- [Narrator] Cobra Kai takes the world of Karate Kid
and puts a whole new spin on it.
But it doesn't forget where it came from.
Here are Easter eggs and callbacks in Cobra Kai,
seasons one and two.
Hope you brought a big basket,
because there are a lot of them.
In the first episode, we see footage from Karate Kid
where Daniel and Johnny face off.
They even added some never before seen shots
almost as if to say you're getting another
side of the story.
Johnny drives a red Firebird,
which looks very similar to the car he drove
in the original Karate Kid.
At the dealership, Daniel had his cousin Louie
working with him.
- Louie, get over here, I want you to meet somebody.
This is most likely the son of Daniel's Uncle Louie,
that we got a glimpse of in part three.
- Really about dating--
- Louie LaRusso.
- Johnny visits the All Valley Sports Arena.
This is where the aforementioned tournament
between Daniel and him took place.
Johnny writes "No mercy" on the wall of his new dojo,
a diehard mantra at Cobra Kai.
- No mercy.
- [Narrator] The first episode is called Ace Degenerate,
which is a callback to something
Johnny claimed not to be in Karate Kid.
- Silly ace degenerate.
- No, ex-degenerate, man.
- [Narrator] Johnny makes Miguel do pushups on his knuckles,
which is something Kreese makes
his students do in the original.
- Give me 60 pushups on your knuckles.
- [Narrator] Johnny makes Miguel clean his dojo
similar to the way Mr. Miyagi would make Daniel
fix up his house in Karate Kid.
- Make sure you get both sides.
- [Narrator] Miguel later asks if there's a particular
method to washing the windows, kind of like
the 'wax on, wax off' routine.
- Wax on, wax off.
- [Narrator] But Johnny does things a little differently.
- Hey sensei, is there any particular way
you want me to wash his windows?
- No, I don't give a shit.
- [Narrator] Daniel mentions
that he got a knife from Okinawa.
He probably picked up the souvenir
during the events of part two.
Hopefully, it's not this one.
- But whatever happened, I apologize.
- [Narrator] Daniel asks about Kyler's black eye.
- So tell me about that shiner you got there.
- [Narrator] Similar to how Miyagi inquired about Daniels,
in Karate Kid.
- What happened eye?
- [Narrator] He even addresses his hand.
- Okay, how hurt hand?
- Is that how you hurt your hand, too?
- [Narrator] Miguel kicks boards inside a metal frame.
This is a callback to part three,
when Daniel was training with the Kreese associate
that we'd love to hate, Terry Silver.
- Now, what are you gonna do about it?
- [Narrator] When Miguel needs a costume for a party,
Johnny suggests a bonafide favorite.
- Well, I can't let you go out like that.
- [Narrator] The skeleton costume from Karate Kid.
Daniel tells his daughter, "My mom drove me on dates, okay.
- [Narrator] This is a reference to the original film
and his first date with Ali.
At the high school, Johnny sees a trophy case
with Ali's photo inside.
In the first movie, they were once an item.
Key word, once.
- Can we please finish the dance?
- [Narrator] The title of episode four
is Cobra Kai Never Dies, which was a phrase
used throughout part three.
- Cobra Kai...
- Never dies.
- You bet your ass.
- [Narrator] Johnny says...
- This isn't a knitting class, this is a dojo.
- [Narrator] Kreese says something similar
the first time he met Miyagi and Daniel in Karate Kid.
- This is a karate dojo, not a knitting class.
- [Narrator] Daniel hangs up one of Miyagi's
two rules of karate, which we saw in part two.
- Karate for defense only.
- [Narrator] However, the other one is more useful.
- Rule number two, first learn rule number one.
- [Narrator] The (indistinct) he performs
is the very same one he learned in Karate Kid three.
It's just like riding a bike.
- Stupid bike.
- [Narrator] When young Johnny looks into Kreeses studio,
the audio used is taken directly from Karate Kid.
They even use the original Cobra Kai sign.
Mirroring the scenes of Kreese with his students
from Karate Kid one, Johnny asks his students...
- Fear does not exist in this dojo, does it?
- [Group] No, sensei.
- Pain does not exist in this dojo, does it?
- [Group] No, sensei.
- Defeat does not exist in this dojo, does it?
- [Group] No, sensei.
- (indistinct)
- [Narrator] Like Daniel did in Karate Kid,
Robbie does the 'wax on, wax off' routine at the dealership.
Robbie even gets frustrated and says, it's--
- Bullshit.
- No I'm going home, man.
- [Narrator] But you just can't argue with the results.
- The All Valley Under 18 advertisement
is similar to the poster in Kreese's dojo
except a different color and date.
Robbie is trimming a bonsai tree,
just like the one Daniel used to trim with Mr. Miyagi.
Amanda even tells Daniel--
- "Just don't to try to lure him into
opening his own bonsai tree store".
- [Narrator] This is a reference to the store
Daniel and Miyagi tried to open in Karate Kid three.
And yes, it ran into some troubles.
- Make a wish.
(branch breaks) - No!
- [Narrator] The date that Miguel and Sam go on
is filmed almost exactly the same
as Daniel and Ali's date in Karate Kid.
Randy Heller reprises her role as Daniel's mom, Lucille.
She even refers to Daniel's eyes as baby browns,
as she did in the first film.
- I want to see your baby browns.
- [Narrator] Daniel wears baseball gear
when teaching Robbie how to punch.
Miyagi did this with Daniel in the original film.
The catcher's mask really suggests a lot of trust.
(yelling)
Daniel trains Robbie to balance on a tree,
similar to the way Daniel would practice
on the stump in Karate Kid.
Daniel tells Johnny to choose a car from his dealership lot.
Similar to the way Miyagi once let Daniel
have one of his cars in Karate Kid.
At the tournament, Johnny has Miguel
do a crane kick to mock Daniel.
This was the same move that Daniel used
to defeat Johnny in Karate Kid.
Johnny makes a menacing fist at one of his students.
The same way Kreese did with Bobby in Karate Kid.
As people advance throughout the tournament,
the onscreen bracket bears a striking resemblance
to the one seen in Karate Kid.
Hawk does an illegal move and gets disqualified
just like Bobby did in Karate Kid.
♪ History repeats itself ♪
- [Narrator] Indeed it does.
After Robbie is injured, Daniel puts his hands together
and starts rubbing them.
This is a callback to Miyagi fixing Daniel's
arm and leg in Karate Kid.
Of course, Daniel does things a little differently.
- Medic!
- [Narrator] Daniel tells Robbie--
- You don't need to fight.
- [Narrator] This mirrors a conversation between Miyagi
and Daniel in Karate Kid.
- No need fight anymore.
- [Narrator] Announcer says--
- Daniel LaRusso's gonna coach?
- [Narrator] This is yet another callback
to the original, When the announcer says--
- Daniel LaRusso's gonna fight?
- [Narrator] When Daniel takes Robbie to Miyagi's house,
we can see a yellow car under a tarp.
This is the exact same car that Daniel
is given in the original.
Season two begins right where the first left off.
The night after the All Valley tournament.
This is much like how part two begins.
Johnny refuses to shake Kreese's hand,
Kreese responding with--
- I like that. I like that.
- [Narrator] He says the same thing to Miyagi in Karate Kid.
- But I like that. I like that.
- [Narrator] When Johnny and Kreese fight,
and Kreese throws John into the mirror,
the same thing happens when Terry, Mike and Kreese
fight Mr. Miyagi in part three.
(mirror crashing)
Strange how these characters seem to have years of bad luck.
We see Mr. Miyagi's medal of honor in a display.
Daniel put it in a frame for him as a gift in part two.
When fixing up the dojo, it closely resembles Daniel's
initial training in Karate Kid.
While this is going on, Daniel flips his paint brush
just like he did in the first film.
He even does the single strike nailing technique
that Miyagi taught him in part two.
(hammer pounds)
Daniel talks to Sam about his past relationships.
While doing so, he references Judy--
- Bye Judy.
- [Narrator] And Ali, from Karate Kid One,
Kumiko from part two, and most likely
Jessica from part three, but--
- That's a story for another time.
- [Narrator] Kreese brings Johnny a second place trophy,
which may or may not be the same one he broke in part two.
Robbie picks up a toy drum.
This is the one Daniel had in part two.
You know the one that's--
- This is the secret of your families karate?
- Hai.
- [Narrator] Daniel had his original gi on display
in his new dojo, as well as his All Valley trophy.
In Karate Kid, he got the gi on his birthday
and the trophy after defeating Johnny.
- People are going to be talking about
that last kick for years.
- [Narrator] In the corner, you can see an upside down
boat, kind of like the one Miyagi used
to teach Daniel how to balance in the first film.
When Kreese says--
- This man is gonna make Cobra Kai
bigger and better than ever.
- [Narrator] This is a line Terry Silver
once said in part three.
- You are back my man, bigger and better than ever.
- [Narrator] When Johnny watches video clips online,
we can see that they were posted
by someone named KarateKid18.
When filming his commercial, Johnny kicks a bonsai tree,
AKA, the competition.
As previously mentioned, this is something Daniel
is pretty passionate about.
When Johnny describes the logo he wants for his commercial--
- Make it chrome.
- [Narrator] It sounds a lot like the chrome snake seen
at the end of every episode of Cobra Kai.
The ice blocks that Daniel brings out in the Valley Fest
demonstration are just like the ones he smashed in part two.
(ice crashing)
The title of this episode, The Moment of Truth,
is The Karate Kid's theme song,
which is heard during the credits.
When Daniel gets in the yellow Ford and leans back,
it's the exact same way he did it when
Mr. Miyagi first gave it to him in Karate Kid.
We also met a new character who says her name is--
- Tory, with a Y. (groaning)
- [Narrator] This is pretty similar to how Ali introduced
herself in Karate Kid.
- Ali, with an I.
- [Narrator] That was an Easter egg, with a G.
When Daniel says--
- Back in our day, our moms knew there was a problem
when we came home with a black eye.
- [Narrator] He's directly referring to Karate Kid
when his mom saw the shiner he got
from fighting with Johnny at the beach.
Daniel tells a parent--
- Funny you should ask...
- [Narrator] This is something Mr. Miyagi once said
to him in the original, when Daniel asked about his sanders.
- Funny you should ask.
- [Narrator] At a party, Tory pushes Sam
into a buffet table.
The aftermath looks a lot like Daniel did
when he got covered in spaghetti sauce in Karate Kid.
When Daniel rescues Robbie from getting beat up
at the beach, it's very similar to the way Mr. Miyagi
rescued him from the costumed bullies in the first film.
Johnny asks Kreese if the trip to Tahiti was even real.
This is a reference to a trip
Terry Silver sent Kreese on in part three.
We're pretty sure that he was telling the truth.
- What about those two jerks?
- [Narrator] "No Shelter" plays as Dimitri
runs away from Hawk in the mall.
This is the same song that played when Daniel ran away
from Johnny at the Halloween dance.
Hawk tells Dimitri--
- You're dead meat.
- [Narrator] In the original,
Daniel was also referred to as--
- Dead meat.
- [Narrator] Just before Sam and Robbie show up
to help Dimitri, we hear the song, "Miyagi Rattles Bones",
which is part of the original score from Karate Kid.
The title, "Take a Right," refers to something
Tommy once said to Johnny in the first film,
when pointing out Ali talking to Daniel.
- Take a right, check it out.
- [Narrator] Chris tells Dimitri that--
- Jimmy can't just drop a challenge and leave.
- [Narrator] This mirror's Kreese, who once told Mr. Miyagi,
- You don't come in my dojo
and drop a challenge and leave old man.
- [Narrator] All played by the original actors,
Johnny reunites with his Cobra Kai buddies
from the original Karate Kid, including Bobby,
Tommy, and Jimmy, all with a Y, by the way.
The song, "The Ride" plays as Johnny
and his old Cobra Kai friends ride on motorcycles.
The same song plays in Karate Kid
when the guys pull up to the beach on their dirt bikes.
Here's one for the pros.
When Daniel trains the kids at the meat locker,
you might notice a few Fernandez Meats labels.
At the beginning of Karate Kid,
Daniel meets a kid named--
- Freddie Fernandez.
- [Narrator] Freddie even gave him his titular nickname.
- Hey, Karate Kid.
- [Narrator] Kreese tells Miguel--
- Finish him.
- [Narrator] Calm down, Mortal Kombat fans.
It's from the original, when Kreese told Johnny--
- Finish Him!
- [Narrator] Lucille got Daniel Minute Maid,
just like in Karate Kid.
- Are you on something?
- Yeah, I'm on Minute Maid.
- [Narrator] Drink responsibly.
At an eighties party, Miguel wears Johnny's
red leather jacket that he wore in Karate Kid.
While Daniel looks in a scrapbook,
we can see a plane ticket to Okinawa for seat 32A.
This must have been from his trip in part two.
- You will be in seat 32B.
- [Narrator] When Daniel and Amanda romantically
connect in the back of a car,
"You're the Inspiration" by Chicago plays.
Front man Peter Satara's "Glory of Love"
is played during Daniel's romance with Kumiko.
It also happens to be the title of episode eight.
You can be a huge fan and still not get this next one.
While inebriated, Daniel and Johnny
talk about a blueberry pie incident.
They're referring to an unreleased scene from Karate Kid.
When Daniel picks himself up off the floor
after Johnny kicks him into the TV,
this is the exact same angle when Daniel
got kicked at the beach during Karate Kid.
Robbie has a book about Okinawa on his bed.
Daniel also had a book about Okinawa during part two.
When Kreese tells his class--
- We have a visitor.
- [Narrator] This is just like in Karate Kid,
when Kreese says--
- Class, we have visitors.
- [Narrator] Finally, the song, "Cruel Summer"
is heard twice during season two, when Daniel
bikes to school in Karate Kid,
the Banana Rama version plays.
Are there any Easter eggs we missed?
What's your favorite Cobra callback or Easter egg?
Let us know in the comments and remember,
- Cobra Kai.
- Never dies.