Welcome to Just Curious Media. This is Let's Talk - Cobra Kai. I'm Jason Connell, documentary filmmaker turned podcaster.
And I'm Sal Rodriguez, comedian and toy collector.
Wow, this is Episode Seven all Valley. Great title by the way, I like that. And it's an 8.8 rating on IMDb. So another great episode.
Speaking of all Valley I just want to mention that I'm so excited that I finally got my all Valley karate championship finals two pack made by NECA toymakers Johnny Lawrence Daniel Russo action figures I'm so excited and I will be doing a review on my Salvador Los Angeles YouTube channel.
It is amazing looking and the thing with you though is you're never gonna let me play with these figures.
No, no, I will open them you'll open this one. Oh yeah. Well, in order to do a thorough Toy Review, you have to remove them from the box check their articulation look at the paint look at the sculpt look at their clothing fabric. These are beautiful figures. I'm anxious to take them out and do a thorough review and yes, you will have an opportunity Jason to play with them.
Yes. So will you then order another one to leave it unopened in pristine
if I had a bigger budget? Yes. If just curious media had a bigger budget. I would buy one to keep in package and one to release from package so
we can do. All right. We opened with a montage of Daniel teaching Robbie the Miyagi way at LORUSSO Otto.
Yeah, they open up with the old wax on wax off. Well, they don't say wax on wax off. But you see that's what he's doing. And that's the homage to the original Karate Kid.
Absolutely. And it goes beyond that to do raise the flag wash the windows squeegee the window.
Yeah, I was looking at how was this going to become a move. It was a horizontal squeegee move.
He even made the carjack a move. Yes. And then we ended with sweeping the floor and stapling papers.
That was a new one. That was a stretch. That was I was thinking how are they gonna apply the stapler to an actual movie and Amanda's office, Robbie stapling papers.
But you do see the bond that is happening beyond just a new worker at the Russo Otto you can see that Daniel has a young student pupil, very eager and Robbie,
almost a surrogate son, if you will, right, because we haven't seen or heard much from Anthony. Obviously there's some sort of Father Son bond that's not there. Right. And so Daniel is gravitating towards Robbie Robbie, obviously gravitating towards Daniel. And they are sort of becoming this sort of surrogate father son type of relationship.
Well, Anthony also represents a very different millennial. He's much younger than Robbie. And he's just glued to his iPhone. Yeah. They haven't really developed his character as much as they've done, Samantha. Yeah, but maybe we'll see more of him in future episodes.
But then meanwhile, Robbie, it says, I thought you were gonna teach me karate, but I'm just doing all your shitty chores.
Exactly. Very, which is very similar to what? Yes, yeah, he has that moment. And Amanda looks at him and says, I think you're enjoying this a little too much. And then Daniel says, God, I love this part because he knows he gets to play the Miyagi for the first time.
If you watch Cobra Kai, there will be things in there that are homage as to karate kid that you may miss. If you have not seen Karate Kid, I totally
agree. And then listen to our special episode on Karate Kid.
Yes, we did a podcast on the entire movie Karate Kid.
So now we are back at the dojo. And Robbie's having his aha moment. His Kaiser. So say moment, if you will, yeah. When he realizes all these crazy little things that Lusso Otto are paying off and he really was learning some fundamentals of karate.
Yeah. And he even exclaimed, whoa, when he realizes all this stuff I was doing actually has a purpose and a point.
Yeah. And that's kind of a cool, same with them in the dojo and they bow to each other. So we cut to the cobra, Kai dojo and Johnny's training his pupils, and he discovers everyone's a Flintshire. Yeah. Now, Sal, please describe for the audience when a Fletcher is,
well, I think you have to bring up the motion picture stand by me, which was released in the 80s. But I think was set in the 50s. Correct. Or maybe early 60s. And the bullies would give you two for flinching. So if they make a move towards you, and you flinch, and you look scared, or you tense up, boom, boom, they give you two for flinching, just for flinching. So flinching in and of itself is a crime. So in the Cobra Kai dojo, you don't want to be flinching. So he starts to then realize, you know what, I gotta take this to the next level. And these kids got to be okay receiving a punch, they got to get actually punched. So
that's really it. So flinching is anticipation of a punch coming, and you kind of cover up. Yeah. So To remedy this, Johnny informs the class that everyone will be punched hard in the face before they leave.
And I actually do think that is very valuable. And this is goes back to a probably a rocky moment where he says, It's not how hard you can hit. It's how hard you can get hit. So much of fighting is being able to take a punch. It's not only that you can punch someone that you can kick somebody, you have to be able to take a punch in order to keep moving forward.
I agree. And so as Johnny lets this happen He goes in the office and he starts flipping through a magazine comes across $450 nunchucks, which made me laugh because I have some nunchucks. And they were like 20 bucks. So I don't know what's happened in the last 45 years that you need a $450 pair of nunchucks. No,
but I will say this is a cool bit of trivia. The original karate guy that the original Mr. Miyagi was patterned after was the one who brought nunchucks to the US. No, and then Bruce Lee adopted them.
That's pretty impressive. That
is totally cool, I think.
But to my point, they shouldn't cost 400. And Johnny scoffs added as well. And then he comes across the next page, and what do we see
an ad for the all Valley under 18 karate tournament
on believable? Yes. And what I noticed right away was it's May 19 2018. It's a Saturday. Okay, so this makes sense. Got it. Right. Unlike in the Karate Kid. The tournament was set on a Wednesday
on my action figure two pack, there is no date. So on the figures themselves, it is timeless.
They probably caught their mistake. Maybe so I think it was December 19 1984, which is a Wednesday. Yes. So Miguel comes in the office. And it's kind of funny. He mentioned Oh, there's a lot of blood in the dojo, but he's got a question about a girl. Yes. And so Johnny is kind of stuck on the hotness factor, which seems to be a big deal to him.
Oh, yeah. Because Miguel is describing Sammy doesn't mention her name. Oh, she's fun. She likes karate. And yeah, Johnny's like, Is she hot? She hot? Yeah, he's fixated on her being hot.
He's such a throwback. And I love when he is telling Miguel don't take no for an answer. And Miguel is like I think No means no. And Johnny says, if things are getting physical, No means no. But if you're asking her out, you're a cobra. Kai. All babes wanted to in a Cobra Kai. Yeah. Such a great line.
I also can appreciate a moment like this. Because if you're a young man, and obviously still to this day, the men, the young men, any man is expected to make the first move to take the first step to say the first word in dating, right? But if you're a guy who doesn't have a dad or an older brother, or some competent friends, you don't know what to do. You have to figure it out all by yourself and it can be clumsy and very awkward. So it's so fantastic that at least Miguel has somebody to come to. So even though Johnny's responses kind of she hot, Is she hot? You know, he at least has experienced in dating and obviously Miguel needs someone like this in his life.
So next week, see, Robbie's on lunch break, and here come his punk friends and they want to pull a robbery at LORUSSO auto.
Yes, they want Robbie to get the access code and give it to these guys so they can go rip off LORUSSO parts and stereos at first Robbie's like, well, you can't steal a car and they're like, well, we're not gonna steal the car stereos and parts. And you
can kind of tell now that Rob is a little conflicted. He's enjoying this connection with Daniel because much like Miguel, he's not had a father figure. But then we don't really know what's going on beneath the surface with Robbie.
Yeah, because originally his intentions were ill he wanted to get back at his father by joining the LORUSSO team. He was not really looking for a career. He was not looking our father figure. No, he wanted to get back at his dad after he saw his dad giving a hug to Miguel. Right? Yeah. So he went in there with ulterior motives. But now he's kind of settling in there is a shift taking place. And yeah, yes. Tell his friends. No, I don't want to be involved with this. But they start to pressure him.
We've seen this song and dance before these three are rotten to the core. But are we to believe that Robbie's turned a corner?
Well, he is not into it, we can tell. That's true, but they pressure him and I think he reluctantly agrees to it. Correct. I think he just wanted to brush him off and finish his lunch and we'll see what actually happens.
So now we're back at school. And Miguel awkwardly is asking Samantha out. Yeah. Which is kind of cute. And again, that pep talk with Johnny probably helped. And initially, what does Samantha say?
While she says I don't know after Kyler I kind of want to take a break from dating. So she lets him down easily and says but I'll see you in class. Right? So in other words, what she says was no, but we're can still be friends. That's what she said. And he walks away but then he's like, Wait a second. Don't take no for an answer. Strike first, strike hard. No Mercy. That's what he's thinking. He walks back. But he tries a different tactic. Well, how about if we go out but just as friends? It's not a date. So she says, Okay, fine. And she goes pick me up. He says, I can't pick you up. I don't have a car. I have a bicycle. She goes out pick you up. So she agrees to pick up Miguel. And they agreed to hang out.
Well played Miguel. That was a good rally call. They're very smooth. So he has a non date with Samantha later in the evening. We are now at La Russa. Auto and Robbie's taking a photo of a car's license plate as a man that comes by and you know, he's doing everything around the place. He's taking a photo to send into the assessment person, and she is adoring his work ethic. But as she walks away, what happens?
Yeah, we realize that he's kind of using this as a false front, in order to have the camera phone turned a certain way, so that he can see the access code when Amanda punches it in.
So he's got the code. Now, you may not have noticed this, but do you know what she types in?
You always see this stuff? No, I did not see what she typed in
1984. And then at four, zero, wow. So I just thought that was pretty cool. If you ever want to go to LORUSSO auto, there is your ticket to entry.
But where's it actually? Lusso auto would be in Georgia, correct? Yeah, that is one thing. I must say. If I have one little heartbreak with Cobra Kai, it's I wanted everything to be filmed in the valley like karate kid, right. But no, a lot of stuff has been filmed in Georgia part of the whole runway production thing. They're giving all these tax incentives to TV and movie producers in Georgia. Everybody's going out there.
The heart of it, it still represents California. Yeah. And specifically this episode entitled all Valley. Yeah. So now we see Johnny at the Cobra Kai Dojo calling all Valley tournament.
Yeah, he wants to get his dojo in the valley tournament. And while he's on
the phone, what does Hawk reveal to I Yeesha? And Miguel
hawk has this awesome.
I guess it's a hawk tattoo on his back a huge tattoo on with a mohawk. The bird has a mohawk. Yes. I didn't notice with blue hair. Just hilarious. 14 hours in the chair. He says yeah, but his parents don't know. He said, I might have to wear a shirt through high school, college and a little beyond that. So cut back to Johnny and we find out lifetime band on Cobra Kai. Yeah. Interesting. So Miguel goes into check on Johnny. And he challenges him in a nice way to be the way of the Cobra Kai. Don't quit. Don't give up. So Johnny middle, he wants to go fight off Valley. And he's like, that's what I mean. There's probably a different approach. And it works. Yeah. And so Johnny is motivated to plead his case and see what can be done about entering this tournament.
Yeah, he wants to go speak to the authorities. The committee whoever runs the tournament, give Cobra Kai a chance. It's 2018 For crying out loud.
Exactly. Now we're at Lusso Otto, and I thought this is pretty funny. Amanda, jokes with Daniel about how working with the bonsais is kind of like going to third base. Yeah. She's ribbing him for having a young protege in the office and Robbie,
which is kind of sweet. Yeah. Amanda is okay with what's happening. Yeah,
she's seen a good side of Daniel emerge. Unlike the guy in previous episodes, who has been obsessed with the few that they have
Sure. Like when Daniel tried to get Johnny's rent raised at the strip mall. Amanda was not having it was not hearing it.
Hurting all other shop owners. Yeah, Armenian restaurant and the convenience stores whoever else is in there. Yeah. Yeah, very short sighted thinking.
So Amanda is willing to chime in, give her thoughts. put her foot down. So I do like her character. She'll tell it like it is
a man just growing on me. Yeah. So now we see Robbie trimming a bonsai
by the way my brother in law. Larry White is a I don't know if he officially uses the term bonsai master but he's won bonsai tournaments. He teaches bonsai. He's part of a bonsai club. I even took a video of his bonsai garden. He's big on bonsai,
you say bonsai better than I do bonsai.
What because I learned from my brother in law, my brother in law taught me how to say bonsai.
So did he get into it? Because of the Karate Kid? No, I
don't think so. But he maybe got into it from sushi because he's a big sushi lover. In fact, he got me into sushi.
So he gets into sushi because of the Karate Kid.
But he got me into sushi. And he got me into bonsai. But it all comes full circle as we sit down here and talk about this.
And I love this scene. When Daniel comes in. He's got some clippers in his suit jacket. He's always got them there. But I don't know if you pay attention to the scene enough. Because I saw this episode twice. He then pulls out a another set of shears from his jacket. That's fun, but it's pretty funny. And so it was a nice scene between him and Robbie. Sure, visualize what you want your future to look like. And then you make it happen. Yeah, that's a great words to live by.
Oh, there are wonderful nuggets in here. It turns you back on yourself. You're like, Hmm, how can I apply that to my own life?
And this is why I could see that getting the two main actors Ross maggio and Williams actor wasn't that hard because this show has real heart.
Yeah, it does. It has heart. It has a message. It's about empowerment. It's about growth. It's about standing up for yourself. I'm loving every minute
of it. And it's just as special in a lot of ways as the original movie. And now we see Robbie who gets a text message from Trey. Oh, is that one of the punks? Yes. So once the ROB Laura So Otto and Now one note about this text, the size of the text was humongous is Robbie like 65 and can't see his phone was that for our benefit? It
said Don't let us down. See you tonight and had a little devil emoji. Oh, yeah, of course.
So we're back at Johnny's apartment. And for the first time ever, we see him in a suit. Yeah, it looks pretty sharp suit and tie. And he's got a briefcase, which is kind of comical, because it's actually empty. It's totally a prop. And he's talking to Miguel.
Yeah, and he offers advice on Miguel's date with Sam. Right. And then Miguel is offering advice on the meeting with the committee.
Correct. So Miguel is mentioning what He has planned for the date, he's gonna go to the observatory. Griffith Park Observatory is incredible. And he's going to have three way chocolate ice cream. And if it's clear outside, they'll look at the stars. And Johnny's like, the only part of that that makes any sense is the three way. Which is probably right over Miguel's head.
Yeah. One thing you notice is that our hero characters, there's an innocence to them.
Totally. So then Johnny tells Miguel the best place to take a date, and that is golf and stuff. So they're going to the golf and stuff, the very same one from the original Karate Kid, which is located in Norwalk, California.
I gotta say, though, they're totally cheating at miniature golf. Like they're using the putter as a pool cue, or they're just stuffing the ball through the hole. And that kind of stuff just drives me crazy, because I'm like a purist when it comes to master golf. I'm like, Whoa, no, that's it. Seven strokes done moving on. I'm like Mr. By the book when it comes to mini golf.
But it's a nice 80s date montage. Oh, yeah. And they're having a great time. They're
bonding. They're getting along. It's going fantastic. And beyond
putt putt. They played one of my favorite arcade games ever. The USA Russia hockey. Yes. And then there's some skee ball, and they did quite well on the ticket. Take I must say, Oh, yeah.
And then they turn it in for a giant octopus prize, right? That must have taken like 500 tickets, at least. So
it took Miguel about 150 bucks to get to dollar octopus. So anyway, cut to the all Valley meeting. Yeah. And there's a proposal to change the color of the mat, which has always been red for the last 30 years with a white fist on it. And they want to make it a blue mat with a gold fist. Yeah, these are the things are discussing at the All Valley meeting.
Yes. And I love how Johnny sticks his head in and they're like, Oh, the AAA meeting doesn't start till nine. Like they just see him in Oh, this guy must be a drunk, but
he stays and then he starts to tell them who he is. And who comes in the room?
Oh, this moment? Really? I was like what? Daniel Russo walks in. He's on the committee. Of course he is. Ah, Cobra Kai has these little moments that just catch me off guard. I'm just like, what?
Meanwhile, at LORUSSO auto, tray and company arrive. And Robbie has a change of heart.
Yeah. He said, I'm not going to give you the code. Or he says I don't want to, or I'm not going to. He said I get those two confused.
And then a fight ensues. Yeah, they try to kick his ass. And this is the first time we see Robbie's training paying off. Yeah,
at this moment in time. I think Robbie is at the point where I kind of consider myself where I have enough fight training to kick someone's ass who has had no fight training, right? So he starts to kick their ass,
but they outlast him. Yes, he's still use two of them. And there's two of them. So he stood his ground. Yeah, Robbie's drawn a line in the sand. And he's no longer with these guys.
It's a pivotal moment. It's a it's a turning point for him. But then they get the better of him as they get the
better of him, and they probably could have hurt him more.
What does he do? He points up at the camera. The security camera
caught everything on tape. And they say nowhere to run. And he says nowhere to hide. Yeah. Which is a nice homage to Martha Reeves and the Vandellas. Yeah, classic hit. Okay, so now back at golf and stuff. Miguel and Samantha are playing basketball by the way. Sal, I do very well on these basketball games. Yeah, at arcades.
I'm pretty good at that, too.
When was the last time you were in an arcade and played one of these? Because I did it just a few months. I'm pretty
good at shooting hoops. I am not playing basketball. But shooting. I'm pretty good.
All right, we might have to take this act on the road. We're gonna take to the streets. I'm pretty good, too. Okay, so they're talking about the Lakers. They do a fun photo booth. It's a fun day. The date is still in full force.
Well, there's a wonderful moment. They're in the photo booth. They're about to take the picture and she grabs Miguel's arm and puts his arm around her. And that's when you go okay, she's with it. She likes him.
So, now we're back at the All Valley sports arena. And we learned that senseis Terry silver, and John crease and student Mike Barnes are the ones who have a lifetime ban for their unethical and unsportsmanlike conduct.
But at one moment, Johnny says I don't even know who the Terry guy is.
And Chris is dead, by the way. Yes. So
he says that's what he says.
And then he goes is on to give a pretty inspiring speech. Yeah.
He's basically saying that Cobra Kai is different today. I'm different. It's a different era. Give us a chance. He really pleased his case. And some of the people on the committee are being swayed. Not Daniel, of course, Daniel is like, no way these guys were bullies. They have a lifetime ban. Sorry, not happening.
All this leads to a vote. And they asked John, if he would excuse himself for a second. And then they would do an internal vote.
Yeah. So Johnny goes outside in the lobby area, and they're going to have the vote.
And now we're back with Sam and Miguel. And Miguel is going to show her a karate move, because I noticed this with people that take karate, self included, you tend to want to show other people your moves. Yeah. So he gets Samantha up, and he's trying to show her something, forgetting or not knowing that Samantha has a lot more training than him. Yes. And what does she do to him?
She bust a move. She flips him on his back. She gets Miguel. One second. Yeah, she has moves. In fact, I'm looking forward to and she really would just unleash. So she flips Miguel gets them on the ground, and then sits on top of them, and then kisses him.
Miguel is such a fun, warm, sweet kid. And Samantha is great, too. But he's in all that she bested him very quickly. And then she said, this is the best date non date that she's ever had. And she gives Miguel a kiss. Yes, it's a very sweet moment and interrupted only by back at the All Valley sports arena. What happens?
Johnny's waiting in the lobby area, Daniel walks out, says congratulations, Johnny. So that's when you realize Johnny pled his case. And the tournament committee has agreed to let Cobra Kai into the tournament Cobra
Kai is back. So now we're at the Cobra Kai dojo, and Johnny hangs out the official poster, very reminiscent of the original Karate Kid. When Chris had the poster in the dojo. Yes. And Johnny is probably more excited now than we've ever seen him. He's hung the poster. He's drinking a Coors he does a little kick. And Miguel comes busting in who's also beaming?
Yeah, they're both in celebration mode. Johnny had his victory with the committee at the tournament. And Miguel had his quote unquote, victory date with Samantha. So both these guys are on high and ready to celebrate.
And Johnny says, I'm the man and they looked at Miguel and he's like, Are You the man too? It's pretty funny. So then Johnny gets real liquor for an actual big boy toast.
Yeah. What do you think that was it? They don't really show the bottle. But he pours it straight like a scotch. Maybe. Yeah,
but no, and Johnny pretty lowbrow scotch.
plastic container for sure. But this looked like glass. And so
Johnny says drink it. It'll put hair on your balls. And McHale to that says that a good thing? To Cobra Kai, Miguel says. And then Johnny says never accept defeat.
Yeah. And they both have a drink. And Miguel is like, this stuff is strong.
Yeah, it's probably his first drink in his life, probably his first drink. And we slowly pan into the all Valley poster, of which I would mind having one of those. Yes. So that wraps up a fantastic episode of Cobra Kai. And I can't wait to see what happens next.
I can't wait either. And I had to kind of wrestle with Daniels character. Because you know, karate kid. He's the hero, Cobra Kai Daniels, not necessarily the hero. He is a character. And if you're familiar with the Karate Kid, you have to kind of reconcile that you're not necessarily rooting for Daniel exclusively. Now. You're rooting for Cobra Kai as well. So they kind of talked about flip the script. Cobra Kai has flipped the script on the viewers.
So I like these parallels that are happening. And I'm kind of rooting for both sides. Yeah. But I don't know where they're going to intersect and what's going to happen and when I will have to choose a
side. Yeah, especially as Miguel and Samantha get close. You have it because that's an interesting scenario when Daniels daughter is dating Johnny's main student, so very interesting.
Yes, it is. So we hope you enjoyed it as much as we have. Please subscribe to us on Apple, iTunes or anywhere else you get your podcast from or leave us
a review. We'd love to hear back from our listeners. We want to know what's on your mind. What do you think of the show? What do you think of me? What do you think of Jason? Let us know. Yeah. No Mercy.
