Cobra Kai S3 Early Reviews Promise a Fun Season

The world has been waiting for the third season of Cobra Kai ever since the tragic ending of the second season. The fans breathed a sigh of relief when Netflix announced that the premiere of the new season had been preponed and was scheduled to release on January 1st, 2021. The early reviews are out and they suggest that the fans are in for a treat.

At the end of season two, Miguel gets involved in a brawl with Robby. Even though Miguel defeats Robby, he shows him mercy, and Robby takes advantage of it to knock Miguel down. He is left in a coma and the whereabouts of Robby are unknown when the second season gets over.

Cobra Kai S3 Early Reviews
Xolo Maridueña as Miguel, Johnny’s student

In season three, Cobra Kai is diving deep into The Karate Kid lore and bringing back characters and places from the original film series. Here’s what the reviews tease for the fans:

It’s hard to review a full ten episodes of a show without giving much away but in the end, the takeaway is this: After two seasons of great television we expect Cobra Kai to be good. Being “good” isn’t enough. It has to get better and better and season three does that.

Sure, there are a few stumbles this season—such as the adults hogging the spotlight—but the entirety of the story is so enriching and entertaining, it still works toward bettering the whole. It was smart to focus the season in a new way and as a result, by the end, there’s plenty of more story to be told.

Sam Stone, CBR

Cobra Kai is, like, ¼ teen soap opera, ¼ martial arts epic, ¼ totally profound Richard Linklater-ification of a cheesebox ‘80s franchise, and ¼ underdog sports drama. It is also, frequently, a self-aware comedy about its own impossible existence.

That’s a tricky balance, which creators Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg nailed right out the gate. The mix is off here. Maridueña is very charming, and does his best with material that seems to demand a medical miracle. Buchanan is rather blank, a problem now that he has to act angry at everyone all the time. There is swirling melodrama around feuding car dealerships.

Runtimes average three minutes longer than season 1. I assume viewers will consume these episodes in a weekend (if not one night), so the early issues won’t linger long. And there are nifty fights in a chop shop and a laser tag arena.

The Entertainment Weekly
Cobra Kai S3 Early Reviews
Ralph Macchio and William Zabka as the iconic Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence

“[T]he season works overtime to win viewers over with its loose, goofball charms, and when Daniel makes a nostalgic trip to Okinawa halfway through the season, the narrative and humor both start to accelerate in far more enjoyably broad ways.

There are still more than a few moments of badly engineered plotting and situations that leave you dumbfounded none of these kids have called the police; but Cobra Kai isn’t trying to score points for believability. Season three pummels you with enough broad laughs and over-the-top twists to keep you coming back to its televised dojo, no matter how often it backslides into hokum.

As Johnny says, right after delivering an inspiring speech to his students, only to then turn around and slap the books out of the hands of a random nerd passing by: ‘Sorry, kid—old habits.'” 

AV Club

“Heading into Cobra Kai season 3, I worried that the mess made in season 2 was setting us up for a serviceable mop up, and little more. I was especially troubled by the teases for Daniel’s Japan visit, thinking we would be getting more nostalgia sizzle than narrative steak.

But season 3 still has plenty of substance; it got me to care again, about what has happened and what will happen to these people, rather than regret the previous 10 episodes as a tale that didn’t need telling. That’s a hell of a good comeback, but then, we expect no less of The Karate Kid.”

Polygon

If these reviews are any indication, the third season is going to improve from the second season, which was great anyway. January 1st could not come soon enough!

What are you expecting from the new season? Which character do you think will return? Tell us in the comments.

About Cobra Kai

Cobra Kai is an action drama that is a reboot/sequel of The Karate Kid movies. It premiered on YouTube in 2018, and subsequently moved to Netflix. The series stars Ralph Macchio, William Zabka, Xolo Maridueña, Tanner Buchanan, Courtney Henggeler and Mary Mouser.

When Johnny Lawrence opens the Cobra Kai dojo to teach his bullied teenage neighbor, Miguel, how to defend himself, his age-old rivalry with Daniel LaRusso is ignited once more. Will their rivalry continue to affect their present lives and those they love, or will they be able to bury the past?

Epic Dope Staff

Epic Dope Staff

Our talented team of Freelance writers - Always on the lookout - pour their energies into a wide range of topics bringing to our audience what they crave - fun up-to-date news, reviews, fan theories and much much more.

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