Aftermath
Directed by Jon Hurwitz & Hayden Schlossberg
The local media have sensationalized their coverage of the West Valley High School brawl into an anti-karate frenzy. Miguel is comatose, Tory and Robby have been expelled (and the latter is now a fugitive), Aisha's parents have moved her to a private school, Stingray has been put on probation and forbidden from coming within 500 feet of children, all the other combatants were suspended from school for two weeks, and the LaRussos have become pariahs.
Having lost the Cobra Kai dojo, Johnny is now a drunken, aimless wreck. He starts a parking lot brawl with a pair of belligerent bar patrons, which results in him being beaten and arrested. Following his release from lockup, he attempts to visit Miguel in the hospital. Only family members are permitted to see patients, however, forcing Johnny to take an unorthodox approach to reach Miguel. When using a discarded doctor's coat to disguise himself fails, Johnny deliberately injures his head to gain admittance to the emergency room. From there, Johnny sneaks into Miguel's room, where he pleads with his student to wake up before the staff catch him and kick him out. Miguel's internal struggle is depicted as he fights a challenging opponent at the All Valley Tournament, but repeatedly finds himself on the losing end.
Daniel and Amanda attend a PTA meeting, learning that the school is implementing a new zero-tolerance policy on karate. Daniel protests, but the other parents are hostile to the LaRussos, blaming Miyagi-Do for the school brawl. The hostility has also spilled onto the LaRusso Auto Group, and Daniel's business is now suffering, leading him to rehire his cousin Louie.
Sam remains traumatized from her fight with Tory. Ostracized by her peers, she walks out on her first day back to school after suffering a panic attack in the stairwell where Miguel was injured. Demetri, Chris, and Nathaniel encounter Hawk, Mitch, and Bert — both sides are eager to continue fighting, but Counselor Blatt is keeping a stern eye on them. Yasmine has also returned from her summer vacation in France, and is deeply confused at the vast changes to the student food chain in her absence.
At the dealership, Daniel is alerted by Louie that Robby has stolen a vehicle from the trade-in lot. Following the vehicle's GPS signal, he finds that Robby discarded the transmitter near the Miyagi-Do dojo. Daniel goes to the dojo hoping to find Robby, only to discover Sam seeking refuge. The two have a father-daughter chat, with Daniel encouraging Sam not to run from her problems. Sam feels guilty about everything that has happened, but Daniel reassures her that the problems began before she was even born, leading him to realize that he has to make peace with Johnny.
Daniel visits the Cobra Kai dojo in search of Johnny, only to find Kreese, who taunts him about the school brawl and Miyagi-Do's tarnished reputation. Even as Daniel refuses to be baited into fighting, Kreese states that a final fight between them is inevitable, and that Johnny will be on Kreese's side.
The next day, Sam returns to the school, intimidating the girls who ostracized her earlier. When they begin gossiping about her, she confronts them and tells them off.
Daniel approaches Johnny outside his apartment, making an appeal to him to work together to find Robby.
At the hospital, Miguel is seen going through some type of physical distress. As the nurses and doctors tend to him, he defeats his imaginary opponent, and opens his eyes.
Tropes:
- Alpha Bitch: Pretty much all the background female characters in the episode mock Hawk for wetting the bed years ago, tease Sam for being rightfully terrified after nearly getting disfigured, yet treat Demetri with respect despite knowing he revealed Hawk's secrets.
- All of the Other Reindeer: Sam is an outcast in the entirety of West Valley High outside of the Miyagi-Dos, because of the events that unfolded during the school brawl.
- Artistic License – Law: Even though Johnny drew first blood, stomping on Johnny's face would have landed that thug jail time as well. Not only does attacking someone on the ground void self-defense, but using your boot is assault with a deadly weapon.
- Ascended Meme: Daniel tries to convince everyone in the PTA meeting that karate saved him during his high school days, but an infuriated parent calls bullshit and accuses him of being the real bully, a reference to J. Matthew Turner's popular "Daniel is the REAL Bully" video
.Daniel: Wait. You don't need to turn this into some kind of karate Footloose! Karate is not the problem! When I went to school here, I was bullied, and karate saved me.
Infuriated parent: Bullshit! I heard you were the real bully! - Bait-and-Switch: Daniel has tracked the stolen minivan only to find the transponder ripped out and tossed. He realizes that the Miyagi-Do dojo is nearby and goes to check it out. After finding an In 'n Out bag in the house, he goes to the backyard to find... Sam sitting out on the patio.Daniel: Sam?
Sam: Dad? What are you doing here?
Daniel: What are you doing here? Is Robby with you?
Sam: No. Have you heard from him?
Daniel: No-I was just out looking for him. I—wait, why aren't you at school? - Berserk Button: Kreese gets under Daniel's skin by smugly taunting him about how Miyagi-Do's reputation has been tarnished by the school fight, and Daniel even clenches his fists, before choosing to counterpunch by reminding Kreese that Mr. Miyagi curbstomped Kreese twice, which in turn breaks Kreese's smug complexion.
- Blatant Lies: When Counselor Blatt approaches Hawk and Demetri's groups just as they're about to get confrontational, they pretend to be buddy-buddy with each other in front of her. Blatt reacts with skepticism.
- Bullying a Dragon:
- The girls who mock Sam from a distance despite knowing full well that she knows karate. She overhears them, marches up to them, and unleashes a completely Out-of-Character Moment worthy of Johnny or Tory.Sam: You wanna say something? Say it to my face! [all three girls are stunned into awkward silence] That's what I thought.
- Yasmine complains that the "nerds" are becoming more popular. Moon advises her to be careful since the "nerds" all know karate.
- The girls who mock Sam from a distance despite knowing full well that she knows karate. She overhears them, marches up to them, and unleashes a completely Out-of-Character Moment worthy of Johnny or Tory.
- The Bus Came Back:
- Counsellor Blatt is back, after having not been seen since Season 1's "Counterbalance", though her voice was heard in "No Mercy".
- Daniel has had to rehire cousin Louie, who he fired late in season 1 for vandalizing Johnny's car, as the dealership needs extra hands on deck.
- Yasmine has also returned, having not been seen since her humiliation near the end of season 1 (though she was briefly mentioned in season 2).
- Casanova Wannabe: Hawk tries to put the moves on a group of freshman girls, only to get laughed off and made fun of because they know not only about his bedwetting, but that Demetri kicked his ass.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: The aftermath of the West Valley rumble, including extensive news reports, students having peace rallies, the school being forced to step up security, and parents looking for a scapegoat to blame, plays out very similarly to that of a school shooting.
- Disproportionate Retribution:
- Yes, Johnny has every right to be pissed at those two jerkasses at the bar, but he didn't have to break into their car, pull the driver out, and start a street fight, when all they did was insult Johnny and Miguel and change the bar's TV station on him.
- In-universe, Daniel feels that the school's new zero-tolerance policy on karate is a huge overreaction to the brawl.
- Dreaming of Times Gone By: Miguel's coma dreams are of fighting in the Tournament.
- Foreshadowing: Kreese announces that he and Daniel will definitely fight. While Daniel scoffs at this, the season finale proves Kreese right.
- Harsher in Hindsight: In-Universe Daniel's tagline "Kick The Competition" has become a detriment now that his former employee actually kicked his competition (Miguel) over a railing nearly killing him. Amanda quickly removes all dealership advertisement that mentions karate in any way.
- Hidden Depths:
- It turns out Louie is good for something after all: inventory. He mentions he picked up some genuine work skills at the job he took after being fired in season one, and this in turn helps Daniel get a lead on Robby.
- Moon proves that she is not just trying to play the peacemaker to keep her party clean, she genuinely does have a knack for rallying people for good causes. After the school brawl in the previous episode she can be seen leading "peace circles" meant to condemn the violence, in true Granola Girl fashion.
- Hollywood Healing: While a Time Skip of about two weeks is mentioned, nearly all cuts and bruises acquired in the school brawl have faded to near nothing. The cuts on Sam's arm she needed stitches for have faded to look almost like a birthmark, and Miguel in the hospital looks rather hearty.
- Hollywood Restraining Order: School officials reveal that, after the school brawl, Stringray was forbidden by the court from being less than 500 feet from a minor, or from participating in any activity involving minors.
- If It Bleeds, It Leads: Naturally, a violent karate brawl at a high school that ended with a student comatose has become a major news story that is still being reported on two weeks after the fact.
- Ironic Echo: Kreese repeats Miyagi's famous "No such thing as a bad student" line as a way to further rub the school brawl in Daniel's face and try to bait Daniel into a fight.
- Jerkass Has a Point: One of the angry parents at the PTA meeting tells off Daniel protesting the ban on karate, reminding him that he was the one who taught the half the kids in the brawl karate in the first place and it was Robby, his student, who put Miguel into a coma.
- Karma Houdini:
- Even as the PTA and the media dogpile on Daniel, Kreese and Cobra Kai in general seems to have escaped any blame for the brawl. The only consequence is losing Aisha, Stingray, Miguel, and Tory as students — a slap on the wrist compared to what everyone else involved is now going through.
- While the school administrators do have to deal with the parents' wrath, they've all escaped any real personal consequences for failing to stop the brawl because they were protected by the NEA.
- Karma Houdini Warranty:
- Tory got expelled for starting the school brawl and assaulting Sam. As we'll see in the next episode, that's only the tip of the iceberg, too.
- Robby is not only expelled, but on the run for hospitalizing Miguel. Daniel is desperate to get to him before the police do, because the system is clearly ready to nail him to the wall.
- Stingray also appears to suffer no repercussions for his actions during the school brawl... until it's revealed he was imprisoned and imposed with a restraining order that forbids him from being anywhere within 500 feet of any minor or partaking in activities involving minors.
- Made Out to Be a Jerkass: Daniel appeals to the PTA that he was bullied during his days in West Valley High and that karate saved him, but an infuriated parent calls bullshit and accuses him of being the real bully.
- Major Injury Underreaction: Johnny is pretty nonchalant about the injuries he got during the parking lot fight. The face of the doctor treating him tells a different story, though.
- Noodle Incident: Louie apparently once showed porn to Daniel and Amanda on his work computer.
- Paper-Thin Disguise: When Johnny is denied to see Miguel, he notices a discarded doctors coat and decides to disguise himself. However, his battered face makes it incredibly obvious that he's not a real doctor. Johnny himself realizes this seconds later when the first man to notice him doesn't buy his disguise, and he throws the coat away to try a Wounded Gazelle Gambit.
- Perma-Stubble: Johnny once again develops unkempt, down-on-his-luck facial hair some time after the school brawl.
- Put on a Bus: Aisha's parents pulled her from West Valley after the brawl and put her in a private school.
- Put on a Prison Bus: Stingray was arrested after the brawl for assaulting minors, and now has a restraining order to not be allowed within 500 feet of any child or from partaking in activities involving minors.
- Running Gag: During the PTA meeting, the people at the back keep yelling insults at the LaRussos without identifying themselves.
- Shell-Shocked Veteran: Sam has developed noticeable PTSD as a result of the fight, and has a full-on panic attack when entering the stairwell where Miguel broke his back.
- Shout-Out:
- Amanda compares Tory, who attempted to tear Sam's face off with a knuckle duster, to Freddy Krueger. She thinks Tory got off too easy, saying she belongs in Shawshank.
- Demetri calls Sam Captain Marvel.
- When Daniel tells the PTA meeting that karate saved him from bullies as a teenager, one of the parents retorts "Bullshit, I heard YOU were the real bully!", referencing the famous "Daniel Is The Real Bully" Youtube video which painted Daniel as the villain of the first Karate Kid movie.
- Slasher Smile: Kreese flashes a very malevolent smile when he first notices Daniel in the Cobra Kai dojo.
- Slut-Shaming: One parent at the PTA meeting blames Sam for causing the school brawl since she was the one "tramping around" with Miguel, as if that excuses Tory being the one who took things out of proportion by trying to physically hurt Sam.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome:
- In his fight at the car park, Johnny confidently tells the two guys he attacked that he's going to kick their asses... then falls flat on his face attempting a simple kick and gets the crap beaten out of him. No matter how much of a badass karate sensei Johnny may be, he's not going to win a fight when he's blind drunk and his opponents are sober.
- Johnny tries to pull off a Paper-Thin Disguise by grabbing a lab coat to impersonate a doctor so he can get into the Emergency Room and see Miguel. The very first person to see him instantly figures out that he's not a doctor, since his face makes it clear that he's the one who needs medical attention.
- Take That!: During the PTA meeting, Counselor Blatt tells the parents the school's new "Hugs Not Hits" initiative is "like D.A.R.E.note except it works". Coming from Blatt, that's hilarious.
- Took a Level in Jerkass: Nathaniel has never hesitated to get vulgar with his Cobra Kai rivals, but he has no history with Yasmine that we know of, so that was just pure meanness for him to greet her with "Sup, Front Wedgie?"
- Took a Level in Kindness: Louie is back at the auto dealership and proves he's willing to put more effort into his work. He even is able to alert Daniel and Amanda to a missing car from the lot.
- Unions Suck: In the aftermath of the brawl, the West Valley High School parents are furious that the school staff members not only let the incident happen, but that they've avoided any consequences for it. Counselor Blatt explains that they were following the NEA's guidelines on student fights.
- Wham Shot: Miguel suddenly opens his eyes at the end of the episode, having awakened from his coma.
- Women Prefer Strong Men: Hawk attempts to hit on some freshmen girls only for it to fall flat in part that they know he was a bedwetter and got easily defeated by Demetri, whom they flirtatiously greet when they walk past him.
- Worf Had the Flu: Even though Johnny is an accomplished martial artist, his skills won't hold up when he is piss drunk against two hoodlums.
- Wounded Gazelle Gambit: Johnny deliberately injures himself so he can go into the emergency room and see Miguel. Later subverted as it turns out he actually did have serious injuries that required medical attention outside the self-inflicted head wound.
- Written-In Absence: Aisha is said to have moved away with her family out of shame over what happened, and Stingray was penalized with a restraining order stating that he can't be anywhere near children. Neither are seen during this season.
