What An Idiot / Cobra Kai

The characters in Cobra Kai keep making dumb mistakes that make things worse. Common sense does not exist in this dojo.

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Season 1

• "Esqueleto": Counselor Blatt has received a phone call from Eli's mother about her son being bullied at school. Blatt plans to make an announcement to the school about it, but Eli's mother asks her to leave his name out of it.
  You'd Expect: Counselor Blatt would also make sure not to mention any of Eli's other obvious identifying characteristics.
  Instead: She specifically mentions his very prominent facial scar.
  The Result: Everyone immediately realizes the announcement is about Eli. Teens Are Monsters but not all of them are stupid. The subject being a boy out-rules every girl in the school, and Eli has that one specific trait that makes him stand out, which is what the bullies are making a big deal out of in the first place. He gets bullied even worse and it prompts him to join Cobra Kai, starting his Start of Darkness.
• "Different But Same": Amanda grounds Sam and confiscates her phone when she finds out Sam was involved in a hit-and-run when Yasmine hit Johnny's car and didn't tell her about it. Miguel repeatedly tries to call Sam to tell her about Cobra Kai's party at the canyon that evening.
  You'd Expect: Amanda, hearing Sam's phone ringing non-stop all day right next to her, would allow her to answer it, if only to tell the person who is obviously desperate to contact her that she's unavailable. It's pretty obvious that there is an urgent situation where someone really needs to speak to Sam.
  Alternatively: Amanda to call Miguel, give him a quick, "This is Sam's mother. She's grounded. Call her tomorrow." and then hang up, especially since Amanda made that whole big case about Sam's "friends" to Daniel when they caught her throwing a pool party.
  You'd Also Think: Sam to, when trying to sneak a message to Miguel, call him and say, "I'm grounded, I'm sorry," instead of trying to leave a text message (which takes longer to type out), and when Amanda comes back, she could take the phone and say to Miguel, "She'll call you tomorrow," or start lecturing Sam so Miguel can overhear that there is something going on and she's not just ignoring him for no reason.
  Instead: Amanda refuses to let Sam answer the phone multiple times.
  Result: Miguel, who's already feeling insecure over Sam keeping him from meeting her parents (thanks to Johnny's biased version of events from 1984), and who saw her being friendly with Robby the day before, becomes convinced that Sam was avoiding him, gets drunk, and tries to fight Robby when Robby breaks Sam out of her house so she can come to the party to explain to Miguel why she hasn't been able to contact him all day, accidentally hitting Sam in the process. Things only get worse from here as he doubles down on his stance at the tournament thanks to Johnny's poisoned advice, leading Sam to break up with him.
• Miguel has a moment of this too, when Sam isn't responding to his calls/texts due to Amanda confiscating her phone.
  You'd Expect: Miguel to consider what Demetri has told him, that Sam hasn't give him any reason to not trust her, go over to Sam's house, where he can see that she's all right, and learn that she's grounded. This would also allow him to learn from Sam the truth about Robby while he's in a state of mind to listen to her.
  Instead: He lets Johnny's biased retelling of the events of 1984 get to his head and gets drunk.
  Result: When Robby busts Sam out of her house and brings her to the party so she can talk to Miguel and explain herself, he tries to start a fight with Robby.
• "Different But Same": Yasmine and her posse head to a canyon for her birthday party… only to find the Cobra Kais have beat her there, as Aisha got tipped off by Yasmine's Instagram feed. Kyler notices Miguel among the crowd, and remembering the No-Holds-Barred Beatdown that Yasmine also witnessed while in the cafeteria, he sensibly proposes relocation.
  You’d think: Yasmine would find another spot to have the party, as per Kyler’s proposal.
  Instead: She orders Kyler to order them out of the canyon, complains that he’s being a pussy, and decides it would be a good idea to get in Aisha’s face.
  As a result: Not only is Aisha not bothered by her attitude anymore… she gives Yasmine a front-wedgie, lifting her a good few inches into the air, and neatly dumps her into the dirt. Except for Moon – whose own sensible advice she ignored – everyone else at the party laughs uproariously at Yasmine’s predicament. The whole incident goes viral on social media, guaranteeing an irreversible loss of campus stock. There is one positive from the whole ordeal, as Yasmine gets an awareness of what it was like for Sam and Aisha and other people she'd bullied, and when we see her again in season 3, she's disassociated herself from people like Kyler and her new lease on life earns her a relationship with Demetri.
• At the tournament, Sam is still willing to reach out to Miguel to try and get an apology for what happened at the beach party, and talks to him before he faces Robby in the final match.
  You'd Expect: Miguel to apologize for pushing Robby, and admit he was wrong. He could say that he was drinking a lot and feeling anxious because he hadn't heard from her all day. That when she showed up with Robby, he let his anger get the best of him. He can also explain what led him to think like that: he saw Robby having dinner with Sam's family, and her being friendly with him. Sam can then explain that it wasn't what Miguel thought it looked like, that Daniel invited Robby over for dinner and that was the first time she'd met Robby.
  Instead: He only apologizes for hitting Sam, and doubles down, promising to hurt Robby in the finals.
  Result: Sam leaves the tournament, unable to bear what Miguel has turned into. It takes Miguel shedding this toxic Cobra Kai mentality for Sam to give him another shot at a relationship in season 3.

Season 2

• "Fire and Ice": Daniel launches a video ad on YouTube to gather students for free karate lessons at his recently opened dojo, Miyagi-Do.
  You'd Expect: Daniel to avoid mentioning Cobra Kai so he won't provoke them. Especially because he is opening Miyagi-Do to stop Cobra Kai's influence from spreading and teach a better way of karate. The "free lessons" part is an already obvious clue that he is trying to poach prospective students.
  Instead: Much like the potshots Tom Cole made at Daniel in his "Yankee Doodle" ad in season 1, Daniel can't resist adding in thinly-veiled insults against Cobra Kai. One is "Don't be a snake in the grass."
  The Result: Daniel angers everyone in Cobra Kai, with no students wanting to go to him to learn how to do his way of karate. They brand him as the enemy and Johnny organizes a show interrupting their demonstration at Valley Fest to get back at him. Which leads to Cobra Kai becoming even more popular, with Tory joining them. He also indirectly ruins Sam's fledgling efforts to reconcile with Miguel and Aisha as they are upset about the ad.
• "The Moment of Truth": Demetri decides to join Cobra Kai and shows up at the dojo after hours, where he meets Kreese.
  You'd Expect: Demetri would introduce himself and explain that he wants to sign up for karate lessons, while being careful not to say anything that might annoy the very large and intimidating karate master standing before him, especially seeing as his last trip to Cobra Kai ended with Johnny bodyslamming him for mouthing off.
  Instead: He criticizes the snake tattoo on Kreese's arm for being anatomically incorrect and starts poking it.
  Predictably: Kreese punches Demetri in the face and gives him a bloody nose. Given how Ax-Crazy Kreese can be, Demetri got off lightly.
• In "Lull," Miguel goes to the LaRusso house to return Miyagi's Medal of Honor to Sam, in an effort to prove to her that he's not an asshole like the rest of his Cobra Kai friends. Instead of Sam answering the door, it's Robby, who takes the medal.
  You'd Expect: Robby to tell Sam the truth: that Miguel brought it back, he had nothing to do with the dojo being trashed, and that he was sorry it happened. He has a responsibility to pass along the message to Sam and Daniel given he’s a guest at their house. There’s no way the medal will stay secret for long, with Sam having a mutual friend in Cobra Kai (Aisha) and Miguel having every motive to tell Sam.
  Instead: Robby, afraid that Sam will choose Miguel over him, hides the medal, lies to Sam, and plants the medal in the Miyagi dojo, and pretends to "find" it.
  Result: Sam learns the truth anyways when Aisha tells her about this at Moon's party, while she happens to be drunk (from having beaten Tory in the drinking contest). Her feelings for Miguel resurface much more strongly, to the point that she impulsively kisses him when he approaches her and she trips into his arms. And predictably, having knowledge that the old Miguel she dated in season 1 is out there means Sam spends season 3 reconnecting with him, and is firmly back in an intimate relationship with him by the time Robby gets out of jail.
• In "Glory of Love", Tory tries to instigate a fight by subtly elbowing Sam.
  You'd Expect: Sam to not let Tory's pettiness ruin her date and report her to the manager if she keeps it up, or does something more flagrant.
  Instead: She intentionally trips her in front of dozens of witnesses and workers, making herself look like the aggressor.
  Result: She and Robby are removed from the roller rink, ruining their night.
• Moon in "Pulpo". Tensions between Cobra Kai and Miyagi-Do have been slowly boiling over the course of the summer. Moon, who has friends on both sides of the dojo rivalry, wants both sides to reconcile and bring the fighting to an end now that school is about to resume.
  You'd Expect: Moon would reach out to Sam (Miyagi-Do) and Aisha (Cobra Kai), her best friends on either side of the rivalry, who have also been best friends with each other since childhood but have grown apart over the course of the last year, between Sam not standing up for Aisha when Yasmine was bullying her, and Aisha becoming more involved in Cobra Kai, and get the two of them to make up so that they might in turn be able to bridge the divide between the two dojos.
  Alternatively: If Moon is determined to bring everyone from both dojos together at once, she takes steps to minimize the chances of the meeting breaking into violence, such as by holding it in a public place or telling both sides about it ahead of time to ensure they were actually receptive to the idea.
  Or, At The Very Least: She would make sure to keep everyone sober while trying to get them to talk things out.
  Instead: Moon decides to throw a Wild Teen Party at her own house and invites both dojos, without telling either of them that the other will be there and then gives everyone plenty of booze, assuming everyone will make up once they get the chance to "clear their chakhras" and have fun.
  The Result: The party quickly descends into a series of pissing contests between members of both dojos, with Alcohol-Induced Stupidity rampant on both sides. Already-existing tensions between them intensify, resulting in a massive brawl breaking out on the first day of school the following Monday. It's only through sheer dumb luck via the timely intervention of the police arriving to break up the party that the fight doesn't happen right there in Moon's house instead. We see Sam accomplish Moon's intended goal more effectively in season 3 when she wants Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang to ally against Cobra Kai: first, she reconciles with her boyfriend (and Miguel happens to be Johnny's star student at Eagle Fang), who is open to the idea of an alliance. Sam then takes the step of not having any booze on hand when she gathers the Miyagi-Dos and Eagle Fangs at her house (though Miguel has to trick Mitch and Bert into coming under the promise of a keg party). And moreover, the only people around are the dojo students, so the environment is easier to control. (And conveniently, Tory's gang chooses to assault the LaRusso house at that point, getting anyone still on the fence to set aside their differences)

• The Season 2 finale "No Mercy" has five big ones.
  • After having seen her boyfriend cheat on her with Sam at Moon's party, Tory assaults a teacher, hijacks the intercom, and announces she's going to kick Sam's ass.
    You'd Expect: A teacher or administrator would confiscate the mike, put the school on lockdown, and call the police to have Tory arrested and removed from the building in handcuffs. She just made a credible threat of violence towards another student. And since the school doesn’t know about the karate thing, it should be assumed that Tory is carrying a gun and is about to shoot up the school.
    At the very least: The teachers would hold students in their classrooms, given the nature of the threat, until they learned more information.
    Instead: The teachers release their students into the hallway. And no one does anything except Robby and Miguel, who run to break up the fight before it starts.
    The Result: They arrive too late, and the fight has already broken out as Robby turns up.
  • Although Miguel and Robby don't arrive in time, Aisha, Cobra Kai's Only Sane Woman and Token Good Teammate, does. Aisha is friends with both Sam and Tory, even if her friendship with Sam is somewhat strained, and doesn't want the two to fight.
    You'd Expect: Aisha would step in and try to restrain Tory long enough for Sam to get away, or calm her down before she attacks Sam.
    Instead: She just stands there and does absolutely nothing. And while she does eventually try to pull them apart, it's only after the fight has already turned into an all-out brawl, and even then she gets distracted by a Miyagi-Do student pushing her and wades into the fighting herself.
    The Result: Aisha's parents withdraw her from West Valley after the fight and transfer her to a private school in a completely different part of town, uprooting her entire social life, including her friendship with Sam.
  • Robby arrives, pulls Tory off of Sam, and slams her into a locker, restraining her. Miguel arrives moments later, and sees Robby pinning Tory against the locker and kicking away a Cobra Kai student.
    You'd Expect: Miguel would conclude that Robby is trying to break up the fight and protect Sam, seeing as Tory just announced her intentions to attack Sam to the entire school, and Miguel himself was just rushing to also stop his crazy girlfriend from hurting Sam. Especially considering that Sam is Robby's girlfriend that Tory is threatening to attack, and the only bad impression of Robby that Miguel has had up to this point is that Robby "stole" Sam from him, as Robby has been pretty decent to Miguel in their few interactions (despite his own resentments). Plus there is no other way to restrain someone who is hell-bent on hurting someone else but to use force to hold them back.
    At the very least: Miguel would go to Sam's side to make sure she's okay, and maybe escort her away from the fight.
    Instead: Miguel bum-rushes Robby and attacks him as Robby is literally saying, “Settle down, I’m sure we can figure this out,” to Tory. It's only later in the fight, as the scene continues up the stairs, that Miguel finally becomes more concerned with stopping Tory.
    Result: This frees Tory to resume attacking Sam, eventually managing to lacerate her arm when she turns her spiked bracelet into a knuckle duster and later for Miguel to cause himself doom when Robby accidentally kicks him off the second floor balcony and he falls over the railing and lands on a staircase that puts him into a coma.
  • The above causes a massive brawl to break out between the dojo rivals, with the teachers helpless to stop it. One tries to break it up and gets beaten, while the teacher Demetri finds decides it's not worth his pay grade to end up in the hospital.
    You'd Expect: While some of the teachers call 911, someone would pull the fire alarm and activate the sprinklers — as the principal in Mean Girls did — or use a megaphone to play a deafening noise, or something that doesn't involve a physical action. That would at least disrupt the fighting students' rhythm and buy a window of time for security or the police to come in and subdue them with tear gas, zipties and handcuffs. Once the situation is under control, the principal can have everyone brought to the gym for an assembly, call out the fighting students for their stupidity, and give them all detention. This counts as an emergency where students and teachers are in grave danger of getting hurt.
    Instead: They just get out of dodge and maybe call the police as the bystanders quickly photograph what's going on while staying out of the way. The only adults to try and do anything are Stingray (who is a member of Cobra Kai, and shows it by blatantly only targeting the Miyagi-Dos and high-fiving Hawk rather than deescalate all of the fighting students) and the security guard who breaks up the two smallest students, Bert and Nathaniel.
    The Result: Sam needs stitches after Tory turns her spiked bracelet into a knuckle duster and slices her right arm, and Robby kicks Miguel over a railing in a fit of rage. It is only after Miguel falls that we see any police arrive. Come season three, Miguel is recovering in the hospital, his mother has broken up with Johnny, and Robby is in jail. The only way the school can avoid potential lawsuits is to come down hard on the dojo members.
  • Lastly, Miguel gains the upper hand on Robby, but is unable to finish off Robby after he remembers a time where Johnny had expressed his regrets about failing to teach Miguel and the others how to show mercy to their opponents. He apologizes and lets him go.
    You'd Expect: Robby would accept the apology. Considering he and all the other students are already going to be facing severe punishments for fighting in school, it's best not to make an already bad situation worse. Not to mention, Daniel taught him that he should only be fighting when he's defending himself or others.
    Instead: In a blind fury over Miguel throwing his love for Sam in his face, Robby attacks Miguel, kicking him until he accidentally knocks him over a railing, leaving Miguel paralyzed.
    The Result: Robby goes to jail, Sam breaks up with him (because despite their falling out, Miguel is still Sam's ex-boyfriend), and Daniel is forced to shut down Miyagi-Do. His car dealership suffers by association, with him having to remove all of the karate-based advertising.

Season 3

• For instigating the school brawl and trying to maim Sam, Tory gets expelled and put on probation. Amanda is not happy that Tory wasn't locked up.
  You'd Expect: Amanda would file a restraining order against Tory. While that wouldn't be guaranteed to protect Sam if Tory goes after her, at the very least the knowledge that a restraining order against her exists would make Tory think twice about indulging her grudge against Sam, as the threat of being locked up would be even more real.
  Instead: They don't.
  Result: Tory remains a looming threat until she leads a gang of students to assault Sam and her Miyagi-Do classmates in the LaRussos' house right before Christmas.
• Thanks to Johnny's ineptness and oversight in handling the dojo's finances and paperwork, Kreese has managed to usurp Cobra Kai away from him, and has the students' loyalty.
  You'd Expect: Kreese would remember how at the start of The Karate Kid Part II, he lost his dojo when he tried to publicly strangle Johnny for losing to Daniel at the All Valley Tournament, causing all of his students at Cobra Kai to abandon him in disgust, and work to maintain the loyalty of his students this time.
  Instead: He kicks out loyal Cobra Kai members like Mitch and Bert for petty failures and recruits former enemies of the dojo like Kyler (whose bullying of Miguel and Hawk was the impetus for Johnny to open Cobra Kai) and Robby Keene (who punted Miguel over the railing in the school brawl).
  The Result: Kreese alienates many of his remaining students. Those kicked out of Cobra Kai get poached by Johnny into Eagle Fang, and eventually, Miguel and Sam get Eagle Fang to ally with Miyagi-Do against Kreese, while by the time of the finale, even Hawk has had enough and pulls a Heel–Face Turn mid fight to join the Miyagi-do/Eagle Fang alliance, leaving Cobra Kai with only three skilled fighters (Kyler, Robby and Tory) while Miyagi-Fang has at least four (Sam, Miguel, Hawk, Demetri).
• In "Nature vs. Nurture," right after his falling out with Johnny at the chop shop, Daniel gets a call that Robby, wanted by the police for injuring Miguel, is visiting his mother at the rehab center. Daniel is aware that Robby will get a lighter sentence if he turns himself in.
  You'd Expect: Daniel would have his lawyer come with him to help him talk Robby into turning himself in. If Robby agrees, there is nothing to stop the three from driving to the nearest police station.
  Instead: Daniel brings the police in, and has them waiting out of sight while he talks to Robby. He takes too long to get to the point, at which point the police get impatient and move in before Daniel can finish convincing Robby to turn himself in.
  The Result: Robby goes to juvie thinking Daniel betrayed him, and shuts him and the rest of the LaRussos out. He hangs up on Daniel when Daniel calls him trying to apologize. Robby's bad mental state is worsened after finding out Sam is reconnecting with Miguel (thanks to a newscast about Miyagi-Do's car wash fundraiser to pay for Miguel's hospital bills) and and Johnny misses out on a juvie visit due to Miguel going into surgery, which leaves Robby wide open for Kreese to manipulate him into taking on a "strike first" mentality. Upon getting out of jail, Robby blows off Daniel's olive branch and sides with Kreese to spite both his father and Daniel.
• A minor example but earlier in the same episode from above during their search for Robby, Daniel and Johnny see an unfamiliar driver with the exact Dodge Caravan that Robby stole from the dealership.
  You'd Expect: Daniel and Johnny either approach the man calmly or better yet, wait for him to get away from the van so that they can wait for the driver at the van. The driver knowingly has a stolen vehicle so he is definitely not going to stick around for questions about it. If at least one of them are at the van, the worst that will happen is that they will have to chase him on foot.
  Or: Daniel to tell Johnny to go towards him. Daniel may be the more level-headed one in this scenario but the driver is definitely not going to want to confront the owner of the company of where he indirectly stole the vehicle from. Everyone in the Valley knows what Daniel looks like thanks to his commercials and billboards and his karate-themed advertising will definitely dissuade the driver into any physical confrontation one-on-one.
  Or even: Daniel and Johnny to be a lot calmer when approaching him. Daniel explicitly states later that they don't need to get the cops involved and that they just want to look for Robby, even offering to overlook their illegal chop shop activities for information.
  Instead: The two yell after the driver and run towards him the second he leaves the vehicle.
  The Result: The man immediately gets frightened and drives off. This leads to a fight at the chop shop and Johnny and Daniel yet again having another falling out over interrogating the man. The end result was no leads on where Robby is, Johnny giving up the search for Robby if it meant working with Daniel, Daniel's side-mirror destroyed thanks to Johnny's reckless driving and the corn nuts Johnny were eating spilled all over the car which leaves Daniel with yet ''another'' Johnny Lawrence-related mess to clean up. The only thing achieved from this incident was Johnny taking the Dodge Caravan for himself as he abandoned the Dodge Challenger at the end of Season 2. It was only thanks to a call from Shannon, Robby's mother, that Daniel was able to find him at all.
• In "Miyagi-Do", Hawk and his gang start causing trouble at Golf 'n Stuff, harassing Chris at work and stealing stuffed animals from the prize stand.
  You'd Expect: Chris would call the police, or get his manager to do so, and have Hawk and his friends arrested and cited for trespassing. He knows all of their names and they have presumably been caught on camera, so Hawk wouldn't be able to lie his way out of this like he did to Counselor Blatt twice in the previous episode. Since these Cobra Kais are on thin ice from the school brawl, it would also be reported to the school, ensuring that they would all get suspended or expelled (meaning the Miyagi-Dos won't have to deal with Cobras harassing them at school).
  At the very least: Chris would encourage the Miyagi-Dos to get their parents involved, because this incident took place outside of school.
  Instead: Chris texts Sam, who summons the rest of the Miyagi-Dos to ambush the Cobra Kais at the laser tag arena. Chris even abandons his shift to join them, risking his job in the process.
  The Result: While the Miyagi-Dos have the upper hand initially, Tory's arrival and calling out to Sam causes Sam to have a panic attack and withdraw from the fight, turning the fight into a Curb-Stomp Battle for Cobra Kai which ends with Hawk breaking Demetri's arm.
  • When Amanda shows up at the hospital and begins to chew out Sam for starting another fight, she sees her daughter in tears and her anger immediately fades away as she consoles her daughter. She knows Cobra Kai need to pay for what happened.
    You'd Expect: Amanda would call the police and have Hawk, Tory, Mitch, Rickenberger, and all of the other Cobra Kais arrested, charged with multiple counts of assault and battery, and subsequently taken to court, especially since Sam and Demetri can testify that Hawk was not acting in self-defense when he broke Demetri's arm. This would also keep Sam safe from further attacks by Tory, since Tory would be immediately sent straight to prison for violating her probation.
    Instead: Amanda goes to Cobra Kai, confronts Kreese, lets slip that she's planning to shut him down, and slaps him when he begins taunting her.
    Result: Kreese takes out a restraining order against Amanda, and uses the ambush to paint Cobra Kai as Villains With Good Publicity. The only good that comes of this whole mess is that breaking Demetri's arm contributes to Hawk's Heel Realization and eventual Heel–Face Turn, while Daniel is able to help Sam work through her fear of Tory. And Demetri continuing to be bullied while his arm is broken earns him sympathy from Yasmine, and the two ultimately start dating in possibly the healthiest teen relationship on the show.
• In "Miyagi-Do," Robby gets on one of the juvie center's computers and sees a bunch of emails from all three of the LaRussos trying to get in touch with him. He's in the process of trying to write to Sam when Shawn unplugs his computer. Later in the episode, he defeats Shawn and his crew, gaining some newfound respect from them.
  You'd Expect: At some point between October 20th^note Based on the date on Sam's phone when Chris texts her for the arcade fight and when he gets out in mid-December,^note Holiday decorations are up at school in episode 8 when Sam is reconnecting with Miguel Robby would reply to Sam's emails.
  Instead: Apparently he just gives up, since he's never seen trying to do this again.
  Result: Sam gives up trying to write to Robby, thinking he wants nothing to do with her, or with the LaRussos as a whole (assuming she knows that Robby is ghosting her parents as well). Assuming their relationship is over, she gets back together with Miguel, and calls Robby out on his lack of communication when he happens to catch them having an intimate moment.
  Robby: So now I know why you stopped writing.
  Sam: I stopped writing because you never answered!
• In "King Cobra", Kreese invites several local athletes he has scouted to Cobra Kai to try out for a place in the dojo by taking on his current students. These are Kyler, Brucks, and a basketball player with no apparent combat training named Sarah.
  • First up is Kyler, who fights Mitch for his initiation. He successfully beats Mitch.
    You'd Expect: Kreese to let Mitch stay at the dojo, given that (as Hawk points out) Mitch has been a loyal member of Cobra Kai from the beginning.
    Instead: He expels Mitch for losing to an "untrained" fighter, failing to realize how this reflects poorly on him as a karate instructor.
    Result: Miguel convinces Mitch to join Eagle Fang, while Hawk's loyalty to Kreese (already shaky in light of Kreese earlier expelling Bert for refusing to feed Clarence to the snake, and Tory heaping praise upon him for breaking Demetri's arm in the arcade fight) is further chipped away at. Furthermore during the first half of the house fight, Mitch was the only fighter along with Sam to win his fight against a Cobra Kai, Mikey.
  • Sarah seems to put up a decent fight against Tory, one of Kreese's best students, but is ultimately defeated.
    You'd Expect: Kreese would allow Sarah a chance to return to the dojo and try out against another fighter. The fact that she just held her own against Tory without any previous karate training means she has decent potential and could make a very strong recruit after some time learning from Kreese.
    Instead: Kreese deems her not to be Cobra Kai material solely because she didn't win, despite how ludicrously the odds were stacked against her.
    Result: Kreese ends up denying himself a potentially valuable fighter for no good reason. Worse, it's possible Sarah will be only too happy to join (and probably stick with) any rival dojo that offers her a better deal.
  • Lastly, Brucks is called onto the mat to try his luck.
    You'd Expect: Brucks to have done at least some basic physical training before he showed up at the dojo, especially in the wake of what happened to Tory's opponent (little hint: Kyler can claim to have done some prep, since he can fall back on his wrestling training). His beatdown from Miguel should have given him a hint that he should do some training instead of just relying on his size and strength.
    Instead: He immediately swaggers onto the mat and boasts that he'll take anyone that dares to challenge him.
    The Result: Lo and behold, Hawk (his former victim, whom he still derisively calls "Lip") rises to the occasion, and effectively grinds him into pancake batter. Brucks is unable to land anything on him (whereas Mitch scored the first attack on Kyler). Furthermore, he has no qualms about begging Hawk to show him mercy halfway through the beatdown. A little too late for that, Brucks.
    To Rub Salt on the Wound: Brucks ends up losing his friendship with Kyler.
• In "The Good, The Bad, and the Badass," the All-Valley Tournament is cancelled because the city of Los Angeles doesn't want to "foster a culture of violence" after the West Valley rumble. There's a town hall meeting for petitioners to contest the council's decision. Daniel, Johnny, and Kreese all attend, as the three senseis whose dojo students were involved in the school brawl, planning to make their individual cases as to why the tournament should resume.
  You'd Expect: Since all three men want the tournament to be reinstated, they would call a temporary truce or at least not go out of their way to badmouth each other while presenting their case.
  Instead: The three senseis openly bicker and blame each other for the violence between their students.
  Result: The senseis' bickering convinces the council members that the tournament has no place in the community. It's only when Miguel shows up at that moment and gives an impromptu speech (with Sam's help) that focuses on how karate improved his life (and most importantly, doesn't point fingers at anyone) that the council members are persuaded to let the tournament resume.
• As noted above, Tory has been expelled from West Valley High for inciting the school fight by assaulting a teacher and hijacking the intercom, then attacking Sam and putting her in the hospital. The only reason she isn't in prison because the authorities didn't want to take away her mother's support. Kreese barely saves her from an exploitative deal with her seedy landlord who is trying to get her to prostitute herself to him. She has to see a probation officer who spells out that one more crime, even a small one like petty theft, and it's juvie for her.
  You'd Expect: Tory would let go of her grudge with Sam, realize that her family is more important than petty grudges or karate wars, and focus on keeping up her good behavior. Kreese has enough Pragmatic Villainy to encourage his students to not try and do things that could get them arrested and paint himself as a Villain with Good Publicity.
  Instead: Tory goes right back to committing criminal activity she could be arrested and thrown in jail for. This includes participating in a fight with Miyagi-Do at the arcade where she calls out to Sam hoping for a rematch with her (and also goads Hawk into breaking Demetri's arm), stealing a snake from the zoo as tribute for Kreese, and leading a gang assault on the LaRusso house after Kreese tells her that Sam is back together with Miguel and the two of them helped save the All Valley Tournament. She singles out Sam again for a one-on-one and attacks her with a pair of nunchucks, while siccing one of her gang, Kyler, to beat up a still-recovering Miguel.
  Predictably: In a case of Nice Job Fixing It, Villain, Sam is motivated to fight back when Tory damages a picture of Mr. Miyagi. Oh, and this means Tory has broken her probation over Revenge Before Reason. It's only because Johnny and Daniel get forced by Kreese into a stalemate that Tory isn't arrested.
• The All-Valley tournament is saved thanks to a last-minute intervention by Miguel and Sam. Not only are they dating, but they are Johnny's and Daniel's respective star pupils. Kreese suspects that they are likely going to ally their factions together to take him on. He knows the importance of alliances and how "the enemy of my enemy is my friend", as he stresses to Hawk in the next episode when Hawk questions his decision to recruit Robby.
  You'd Expect: Kreese would sit back and do nothing. He knows Johnny and Daniel dislike each other, even if their star pupils are dating. Both dojos would be easier to defeat if they weren't allied.
  You'd Also Expect: Kreese would be extra careful to ensure Johnny nor Daniel find out that he's recruited Robby, seeing as Robby is Johnny's son and Daniel's protégé.
  Instead: Kreese pushes Tory to lead the Cobras in a gang assault on the Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang students as they're beginning to work together, while keeping Robby behind at the dojo so Johnny and Daniel will find him there when they inevitably confront Kreese afterwards.
  Result: Tory's gang assault on the LaRusso house ends up being a big loss for Cobra Kai, as 1) Hawk defects mid-fight and ends up being the deciding factor in a Miyagi-Do / Eagle Fang victory. 2) Through Sam having conquered her fear of Tory, she is now a much more dangerous opponent. 3) Miguel manages to beat Kyler despite not being 100% back to normal, meaning he's just as dangerous as Sam. And 4) the students of Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang are motivated to put their differences aside and fully unite...which also happens to Daniel and Johnny as they simultaneously learn that Kreese is corrupting Robby when they both show up at Cobra Kai to confront Kreese about the attack on their students.
• In the aftermath of the home invasion in "December 19", Johnny goes to the Diazes' apartment to profess his love to Carmen...only to find her tending to the wounds Miguel received in his beating from Kyler. Offscreen, Daniel finds out about the home invasion as well.
  You'd Expect: Both senseis to at this point call the police and have Kyler and Tory arrested, as well as the other Cobras who participated in the home invasion. Even if there's nothing to connect Kreese to the home invasion, he'd be at a disadvantage because he'd lose a fair number of his elite students, have to spend more time finding new recruitments to replace them, and his reputation would be tarnished by association.
  Instead: Johnny and Daniel both go to Cobra Kai to confront Kreese and attack him. Only the timely appearance of Sam and Miguel gets Daniel to come to his senses just as he's about to strike a finishing blow to Kreese.
  Result: Johnny and Daniel are in no position to bring criminal charges against the students who participated in the home invasion, since doing so would mean Kreese would just call the police on them for breaking into his dojo and attacking him (with Robby to corroborate his side if that were the case), and they are forced to agree to Kreese's proposal to settle things at the All-Valley Tournament. Kreese also calls in Terry Silver to assist in training his students.

Season 4

• Hawk tries to warn Kenny to get out of Cobra Kai while he still can, knowing the consequences of Cobra Kai's inherently corrupt philosophy.
  You'd Expect: For him to take the time to actually learn why Kenny joined Cobra Kai, especially since it was for the exact same reason he himself joined Cobra Kai back in Season 1, and explain to him why Cobra Kai isn't good for him and possibly advise him to join Eagle Fang/Miyagi Do.
  Instead: Hawk pushes Kenny up against a bathroom stall and tells him to quit Cobra Kai in an aggressive tone (going as far as to say, "they're about to go down, and it's not going to be pretty").
  Also: Prior to Hawk encountering Kenny, Bert and Nathaniel (being part of the Eagle Fang/Miyagi-Do alliance) go as far as to hassle him when the latter has absolutely no idea about the war going on between the aforementioned three dojos.
  Result: Kenny interprets Hawk's (as well as Bert's and Nathaniel's) actions as bullying and is only further convinced that Cobra Kai are the good guys, leading him to stay with them and fully embrace their ideology. He also tells Robby, Tory, and Kyler about the encounter, indirectly leading them to get revenge by jumping Hawk in the tattoo shop.
• During her shift, Tory sees that Amanda has visited the restaurant she works at to demand her to leave Sam alone, or she will call the police on her.
  You'd Expect: Tory to keep her cool, and accept Amanda's threat, before asking her to leave. As much as she hates Sam, she can't risk losing her job and getting arrested when her family depends on her.
  Instead: Tory escalates the argument by all but admitting to Amanda's face that she has every intention of attacking Sam again, despite knowing that Amanda still has the ability to have her arrested for breaking into her house. To top it off, Tory snaps at a pushy customer asking for his soup.
  The Result: Tory gets fired on the spot. Yet she blames Amanda for it.
  To Make it Worse: Tory reveals less then flattering things about the restaurant to the customers, such as having a B rating but hiding the sign, and telling the pushy customer that she saw a chef dip his balls in his soup. Its a miracle that she found another job.

• Tory's job apparently was willing to hire a hostile server and fired her in public.
  You'd Expect: Since the place is pretty upscale, they would do everything in their power to keep that image.
  Instead: They hide several of their issues that would be grating for any restaurant to have so when Tory is fired, she reveals all of it to the customers in the store. Though it's not shown onscreen, their business probably took a major hit.

• Amanda takes Sam to a friend’s daughter’s birthday party, where Tory is working as an entertainer, and Sam goes from not wanting to be there to clearly wanting to enjoy Tory’s situation.
  You'd Expect: Given their history, the degrading nature of Tory’s job, and Sam not really wanting to be there in the first place, that Amanda would immediately leave the party with Sam to avoid any kind of issue. At the very least, if Amanda feels that she has to stay to support her friend, she could send Sam home in an Uber and make an excuse ("she really wanted to come, but had too much homework") or something.
  Instead: She doesn’t do anything to mitigate the situation, and makes no effort to stop Sam from humiliating Tory after she makes it clear she’s going to.
  The Result: Sam bullies Tory at her already degrading job, causing her to retaliate and further continue their rivalry. This time, though, Tory doesn’t end up losing another job, but instead quits herself.

• Right after Daniel and Johnny end their partnership, the All Valley Tournament committee announces radical changes to the tournament, including separate gender divisions, a skills competition, and an overall points championship, that leave both of their dojos at a disadvantage with their current membership.
  You'd Expect: Daniel and Johnny to swallow their pride and reunite at least for the tournament since there is so much at stake and they really can't leave things to chance.
  Instead: They press forward as separate dojos, convinced that they'll be able to overcome the odds and defeat Cobra Kai.
  Result: Cobra Kai wins the All Valley tournament by a single point, with Miyagi-do finishing second and Eagle Fang finishing third due to the skill gaps in their individual memberships instead of having a united dojo which would've given them an easy victory. As a result, Cobra Kai is free to expand their influence in the Valley, while Miyagi-do and Eagle Fang have to shut down and Daniel and Johnny have to stop teaching due to the terms of the bet made with Kreese.

• With the new rules in place, Eagle Fang is at a deficit due to having no females.
  You'd Expect: Mitch, who is currently loyal to Eagle Fang, to remember Sarah, the person who lost a spot in Cobra Kai during her bout with Tory. She's a formidable and athletic fighter who has every reason to want revenge on both Tory and Cobra Kai.
  Instead: He doesn't even so much as mention her, and since Johnny doesn't know she exists, he can't recruit her.
  As A Result: The only girl they can find is Devon, who, while a worthwhile member, still puts them down in both experience and numbers, so Eagle Fang places 6th.

• Knowing that Johnny and Daniel are teaming up, Kreese decides to contact Terry Silver to help his students compete for the All-Valley. Silver declines at first (due to moving on from Cobra Kai for a peacefully successful life), but decides to join after Kreese manages to push his PTSD buttons.
  You'd Expect: For Kreese to treat Silver as an equal partner. They are both trained karate senseis, with Silver not only having more money to franchise Cobra Kai, but also greater combat skill (especially given his bout with Johnny Lawrence). Even after everything he tried to leave behind since Cobra Kai's loss in the 1985 tournament, Silver is still willing to owe Kreese a debt after the latter saved him in Vietnam.
  Instead: Kreese's way of dealing with his conflicting views of Silver teaching his students is to continue treating him like a subordinate (even though the war is long over, and Silver, being a successful businessman, has greater power in the valley) and further playing the guilt card of Kreese saving Silver during their time in Vietnam.
  Result: Silver's sanity begins to slip further, becoming more psychotic as the season progresses. By the time Kreese realizes that Silver has embraced Cobra Kai's philosophy and loyalty way too far, the latter becomes offended, treating Kreese as a weakness, and successfully betrays him by having Kreese take the blame for his No-Holds-Barred Beatdown of Stingray. So while Cobra Kai does win the tournament, it's because of Kreese treating Silver like a subordinate that Kreese ends up in prison, and Silver has Cobra Kai all to himself!

• In preparation for the tournament, Terry Silver goes behind everyone's back and bribes the referee to give Cobra Kai the leniency advantage in the tournament. It pays off after Tory defeats Sam in the finals, and Terry rewards the ref with a large sum of money in his bank account.
  You'd Expect: For Silver to close the door and shut the blinds. That way (if the walls were to be soundproof), no one would know what is going on in the room, meaning that Silver and the ref can get away with their plan easily.
  Or: For Silver and the referee to relocate to another location that's way more private, let's say Silver's mansion. You could safely assume it's heavily guarded by technology and employees loyal to the ponytailed bastard, meaning that Silver can do his business with the ref and not get caught.
  Or Even: For Silver to use technology (i.e., phone, email) to communicate with the ref. Another way of doing business without people watching.
  For That Matter: They shouldn't have needed to communicate at all—if Silver didn't pay the ref within an agreed-upon amount of time, the ref could easily blackmail him.
  Instead: Silver leaves the door open, making his words easily heard by someone looking out the window (i.e., Tory). And speaking of looking out the window, the blinds are open — so anyone passing by can notice something suspicious between Silver and the ref.
  The Result: Tory just so happens to notice Silver and the ref through the blinds while on her way to grab her stuff from the locker room, which already gives off a suspicious gesture. And because the door is open, Tory hears just enough of what Silver planned with the ref prior to the tournament — putting the Queen Cobra in a realization that her victory was all for naught. For Silver himself, he pretty much destroys whatever trust Tory has for him and put him in a position where he could now potentially lose his top student and be exposed for his actions.
  To Make Matters Worse: As continued on by Season 5, Tory become disillusioned by Cobra Kai, which eventually results in her aligning with the Miyagi-Fangs during the Season 5 Final Battle. As for Silver, this eventually becomes his downfall when he himself confesses it to Tory all on camera.

Season 5

• Chozen decides to use his low profile, knowledge of Tang Soo Do, and his Japanese background to go undercover in Cobra Kai as a recruited Sensei. Silver takes notice of Chozen, his skill, and their common interest in Japanese culture and invites him into his home for dinner.
  You'd Expect: For Chozen to fully do research on his alibi as a sensei from Kyoto and adopt the prefecture's mannerisms in order to stay hidden in the long run. And to not try and pry into Silver's objective too early before formally establishing trust between the two men.
  Instead: During his dinner with Silver, he uses his Okinawan customs, especially in the way he toasts after he drinks. And he keeps asking questions about Silver's endgame.
  Result: Silver finds out Chozen's identity very early thanks to his taste in wine and Japanese culture, which means that he couldn't gather enough information on Silver for a long period of time. Also, without him as a Sensei (or the other prospective Senseis in the Valley now beaten to a pulp thanks to Chozen's fists), Silver is forced to recruit stronger and more merciless Senseis from around the globe, which means more abusive training that molds the students into remorseless thugs.
• Daniel discovers from Mike Barnes that Silver made a contract with him to harass Daniel in 1985, and Barnes gives him the name of the lawyer who helped Silver draw up the contract. Daniel attempts to contact the lawyer to expose the contract to the public and ruin Silver's reputation.
  You'd Expect: Daniel would play dumb when talking to the lawyer and not mention Silver's name, in case the lawyer is still working for him. Also, even if the lawyer wanted to help Daniel, Daniel should know the lawyer can't simply give him a copy of the contract without breaking attorney-client privilege, so either way Daniel is going to have to find a covert way of getting his hands on it. Even more, it's very likely if he gave him the contract his career would be ruined too for writing it in the first place, so he has nothing to gain by giving it to Daniel.
  Or: Ask Barnes to get a copy of the contract. This would not break attorney-client privilege as Barnes was the one who signed it and he should at least have the right to access it again for legal purposes considering that he was the one who signed it back in 1985. Even if he is uneasy with obtaining the contract from the lawyer, knowledge of what other shady information is involved in it can be also used to possibly protect Barnes from Silver considering that he was a minor at the time of signing. This might not work with Silver in the long-term but with the contract being given to Daniel, an alibi could easily be made with Daniel or more believably, Chozen stealing the contract given that he already beat down Barnes's furniture workers under the pretense of them working under Silver.
  Instead: Daniel leaves the lawyer a voicemail straight-up asking him about his past dealings with Silver.
  The Result: The lawyer sells out Daniel to Silver, who escalates his mission to destroy Daniel's life and burns down Barnes's furniture store for helping him.
• Terry finds out Daniel knows about the contract and correctly suspects Mike Barnes told him.
  You'd Expect: He would just destroy the contract and cost Daniel his leverage. Since his lawyer would risk being disbarred for making such a contract, the lawyer would have no problem cleansing his hands of any evidence of that.
  Instead: He burns down Mike's furniture store in retaliation, even though Mike wanted nothing to do with Silver and he had only told Daniel about the contract as a favor to him and not revenge against Silver.
  The Result: Not only does Mike now seek revenge for Silver ruining everything he worked for, but since arson almost always creates more evidence than it destroys there's a very good chance Silver will be looking at an arson charge and given his age will spend the rest of his life behind bars.
• When tensions between Cobra Kai and the Miyagi-Fangs flair up, Tory and Hawk agree to a water slide race to determine who gets to stay at the water park. Kenny is later seen handing out tubes to both competitors.
  You'd Expect: Hawk would notice his tube is leaking out air when he grabs it.
  Or: He would grab his own tube as he knows Cobra Kai likes to play dirty.
  Instead: He doesn't do either of the above.
  The Result: Hawk loses the race before it even begins.
  To Make Matters Worse: This leads to an altercation with Kenny that gets all the Cobra Kai and Miyagi-Fangs booted from the park altogether, ruining many peoples day.
• Anthony LaRusso happens to notice a Cobra Kai tabling event at a mall next to a dojo that has recently opened.
  You'd Expect: He would try to stay as far away from the area as possible. Clearly, he knows all too well the entire LaRusso family has a bad history with Cobra Kai, with Anthony himself being a victim of Kenny's bullying. Anthony should know that being in the dojo's sights could only spell trouble. If he has to go through that particular neighborhood for some reason, he could at least cross the street.
  Or Even: Have at least a Miyagi-Fang, especially his sister, accompany him. Let's be real, most of the Cobra Kais are mooks at this point, with their best fighters being Kenny, Kyler, Devon, and Tory (the latter two don't even want to be involved with their bullying). Someone like Sam, Miguel, Robby, Eli, or Demetri can easily take anyone on and beat them to a pulp.
  Or at least: Once he's offered the T-shirt, to take it politely and then toss it away when he's not surrounded by jerks who would take any excuse to pounce on him.
  Instead: He continues to walk closer to the area and is offered a T-shirt. He tosses it aside as an act of defiance.
  The Result: Lo and behold, Kenny, Kyler, and their Cobra Kai gang are right there when that happens. Of course, Kenny, being rage-filled towards Anthony and accompanied with trained high school students, takes it out on Anthony with a massive swirly in an unflushed toilet.
• A humorous one: Chozen challenges all of the students to protect their eggs. Unfortunately, some of the Miyagi-Fangs don't have the best common sense when it comes to their task.
  • When all the students have dispersed, Demetri takes his sweet time adding a detailed protective cover over his egg.
    You'd Expect: For Demetri to hide the egg in a much safer place (either covered in wood or stone), or at least come up with a strategy to better protect it. Let's be real, it's a small box made out of plastic, which isn't the most durable material on the planet even though Demetri added extra features for "better protection."
    Instead: He goes through all the trouble showing it off to Miguel and Eli, much to the latter's annoyance. Oh, and the "protective cover" is out in the open.
    As A Result: Chozen easily pierces through the box with his kunai, breaking Demetri's egg. Demetri is the first one eliminated from the lesson.
  • Mitch and Chris are also tasked to protect their egg from Chozen.
    You'd Expect: For the two boys to at least work together or put the eggs in a far more secure location. They can at least shed a bit of anxiety since Chozen isn't going all out on them during the lesson.
    Instead: Chris climbs a tree, which puts the egg at risk should he fall or jump down at a certain force. Oh, and Mitch decides to sit on the egg as part of "nature's rule", which also puts the egg at risk should he break it by accident.
    As A Result: Chozen is able to notice Chris from the tree and break the branch for him to fall down. Chris's big body falling on Mitch is enough force to break both of their eggs, eliminating them from the lesson.
  • Bert and Nate are also tasked to protect their egg from Chozen.
    You'd Expect: For the two boys to find a more secure location in the dojo. The platform on the water isn't very stable, the effort to swim or get to land is very risky when protecting the egg, and it's out in the open — making it easy for Chozen to notice them.
    Or: For the two boys to be at least more focused if Chozen comes nearby.
    Instead: The boys play with the eggs. They don't even notice how obvious it is that Chozen is sneaking up on them!
    As A Result: Chozen is able to surprise them by tipping the platform, causing Bert and Nate to fall into the water breaking their eggs in the process.
  • Chozen later confronts Eli in the Miyagi-Do front entrance after taking out Robby's egg.
    You'd Expect: For Eli to come up with a clever stratagem to protect his egg, perhaps by slipping it into his pocket, hiding it in a bush, teaming up with his friends, or something.
    Instead: He decides to go toe-to-toe with Chozen, a man with over forty years of experience on him. Additionally, Chozen is carrying multiple weapons (some of which Eli saw earlier), while he has to fight one-handed and protect his egg at the same time.
    As A Result: The resulting altercation is so swift it can barely even be described as a Curb-Stomp Battle.
  • Miguel happens to notice Sam inside the Miyagi-Do dojo's building.
    You'd Expect: For the both of them to focus on the lesson and team up in finding a clever way to protect the egg. They're both two of the most skilled fighters within the Miyagi-Fangs, so at least they might provide some sort of a challenge for Chozen compared to the other students.
    Instead: Miguel takes his sweet time reminiscing to Sam on their relationship, easily distracting them from the lesson.
    As A Result: To no surprise, Chozen is able to sneak up to them and take Miguel's egg out. This effectively ends the lesson in failure as Chozen already had Sam's egg to begin with.
• Tory confronts Silver on his bribing of the referee, while Silver wants to find a way to keep her as a star pupil of Cobra Kai. He also knows that he keeps surveillance cameras inside his new flagship dojos with audio recordings.
  You'd Expect: For Terry to deny the accusations.
  Or: For Terry to ask to speak somewhere private, away from the surveillance.
  Or Even: Immediately wipe the audio recordings so that his tracks would be covered and no one can prove that he cheated.
  Or Even Better: Blackmail Tory into keeping quiet by offering some financial, medical or living benefits for her destitute family (like he did for Stingray) or threaten to have her locked up in prison if she refused, which would deprive her family of being taken care of.
  Instead: Terry implicates himself by not only admitting that he cheated as a way to spin it around for Tory, but he neglects to do any of the above.
  As A Result: Everyone in the finale finds out he cheated, uploads a recording of it on Cobra Kai's Youtube Channel, and he is exposed in his own dojo and his own pupils as a fraud and a cheat, ruining his reputation. Even if he is not arrested (which he is), his students consider him a disgrace and quit en masse.
• Kim Da-Eun finds out about Tory and the Miyagi-Fangs breaking into the flagship Cobra Kai dojo; Silver sends her there to take care of them while he deals with Johnny, Chozen, and Mike.
  You'd Expect: For Kim Da-Eun to read the room and realize what's going on before helping her students Zerg Rush the Miyagi-Fangs. As a sensei, she has far greater skill than any of the students and has the massive advantage of a large number of Cobra Kais versus the outnumbered Miyagi-Fangs, so getting to a newbie like Anthony LaRusso and confiscating the iPad should be a piece of cake.
  Instead: Kim Da-Eun wastes her time torturing the already injured Tory, mainly For the Evulz.
  The Result: This buys the Miyagi-Fangs enough time to successfully protect Anthony so he can upload the video and cast it on the TV for all the Cobra Kai students to see Terry's confession. The rest is history.
  To Make Matters Worse: Kim's desired champion, Devon, sees through the former's sadism and defects from Cobra Kai to take Sam's place in fighting her.
• Mitch has been called by many nicknames—first "Assface," then "Penis-Breath." This goes on throughout his entire tenure as a character in Cobra Kai to the point where he eventually gets tired of it.
  You'd Expect: For Mitch to speak up about it. Clearly, the nickname "Penis-Breath" was of endearment, and the Miyagi-Fangs (particularly Bert, Nate, and Chris) still see him as a good friend and ally.
  Or: For Mitch to report this to his senseis. Who knows if Johnny might be more understanding this time around (given Character Development), but Daniel is also someone that Mitch can talk to about his issues with the nickname. Same can be said with Chozen. Both of them would definitely stamp down on bullying.
  Instead: Mitch betrays the Miyagi-Fangs by acting as a mole for Cobra Kai, which he reveals his allegiance in the Season 5 finale. He also cites the dojo's facility, snacks, swag, smoothies, and chicks as a reason to betray his close friends.
  The Result: First, Kyler takes a page out of the Miyagi-Fangs' book and call him "Penis-Breath", much to Mitch's annoyance. Then, the Miyagi-Fangs successfully expose Silver as a fraud, to which Mitch himself is horrified, alongside the other Cobra Kais. Not too long after, his old sensei beats up his new sensei, which makes everything he did leading up to that moment All for Nothing.
  Also: Mitch's excuse for betraying the Miyagi-Fangs also comes off as quite idiotic and extremely petty when he mentions that their dojo “doesn’t have a roof, or like any chicks.” He forgets the fact that Eagle Fang’s warehouse dojo does have a roof and that the Miyagi-Fangs occasionally use it (as seen in the Sekai Taikai training montage), if Miyagi-Do’s roofed structure doesn’t count. As far as chicks go (besides Sam), Tory and Devon defects from Cobra Kai to ally with the Miyagi-Fangs alongside the fact that through Hawk’s relationship with Moon, the Miyagi-Fangs have plenty of female connections (as seen in Miguel’s and Robby’s party) — so clearly, the amount of chicks for Mitch to be pleased by on the Miyagi-Fangs side is quite abundant. Of course, Mitch is too short-sighted to appreciate that.
  To Make Matters Worse: It's going to most likely take a very long time for Mitch to regain the trust of the Miyagi-Fangs, considering the fact that his reasons for defection were out of pettiness and greed. Unlike Hawk and Tory, who started out at Cobra Kai with no ill intentions and were corrupted by the dojo’s influence before coming to their senses, and Robby, who at least had a more sympathetic excuse to defect to Cobra Kai in Season 3 before returning to Miyagi-Do in Season 5. Additionally, Hawk, Tory, and Robby were willing to put in the effort to sincerely atone, while it doesn't seem like Mitch would have that level of motivation and the Miyagi-Fangs will likely assume any atonement efforts are just Mitch once again acting in self-interest.
• At the fundraiser, Terry comes up to Daniel and tells him that he's just been badmouthing Amanda to the organizer.
  You'd Expect: Daniel, with his own prior experience of Terry and Chozen's explanation of Tang Soo Do, to remember that Terry works via mind games and deception, see the trick for what it is and just dismiss it.
  Or: For Daniel to simply speak to the organizer ("My wife was so worried about this...the fundraiser means a lot to her, she's put a lot of work into it..." etc.) This would not only support Amanda, but if Terry had said those things, it would plant a seed of doubt in the organizer's mind, and if he didn't, there's no harm done. At the very least, he knows how important this is to Amanda; he could be an adult about it and keep his mouth shut.
  Instead: He plays right into Silver's hands by attacking him physically and verbally in front of everyone.
  The Result: Not only does his family's reputation take a hit in the community while Silver looks better than ever, Amanda is furious with him and announces she's taking the kids and moving out.

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