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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Jack Seale

Cobra Kai finale review – an emotional farewell to the Karate Kid gang

Johnny Lawrence William Zabka Cobra Kai Daniel LaRusso Ralph Macchio Johnny Lawrence Terry Silver Daniel LaRusso William Zabka Ralph Macchio Los Angeles Netflix
Ralph Macchio (left) as Daniel LaRusso and William Zabka as Johnny Lawrence in Cobra Kai
Strike a pose … Ralph Macchio (left) as Daniel LaRusso and William Zabka as Johnny Lawrence in Cobra Kai. Photograph: Elizabeth Morris/Netflix

Cobra Kai is an underdog story. It has been since 1984, when the movie The Karate Kid introduced Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio), a weedy teenager in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles County, who took up karate to combat bullies and ended up defeating his nemesis Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) in the district under-18 final.

Then the franchise and its actors became the victorious underdogs. Macchio and Zabka had gappy CVs in the three decades after The Karate Kid and its so-so sequels, only to become stars again from nowhere in 2018 with a TV revival. Even that succeeded against the odds, starting as a YouTube original before transferring to Netflix on the back of a growing cult following.

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