At the Cobra Kai dojo, Johnny hears someone comes in. Kreese says that Johnny did what he could always do: win. Now Cobra Kai is back on top. He explains that he's been away a long time and offers Johnny his hand, and Johnny slaps it away. Smiling, Kreese says that he likes Johnny's hot temper and that's why his student is the champion. Johnny throws a punch at him, and Kreese blocks it and knocks Johnny to the ground. Throwing a kick from the floor, Johnny knocks Johnny in the face. They fight and Johnny manages to land a few blows, but Kreese finally takes Johnny down. Kreese's cigarette has landed in a wastebasket and sparks fly.
Kreese says that he just wants to talk, and Johnny reminds him of how he tried to kill him. When Kreese says that he didn't try to kill him, Johnny attacks him and gets him in a choke hold. He remembers when Kreese had him in a chokehold years ago, and releases Kreese. Kreese tells him that showing honor to an old man is stupid and brings Johnny down. The fire sets the sprinkler system off.
The next day, Daniel shows Robby the car Miyagi gave him for his birthday. He and Robby repair the old dojo, and Robby's injured arm finally heals. The dojo is finally ready. Daniel returns home to where Amanda is making dinner, and she says that Sam is still broken up over her breakup with Miguel. Anthony agrees with Danny that Miguel deserved it, and Amanda wonders if Daniel can balance running a dojo with everything else he has going on. Daniel insists that they can't let bullies win, and says that he knows how to beat Cobra Kai.
At his apartment, Johnny soaks his hand in ice. There's a knock at his door, and he finally answers it. It's Carmen, who offers him cake to celebrate his victory. They eat and Johnny says that Miguel is lucky. Carmen says that he was having a tough time when they first moved in, and now there was an arena of people cheering him on. She says that there were moments when she didn't like the look on Miguel's face, but dismisses it as his game face. Johnny assures her that he won't let Miguel go astray. Kreese calls and asks Johnny to meet him at a diner the next morning night to hear him out. Johnny hangs up and tells Carmen that it was a wrong number.
In her room, Sam looks at photos of herself and Miguel together. She blocks Miguel on her phone, and watches a video of Aisha saying that the Cobra celebrated afterward. Disgusted, Miguel hangs up.
At the diner, Miguel, Hawk, Demetri, Moon, and the other kids are celebrating over nachos. Demetri reminds Hawk that they won a coding contest at math camp, and Hawk tells him to cool it with the nerd shit. Miguel is sitting off and discovers that Sam blocked him. Aisha and Hawk come over and Miguel tells them what Sam did. Hawk tells him not to give up and Aisha says that he should give Sam some time.
The next day, Johnny goes to the diner and sits down across from Kreese. Kreese flirts with the waitress, who is less than impressed. Once she leaves, he explains that cold-blooded snakes bury themselves in a hole during the winter, and the snake stays asleep waiting for the right moment to emerge. Kreese says that he went all over the world, reenlisted, and fought in wars off the books. He believes that society has gotten weak and something has to step in and start the ass-kicking. Kreese insists that the world needs Cobra Kai. Johnny says that he doesn't need his help and tells him to stay away from his students. When Johnny says that Kreese ruined his life, Kreese tells him that he had no life before him. Johnny figures that Kreese is trying to dominate him and says that Cobra Kai doesn't need Kreese, and leaves.
Robby goes to the dojo and sees Miyagi's Medal of Honor behind glass. Daniel tells him that the first rule is that Miyagi karate is for defense only, and the second rule is to learn rule one. Robby warns that Johnny won't be happy when he finds out about them.
Hawk and Miguel arrive at Cobra Kai dojo and see some new students out front. Two of them, Chris and Mitch, recognize Hawk and Miguel as the champs and Hawk tells them that they have a long road ahead. They go inside and see the scorch marks from the fire, and Johnny says that the dojo is closed to new students. He tells his current students that his students are pussy and calls Hawk and Miguel up. He confirms that they sneak-attacked their opponents in the tourney and asks if that makes them bad-ass. Johnny then asks Aisha if she wants to be a cobra that killed a stronger animal. She says that she does, and Johnny tells her students that Cobras attack their enemies when they're strongest. He says that they'll no longer cheat or fight dirty because they're pussy moves, says that they're starting over, and tells Miguel and Hawk to do pushups.
Miguel approaches Johnny in his office and asks why he's punishing them for winning the tournament. He reminds Johnny that he taught them to win at all costs, and Johnny says that he might have learned something. Miguel asks why Johnny is taking pity on Robby, and Johnny says that he wasn't taught the difference between mercy and honor. Miguel says that he wants to be better, and Johnny tells him to finish his drills.
Afterward Aisha leaves and finds Sam waiting for her. Sam asks if Aisha wants to hang out, but Aisha says that they're going to Hawk's house to watch a movie Johnny assigned. Miguel and Hawk come out, and Samuel says that she was hoping it would just be the two of them.
Johnny goes to hardware store to get mirror replacements. The clerk, Raymond, shares Johnny's taste for the 80s, but Johnny doesn't want to hear it. He sees Daniel and Robby buying bolts for shelving. Raymond comes over and hails Johnny, and Daniel and Robby see him. The clerk recognizes Daniel from his car ads and assumes that Robby is Daniel's son. Johnny tells him to load the glass, and says that he's working on a little project. Daniel tells him that they're doing the same and goes to the counter to pay. Johnny asks how Robby's shoulder is, and tells Robby that he's been trying to change. He doesn't want there to be bad blood against him, and insists that he didn't tell Miguel to fight dirty against him. Robby isn't impressed and says that Daniel is a better man than Johnny will ever be before walking out.
Outside, Robby approaches Daniel and says that Johnny cares more about his rivalry than he does about him.
Sam practices her karate in the studio at home and Daniel comes in and congratulates her. She doesn't want to talk about Miguel, and Daniel about his first girlfriend. He met a new girl, Ally, when he and his mother moved to California. Daniel says that eventually they meet someone knew. Sam points out that not everyone has a crazy karate cult, and Daniel tells her that's why he's started Miyagi-Do to take down Cobra Kai. His daughter says that they're her friends, not her enemies, and she doesn't want to fight them.
Johnny is putting in the new mirror in his dojo and remembers Kreese lecturing him.
When Kreese sees the young Johnny crying because of his stepfather, he says that he doesn't teach losers. The young Johnny insists that he's a winner.
That night, Robby puts up the sign for Miyagi-Do Karate. He sees Daniel performing a kata and joins him, and Daniel explains that it's a form of meditation that Miyagi taught him to regain focus. He says that they won't destroy Cobra Kai because there are no enemies. Johnny and his students have been taught the wrong way, and the way of Miyagi-Do is to show them and everyone in the valley a different way. Sam arrives and asks if Daniel can train her, and he agrees. They hug and Daniel says that he has a good feeling about the dojo.
Kreese enters Cobra Kai and tells Johnny that he wants to say one thing before he leaves. He apologizes for being too hard on Johnny when he was young, and admits that he went overboard. Kreese says that Johnny had so much potential and he couldn't stand seeing him lose. When he heard that Johnny brought back Cobra Kai, Kreese hoped that he could redeem himself because he needs another choice. He tells Johnny that he was the guy who always rooted for him, and gives him the trophy he won in 1984 and that Kreese broke. Kreese has fixed it and sets it on the floor, and tells Johnny that he was always the better fighter. As Kreese goes to hi car, Johnny comes out and tells him to hold up.
Written by Gadfly on Apr 27, 2019