#he wants nothing to do with cobra kai -> kreese triggers him -> he joins cobra kai but wants to be better -> kreese triggers him ->

[porchtart]

i have a highly specific, very trauma-informed interpretation of terry i think lmfao. there's something wrong with me (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) because i watch the shit that he does and how he responds to the way he's treated by every other character in the show and i go "yeah that makes sense" and "omg girl same <3"

[demetriandelibinaryboyfriends]

the foreshadowing of miguel telling sam "love conquers all" and then hawk rescuing demetri as soon as he saw him hurt. his love for demetri literally conquered his devotion to cobra kai which he truly believed was forever. 🥺🥺

FOR REAL THOUGH

Like I don’t think people fully understand what a BIG deal it was for Hawk to betray Cobra Kai for Demetri. I mean, basically ever since he “flipped the script,” Cobra Kai was arguably THE most important thing in Hawk’s life. For the first time in his entire life, he felt like he could make something of himself, be someone impressive--be more than just an overlooked, mocked freak. Cobra Kai really made him feel like he had inherent value--like he actually added something to the world instead of just existing in it. And because of this, he let Cobra Kai become his identity, and the thing that mattered most to him in the world. This was the place he finally felt like he could be something of worth, and the place that helped make him the happiest and most confident he’d ever been, and because of that, he pledged himself to it--”Cobra Kai for life.” It built up a life for him where he got a freedom and reverence he never really had before, and he felt he owed Cobra Kai everything for this. He feels he would be nothing without it. It’s his very lifeblood.

And what is it that makes him finally turn his back on the most important thing in his life? The thing that pushed him to the top, made him ruthless and feared and respected and visible without being a laughingstock and everything he ever hoped he could be? Demetri. Seeing Demetri in danger, and seeing Demetri about to be seriously hurt by the people Hawk is supposed to be allied with. Realizing that no matter how much Cobra Kai had done for him, none of it’s worth it if they make him hurt Demetri again.

Because Demetri never needed Cobra Kai cred or tattoos or cool hair to think Eli Moskowitz was important. Demetri never needed him to become an intimidating, tough-as-nails survivor to think Eli Moskowitz was worth his time and deserved his adoration. Demetri always saw Eli’s value, and it was never reliant on how much Eli gave him in return or how many punches Eli could throw or how many “babes” Eli could impress with his karate skills. It just...was. Eli mattered, just by existing, just by being him, and nothing was going to change that for Demetri.

Were there other factors that contributed to Hawk switching sides? Sure. He saw his old bullies join the dojo, he saw the kid who had paralyzed one of his closest friends join the dojo, he remembered how much of his training he owed to Johnny and not Kreese, he realized that Johnny was probably right and he was just a pawn to Kreese. And all of these things made him feel uncomfortable, and certainly conflicted, but they weren’t enough to make him turn against the Cobras. Hell, even seeing Kyler wail on Miguel, his former best friend from Cobra Kai and a recovering paralysis victim, wasn’t enough to make Hawk switch sides, even if it did make him question his side (Hawk had to have seen Kyler beating on Miguel from the get-go, so seeing Miguel in pretty serious danger couldn’t have been what truly triggered his Heel Realization).

So what is the final catalyst in spurring Hawk to decide he’s fighting for the wrong people and turn on the dojo that has been everything to him for so long? That has become his entire identity, the “shield” that kept him safe from being the wimpy, ridiculed freak he once was? Yeah, you know it--it’s seeing Demetri in danger. Because that’s the last straw for Hawk. Here is the one person in the world who had his back and thought he was worth something when no one else did--before Miguel, before Johnny, before Aisha, before Moon, before Mitch and Bert, before everyone. The one person who Eli never had to change anything about himself for him to enjoy having Eli around. And he’s about to get hurt again by the best friend he always tried to protect, in his own way. And like hell Hawk is going to let Demetri suffer for him any more, after everything Demetri’s been through. He’s going to make things right, and he’s going to risk the wrath of John Kreese himself and every other Cobra Kai asshole if it means he can do anything at all to keep Demetri safe. The Cobras are going to be out for his blood now, and Hawk knows this--and yet he saved Demetri anyways, because he would take on the entire world and put a thousand targets on his own back if it meant he never had to see Demetri get hurt again. AND. THAT’S. LOVE.

Nothing else was enough to make Hawk betray Cobra Kai, no matter how bad the abuse got. But like you said, Hawk’s love for Demetri conquered his devotion to Cobra Kai. Cobra Kai may have made Eli “Hawk” Moskowitz feel like he could be something spectacular, but Demetri always knew that he already was.

Also Anon lowkey you gotta tell me what episode Miguel tells Sam that “love conquers all” because I admittedly can’t remember that bit but it sounds like a really cute Samiguel moment and now I highkey want to find it