Link: https://old.reddit.com/r/television/comments/1tud3j8/i_think_cobra_kai_is_a_rare_example_of_a_show/

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The original was posted on /r/television by /u/ditzythedame on 2026-06-02 02:01:23+00:00.

Cobra Kai starts as a kind of grounded dramedy about a guy who wants to restart his childhood Karate school. It's an earnest love letter to the Karate Kid movies, but in the first season you're also watching scenes of a guy trying to file his permits properly. It's fundamentally about a few relationships, and a few key themes-nostalgia, fatherhood, the merits of living aggressively.

At some point, however, I think what must have happened is that they realized they have a cast chock full of talented martial artists, and choreographers and directors and stuntpeople who LOVE martial arts choreography, and in season 2 the show is suddenly about the San Fernando Valley becoming Karateland overnight, and there are suddenly roving bands of rival Karate Gangs getting into large-scale brawls in the middle of school. The police can apparently do nothing. At one point the entire Cobra Kai school attacks the LaRusso residence and the only way to stop them is to kick their asses.

And it's fantastic, and one of my favorite shows I've seen in the last five years. Are there other shows that successfully "escalate" like this?