#if tory and daniel parallels why no tory and daniel scenes

[tommysmissingeye]

back in s4 when our karate dads broke up infront of their children😪 why tf does johnny look 30 years younger…..

I had a problem with daniel this episode bruh like YES OFC johnny is gonna go get revenge for hawk they lit DEHAWED his student leaving him looking like how he did before joining ck😭

mini hawk and buzz cut hawk go hard tho ngl

and sam constantly reminding daniel of his nemesis was fucking w him so hard and i was laughing and kicking my feet every time it happened 😭 the parallels between them r so crazy tho like did any one notice how many karate moves she did that young johnny did in kk1??? and that kiss scene w miguel infront of mermaid tory was SO giving johnny and ali in the country club?? AND THE BOTTLE CAP FLICK and DONT even get me started with them both getting second place in the all valley😪😪😪 i saw all the parallels in a edit and it was crazy 😭

and after rewatching ck for like the 100th time, YALL WERE RIGHT DANIEL IS SUCH A MIYAGI GLAZER!!!! BRO WAS GLAZING HIM EVERY MOMENT HE COULD😭😭😭 LIKE WYM U TALK ABT UR PROBLEMS TO A PORTRAIT OF SOME OLD LAD MORE THAN YOUR WIFE???

[perfectlysaltycat32]

That scene where Tory yells about her mom is immediately followed by Johnny absolutely sticking up for her. The Miguel/Robby - Johnny/Daniel comparisons exist, but I firmly believe the better parallel is Sam/Tory to Daniel/Johnny.

Johnny gets what it’s like to be Tory in this moment

but yeah i did see that johnny was sticking up for her. like she really needs someone to just comfort her but no one did 😭

I'm so surprised when Robby or Johnny didn't follow her, they all just argued with her besides Johnny and that just adds to her frustration and anger

but yes I totally believe the parallel of Sam/Tory to Daniel/johnny which is why johnny should've followed her!

[danielslaw]

DANIEL LARUSSO AND TORY NICHOLS parallel of their cobra kai training - requested by anonymous.

[emletish-fish]

Different but the Same: Robby, Miguel and Mirror characterisation

So Robby and Miguel -

It’s actually possible to LOVE them both.

Because they are actually thematically super similar.

There has been a lot of fandom discussion about who is The Worst between Robby and Miguel, which I feel misses the point entirely. We shouldn’t be pitting Robby and Miguel against each other because they are mirror characters on parallel journeys. 

Baseline: Both are raised by single mothers and feel the absence of a father/father figure. Both are intelligent, level-headed with occasional bursts of impulsiveness. Both are deeply compassionate and will defend ‘the little guy’ and stick up for kids who are being bullied. Both do not engage in bullying themselves. Both skateboard. Both are great with computers. Both get jealous over their girlfriend/Dad figure. Both are the first students of their first karate dojos.  Both find power in Cobra Kai and peace in Miyagi-Do.   Both advocate for Johnny and Daniel to get along.

The list goes on.

Even some of their mistakes are similar.

Boy A is ‘dating’ Sam. He sees Sam with Boy B and mistakes an innocent scenario for Sam cheating on him. Boy A gets mad and tries to start shit with B boy - Sam intervenes. 

Which one am I referring to? Both! they have both done this!

Sam and Tory are going at it. It is am emotionally fraught situation. Boy A is first on the scene. Boy A seperates the girls, and tries to de-escalate the situation. Boy B is dating Tory and assumes she is being attacked by Boy A. Boy B attacks Boy A and escalates the conflict.

Who am I talking about  - Both! They have both done this!

Their “rivalry” is so dumb because they actually have no problem with each other personally. Their season 1 drama is a huge misunderstanding. In season 2... they do not start shit with each other in season 2. They are awkwardly polite and non-confrontational at the roller rink and at the party. Miguel introduces Robby to Tory. He does this without any animosity at all. Like Robby is a casual aquintance he is on good terms with.  At the Prom, before the girls start fighting, they just blink quietly at each other.

Honestly, if it wasn’t for AVTs or the girls, these two would never confront each other.

Because they are mirrors.

“Mirror characters are used for a similar purpose. They tend to share several qualities and are used to complement and highlight each other's traits. Common mirror characters embark on parallel plots, sometimes to achieve a single goal, which tests them and highlights their traits in different ways.”

From https://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/literary-devices/

But lets look at how their stories are reflected differently.

Because whilst they are very similar, they have also made drastically different choices,

Miguel was a total dick to Robby during the first AVT and he cheated. Robby has never cheated.

Robby, in cold blood, violated and dehumanised another person out of a misguided attempt to protect a friend.  Miguel has never calmly and with full clarity deliberately harmed another person.

We can see the difference support + grounding VS complete absence of any support or guidance has on their narrative paths.

Miguel fucked up in AVT - but he received proportional consequences and guidance after this screw up.  His girlfriend not only dumped him, but wouldn;t even speak to him and told him he was turning into a horrible person. His mother made it clear she didn’t like his mean side. His Sensei reamed him out, public punished him and made him go back to a white belt.

But Johnny also took the time to explain why to Miguel. Because he wanted Miguel to know the difference between Mercy and Honour.

Miguel has clearly learned this lesson - and he has interpreted it for himself. He has taken what worked from Johnny’s teachings and what worked from Daniel’s teachings and is trying to find his way in the world without karate violence.

Miguel was in a coma for more than two weeks and nearly died. Miguel was paralysed for months and had to relearn how to walk. Miguel had paid the highest price out of anyone for the karate drama.

What is his take away from this extremely harsh lesson - Karate is for defence only.

After the school fight - Miguel always tries to de-escalate any conflict. This makes so much sense. Miguel paid such a high price last time karate drama spiraled out of control.

When Robby comes to the dojo, Miguel stumbles in shock and stays out of their conversation until Robby starts talking aggressively to Sam. Then Miguel reminds him that Robby’s stint in juvie wasn’t Sam’s fault. (It wasn’t anyone’s fault, but Robby isn’t in the headspace to hear that).  Miguel says he will act to protect Sam, but makes no move towards Robby. It is Sam who intervenes when Robby throws the first punch.

At the house fight, Miguel tries to reason with Tory. He talks to her like she’s a person, and tries to reason with her and remind her that she has choices and she doesn’t have to do this.  Miguel is using a common tactic that is used when diffusing mob violence - calling people by their name and appealing to their inner humanity and making it clear that they are responsible for their actions and cannot hide behind the anonymous mob because they are SEEN as the person they are. Tory attacks anyway - but Miguel making that effort, when others write her off, is telling.

At the drive in, Miguel earnestly tries to diffuse the situation and reminds everyone of the no-figthing rule. Robby stomps all over this potential olive branch by mocking Miguel for the time that he put him in a coma.

(It is so interesting for me that Miguel in season 4 has fully taken on Robby’s season 2 role of peace-maker and I am fascinated to how Robby reacts to this reflection of his former self.)

At the AVT, when it is clear there is no chance of de-escalation and he feels completely disillusioned in Johnny (and feels like Johnny loves Robby more), Miguel does the ultimate Miyagi Move.  No Be There.  He dips out of the final fight completely, and washes his hands of the karate nonsense.  A trophy isn’t worth hurting his friend or damaging his spine. He doesn’t want to fight Robby. Miguel in season 4 doesn’t want to fight at all.

Robby on the other hand,  is full of fight... and in the end it makes him miserable.

Robby received absolutely no support after the school fight.

Robby faced a horrible and disproportional punishment. But his time in juvie certainly didn’t help Robby become a better version of himself. Robby didn’t learn anything that will help him heal and grow in juvie.

With only Kreese’s guidance, Robby learned to strike first, focus on his anger and the unfairness of his situation, and place the blame for all his problems on others.

 Robby after juvie no longer tries to see other people’s points of view, and isn’t interested in finding a compromise, or learning a better way.  The extreme unfairness of his situation causes him immense anger and he lashes out at people who do generally care about him.

He is isolated and vulnerable to a predator like Kreese.

 While Robby considers himself above falling for the brainwashing of CK,  and thinks he’s just using Kreese and Silver to get what he wants (What is that exactly? I have a feeling its the same thing it’s always been; to get back at Johnny and get his attention).  But a 17 year old drop out will never hold the power against a master manipulator and an insane billionaire. We watch Robby react as they wind him up and set him off. (How many times does Kreese play the Miguel card with Robby? It’s a lot, and it always works).

We watch Robby succumb to the worst of Cobra Kai teachings, in a way that mirrors Miguel in season 1.  Because no kid, no matter how good and kind they are in their heart, is completely immune to Cobra Kai; Not Miguel, and Not Robby. 

Because Kids often feel powerless and they want power - and CK promises to give them that.

(It also gives them a buttload of trauma, poor coping mechanisms, reduces their critical thinking skills and and indoctrinates them into a life ruining philosophy, but anyway...)

Robby’s aggression in Season 4 mirrors Miguel’s aggression at the AVT. He is so focused on his anger and jealousy and channelling those feelings. IT may make him a stronger fighter, but it’s hurting him inside.  Robby is emotionally aware enough to recognises its hurting him.

And if Robby is mirroring Miguel’s journey, I can only hope he will get the unconditional love, structure and support that Miguel was given after he screwed up at the AVT in season 5.

[demetriandelibinaryboyfriends]

Season 4, Episode 7: An Extremely Chaotic and Incoherent Review

This episode was very meh overall, but luckily it at least didn’t cause me immense pain like Episode 8 is about to ;______;

The Good:

ARE WE FINALLY GETTING THE TEA ON WHAT HAPPENED AT APPLEBEE'S

WHAT WENT DOWN WITH THE LOADED POTATO SOUP, I NEED TO KNOW

Not Miguel pulling out Johnny's headband like it's a piece of lingerie

This reveal is just as hysterical as I've always dreamed

GO KENNY GO

Awwww good boi Robby actually trying to be a good influence on this kid and guide him in the right direction

Wholesome!!!

"A Chili's or a Marie Calendar's or a Red Lobster" truly Johnny Lawrence is a man of culture

Carmen is a morosexual

Aight I take back what I said a few episodes ago, Jarmen is still pretty cute actually

"I would've chosen someone with better food in their refrigerator" OH MY GOD YES DRAG HIM MIGUEL

LIVING FOR THIS

Not really all that invested in the Anthony subplot but Daniel comparing karate to video games was a nice moment! That IS one thing I really like about Daniel--he tries to connect with people and share his passions with them by relating it to something he knows THEY like

I remember he did that with Demetri and Game of Thrones in S2 and it was the purest thing ;_;

Y'know, I don't know what all I expected from S4, but shipping Piper and Tory was definitely not on the list

And YET

Look now that I'm openly stanning YasMoon I am actually very down for this

Imagine them on double dates

Literally the two most terrifying lesbian power couples imaginable--the Rich Socialites and the Badass Karate Sapphics

But like...Tory x Robby is hella cute though, do you see my struggle here

Well anyways this is proving to me without a doubt that Torobby is bi4bi

Also like...I'm still pretty firmly on the Shawbby train, SO

If Shawbby were to happen...Toriper??? Please??? As a treat???

Yeah not like either will happen but I can dream

Eagle Fang training montage was as delightfully amusing as I'd hoped! Those poor boys though

"They're wearing cups, right?" OH MY GOD

DAMN Kenny, that was BRUTAL

He really is Hawk 2.0, the little shit

Curious just how evil this boy's gonna get during his villain arc

It makes me sad but I am also morbidly intrigued

Anthony just paying some guy to wash the cars, I am HOWLING

Why is Daniel even surprised, this is the most in-character thing I've ever SEEN

The man got played for a fool and honestly??? Hysterical. I cannot stop laughing. Daniel LaRusso is definitely not in possession of the valley's brain cell at the moment

JOHNNY I CAN'T

He's trying to be a Cool Sensei and a good dad at the same time, this poor meow meow

He really is so deeply clueless about parenting, I love it

Love that Miguel was having so much fun chilling with his girlfriend that he lost track of time, indicating they're a very loving and healthy couple actually!!! Like find yourself someone who hours feel like minutes with, fr

Anthony ain't my fave by any means but I kinda get him being sick of Daniel going on and on about Mr. Miyagi nonstop XD

The irony of Daniel thinking Kenny is bullying Anthony is also admittedly pretty funny

"Kenny?" "Oh, he's hilarious! You guys are gonna get along great!" okay okay okay okay not super into this plotline in general BUT this amused me

Actually kind of ingenious how the library beatdown parallels the library bullying scene from Season 1, but with the complete opposite results. Like the ultimate inversion from bullies picking on nerds and the nerds just taking it to a nerdy kid taking complete control of the situation and handing his bullies' asses to them. Pretty dang cool cinematic parallel/inversion!

SAMMMMMM

Damn, the lifelong "good girl" really cut class to do Chaos Training with her boyfriend and her second secret karate dad and for that I couldn't be more proud

Chaos gremlin Sam who makes her own rules is the love of my life actually

Absolutely digging this character growth

Literally so satisfying when Daniel and Amanda finally found out Anthony's been a lying little asshole, about damn time!

Neat! Check out this evil karate husband divorcee drama!

I didn't see them having a falling out, but it's juicy so I don't mind it

The Bad:

Aight, someone's gotta say it: This fucker Anthony is getting too much dang screentime

Like we could probably get the idea of his plot with like...half the screentime tbh

So, uh. Breaking up the only LGBT couple in the entire show and then having the closest we have to a canon lesbian character join the villain dojo sure was a writing choice

I don’t like the implications of that I don’t like the implications of that at all

While yes, it is extremely funny that Moon has a thing for violent bully types, I’m not particularly besotted with the fact that the lesbian ex turns evil and the (supposedly) straight guy ex gets a redemption arc

This coming from a slightly unhinged evil lesbian who usually LOVES slightly unhinged evil lesbians

But when that’s your ONLY lesbian in the show, we may have a problem???

I say Piper is the closest thing we have to a canon lesbian character because I’m pretty sure she’s the only female character in the show who has never shown romantic interest in men

Like she’s only ever flirted with and dated women and when Hawk tried to come onto her she was like “fuck no”

Anyways they made her join the evil bad dojo, despite Moon no doubt telling her during S3 that it was filled with bullies and fiends, so that’s fun

Like yes lesbians CAN be scary assholes but we’re not ONLY scary assholes

SO we get to see Eagle Fang and Cobra Kai training, but NOT Miyagi Do??? Unfair!!!

And Sam had to babysit??? That sounds funny as shit!!! Show me what went down please!!!

Also, you're gonna have Eli do this big grand gesture of joining Miyagi Do for Demetri and then NOT show Dem and Eli training together???? Absolutely unacceptable, I want to speak to the manager

You deadass telling me Devon, who we met like...an episode ago, gets a Cool Training Montage, and Demetri and Eli DON'T??? Fuck all the way OFF, we've been watching these dudes grow into badasses for 4 goddamn seasons now and BY GOD I WANT TO SEE THEM KICKING ASS TOGETHER AGAIN

Also it's highkey a big deal that Eli joined Miyagi Do, so it seems like it would be cool to see him like??? Actually learning and practicing some of the moves???

Like Eli absolutely deserves a MD training montage all of his own because it's, like, a complete contrast to how he learned in CK and EF. I want to see whether he takes to them easily or if he struggles to pick them up since they're a pretty different style than Johnny teaches.

Like how well does Eli adjust??? Does Demetri help??? What's his dynamic with the other MD kids like??? Does he get discouraged because they're more experienced MD fighters, and then they have to help gradually rebuild his confidence? I want to know!!! Give me details on MD Eli please!!!

On the topic of training montages, I would have loved to see a bit with Johnny, Miguel, and Sam all training for doing the flying tornado kick together!!! They're like the perfect chaotic, aggressive trio and them just doing the most hectic and insane training drills would be so damn fun, I swear

Also I want to see more of Sam and Miguel being an adorable couple in general!!! Like they've been through so much, they deserve some fluff!!!

Would also be interesting to see them bond over their respective traumas, and try to help one another through it. It would also be pure and wholesome as shit and I would enjoy every minute of it

But nooooooo, gotta cut it to make room for the middle school subplot -_-

I...really can't bring myself to care that much about the middle school love triangle tbh. Like I'll admit they could have done it worse, and Lia has a decent amount of chemistry with both the boys, so it's not totally grating to watch. But Bully-Hot Girl-Nerd love triangles are hardly something we haven't seen before. This particular love triangle isn't really adding anything new to the show???

Like I get what they were going for--they wanted to parallel young Johnny and Daniel, but kinda reverse it by having Daniel's son be the one who's the "spoiled rich popular boy" or what have you. But...was it really necessary??? I mean, we already kinda did that with Miguel and Robby in S1 and 2, I would argue. And even a little bit with Demetri and Eli in S2 and 3, although with no love triangle.

Anyways, point being that I think we're dedicating just a tad too much screentime to a gag that it seems like they're only doing as like...a funny, ironic callback

Anyways in summary this episode needed vastly more Miyagi Do training shenanigans

Specifically more Eli and Demetri training shenanigans

Specifically more Eli and Demetri homoerotic sparring sessions

COME ONNNNN WE ARE 7 EPISODES IN AND I HAVE NOT ONCE SEEN THESE FUCKS SPAR

I mean on that topic I would've loved to see Miguel and Demetri spar too, but too late for that I guess

Like!!! I want to see how they handle sparring/fighting when they're on the same side!!! I want to see if they hold back from hurting each other because of their rough recent history!!!

And imagine the ANGST POTENTIAL if one hits the other a little too hard, especially Eli, like??? Eli going from breaking Demetri's arm to profusely apologizing for hitting Demetri's arm a tiny bit too hard would be BEAUTIFUL

Tbh any MD pair sparring would be more interesting than Anthony running around and causing mayhem in his middle school -__-

Also this would be a GREAT spot to put in a formal Eli-Sam apology scene, just to kinda cement Eli's determination to grow into a better person in MD and such

But do we get it? Noooooooo -__-

Anyways, more MD hijinks!!! More Samiguel!!! I demand it!!!

Get ready to see me suffer next episode :D

[shrinkthisviolet]

Also, I think the reason Sam’s S4 arc suffered due to Tory’s was because the little moments where they sort of swapped roles came about too easily. After training with Johnny, Sam becomes more aggressive and rebellious. Which I really enjoyed. Meanwhile, thanks to the threat of her aunt trying take away Brandon, and Amanda helping get her therapy Tory becomes a little calmer. Which came out of nowhere in all honesty (not the therapy, but how and why she seeks it out). And seeing Sam feel empowered by doing things to Tory, the she had previously done her was a nice touch. But as even my mom pointed out after watching S4: The two swap roles too easily without exploring what this means for how they view themselves and their past actions going forward. In the S3 deleted scenes, we see foreshadowing of Sam becoming like this to cope with her ongoing PTSD. But we never see how she views herself during her reversal with Tory in S4. You can tell that she resents her parents (especially Daniel) for trying to force her to be LaRusso 2.0 and planning out her entire life (just without any emotional support on really anything that matters personally to her). Does she feel being LaRusso 2.0 was why Tory thought she could bully her and thus doing things Daniel’s way was what made her weak. Because for so long, everyone defined her by being just like her dad. So, does she resent or even hate who she used to be a few Seasons ago? Does getting to reinact a small amount of her previous traumatic moments (only this time getting to fill Tory’s role) make her feel stronger? If so, does that mean Tory from S2-S3 is the person she thinks she needs or wants to be? Is this all because of her PTSD or is it a general identity crisis (due to her parents irresponsible yet over controlling parenting)? And as for Tory — we needed to SEE her therapy sessions. Like it sounds as if her father was abusive and addiction runs in her family, along with all the other crap in her life. I don’t have a problem with Sam and Tory being similar like Johnny and Daniel before them, I actually love that idea, but the writers are dropping the ball with the final product.

So true. The parallels used to be some really well...but lately, it seems like it’s hollow. The characters are being swapped around and paralleled and such without truly interrogating what that actually means for them.

For example: Personally, I would’ve liked to see Kenny as a Daniel parallel, and Anthony as a Johnny parallel, and had that stay consistent. Seeing Kenny go all dark-side at the end is...honestly pretty formulaic with what the show has given us so far. Why not let him keep his heart? Or say “say whatever you want, LaRusso, but stay away from me”? Because Kenny threatening Anthony back didn’t really make sense (Kenny, up to this point, has been a pacifist except when it comes to the tournament, and he’s had more mentorship from Robby than Silver, and Robby has made a clear effort to not teach any aggression).

Why not interrogate Daniel raising kids who gravitate to Johnny’s karate more? Have him grapple with that? Why not have him talk to Anthony properly...or, as a consequence of his aggression toward Anthony, have him join Eagle Fang out of spite? (I feel like Anthony having his CK arc at this point would be a bad move, given that CK has pretty openly traumatized Sam at this point, and none of the LaRussos would let Anthony join as a spy. The writers would never let him have that kind of depth either). Miyagi-Do Anthony doesn’t feel right to me tbh, he seems more like an Eagle Fang kid.

But yeah, to your point...the parallels need to be backed up by characterization. Which means interrogating what it means when characters switch roles like that.

[issa-wasteland]

Rewatched the karate kid II and again I'm reminded why this movie is gold 💫

Here we get:

Background about Mr. Miyagi, his homeland, and the culture.

Kumiko

Yukie and Mr. Miyagi's love story as they still love each other after yrs.

The beautiful yet sad scene with Mr. Miyagi who just lost his father and daniel telling him his experience as they both were able to say goodbye to their fathers.

Rivalry from one generation to another despite how daniel told chozen that just because their senseis have their problem doesn't mean that they should too. Idk it parallels with the current situation in cobra Kai how Daniel and Johnny's rivalry passed onto sam vs tory/ miguel vs robby.

The chemistry between kumiko and daniel. Their relationship had a different spark compared to daniel and ali.

Daniel saving yuna and how we got a small moment of them talking to each other towards the end of the movie.

Daniel learning about Mr. Miyagi's ancestry and new techniques.

Kumiko teaching daniel the obon dance

Chozen vs daniel

Daniel's outfit and blooded up from the fight as we see how much he progressed from the last movie.

The soundtrack and Mr. Miyagi's smile at the end of the movie as he's so proud of him.

[cc-tinslebee]

This is my first time watching The Karate Kid after seeing Cobra Kai, and damn, the parallels!!

The beach! Soccer! “Ali with an ‘i’” / “Tory with a ‘y’”! Johnny playing the victim at the beach versus Johnny leaving out information when he retells the story to Miguel! Hotheaded LaRussos and their “this school sucks!”

Also, y’know, Daniel LaRusso: 80s fashion icon

Oh gods, the Kreese scenes are 10x more painful. Me @ any Cobra Kai student: damn bitch, you live like this??

Hmm, the the scene where Daniel flips out (understandable) and throws his bike in the dumpster hits different, but I can’t explain why 🤔

[indecisive-behaviors]

Okay so I just reblogged a thing talking about season 2 and 3 of Cobra Kai and I have some Thoughts about what they did to everyone’s character arcs in this so if you’d like a rant it’s under the cut with spoilers from all 3 seasons plus spoilers for all 3 Karate Kid movies

Okay so my issues start with one very key scene that I personally think fucked up the whole rest of the narrative, and by extension everyone else’s character arcs: which is from Different but Same. And no not that scene- not yet at least.

The first scene that I think fucked over the narrative and killed several character arcs was the beach scene. Miguel, reasonably distraught over the idea that Sam is hiding him from her dad(which she is actually doing to be fair), gets completely drunk and when Sam and Robby arrive together he loses it, pushes Sam and subsequently gets dumped. Now why do I think this ruined everything? It completely goes against Miguel’s character up to this point. Miguel is absolutely trying to mimic Johnny in a lot of key ways but also up to this point Miguel has also been Johnny’s conscience; he’s smart and kind and had not at all shown to be anything even close to what Johnny was in KK1. He’s stood up for his friends, defended the girl he likes from bullies, he’s a huge mama’s boy and a bit of a hopeless romantic. In no episode up until that point does he ever display any tendency towards unnecessary violence, despite Johnny’s “strike first” motto. Miguel getting wasted and violent does not add up in my mind. Miguel is supposed to be a narrative parallel to Daniel for fuck sake. Also, and this is my main complaint, there is no fucking reason for Miguel to immediately jump to the conclusion that Sam is seeing Robby- literally none. They look very much alike, hell Robby looks a little like Amanda honestly, he could very well be her cousin for all Miguel knows. Robby and Sam don’t even act like a couple in the shot- they’re literally just sitting next to each other at family dinner. None of this subplot makes any fucking sense.

And then, obviously, there’s the very next scene- Johnny goes with Daniel back to his place, tipsy and happy and seemingly in a very good place with each other. Then Robby shows up, Johnny loses his shit and Daniel proceeds to get pissed and kick Robby out. Now there is one thing I point out about this scene whenever I talk about it that doesn’t add up: no where in this scene is it ever even implied that either Johnny or Daniel know about Robby’s original intentions. (Also nothing up till that point ever even establishes why Robby knows about Daniel and Johnny’s rivalry in the first fucking place for the record). There is no reason for Johnny to suspect that Daniel knew and was hiding it, or even that Robby was doing it on purpose, and there is no reason for Daniel to get mad or even suspect that Robby knew what he was doing or was lying about it; and the fact of the matter is that Robby never actually lied(also Daniel never fucking asked) about his home situation. His mom was neglectful and an addict, and his father wasn’t in the picture. That’s it, and none of that was a lie. Now I’m not sitting here and denying that what Robby did was wrong because it absolutely was-- it was manipulative and unfair to Daniel and he had a right to be angry when he found out it was the case but there is nothing to suggest that he didn’t just jump to conclusions. And also, personally, I don’t think any of that justifies kicking a teenager to the curb, and one that Daniel explicitly knows has no one and nothing to fall back on. Be angry, be furious with Robby, but leaving a teenager to fend for themselves is cruel and completely unjustifiable behavior from a grown ass adult(also there’s a whole can of worms involved in Daniel never trying to figure out where the fuck Robby’s parents are and letting him live there without an explanation but that’s for a different rant).

Now assume none of that weird subplot happens, there is another way to have the Robby and Miguel rivalry that would have made so much more fucking sense and it only hinges on one fucking thing- Robby enters the tournament. It could be with or without Daniel’s approval(maybe even with a KK3 parallel, but Daniel honestly seems pretty into the tournament these days so he’d probably be down for Robby joining and reping Miyagi-do), but all we need is for him to do it.  Robby gets there, and Johnny sees him, potentially rocking a Miyagi-do gi and can have his surprised/hurt moment with him and Daniel, even potentially a confrontation between them. We can also still have Miguel beating Robby in the tournament and having Johnny be conflicted about his son losing. Hawk can even still hurt him and give Johnny his “holy shit this is wrong” epiphany and Miguel not understanding why Johnny wants him to go easy on Robby. Robby can still be hurt and upset by thinking Johnny cares more about Miguel after he loses.

Okay now as for season 2? Assuming everything stays the same in season 1, I have one MAJOR complaint. Robby becoming Sam’s love interest; and no it’s not because I think Miguel and Sam should be an endgame couple when the show is over(I do but that’s beside the point) but because it turns Sam into a plot device. This carries over into season 3 where she starts dating Miguel again and apparently just never breaks it off with Robby which is such a dick move I can not for the life of me imagine Sam of all fucking people doing it. She isn’t perfect by any means but she’s also outspoken and and much more confident by that point and should not have had a problem breaking up with someone in an email. But I digress, back to season 2- the moment I saw that Sam and Robby were going to be a couple I immediately knew the writers fucked up. There was no build up for it, nothing in season 1 to foreshadow this as a possibility(Different but Same doesn’t count because that was a whiplash of an episode) and they just decided offhandedly to put her in the middle of Robby’s and Miguel’s rivalry. There was no reason to make them a couple other than to fuck with Miguel and set up the Tory & Sam rivalry which could have happened fucking anyway with the shit at the country club, the rift between Sam and Aisha, and Miguel’s ongoing feelings for Sam even after he’s dating Tory(also a dick move what the fuck Miguel??). Adding Robby as fuel to the fire was super unnecessary and all it did was set up the clusterfuck that was the season 2 finale.

And OH BOY was that finale a clusterfuck. First of all, as a prelude- Fuck. Daniel. He pulled the exact same shit as in season 1 with dumping Robby the second he does anything even a little bit wrong. But also, as a gut punch, Robby didn’t actually do anything wrong. What was he supposed to do at the party? He couldn’t stop Sam from drinking even though he wanted to, it was her (very poor) choice. But he did what he could, he kept an eye on her, and when the cops showed up, he didn’t just leave her, he put her in the car and drove her somewhere he thought she’d be safe without having to immediately face her father(who super fucking overreacted btw) while she was recovering. This scene, which could have been an excellent bonding moment for Johnny and Robby, and an introduction to Sam getting to know Johnny outside of her father’s influence, was turned into a brawl for no fucking reason. 

Which leads me to the school fight. And right off the bat I’ve got to say this; even as, and maybe especially as, a person who has written post season 3 fix it fics, there is no way for Robby and Miguel to convincingly fix what happened in the season 2 finale. Yes, what Robby did was absolutely an accident and he has already done his time for it. But the elephant in the room is this: Miguel could have died. Or at the very least, been totally paralyzed. There is not a good way to come back from that. They will always have that hanging over their heads, even if they somehow reach an understanding. And I know someone is going to try and make the argument about that being a parallel to Johnny and Daniel in KK1, but if it is that it’s a terrible parallel. What Johnny did was supremely fucked up and I won’t deny that, especially with the Halloween scene and Daniel’s knee in the tournament(which actually was technically more Bobby’s doing, but I digress), but it was never “almost permanently disable/kill someone” bad. (Again there’s a whole can of worms to open about the shit with Chozen and Daniel’s seemingly pretty easy forgiveness of a man who tried to kill him because what the fuck?? But again that’s another rant.) But the writers wanted to push the envelope so now Johnny will always have the tug of war of choosing Robby, who he loves but who also really fucked up, and Miguel, who was the original reason for the rivalry in the first place but who was also the one who, again, almost died because of his son, even if he somehow fixes his relationship with both. It will always be “why did you pick him over me?” and Johnny will never have a good enough answer for either of them. And finally the big complaint- Johnny completely regressing in season 3. Season 3 honestly felt like a rehashing of season 1 because we literally had to see him progress in his arc all over again from square fucking one. He still isn’t there for Robby, he’s still fucking up things with Miguel and his family, he’s still fucking up his relationship with Daniel, he still chooses to miss his appointment with Robby to see Miguel(who would have been there after the appointment and he could have seen him then), he abandons half of his fucking students to fend for themselves and leaves the other half with a man he knows is a dangerous psychopath. And yes we get the cool scene at the end of December 19, but is it worth it?? I’m genuinely asking because, as much as I love that scene, I really don’t believe it is.(edit: Also fuck that whole subplot with Eli and Demetri- you don’t get to just break the arm of the boy who was your best friend and just have that go away with no repercussions. Fuck. That. I hope Demetri gets at minimum an actual on screen apology, and hopefully Eli actually trying to make amends.)

We could have still had the big team up- have Johnny admit to Daniel that he’s fucked up and tell him everything that’s happening with Kreese. Have them join forces to defeat Kreese in the tournament. Have the dumb fucking bet. Introduce Terry Silver in season 4. Have Johnny’s and Daniel’s tenuous truce strained at every turn because they’re idiots. Do all of it. But y’know what? We could have had all of that- all of it- without it being at the expense of at least 2 character arcs; Johnny’s and also Robby’s.

Also before I end this I just have to add- nothing and I mean nothing will ever redeem Kreese or Silver for me. I do not give a singular shit about either of their tragic backstories, I just don’t. I get why and how Chozen got his redemption- he was a teenager when that shit happened, and while the shit he pulled is personally unforgivable in my opinion, he has actively been trying to redeem himself by spending the last however many decades making it up to his community. I’d even understand a Barnes redemption to an extent, even though I wouldn’t accept it, because he was also very young and being manipulated by, again, a dangerous psychopath. But Kreese and Silver? Abso-fucking-lutely not. They were two grown ass adults who purposefully targeted an 18 year old and put him through emotional and physical for weeks, paid someone to intimidate him through both threats of physical violence but also through vandalism, and gaslighted him and isolated him from the only family he had at the time because he beat them in a children’s karate competition. Look, I’m not sorry, I don’t give a fuck about Kreese’s tragic backstory, nothing about what Kreese has done can be rationalized by just saying “oh his mom and girlfriend died and he was in ‘Nam”. And any good thing he does for Tory, or even Robby, does not balance out all the harm he has caused. Silver is even less redeemable- I don’t care that he almost died in war, I’m an army brat I know plenty of people who almost died and don’t act like this. In canon we have evidence of him being completely, unrepentantly evil- the first scene with him in it has him basically confirmed as the BP of nuclear waste, he pays people so he can beat them up, he’s been personally funding Kreese’s child indoctrination classes. They could pull out the saddest backstory for him possible and I would not give a shit. And that’s fine. We don’t need every bad guy to have a tragic backstory- sometimes an evil villain can just be an evil villain for no reason, not all of them need a traumatic turning point that the authors shove in to make the audience sympathize with them. So please, writers, stop trying to make me feel sorry for them because I really don’t and I don’t understand anyone who does.

Okay rant over.

[marginalgloss]

daddy do not

There's been a tendency in recent years for writing, in both fiction and non-fiction quarters, which goes 'back to the land' in some way. In one version of this an author rediscovers something worldly and outdoorsy in an old-fashioned way – fishing or hillwalking or wild swimming or birdwatching – and finds that, through close observation and adherence to an unfamiliar activity in an unfamiliar environment, they come to understand something about themselves. And something about the world, perhaps. 

The novels are a bit different. They go deep into particularities of local history, often all the way back to the dark ages, in search of something real outside strictures of property, ownership, and cultural division. Parallels between the present and the past are deliberate, sometimes to the point of being obtuse. I'm thinking here of books like The Wake by Paul Kingsnorth, where the bleak vision of England under the foreign rule of William the Conqueror becomes the setting for a fierce localism that pits its own mysticism against almost everything and everyone. What links these, I think, is a striving for the sense of being grounded. It is finding (demanding?) a place for the self that exists outside the patterns of success in the sense of self-help or self-care; something beyond career promotion and outside ambition.  

Elmet by Fiona Mozley seems like an offshoot of this tendency. The title comes from the old name for a region in what is now Yorkshire that was one of the last Celtic kingdoms; the epigraph borrows a few lines from a Ted Hughes book. But the word itself doesn't feature at all in the text. And though it does feature a good deal of pleasant nature writing, it isn’t particularly redolent of Hughes. The style is at times conspicuously eloquent, considering the narrator’s humble background. It would be easy to find this a distraction; I think the style belongs to the narrator’s interior. The words they choose aren’t those they might have said or written themselves, but that doesn’t make them any less theirs.

It follows Daniel, a young boy who lives with his older sister Cathy and their father in a little house in the middle of nowhere. Daddy (this is what he is called throughout) built the house with his own hands; he is a retired bareknuckle prize-fighter, occasional enforcer and debt collector, who now seems dedicated to living a quiet life. And for a while, they do just that: the seasons pass in a reverie of woodcutting, cooking, building. For a long time not much is explained about how they came to be there. But they cannot ignore the outside world forever. The children are taken out of school, first, and then they come to the attention of the man who owns their land. 

Skimming a few other reviews for this book, some readers seem to have assumed that the story takes place in some kind of post-apocalyptic landscape. But I can see why they might think that. The whole thing is tinged by the family's distance from a society which seems perpetually suspicious, hostile, dangerous. It seems to take place in a world that's slightly out of time. Television and radio are mentioned, but only telephones play any role in the plot; smartphones and the internet might as well not exist. 

Much of the early part of the book is defined by a tone of old-fashioned warmth. Particular attention is paid to the simple comforts of food, warmth and shelter. Bacon is perpetually dripping with fat; hot boiled vegetables are laced with butter; joints of meat can roast for hours in this world. Much of it would fit neatly into that sub-category of science fiction sometimes call the 'cosy catastrophe': something about the world outside has gone terribly wrong, but inside, life goes on much as normal. Gender roles are a part of this curious cosiness too: they seem comfortable, and entirely conventional, until suddenly the novel begins to gently tip them askew. 

The only salient detail that allows us to pinpoint this as sometime in recent years is the description of how one of the characters made his fortune: through the buying up and subsequent renting of ex-council houses, via the 'Right to Buy' scheme introduced by Margaret Thatcher's government. This is the most explicit political element in a novel which is otherwise not short on implicit political anger. The aforementioned character, Mr Price, is the chief exemplar of a corrupt member of the rentier class. He perpetuates a system of exploitation over the working class locals who pick vegetables for a pittance, while handing over an ever-increasing proportion of their wages back to landlords. Inevitably, property owners here are absentee almost by definition: they hold all of the power of a feudal lord, albeit with none of the responsibility towards their tenants. 

All of this seems born out of a righteous anger. But while it benefits from being basically accurate, the contrast is cartoonishly expressed. Mr Price in particular is a fairly ridiculous figure of red-trousered Tory malevolence, as obviously villainous as the narrator's father is heroic. From the moment a simple union is formed amongst the local workers, it seems obvious that something very bad is going to come from it. And in fact the novel closes with some fairly spectacular, horrifying scenes of badness. The sheer violence of its conclusion is shocking almost to the point of absurdity, but it is not entirely out of character with the rest of the book: this is, after all, a story about going to extremes. 

[arorocanada]

Some Cobra Kai Character Questions

Tagged by @variousqueerthings!!! Sorry it took me so long to do it, I... completely forgot, lol. But here it is!!!!

Favourite Main Character: ... Shit, this is a hard one for me XD When I first watched Cobra Kai I loved Johnny, buuuut then I watched the movies, and I definitely relate to Daniel, he fits some of my fave tropes, he became much more enjoyable to me once I watched KK3 and I understood why he was so high-strung about Cobra Kai... So I’d say I prefer Daniel now.

Favourite Secondary/Tertiary Character: Does Amanda count as secondary? I love Amanda, she’s so cool. Also Miguel!!!! Miguel is the soul of this show, I swear that kid is super charismatic.

Character You Didn’t Like That You Like Now: Uuuuhh, maybe Demetri? I didn’t care much for him at first, but now I find him kind of funny, and I think he was pretty cool in season 3. Also, I wouldn’t say I like her now, but some Tumblr posts made me warm up to Tory.

Character Who Deserves Better: ROBBY... SOMEONE PLEASE HELP THIS CHILD, HE DOESN’T DESERVE HALF OF THE SHIT HE GOES THROUGH. Also Aisha, who SHOULDN’T HAVE BEEN WRITTEN OFF.

Character Who Most Has Their Shit Together: ... Maybe Carmen? She’s gone through a lot, but she seems mostly normal. Before season 3 I would have said Amanda, but it turns out she’s pretty unhinged, lol.

Character Who Most Deserves To Go Feral: DANIEL, PLEASE, LET HIM GO FERAL!!!! If he has to put up with all the Silver bullshit next season he deserves to go wild. Also Amanda tbh. Let them be feral spouses together.

A Character Line That You Love: Ah, my memory is awful. I’m gonna go with “I wasn't taught the difference between mercy and honor, and I paid the price for it” because it’s ONE HELL OF A LINE.

A Character Dynamic You Love: Johnny and Daniel, obviously. Every scene with them is amazing. I also really love Johnny and Miguel, tho!!! Johnny really shines when he’s with Miguel.

A Character Moment You Love: KUMIKO READING MIYAGI’S LETTERS TO DANIEL... I SWEAR I ALMOST CRIED. Like, I already figured that Daniel changed Miyagi’s life, just like Miyagi changed Daniel’s, but HAVING IT CONFIRMED ON SCREEN???? WITH AN ENTIRE SCENE ABOUT IT???? OH GOD.

A Prediction For Any Character: Oh damn, I’m not good at theories and predictions. This one is pretty obvious, but I’m gonna say Miguel is not gonna get to the finals in the All Valley, the final fight is gonna be Sam against either Robby or Tory (Tory would be badass, but I’m kinda hoping for Robby because I think it’s top-notch angst and THE PARALLELS ABOUT MAKING JOHNNY AND DANIEL’S KIDS FIGHT IN THE ALL VALLEY WOULD BE DEVASTATING).

I’m gonna tag @banzai-larusso, @crimsonandclover27 and @obstinatecondolement!!! Feel free to do it if you want. And if someone else not tagged sees this post wants to do it, do it!!!

[shrinkthisviolet]

What things would you change about season 4?

I do have quite a list of fix-it ideas! Not all of them will be written (and I do have an entire year at least to spread them out anyway), but here they are, in no particular order:

-A series of Sam & Johnny missing S4 moments (their relationship wasn’t developed as much as I think the writing thought it was)

-The Johnny and Robby talk, written in a way where Johnny isn’t completely indifferent out of nowhere

-Anthony standing up for Kenny in that one scene where everyone is telling him to beat Kenny up in that park (parallels Hawk in 3x10)

-Sam and Tory get trapped in a closet together at the party and have to talk about their issues. Sam finds out about Tory’s situation...and now she’s conflicted, drawing parallels to Robby but also still rightfully hating Tory

-Johnny recruits Sam for Eagle Fang, as a screw-you to Daniel (and because Sam is their best option for a girl student)

-Amanda’s actually the one who gets through to Anthony, because Daniel breaking his iPad just made him scared of his dad. Amanda’s able to smooth things over.

-Anthony knew karate, and did wash those cars already, he didn’t wanna repeat the same exercise (his dad wants him to go back to basics, but that’s boring)

-After Silver’s visit, Daniel tells Johnny and Amanda everything about Silver, and they flip tf out (and we avoid Amanda being so dismissive over Silver)

-Johnny’s awake to see Miguel’s tears after what he said, and they talk about everything

-The Cobras go for public humiliation instead of shaving Hawk’s mohawk. Hawk decides to shave it anyway...with Demetri’s help

-Hawk and Sam talk about what went down between them in the past. There’s a lot of history between them, and Hawk’s not fully forgiven, but there’s an understanding there

-After Daniel finds out his son is a bully, he talks to him properly, even telling him the (mostly) full extent of the Johnny Lawrence bullying. Anthony, in turn, tells Daniel how he feels about how they treat Sam vs him. They come to an understanding without violence!

-Johnny apologizes to Robby in 4x10 for everything, tells Robby it’s not all his fault, tells him that it’s okay to still be angry. This is close to what happened in the finale, except Johnny actually apologizes for all of it, right then and there. I choose to believe Robby’s hug isn’t forgiveness really, it’s heightened emotion–they’ve got a long way to go.

-Carmen finds Johnny pushing Miguel to keep competing in the tournament and tells him off, warns him to stay away from Miguel until he calms down. She tells Miguel that at the end of the day, it’s just a tournament. And no matter what, this isn’t the end-all-be-all

-I understand why Silver fixed the match, but...I would’ve kept Tory’s victory legitimate. That way, her “I won, now what?” moment next season packs an extra punch