Miyagi-Do
Directed by Steven Tsuchida
Chozen: Defense takes on many forms.
After a flashback to their climactic fight in The Karate Kid Part II, Daniel prepares to face his old nemesis Chozen once again, but is surprised when the latter bows in respect.
Johnny visits Miguel, who is now undergoing physical therapy at home after being released from the hospital. Though Johnny finds this new-age brand of therapy ridiculous, he agrees to keep his silence for the sake of Carmen, who is desperate to entertain any measure that might help Miguel get back on his feet.
Kreese tries to appeal to Robby with a story about Johnny's first encounter with Darryl Vidal at the All Valley Tournament, but Robby is cold to him, stating the last thing he wants is another sensei. At that, Kreese leaves Robby alone, but not before deriding Miyagi-Do's way of thinking and suggesting that Robby should learn how to "strike first".
Sam begins training her fellow students at Miyagi-Do, but her mother interrupts and orders everyone to go home. Amanda is confused by Sam's actions, but Sam rebukes her harshly, leaving Amanda stunned.
At the bar in Okinawa, Daniel and Chozen stare at each other in a tense, awkward silence. To Daniel's shock, Kumiko explains that she invited Chozen to meet with him. When Daniel brings up his past misdeeds, she states that their feud was a long time ago and that Chozen has changed. Even as Daniel remains skeptical that any of his enemies (much less Chozen) can change, Kumiko excuses herself to run errands. She asks Chozen if he will show Daniel around town, to which Chozen agrees.
Anxious to help Miguel, Johnny devises a series of new exercises to encourage him to move, dangling an old swimsuit magazine on a fishing pole above Miguel's head. Still unable to use his legs, Miguel falls from his wheelchair, causing him further frustration. Later, Johnny attempts to literally light a fire under Miguel, but this too fails to aid Miguel's recovery.
Despite their dark past, Daniel and Chozen grudgingly begin to converse with one another. Chozen takes Daniel to his personal dojo, which he inherited from his uncle Sato before he died, along with all the remaining secrets of Miyagi-Do. When Daniel attempts to examine a sealed scroll, Chozen angrily takes it from him, claiming it is not for his foreign eyes. Daniel insists that Mr. Miyagi saw him as a son, not a foreigner, and would never keep secrets from him. Chozen seems intent to prove otherwise.
After doing a bit of research about Kreese online, Robby checks his email and finds several messages from Sam. He starts to respond to her, but Shawn returns and pulls the plug on his computer. Robby appeals to the bully to leave him alone, but his words fall on deaf ears. The guard orders all the inmates back to their bunks, while Shawn calls Robby a "bitch" behind his back.
Fed up, Robby waits for an opportune moment and follows Kreese's advice to strike first against his bullies, quickly incapacitating two of the three. He then fights Shawn on equal terms before they are separated and restrained by security. After being questioned, Robby asks Shawn why he didn't confess who started the fight, to which he replies, "I ain't no snitch." When Robby answers in kind, Shawn offers a grudging nod, indicating that he has finally gained some respect for Robby. The rest of Robby's incarceration passes without incident.
Chris is working the prize counter at Golf 'n' Stuff when Hawk and his Cobra Kai gang start tearing through the arcade, stealing tickets from other customers before attempting to redeem them. While Chris grudgingly serves them, the Cobras hop over the counter and steal several prizes before making a quick getaway, insulting Chris's mom as they flee. Chris texts Sam, who is brooding in her bedroom. She is livid at the news and texts that she is on her way, before summoning the rest of the Miyagi-Do students.
In Okinawa, Daniel and Chozen engage in a series of sparring matches. Though Daniel fights well, Chozen repeatedly outmaneuvers him. Eventually, Chozen uses an unexpected pressure point technique to render both of Daniel's arms numb. He then grabs his old foe by the hair and prepares to finish him off, but comically honks Daniel's nose and drops him to the ground, displaying the same mercy Daniel once showed him. Intrigued, Daniel asks Chozen to teach him the technique. Now amicable, Chozen smiles and eagerly agrees to Daniel's request. After a long day of training, Chozen graciously presents Daniel with the sealed scroll that he had denied to him earlier. Chozen explains that he has spent his entire life working to atone for his misdeeds, but even now continues to struggle with regret. Daniel offers his forgiveness to Chozen and the two part ways, having finally put their past behind them.
After brainstorming more ideas to help Miguel, Johnny notices Carmen sobbing outside her apartment and goes to comfort her. He assures her that everything will be okay and asks to borrow Miguel for a few hours. He takes Miguel to a Dee Snider concert, fooling the venue's security by pretending that Miguel is a Make-A-Wish kid. The concert serves to take Miguel's mind off his condition, and before the end of the night, the two are astonished to see Miguel's foot tapping along with the music.
Sam brings the Miyagi-Do students to the amusement center, where they attack Hawk's gang. The Miyagi-Do students have the upper hand until Tory suddenly arrives. She calls out Sam, who abruptly withdraws from the fight. Frozen in terror, she is helpless to prevent the Cobras from turning the tide of battle. The clash culminates with several of the students encouraging Hawk to break the arm of a beaten and helpless Demetri. After some slight hesitation, Hawk goes through with it.
At the hospital, Sam is confronted by her mother, who stops short of lecturing her again when she breaks into tears and explains what happened. Furious, Amanda storms into the Cobra Kai dojo seeking Kreese, who is unsympathetic to her concerns. She slaps him in the face before vowing to shut down Cobra Kai.
Daniel meets up with Kumiko, who has another surprise for him — Yuna, the girl whose life Daniel saved from the typhoon in Part II. She is now the Senior Vice President of Sales at Dayona International and, to repay his kindness, declares that she is going to save Daniel's business.
After returning Miguel home, Johnny logs onto Facebook using his laptop and finally notices the friend request from Ali. He confirms the request.
Tropes:
- Actor Allusion:
- Amanda refers to Kreese as "Rambo" when she confronts him. Martin Kove played a supporting character (Michael Reed Ericson) in Rambo: First Blood Part II. Also an example of Celebrity Paradox.
- Chozen using the pressure point technique to paralyse Daniel may be a reference to the film Red Sun Rising where Yuji Okumoto's character witnesses another man use a similar technique against his partner.
- Ain't Too Proud to Beg:
- When Hawk is about to break Demetri's arm, Demetri sincerely begs him not to do it.
- Daniel does this twice in Okinawa, both times Played for Laughs. First, when Kumiko leaves Daniel with Chozen, Daniel all but begs Kumiko not to leave him alone with what Daniel perceives to be his enemy. Second, when Chozen has disabled Daniel and is supposedly preparing to finish him off, Daniel is begging Chozen not to.
- Alternative Character Interpretation: In-Universe, Chozen and Daniel speculate why Miyagi never told Daniel the truth about Miyagi-Do's lethal techniques and violent origin story. Chozen assumes it is a matter regarding Daniel's own skill level, but Daniel believes that Miyagi was trying to protect him and that such lethal techniques had no use in times of peace.
- And This Is for...: Chris dedicates one of his attacks against Mitch to his mother, who Mitch (and Hawk) insulted earlier.
- As Himself: The real Dee Snider appears as himself in the concert scene.
- The Atoner: Chozen talks with Daniel about his self-destructive past and remains ashamed of how he used to be.
- Bait-and-Switch:
- After a flashback montage of Daniel and Chozen fighting in The Karate Kid Part II, Daniel expects another fight only for Chozen to give him a respectful, though begrudging, bow. They do end up fighting, but it is friendly sparring/training that is a world removed from their previous fight to the death. Chozen seems to enjoy psyching Daniel out every so often, all before recanting back into a friendly chat.
- The trailers for season 3 featured the dialog exchange of "Mr. Miyagi treated me like a son! He would never keep any secrets from me!" and "Are you sure about that?" to suggest Mr. Miyagi had some dark secret he never told Daniel about. But it turns out that Chozen was simply referring to "pressure point" moves that Miyagi had never taught to Daniel.
- When Johnny takes Miguel to a Dee Snider concert, he thinks it's part of his physical therapy. But then Johnny reveals that he just took him there to have fun, and they crack beers together and rock out. Then it becomes a double bait-and-switch when Miguel's foot moves for the first time anyway, heralding the beginning of his recovery.
- Big Damn Reunion: Yuna and Daniel share a hug after she reminds him that she was the same girl Daniel saved during a typhoon in Okinawa.
- Bitch Slap: Following the amusement center fight that left Demetri with a broken arm, Amanda confronts Kreese at his dojo. His arrogance soon provokes her into slapping him in the face.
- The Cavalry: A villainous example, as the Miyagi-Do students have the amusement center fight well in hand... before Tory arrives with reinforcements.
- The Cameo: Anthony makes his one and only appearance this season, mocking Sam training in karate again.
- Celebrity Paradox: Amanda refers to Rambo while talking to Kreese. If she is familiar with the franchise, particularly Rambo: First Blood Part II, she might notice the actor playing Ericson looks identical to Kreese.
- Chew-Out Fake-Out: When Amanda arrives at the hospital, she starts to lecture Sam for starting another fight, but when she sees Sam crying about Demetri’s arm and how scared she was, Amanda's anger immediately disappears and she hugs Sam reassuringly.
- Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are: When Tory arrives with company to back up Hawk and his gang, she tries to goad Sam into coming out of hiding."Sam LaRusso! Where are you, bitch?"
- Curbstomp Battle: In the years since Part II, Chozen has clearly become a better overall fighter than Daniel, as he consistently dominates their friendly sparring. Though Daniel does manage to knock Chozen down once.
- Dangerous Forbidden Technique: Played with, as they spar Chozen uses Miyagi-style Pressure Points on Daniel, rendering his arm and leg numb. While Chozen says Miyagi ancestors needed a lethal form to deal with Japanese invaders, these moves were designed to prevent an opponent from waging war altogether. Daniel wonders why Mr. Miyagi never taught him those techniques, theorizing it is also easily used as a Finishing Move.
- Death Seeker: At some point after Daniel and Chozen's fight at the end of Part II, Chozen endured a period of shame, to the point of wishing for death. He wouldn't have gotten out of it had Sato not been there for him."After our fight, I felt great shame. I... I wanted to die. But, my uncle saved me. He gave me a chance to prove myself. I spent my life trying to do just that. But... regret is sometimes difficult to overcome."
- Disappointed in You: When Amanda discovers Sam is karate training behind her back, Anthony mocks Sam in the style of a disappointed parent.
- The Dog Bites Back: After all Robby had to endure at juvie, right up to literally having the plug pulled on his e-mail attempt, it's not a surprise he took "strike first" to heart.
- Easily Forgiven: Played with. The last time they met, Chozen tried to kill Daniel. But that was 35 years, and it's made clear that he regrets his actions deeply, and has spent decades trying to atone for them. Daniel is able to accept that, as even though he wasn't present for Chozen's Heel–Face Turn, it's still sincere.Daniel: I understand. And if it means anything, Chozen, I... I forgive you.
Chozen: It means a great deal. - Evil Mentor: When Daniel tries to brush off Chozen's past bad behavior as being a result of Sato, Chozen instead keeps the blame on himself while explaining that after Sato's Heel–Face Turn he was welcomed back into the family, which helped him on his own path to redemption.
- Exact Words: Chozen saying "I have been waiting a long time for this" is actually in reference to the mercy Daniel previously extended Chozen during their original fight.
- The Gadfly: Turns out Chozen's hostile greeting towards Daniel last episode was just Chozen messing with him. Later, during their friendly sparring matches, when Chozen has Daniel on the rocks and it looks like he might kill Daniel after all... he honks Daniel's nose the same way he honked Chozen's at the end of their death battle in Part II and starts laughing.
- Gendered Insult: Hawk calls Chris a "good girl" when he demands a bobblehead from the prize counter."Why don't you be a good girl and grab us one of those bobbleheads?"
- Good Feels Good: Even before the revelation that Yuna will save his business, Daniel could hardly have looked happier to remember who she was (and how he saved her).Kumiko: Like Auntie Yukie said... なんくるないさ。note Put good out into the world and... good will come back to you.
- Hard Truth Aesop: Subverted. Chozen claims there may come situations in life where the only way to defend yourself is by killing an opponent, but he eventually reveals that the secret Miyagi pressure points are about subduing an opponent to stop them from fighting back.Chozen: If an enemy insists on war, then you take away their ability to wage it. Yeah?
- I Need a Freaking Drink: Daniel quickly reaches this point when he first sits down with Chozen, who is still pretending to be hostile to Daniel (to the point that Chozen harshly insists on getting the drink for him).
- Jerkass Has a Point:
- Robby gets a visit from Kreese, who suggests that in dealing with the other juvie that he learn the Cobra Kai method of "Strike First." Given the other delinquents were mocking him for having to look over his shoulder, Robby sucker-punching those guys resulted in a much more even fight and the fact neither told the guards what happened gave them some degree of mutual respect. Of course, this is contrasted with Sam trying to do the same thing against Hawk and his posse, which only resulted in Cobra Kai backup and Demetri getting his arm broken.
- Kreese is also correct when he points out that Robby had actually tried to stop the school fight before it got out of hand and Miguel was the one who escalated it out of control by tackling him when he was just trying to keep Tory away from Sam, even if he is only saying this to manipulate him.
- Karmic Jackpot: It turns out that the girl who's life Daniel saved 35 years ago is now a highly placed executive in the same company he desperately needs to close a deal with. note
- Kick the Dog:
- Cobra Kai goes to Golf 'n' Stuff to steal tickets from kids playing and prizes from Chris (while he's on the clock, no less).
- Robby starts to write an apology email to Sam, only for Shawn to pull the plug on his computer.
- The Mall: Tomi Village Green, the new iteration of the ancient Tomi Village, which is where most of Daniel's B-plot is spent.
- Mama Bear: Amanda confronts Kreese personally after the latest fight, and is completely unafraid to give him a hard slap.
- Mood Whiplash:
- Prior to the Oh, Crap! moment described below, Chozen comes off as an angry person who clearly doubts Daniel should have any place in Miyagi's legacy. After Chozen reveals he was only trolling Daniel, he becomes a lot more friendly and personable.
- At the end of the scene where Demetri gets his arm broken by Hawk (complete with Demetri wailing in agony and Sam cowering in terror), we cut to... Daniel and a now-amiable Chozen walking down the tranquil mountainside, chatting and complimenting each other like old friends.
- My God, What Have I Done?: After Hawk breaks Demetri's arm his fellow Cobra Kai congratulate him, but hearing Demetri's cries of pain he gives the briefest look that hints he's not happy with what he did.
- Oh, Crap!: Daniel's reaction during the incident mentioned under The Gadfly, above, after Chozen raises his hand in seeming preparation to deliver a finishing strike to a now-helpless Daniel, and quips "I have waited a long time for this!" Luckily, what he was actually waiting for was an opportunity to spare Daniel, just as Daniel had spared him in their last fight.
- The Paralyzer: Chozen employs pressure point strikes against Daniel in their fight that render his limbs useless.
- Pet the Dog:
- While Dee Snider could not have known that Miguel isn't a genuine Make-A-Wish kid, it was really sweet of him to do a shout out for Miguel anyway.
- When Chozen remarks that "Regret is sometimes difficult to overcome", Daniel sincerely says that if it means anything, he forgives Chozen. Chozen replies (also sincerely) that it means a great deal to him.
- Kreese, of course, only visited Robby out of pure self-interest (as with everything else Kreese does). But it's hard to ignore that his advice to Robby is the first thing all season that ends up working for the poor kid.
- Phoneaholic Teenager: We have a variant where Sam is seen lying on her bed sulking, with her iPhone by her side, when Chris texts her.
- The Power of Rock: Johnny takes Miguel to a Dee Snider concert, and the sheer awesomeness of the music gets Miguel to tap his foot again, to his and Johnny's delight.
- Rage Breaking Point: When the Cobra Kai students start messing with Chris while he's at work, Sam decides that's the final straw and heads to the amusement center with her fellow Miyagi-Do students to kick some ass.
- Rewatch Bonus: Just watch the dialogue between Daniel, Kumiko, and Chozen again, knowing that Chozen was trolling the entire time.
- Saying Sound Effects Out Loud: Chozen tweaks a helpless Daniel's nose while saying "Honk!" out loud.
- Shout-Out:
- Daniel makes a "master of your domain" comment when Chozen responds that he doesn't have a wife or kids. Chozen doesn't reply to his Seinfeld reference, to which Daniel comments that he may be more into Friends instead.
- When Amanda confronts Kreese at his dojo, she calls him Rambo.note
- Sickening "Crunch!": Encouraged by the other Cobra Kais, Hawk snaps a helpless Demetri's right arm... and we get to hear all about it.
- Start of Darkness: Taking Kreese's advice of striking first to heart, Robby attacks his tormentors in prison as payback for their mistreatment towards him. This is the beginning of Kreese turning Robby into the Darth Vader to Daniel's Obi-Wan.
- Still Got It: The Training Montage shows that Chozen hasn't just maintained his fighting skills; he is leagues ahead of his former nemesis.
- Technology Marches On: Discussed In-Universe. Johnny tries to help Miguel learn to walk again by dangling an old swimsuit magazine just out of his reach. Miguel points out that if he really wants to see pictures of hot girls he can just search for them on his smartphone. Johnny claims that girls are always hotter "on the page".
- This Is for Emphasis, Bitch!: As with the school brawl in season 2, when Tory announces her hunt for Sam, she concludes it with the word "bitch".
- Took a Level in Kindness: Like the OG Cobra Kai gang, Chozen is revealed to have become a much better person since the events of the second film, and his initial hostility towards Daniel was just an act. They end up in a friendly sparring match, and the two part on good terms, with Chozen gifting Daniel an ancient Miyagi-Do scroll.
- Training Montage: We get an extended one with Daniel and Chozen sparring, both unarmed and with staves.
- Trauma Button: Sam freezes up when she hears Tory's voice echoing in the arena, remembering their fight, as well as her horrific nightmare, and completely collapses, unable to do anything for the rest of the fight.
- Villain Respect: After Robby's fight with the lead juvie bully is broken up, both of them gain respect for each other when they learn that neither of them snitched afterwards. This marks the end of the juvie bullies hassling Robby.Robby: Why didn't you talk?
Shawn: I'm no snitch.
Robby: Me neither.
(Shawn gives a grudging nod of respect and walks off) - What the Hell, Hero?: At first, Daniel is astonished not only by Chozen's unexpected reappearance, but the fact that Chozen came because Kumiko invited him. He straight up asks her if she forgot about the time Chozen threatened both their lives. Kumiko merely replies "That was a long time ago."
- Would Hit a Girl: Initially averse to hitting people of the opposite sex, Hawk doesn't hold back against Sam when she and the Miyagi-Dos confront him and his gang.
- Your Mom: Hawk and Mitch taunt Chris in this way as they run off with their stolen prizes. Chris later targets Mitch specifically during the brawl because of the insult.
