continues the show’s tradition of putting classic Mr. Miyagi’s lessons to test. While the students have made bad decisions throughout the series, a lot of their struggles also come from their masters’ own problems and insecurities. To face off against Terry Silver’s expanded Cobra Kai, Daniel, Johnny, and even Kreese will have to look back at their journeys as teachers and identify the many mistakes that were made.
