Set 30 years after the Karate Kid films, Cobra Kai follows the further adventures of Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) and Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka). The third season of the series dealt with the fallout from the high school rumble at the end of season two. Johnny helped nurse Miguel Diaz (Xolo Maridueña) back to health, but this didn’t sit well with his son Robby Keene (Tanner Buchanan), who was jealous of this outsider getting his father’s attention. Tis drove him further into the hands of John Kreese (Martin Kove) and Cobra Kai. Tensions were still high between Miyagi-Do and Cobra Kai, so Daniel headed back to Okinawa for guidance, where he ran into old friend Kumiko (Tamlyn Tomita) and former enemy Chozen (Yuji Okumoto). Meanwhile, Johnny started his own dojo, Eagle Fang Karate. However, Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang soon realized that the only way for them to bring down Cobra Kai would be to work together.

As the fourth season opens, Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang are trying to work together, but combining the opposing viewpoints of these two dojos is easier said than done. Johnny and Daniel’s training styles are vastly different, and neither sensei has any faith in the other’s methods. While top Miyagi-Do student Samantha (Mary Mouser) and top Eagle Fang student Miguel Diaz (Xolo Maridueña) are determined to make this situation work, Johnny and Daniel are quickly losing hope. The All Valley Under 18 Karate Tournament is quickly approaching, and there is more at stake this year than just the title. Johnny and Daniel made a deal with Kreese that the losing dojo would need to shut down. If Daniel and Johnny can actually work together and win, Cobra Kai would be out of business, so it is more important than ever to make this new partnership work. Meanwhile, Kreese has enlisted the help of an old friend, Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith), the ruthless teacher who nearly had Daniel brainwashed into embracing his anger decades earlier (Karate Kid Part III). Silver knows how to get under Daniel’s skin and turn him back into that scared little boy. He and Kreese also know how to manipulate Johnny to cause a rift in the newly formed dojo alliance. If that wasn’t enough, Robby Keene is teaching Cobra Kai Miyagi-Do’s defensive techniques to use against them. However, Kreese has unknowingly reawakened a cobra inside of Silver, who has no limits and will do anything to get what he wants—and Silver has his own ideas on the direction for Cobra Kai.

Cobra Kai is a thoroughly entertaining and engaging series, finding the perfect blend of drama, humor and nostalgia. The characters, while sometimes humorous, never feel like caricatures, but rather fully-developed, complex and interesting people. The writing on this show is so clever and witty, particularly when it comes to the character of Johnny, who is so ridiculously stupid and naïve at times, but this is what makes him so endearing. Johnny is clueless when it comes to technology, and is heart is always in the right place, even when he fails miserably, such as sincerely serving Carmen and her family a meal from their homeland, consisting of an “authentic” Mexican meal based on a Chili’s recipe and Ralph’s brand salsa, despite them actually being from Ecuador. In this season Johnny and Daniel must finally work together towards a common goal, but they can’t help but revert to childish bickering and fighting when they are around one another. The series does such an excellent job of tying in events and characters from the films, making the series feels like a natural progression of the franchise, and one that had been planned all along. This season brings in characters and events from the third film, with the return of Terry Silver to once again throw Daniel’s world into chaos. There are also some hilarious moments as Johnny and Daniel try to teach each other their fighting styles, another visit from Daniel’s mother (Randee Heller), and a really fun surprise guest at the All Valley tournament.

The fourth season also follows the rest of the family members, such as Amanda LaRusso (Courtney Henggeler) dealing with Tory (Peyton List), the girl who beat up her daughter, and Carmen Diaz (Vanessa Rubio) figuring out her relationship with Johnny. The season also brings some interesting stories and conflicts for the teens in all three dojos, and introduces new student Kenny Payne (Dallas Dupree Young), a formerly sweet, happy teen who turns to Cobra Kai after being bullied by classmate Anthony LaRusso (Griffin Santopietro). Robby mentors Kenny, helping him to embrace the darker side of Cobra Kai a little too well. Can the teens keep from ending up in yet another brawl this season? Who will win the All Velley tournament, and which dojo will be sent packing?

Each episode of the season flows perfectly into the next, making this like one five and a half hour movie, and a perfect weekend binge. No matter how many times I re-watch these seasons, I enjoy them all over again each time.

While Sony’s DVD release looks and sounds quite good, and is certainly better than just “watchable” quality, it’s a shame that this amazing series still hasn’t received at least a Blu-ray release, especially since the show airs in 4K on Netflix. The picture is generally clean, with nice colors, and a decent level of detail. However, it lacks that extra clarity and pop of the show’s original 4K presentation on Netflix. The audio track provides clear dialogue (which primarily comes from the center channel), and makes nice use of the stereo and surround channels to add an immersive feeling to the presentation and enhance the show’s excellent soundtrack.

The fourth season’s ten episodes are evenly split across 2 DVD discs. The bonus material resides on the second disc, and consists of over 15 minutes of deleted/extended scenes, a 6-minute gag reel and a behind-the-scenes featurette. The discs are placed in a clear DVD keepcase, with one disc on a swinging tray in the middle, and the other placed on the right side of the case. The case also includes an insert offering a discount on official Cobra Kai merchandise, and is wrapped by a glossy cardboard slipcover.

What’s Included:

Episodes: (5:41:39)

DVD:
• All 10 episodes of the fourth season
  Disc 1 (2:43:54): “Let’s Begin”, “First Learn Stand”, “Then Learn Fly”, “Bicephaly”, “Match Point”
  Disc 2 (2:57:45): “Kicks Get Chicks”, “Minefields”, “Party Time”, “The Fall”, “The Rise”
• 480i / Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78:1
• Audio: English 5.1 Dolby Digital
• Subtitles: English, English SDH

Extras:

• Deleted & Extended Scenes (15:33)
  Collection of 13 deleted and extended scenes. Play All, or select from:
  • Another All Valley in the Books (1:01)
    The treasurer of the All Valley tournament questions the other organizers about the costs.
  • Evil’s Gonna Win (1:57)
    Daniel trains the Miyagi-Dos for the tournament with the sounds of the crowd in the background.
    
  • I’ve Got This (1:14)
    Amanda talks to Samantha about her scratch wounds and how she doesn’t trust Tory.
  • Is That Who I Think It Is? (:35)
    In the stands of the tournament, Amanda asks Anthony if he ever apologized to Kenny.
  • It Takes a Village (1:58)
    Lucille talks to Amanda and Daniel about how her son got into trouble as a kid.
  • Nachos (:36)
    Carmen and her mother join Anthony and Samantha in the stands.
  • Party Time (1:05)
    Stingray declares it party time, welcoming his Cobra Kai prom guests.
  • Suffer (:38)
    While driving down the highway, Silver fondly recalls his past.
  • To The Way of the Fist (:36)
    Silver and Kreese enjoy a drink.
  • We Need a Diversion (:51)
    Robby and the Cobra Kai’s create a diversion to break into a building.
  • Women Weaken Legs (:45)
    Carmen hits on Johnny outside his apartment.
  • You Did Good Mike (:31)
    Johnny encourages Mitch after he loses his fight.
  • I’m Not That Man Anymore (4:46)
    Kreese tries to convince Silver to join Cobra Kai and help him get his revenge.
    
• Blooper Reel (5:54)
  Laugh with the cast as they flub and forget their lines, laugh, dance, curse, and have fun on set.
• Karate Dad Featurette (6:26)
  Stars Ralph Macchio (“Daniel LaRusso”) and Mary Mouser (“Samantha LaRusso”) talk about some of the more action-packed moments for their characters this season, playing father and daughter, the themes of the show, their favorite scenes from the season, and more. Includes clips and behind-the-scenes footage.

Final Thoughts:

I absolutely love Cobra Kai—it just keeps getting better each season. I enjoyed this fourth season just as much watching it again for the second time around on this DVD release. While I certainly recommend picking this up based on the quality of the show itself, I really wish Sony would release the series on Blu-ray rather than offering it on disc only in SD format. The picture quality is still quite good and didn’t detract from any enjoyment of the series, but the video lacks that extra level of clarity and pop seen with the original 4K release on Netflix. The discs contain nearly 30 minutes of bonus material, including deleted/extended scenes, a fun blooper reel, and a featurette. No digital copy is included. This is an easy recommendation for any fan of the franchise.

Explore all of these titles on Amazon.com

Cobra Kai Season 4 [DVD]

Now retrieving the rating.

41% Off $30.99 $18.23 (as of April 26, 2024 02:51 GMT -04:00 – More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)