Reviews

The kids rumble (I think the 3rd or 4th now) was getting to be a bit too much and I was worried about this episode. Man, was that not needed.

The reunion with Johnny and Ali and Daniel was masterful. And the goodbye between Johnny and Ali was so beautiful. It didnt just speak to the characters involved, it spoke to anyone who has gotten to, or is getting to, that point in life where you start to soften and realize what a turd you were and just want to know that people are ready to forgive you for your past. Ali blessing Johnny's future was, simply, a beautiful moment. So cathartic.

Dimitri, a character I haven't been able to stand this whole series, finally did something positive by using his mind and sharp words to build up others. Hawk was a long time bringing his character to some growth, but glad they did it, as well as how they did it.

The ending gave me goosebumps. I dont expect things to be all gumdrops from here on out, but at least it looks like the right people are on the same page, and will probably be able to work together for good. I'm sure season 4 is going to be a blast.

As for the season in total, for as relatively weak as it started, (not bad, just not strong) it sure finished powerfully. It can't be understated how important the character stories of Daniel, and most importantly Johnny, are to making this work. Without these great characters so much of this might seem cheesy or uninteresting. Instead, they make it all so poignant, and really bring in the viewers to make us feel it all to the core.

I haven't had this much fun watching tv peobably since I was a little kid watching A-Team.

I hesitate to go with a 10 star rating because I feel like I may be giving in to hyperbole, but how can I have this much fun, and walk away with this much feeling, and not rate it the best? It's not perfect, but it's not about technical aspects, it's about what I take away from the experience I had, and that warrants a 10. Great job on this episode!

Quick question: Does anyone else feel like Robbie's gonna be a meth-head by age 23? This guy cant seem to put an individual thought together for himself to save his life. He's kind of becoming a tool for anyone who wants to piss off somebody else. Oh well, I'm sure they'll do something with him eventually, too. Just kind of funny watching this kid make bad decision after bad decision and never figure out why he's always mad. Cant wait for him and Johnny to reconcile, though.

Johnny starting up a dojo again is excellent. Exactly what needs to be happening. I think we all know where it's headed, and if that's right, I love it. Also loved the Facebook set up project Johnny and Miguel got into.

Eagle fang karate has got to be the worst name ever. Totally hilarious, so I can't wait to see where that goes.

Now I'm just waiting for when Kreese gets put in his place. Hopefully that doesn't get too drug out.

The trip to Okinawa worked out to be pretty cool. I was a little worried it might be forcing things a bit, but it was great. And Daniel learning new lessons from Chozen was awesome.

This episode was the first 8-star of the season for me, on account of Johnny finally being his awesome self that he was in Season 1. His physical therapy lessons for Miguel were nothing short of awesome.

Daniel's wife confronting Kreese was great on two levels. One, her cutting him off with a substantial strike across the jowls. Dope.

And two, it was probably the most responsible adult thing anyone has done in the show so far. Now mind you I'm glad they don't deal with things as proper adults all the time....that would be boring. But it's nice to have a little dose of reality at times to keep things grounded.

The Japanese trip felt like an excuse to bring in some more connections to the original movies, and it probably was, but it was really cool for Daniel to be able to have that connection to Mr. Miyagi again. I really hope this helps level out Daniels's character going forward.

Dimitri once again reinforces the fact that he has no character or integrity. Sam may be acting out, but at least she was acting real. Dimitri immediately separates himself from her. He's on no one's side but his own. Just like he was never on Eli or Miguel's side.

Kumiko may be an older lady now, but she's still beautiful and it was fun to see her.

The very last scene of the show was classic hilarious fun.

Pastor Bobby may be the only rational adult in this show besides Daniel's wife. I hope he makes more appearances. Daniel may be a self-righteous tool a lot of the time, but it's nice to know his wife is there speaking some level-headed reality to him. So it was nice seeing Johnny have someone to do the same for him.

The Johnny church entrance and Bobby's handling of it was awesome. I loved when they were talking later and the floor was a mess of crumb's under Johnny's feet.

I was really glad to see Miguel and Hawk in the hospital room. I really think they need to be the key focus of the youth side of this show, and not a lot of the silliness that they have been focusing on. It's clear these two have a real bond and they've essentially come up in this together. Now Hawk is feeling angry and defensive with all his new power, and Miguel is the number 1 bad ass who's sincerely trying to figure out how to do the right thing and be a good guy. Their divergent paths while having a tight bond should be the prime focus. Not more catfights or absurd nerd empowerment like the Dimitri stuff.

I'm anxious to see where Robbie's gonna go, and I'm finally starting to feel a little bit of interest and sympathy toward that character.

Good episode, but still not a great one yet this season.

For some reason Robbie, Miguel, and Daniel all come into this season with the Flock-of-Seagulls coif made popular by Sam Jackson in Pulp Fiction. Somebody's gotta fix this, it's hard to look at.

Daniel and Johnny work together, which is great, but getting repetitive. It's fun to see them together and getting along, but the eventual argument/falling apart is getting too predictable. It's high time we start seeing some progress in the way they see each other.

Daniel is once again his high-and-mighty self. He does make some good acknowledgments, but he also still makes an ass of himself always condescending to Johnny. Even the way he treats Robbie. He says he's there to help, but he'd already called the cops before they'd even talked. Kinda hard to earn trust that way.

Thank goodness there was no Dimitri in this episode.

Season 1 was a 9 star Season 2 was an 8 star So far, season 3 is two 7 star episodes. I'm anticipating something to jump it up a bit.

All-in-all, one of the best shows I've watched in a LONG time. Enjoyment levels are through the roof!

However,....

Two great seasons, each with a finale that made some serious mistakes. (Season 1 finale was a lot better, though).

Most of this show is taken up with the John Woo fight scene that goes on long enough to use the bathroom and not miss anything by the time you come back. Over all it was fun, but it did get to feel a little silly for going on so long.

My biggest issue: Dimitri. What the heck!?!?

This was easily the dumbest thing the show has done so far. I don't mean the corniest or cheesiest, because the show has a lot of those moments that are actually great and a lot of the fun of the show, but the Dimitri moment in the fight was just plain dumb and painful to watch. It would be one thing if his muscle memory/reflexes kicked in and he surprised Hawk with a block and counter...this would have been cool...but for him to take out Hawk, yes, a guy who has trouble standing up straight and confessed his own imbalance issues due to his gangly limbs, takes out one of the best karate practitioners in the Valley. Keep in mind Hawk was in the finals and wasn't defeated, only disqualified. So apparently, according to this episode, Dimitri is now a Finals-level expert. Perhaps in the season 3 premiere we can watch him kick the stuffing out of Xander just for good measure.

And more on Dimitri. It seems he's supposed to be some sort of sympathetic hero that the audience should root for. Maybe the writers don't realize what a piece of sh** they actually created. Right from the beginning all he ever did was offer negativity. He was sort of an emotional bully. Miguel and Hawk wanted to improve themselves and all Dimitri did is discourage them. Then when they actually did improve themselves, he criticized it. He tried to join Cobra Kai and left, continuing to tear down what they were doing. He is not a friend to either of them, he's a leech who hopes that they will do all the work so he can benefit from their success. In this season, yes, he was roughed up by Kreese, but his response was to do what he always does: condescend to everyone and try to posture himself as better than everybody else. I'm sure by the time Hawk confronted Dimitri at the comic shop he was sick and tired of his derision and pompous negativity. I'm not saying that they should have attacked him, but I do feel like he earned an a@@-whupping by that point. The rivalry goes on and culminates with Dimitri proving himself to be one of the best karate students in the valley, in spite of no build up in the show to make this credible in any way shape or form.

As much as I love this show, I feel like someone near the top of the creativity ladder doesn't understand proper behavior. It almost feels like the show creators want to go one way, and then the PC, money conscious producers come in and insist some of these feel good dweebs be made to be the heroes just so they can get Nabisco to do a product placement. If you want to make Dimitri sympathetic, let him admit he hasn't been a supportive friend, (at any point) admit he's scared, apologize for the way he's acted, and then take away his super-powers. Apparently he's the son of Taskmaster from Black Widow.

Daniel and Johnny at his apartment.

Daniel seems like he's just looking for an excuse to be mad at Johnny. He needs to lighten up. His pride is his downfall and he's essentially the reason for all the problems in the show. I am sympathetic to his wanting to get in and see his daughter (that's a tough situation) but it's still just more of Daniel the douche. Plus, he needs to look in a mirror. Daniel let Johnny's son live with him, and after putting thought to it, not just by happenstance, he decided he knew better than anyone else, and CHOSE not to let Johnny know what was going on with his son. So it seems awfully hypocritical to be kicking his way in to Johnny's apartment when Johnny was actually being pretty cool about the whole thing. Maybe not perfect, but at least being cool.

I'll repeat myself here a bit from another review, but I hate the way they introduced and developed this great interesting character, Hawk, only to turn him into a one-dimensional villain. Now that he's going to be with Kreese it seems they're doubling down on it, but I hope they do something to redeem his arch, it's been one of the better ones. He;s a kid who's been picked on and humiliated for a long time, and now he has power in his life. And he's only 16! This would be confusing and difficult for anyone that age. Making him one-dimensional is an unfortunate way to go with him, but it seems he's just going to become a tool for positioning John Kreese throughout season 3. Hopefully I'm wrong.

Overall, season 2 is yet more of a great show, but it does come down a step from season one, and I'd say it's mostly because they aren't using the kids well enough. Season 1 was about this collective of nerds and rejects who were learning to be more. Season 2 is about how those same kids are basically a bunch of partying bullies who make life tough for the poor pretty kids of Miyagi-Do. The characters aren't as complex this season and it brings the show down a notch.

Still. I'm definitely looking forward to watching season 3!