Cobra Kai

Snakes on a plane

Season 6

Episode 8

Editor’s note

4 stars

****

Photo: COURTESY OF NETFLIX

Something kept me from really liking the first two episodes of this series of five; Barcelona should be a fun change of scenery, and it is, but there was something a little workmanlike about these Sekai Taikai opening events and returns to old character models. The show felt a little less joyous than it does at its best.

That changed for me with “Snakes on a Plane,” the exact midpoint of this 15-episode sixth season. It’s something of a surprise for the group’s least Barcelona-centric episode, and one that features a significant Anthony LaRusso subplot. But I felt a lot of genuine joy watching this one – both that big explosive cameo at the end And the things that led to it.

This is an impressive accomplishment considering the relative lack of karate and the brief dark turn in Carmen’s health. When Johnny calls Amanda from the plane, she tells him that Carmen is still unconscious and that they are monitoring her bleeding. Otherwise, we are not aware of what is happening and if she will be okay. Now I thought she would get away with it, simply because killing Carmen this deep into the series would really cast a pall over the remaining episodes. But the story works because even though We I know she’ll probably be fine, and We Knowing that it is safe to take advantage of the plane ride for any comic possibilities, Johnny and Miguel have no such assurances.

Almost any time Miguel feels hurt or neglected by Johnny and then the two get back together, it’s sure to work on me. They are the central, original sensei-student relationship of the series, the new Mr. Miyagi and Daniel, and in some ways they are an even more important couple than Johnny and Daniel. Often the distance between them builds simply because they are each busy with their own affairs – as Johnny explains to Miguel later in the episode, Robby needs more support than he does right now, feeling without direction and without particular academic perspectives. But as he tells Miguel with emotion: “You are also my son. » He admits that he worries about losing Carmen, that he knows it’s false comfort to pretend to know that everything will be okay.

The rich asshole is a cute cartoon villain for the episode, but it’s fun to see Miguel be the one to hit him rather than Johnny. And it’s the first of many W’s for these two, the biggest being the news that Carmen and the baby are perfectly fine! (That damn bedspread was a little horrible for a while, but I thought it was a mistake.) She needed emergency cerclage, but now she’s back in bed for a few weeks , so there is nothing else to do. She even encourages them to return to Spain and win the Sekai Taikai.

I think I would believe I I could win a world karate tournament if Carmen told me, but her encouragement could interfere with the wishes of the new fighter recruited to compete for Miyagi-Do: Kenny. Johnny asked Amanda to put Kenny on a plane to Spain to replace Miguel, not knowing that they would return the same day. It’s pretty smart to bring Kenny back at this point, and I’m relieved that it doesn’t mean Miguel will actually be out. There is an interesting opportunity for conflict in future episodes: with a limited number of slots, which actually will be in competition?

Getting Kenny to accept is no easy task. He’s still convinced that Anthony was the one who drugged him with laxatives and led to the memeification of “Shit Butt”, a nickname that really doesn’t roll off the tongue very well. (Then again, Kenny called Anthony “LaPusso.”) Amanda asks Anthony to apologize to Kenny for the bullying, but he gets too defensive about the laxative allegations, and the two inevitably fight. (Amanda: “Fucking karate.”) Ever the peacekeeper, Amanda shuts them up by sharing the news about Carmen, a forceful reminder that their problems are small potatoes. It’s their duty to get past this so Kenny can feel safe in Miyagi-Do and defend his friends in Barcelona.

This does not stop the war, however. But Anthony’s most sincere apology is, as is his over-the-top gesture of purposefully evening the score when it comes to shitting pants. Devon’s guilty plea admitting all of this seals the deal. Kenny and Anthony may not be best friends right away, but there’s no longer any bad blood.

But as a feud ends, the teenage drama in Barcelona comes to a head. Under Chozen’s encouragement (and against Daniel’s), the kids “hit the town hard” to unwind tonight, including at a tapas bar where Robby, Tory, Kwon and Zara find themselves locked in a game of wits at four. Robby isn’t normally a drinker, but the breakup and his recent karate performance have left him in a dark place, ordering two rums and Coca-Cola while jealously watching Kwon’s obnoxious flirting and thinking about how bad the breakup affected Tory little – either personally. or in karate, which tends to have a direct correlation.

Robby ends up spending the night with Zara, who seems intent on fucking Tory personally, either out of Kreese’s attempt to get under his enemy’s skin or out of a pathological need to be the prettiest, prettiest girl. popular of the piece. The next morning, Tory sees the two kissing briefly outside Zara’s door, which should raise the stakes before the next event.

Everyone gets cozy with people they shouldn’t be that night, including Demetri, who agrees to dance with a girl who is not his girlfriend Yasmine. Eli’s FaceTime with his own girlfriend Moon certainly seems intended to expose Demetri, even if he didn’t know Yasmine was in the room with her at the time, but it puts both friends in an even worse situation than before.

And Sam spends time with Axel, mentioning that she saw Sensei Wolf hurt him. He’s firmly focused on the fight and seems shy about everything else, although he tries to kiss her after an abortive fight with Kwon and some of his usual buddies. I can’t really say where this story is going; Is Sam beginning to realize that she might want something other than the life she dreamed of for her and Miguel?

This is all solid, raising some intriguing wrinkles for the rest of the season. But I have to say my favorite part of the episode is Chozen and Kim Da-Eun’s subplot, during which they continue to cross paths while searching for their students. At the beach area, they cross paths again, finally following the children to the tapas bar where they were last seen. Both expected to find the kids fighting, leaving a destroyed bar. in their wake – after all, there is historical precedent. But it turns out they were worried for nothing, as far as they know.

Kim Da-Eun has always been a solid secondary antagonist, but I also never imagined her as complex as Kreese or Silver. But it’s refreshing to start seeing her separate from Kreese, disapproving of his tactics off the battlefield. The episode leads us to believe that Kreese kidnapped Daniel without his knowledge, but following Dennis to a hotel leads to the final “fuck yeah”-worthy reveal: it was Terry Silver behind the kidnapping the whole time, likely working with Sensei Wolf to take down Miyagi-Do and raise the Iron Dragons to victory.

It’s a great moment, especially because it comes early enough to actually be surprising (as opposed to an episode ten cliffhanger, which is what I was expecting). And yet, Chozen and Kim Da-Eun’s make-out session (and subsequent off-screen sex on the beach) has to be my favorite moment. There’s a real energy to their fights throughout the episode; in a series like this, you’d expect at least a few moments of fighting that turn into kisses, but I think this must be the first real instance, perhaps because male characters rarely fight female characters (and there are no weird characters besides).

Aside from the satisfaction of seeing Chozen get his groove back after Towel Man ruined his mojo, I love seeing Kim Da-Eun in this new mode. Alicia Hannah-Kim never got the chance to do comedy on this show, so it’s a pleasure to see her flex her muscles here. (The moment when she shakes the sand from her sleeves and hair the next morning is a highlight.) It will be difficult for the character to redeem herself at this point, given the way she has hurt her students, but her Growing rift with the other villains is another variable to keep an eye on. I wasn’t expecting a true enemies to lovers arc in Cobra Kaibut if that’s where this season is going, I’m here for it.

• “Why does the plane do this flexible thing?” » “You mean following the curvature of the Earth?

• “We have to go in. I’m looking for teenagers. “I’ve heard that one before.”