Oh boy. It is ROUGH being a Robby fan. There are many things that hurt which I will be discussing. But the icing on the cake is that the writers can’t even be bothered to be creative when it comes to concluding Robby’s arc. They have that little care for the character. In part 2 they have him getting distracted multiple times after gaining the upper hand. An old character beat from S4 that they overused this season. In part 3 Robby loses out on a tournament due to an injury YET AGAIN. Just like in S1. The writers literally just recycled material and expected Robby fans to be satisfied with the conclusion.
I truly wish the happiest of lives to Tanner Buchanan and Mary Mouser after not only getting screwed over by the writers but also after all of the nasty shit they've had said about them by the so called fans of their own show
Something that will never cease to amaze me is how Miguel’s antics towards Robby in the S1 All-Valley are completely swept under the rug. Look, I liked Miguel motivating Robby in part 3. The one thing that ruined it for me was when Miguel asked “what about our first all-valley when I beat you, how come you didn’t give up then ?”. What ? You mean the first all-valley when you struggled against an injured opponent ? When you yanked on the injury in between rounds before the final most crucial point ? That all-valley ?
Then the same thing happens in the sekai-taikai final. I did enjoy seeing Miguel drawing on all of his past fights and experiences to beat Axel. But the flashback they chose for Miguel fighting Robby was…. one where Miguel exploits Robby’s injury ? This is supposed to be valuable and inspiring experience to draw on ? Of ALL the fights Miguel and Robby have had. Of ALL the hits they’ve landed on each other. THAT was the one the writers chose ? THAT was the one used to try and portray Miguel’s growth as a fighter throughout the seasons ? A clip of him fighting dirty ? They had SO MANY MORE great moments in Miguel and Robby’s fights to choose from. I just don’t get it. It was a very odd choice.
I have so many emotions about the finale, but all I can put into words right now is that my heart is truly broken for these two. Sam and Robby deserved SO MUCH BETTER. I just hope that Mary and Tanner walked away from this shit show knowing they are loved by millions and that their performances touched so many people despite the little/no respect their characters were given. I wish them nothing but the best in their future careers, a long happy marriage, and a life together full of peace, love, and success.
Robby Keene, Samantha LaRusso, you will always be champions in my heart. It’s been a pleasure 🤍
Cobra Kai has never been a story about underdogs, just bullies being glorified.
- @gaffney
↪️ That was the same impression I had with this ending of Cobra Kai.
Unfairly, Robby and Sam, the legacy characters who fought the most against bullies, ended the series without becoming karate champions because the script always invented a reason to take the title away from them: loss of focus, injuries, fraud and withdraw from the tournament. 😮💨
Throughout this show, Robby has consistently been narratively punished every time he tries to break free and forge his own path. He meets Daniel and finds balance and stability and family, but is kicked out when he doesn’t conform to Daniel’s exact standards and expectations. He joins Cobra Kai and is shunned by Johnny. He quits Cobra Kai and is welcome back by Johnny and Daniel, but only after he apologizes to them and conforms once more to what they want him to be. He becomes captain in a fair and square fight, but underperforms and is belittled and isolated by his teammates. He gets drunk and is sexually assaulted. He comes so close to becoming a world champion, but has his knee shattered and it all ripped away from him. He gets a sponsorship, but not for being good at karate—for kissing Tory on live television. He has a successful future ahead of him so long as he plays the role of dutiful wife boyfriend. And this is supposed to be the happy ending. This is supposed to be victorious. Robby, never allowed anything for himself. Robby, always having to conform to what others want him to he. Now forced to play a role for the entire world, forever. Happy fucking ending indeed.
Miguel didn't deserve that win at all. He took the spot of a dead guy. WTF! I'm gutted for Robby. What are your thoughts?
do i think miguel deserved to win? yes.
do i think the way the story handed him that win was justified? hell no.
his entire arc in part one and two was about realizing, like robby told him, that not everything is about him. he had to learn that his worth wasn’t tied to being the best, that he didn’t always have to come in first to be valued, loved, or important. and when he finally understood that, he chose to stand by robby, putting his support behind someone else.
and how do they reward him? by making him first place again, completely undermining the lesson he just learned. and how does he even get the chance to win? by abandoning miyagi-do and switching to cobra kai, where he got a free pass to the finals without scoring a single point for them beforehand, thanks to their captain being conveniently killed off. by them forcing axel to cheat and take robby out of the competition just to remove any real obstacles. and then, as if that wasn’t enough, they chose to reframe his cheap shot on robby’s injured shoulder from season one as a brilliant strategic move to help him take down axel.
miguel deserved to win because he put in the work and proved himself. but instead of letting him earn it, they bent over backward to hand him it by tilting the scales, clearing every obstacle by either killing someone off or injuring them, exploiting loopholes, and romanticizing his past mistakes. that’s not the win miguel deserved, and it sure as hell isn’t the one he needed.
Everyone wants to be first in every aspect of their life. Every person also needs to know that they are valuable and feel that they are a priority for someone. This is the same for work, school life and human relations. People are happy to feel valued and loved by someone.Then there are those who are always put in the background. For example, they are not anyone's priority. No one appreciates them for their efforts. Robby is one of the characters that is always put in the background in Cobra Kai series. In fact, it would not be an exaggeration to say that he is the character who experiences this in the worst way.
Let's talk about his family first, for example. Her mother was one of those alcoholics who prioritized herself at the beginning of the series.She could easily leave Robby at home and go out of the country. While Robby wanted to spend time with his mother, Shannon preferred to go out with men.
His father,Johnny, was absent from Robby's life for 16 years due to his own traumas. When Robby met again with Johnny, a strange boy had already taken his place.Johnny said he was trying to change, but in five seasons he never put Robby first. He never thought of his son first. His dojo, his girlfriend , his girlfriend’s son,his rival, his students, and his own problems were always more important than Robby. Every child is unique for his parents, but even though Robby was only child , he could not manage to be unique and take the first place in his parents' eyes.
The situation was no different in his social life. His first friends we saw were with him for their own benefit. Afterwards, he became friends and even lovers with Sam. They were good with Demetri in the beginning, but the situation changed later. For Sam, Miguel was the priority. Demetri ignored him as if he had never had a good time with him.
Daniel was his sensei, one of the first people to care him and teach him good things. They had a great time together. He taught Robby many good things about life as well as karate. He played a big role in his change. But even such a person's first priority was not Robby. Daniel kicked Robby out twice. He was a good person but he was not the person who always there for him. When Robby went to Kreese instead of Johnny and Daniel, Kreese used him for his own purposes. I think Robby already knew this and went to Cobra Kai.
The second place followed him throughout his career. He competed in two championships but finished second in both.
In the 6th season, we see that the "second place" has become a trauma for Robby after everything that has happened to him which is a normal situation. In order to overcome this, he tried to hold on to someone who loved and valued him. He did it the first time.
Now that he has been betrayed by her too, I wonder how he'll get over this trauma and find balance. I hope everyone who has never cared about him until now will help him get over this trauma and put him first in their lives for the first time.
Yesterday, I made a post about the Cobra Kai subreddit mod controlling the conversation about the SA. They were gaslighting in their comments about why they were stopping fans from claiming that Zara SA'd Robby.
I took down the post this morning after seeing Hayden's tweet:
I and many others have tweeted at Hayden expressing our utter disgust at his claim. He not only denies that this was assault. He gives his narrow classification of what assault is.
Thinking back on my post from yesterday. I stand by every word about that mod. He was trying to control this conversation. He, like Hayden, is an enabler of assault.
Zara SA'd Robby.
This is a fact that so many of us are pointing out to Hayden. He is honestly a disgusting person for saying what he said.
Robby was clearly portrayed as not being able to give consent. It doesn't matter that he blamed himself afterwards, as in that doesn't absolve Zara and make him at fault.
A fan on ig made a story and @ the writers.
Jon viewed their post and had a dm with them:
Although Jon is admitting that he agrees with her definition of consent, which implies that he is agreeing that Robby didn't give his consent, this is a meager step in fixing the damage and hurt that they have caused. It was a private dm that she had made into a story; not a public statement made by any of them about this.
Not only was assault blatantly portrayed. Robby was blamed for it, and it was framed as cheating. Now, Hayden has essentially denied that consent is needed and that this would be assault only if Zara had done one of 3 specific things. Fuck him!
Their entire narrative is framed in such a fucked up way, and now this!
This is a mess. They don't plan to address the assault and claimed it wasn't one. Now, they have to backtrack...
But they still won't fix it in canon. They won't make changes to Part 3 to fix this. It's highly unlikely. The person on ig even said that she is an SA victim who is still seeking justice and is now so upset not only because of Hayden's comments but also because Part 3 won't give Robby justice and Zara will get away with it.
For so long, I've been calling out all the neglect and abuse Robby is subjected to. "See something, say something." I don't care what the writers intended. Like in this SA situation, I hold them accountable for what they portray. It's their responsibility to understand the shit they put out into the world.
As much as I hate all this, this is finally something that those fucked-up writers have to answer for. Fans are pissed off and skewering them for this.
I'm curious what they'll do next. Can they really pretend that this didn't happen? That they can market Part 3 without properly addressing this situation? Or that Part 3 won't be scrutinized for not addressing the assault and maintaining the claim that he is at fault and cheated although he was clearly assaulted?
Hayden's comments make it impossible for them not to address the assault in canon, but they're already done with post-production of Part 3.
This is a shitstorm for them, and frankly, it's about time they be held to the fire about something.
Well it’s been a MINUTE but I am back after the release of S6 part 2. AND BOY do I have some thoughts which I will be discussing more and more over time. So here are some of my problems with the latest part, some of which centre around Robby as well as some that don’t. Also *DISCUSSION OF POTENTIAL SPOILERS AND LEAKS FOR PART 3 AHEAD*
- A major issue for me was Robby getting straight up SA’d which was completely glossed over and honestly I’m appalled. It’s not confirmed that Robby and Zara slept together but the implication is there. Robby was blackout drunk and therefore could not give consent and Zara took advantage of him. This isn’t the first instance of SA that has occurred on this show and the throw away nature with which this issue is treated is an irresponsible failure on the writers’ part.
- The writers didn’t truly give Robby his moment to shine. If part 3 is going to be Miguel’s and he’s going to win the Sekai Taikai which is looking pretty inevitable at this point due to some of the supposed leaks, part 2 should have been definitively Robby’s. But no. Naturally when something good happens in Robby’s life like him winning the ST captaincy fight, it is short lived and often snatched away from him just as quickly. I didn’t necessarily mind Robby struggling at first due to Tory switching sides. However the writers pushed it to the point of complete overkill. They kept lazily repeating the same old character beat that we saw in season 4- Robby gaining the upper hand before getting distracted and losing. That got old and boring real fast. Add to that Robby’s moment once again being overshadowed by Miguel performing well. They gave Robby ONE good fight in part 2 and even that went on to be immediately overshadowed and borderline discredited by his match with Axel. Long story short, I could nearly make my peace with Miguel winning in part 3 if the whole reason they’re competing in the finals in the first place is Robby. But if anything, Miguel shone more than Robby in part 2 and this will likely continue in part 3.
- Kwon’s death was no more than pure shock value and lazy writing. You could argue that Kwon’s death is a pivotal moment and a wake up call for the likes of Kreese and silver. Look at what happens when you take rivalries too far and corrupt teenagers. That is no doubt what the writers will frame it as. I just think it was too much and for what? The real reason the killed Kwon off is because of his rivalry with Robby. Part 2 was very obviously setting up Miguel and Axel’s rivalry which will be a big focus in part 3. Meanwhile Robby and Kwon’s rivalry was actually being fleshed out very nicely in part 2. Then, just as that rivalry was starting to really heat up and get really intriguing- they killed off Kwon. It’s fairly obvious that this is so they can give full attention to Miguel and Axel’s rivalry in part 3 without having to worry about further fleshing out Robby and Kwon’s rivalry. That would just be too much for them. In addition, Kwon’s death will facilitate Miguel’s ascension to captain. Johnny will retake Cobra Kai with Miguel as captain now that Kwon and the Korean Cobra Kai are out of the way. Johnny will do this with support of Kreese given that Johnny jumped in to save him and given that Kreese will have a change of heart due to Kwon’s death. Kwon’s death is a lazy end to his rivalry with Robby and a means of yet again facilitating Miguel at Robby’s expense.
- I actually quite like the idea of Miguel and Axel’s rivalry. I was excited to see that Miguel and Robby would be given new rivals (RIP to Robby’s though oh well). I just think that the way this rivalry came about was so forced and yet again lazy writing. Surely they can think of some way to give Miguel a rivalry without it always being over Sam? Why not just have him and Axel kind of single each other out and see each other as their main competition. I just wasn’t buying Axel having such an extreme vendetta against Miguel for…….. already dating Sam? A girl Axel has spoken to once and barely knows and now he’s acting like he’s borderline in love with her after one encounter. And I get it, Axel is being abused by his sensei and probably isn’t too used to positive attention but even so, again he hardly knows Sam. It’s just such an extreme reaction and in my opinion not really that believable.
Well, gotta say, I'm perplexed by s6 part 2. It seems like the writers are still just building out the story---or moreso, dragging it out---until the resolutions. Part 2 has left me with the curiosity of how Johnny and Robby's story will be resolved.
Since watching s1 and until watching s5, I'd wanted to see Johnny and Robby build a relationship onscreen. I know that's not going to happen now. There's just no screentime for it, if it were to happen. And, frankly, it's not something I care to see anymore because Johnny just doesn't deserve to keep Robby in his life anymore, especially since s5e1. I'm a huge believer in people (especially parents) treating other people (especially their own kids) right and showing them that they have value as a person. But, Johnny has never truly or openly shown Robby that he has value---though we're still being given hints that Johnny does love Robby. s5 escalated the abandonment and neglect to outright abuse (emotional, psychological, and physical), and I'm just not here for that and find Johnny irredeemable since s5 (whereas before I was open to his redemption).
I was also really sure that Johnny and Robby only would be endgame. In a way, this is still possible, though it would be dissatisfying regardless of how they do it now. (I'll touch on this later in the post.) After watching part 2, though, I'm really wondering if Johnny and Robby were ever meant to be an endgame at all.
Johnny and Miguel's conversations on the plane (s6e8)
I think it's interesting that this episode is called "Snakes on a plane". Only two of the characters were shown on a plane: Johnny and Miguel. So maybe this is an acknowledgement that they are still Cobras. Which, let's face it, they are. Joining Migagi-Do simply doesn't erase all the things they haven't taken accountability for or the fact that these two are still their version of Cobra Kai. I've also said before that Johnny's relationship with Miguel is part of Kreese's Cobra Kai legacy.
Their two conversations are quite interesting. The first is Miguel throwing Johnny's confession to Miguel in their s2e3 conversation back in Johnny's face. This is not surprising behavior from Miguel. Moreover, this situation has a similar context to that s2e3 scene: Miguel performed well in a tournament but Johnny was distracted or not happy because of Robby.
Miguel: "You were disregarding me all tournament. And you're making things worse right now. You'll probably make things worse at the hospital too. Like drinking in the parking lot when Robby was born. No wonder Robby's so messed up."
Johnny: "Hey, man, that's a low blow. Don't bring Robby into this. I know you're upset you didn't get captain, but he won that fair and square. It's not my fault you choked."
The flight attendant then came and asked Miguel if Johnny was bothering him (cause Johnny almost got into it with a first class "Johnny"-like passenger earlier) and if Miguel would like to change seats. Miguel said yes.
This really was a low blow. Johnny also hadn't done anything wrong to Miguel. Miguel is just controlling and entitled over Johnny's attention: how dare Johnny not pay attention to him only, despite how poorly the team was performing overall. I'm going to say it cause it is what it is. This is abusive to Johnny. Miguel brings up Johnny's failures with Robby and then insults Robby, calling him messed up because of those failures. Miguel wasn't just attacking Johnny. Miguel was also attacking Robby to attack Johnny. Using Johnny's weakness (Robby) and secrets against him and then cold shouldering him like that because Miguel's pissed at him for not running after him is a manipulation / abuse tactic. Codependent relationships are dysfunctional. Miguel can abuse Johnny as much as he wants, and Johnny will do what be can to appease Miguel, after Johnny's instinctual reactions.
This led into their next conversation:
Johnny: "I'm sorry I wasn't there for you more in Barcelona, all right. I saw you killing it out there, I didn't think you needed my support as much as Robby. He doesn't have what you have. He's not going to college next year. Sekai Taikai is the biggest thing he's got going for him. But I see how that made you feel. You're my son too. As for your mom, I'm really scared. I love her so much. I've tried my best to get myself together, be a good guy. Things like this happen, and it feels like I could lose everything all over again. The truth is, I don't know if she's gonna be okay. But, I can't think of the alternative. Alright?"
The fact that Miguel knows that Johnny abandoned Robby, has used that against Robby (school fight), and even used that against Johnny just earlier on the plane, but Miguel still wants to make sure that he is given what Robby has never gotten properly from Johnny is so entitled of Miguel and so on par for him. Miguel knows that Robby still doesn't get this from Johnny. I mean, Miguel is literally upset that he himself is not the center of Johnny's universe.
Miguel is not entitled to Johnny as a father, especially not over Robby,---no matter what!
This is like on prom night. Johnny expressed wanting to be a father to Robby. Johnny was literally piss drunk, and Miguel had scraped him off the floor. Look at the state of Johnny... and Miguel broke down and held this moment against Johnny? Seriously? Miguel trusted Johnny again, only after the apartment fight because Johnny let Miguel beat up Robby. Miguel hadn't even trusted Johnny after he had come down to Mexico to rescue Miguel. Miguel told Hawk and Demetri, after they got back from Mexico, that he's not going to let Robby being with Johnny get to him. Well... here we are again. Miguel is being his typical narcissistic asshole self to both Robby and Johnny because of Miguel's insecurity and entitlement wrt Robby being Johnny's son.
Johnny and Miguel's exchanges on the plane are a pattern that show how Johnny stays trapped in this relationship with Miguel at Robby's expense.
To me, the fact that these scenes fit so well with these other Johnny and Miguel scenes is incredibly interesting. Cause to me the question is why?
Why keep including these scenes if everything is "resolved" for the Johnny-Robby-Miguel situation, as many fans claim everything is?
Johnny and Miguel's conversations about their relationship status as "Father/Son" or "Student/Sensei" always revolve around Johnny's relationship with Robby, since Miguel found out that Johnny is Robby's father in s2e2/3. Even in s4e7, Miguel himself brought up Johnny's relationship with Robby when Johnny talked about not knowing how to be a father. In these conversations, including the s6e8 one, Johnny consoled Miguel, and himself, that Johnny will do better with Miguel, with it implied that Johnny will not do better with Robby.
Even now, Miguel is still stewing inside that Robby is Johnny's "real" son, and Miguel continues to take this out on both Johnny and Robby whenever Miguel feels insecure about it.
Part 2 has me still saying what I've been saying all along:
Why do the writers keep including scenes like this if this "family" is meant to last or if Johnny is already redeemed for failing Robby... while never actually giving us meaningful conversations between Johnny and Robby that explore their issues without Johnny being an emotionally immature asshole about it all?
Their conversation in s4e10 went seemingly well because Robby was blaming himself for screwing everything up and was not blaming Johnny for anything. When Johnny took blame on himself, it did mean something but it was about Robby's relationship with Daniel falling apart because of Johnny and not about their own lack of a relationship because of Johnny. And then, what happened right after that? Miguel ran off to Mexico, and Johnny psychologically and emotionally abused Robby, even abandoning him again (at a random bus stop in Mexico), in an extreme effort to get Miguel back.
Here, on the plane, Johnny did so much to try to talk to Miguel after Miguel ditched him for another seat. Yet, Johnny has never tried to talk to Robby and fix things with him in this way. Remember, in Mexico, Johnny literally dumped Robby at a random bus stop and went off after Miguel, instead of fixing things with Robby properly. This was also after Johnny had tricked, kidnapped, lied to, gaslit, and guilted Robby. In s5e8, Johnny got annoyed with Robby's fatherly advice comment and dismissed it. Back in s3, Johnny only went to the soup kitchen to talk to Robby because Bobby refused to apologize to Robby for Johnny. Johnny had no intention of going himself if Bobby had apologized for him. Johnny also never went back to try to fix things with Robby. Overall, Johnny never puts this amount of effort in to fix things with/for Robby. This has been consistent throughout the story.
This is all why I'm not mincing words in this post. Johnny and Miguel have a dysfunctional relationship in which Miguel has gaslit and guilted Johnny, that is manipulated him, before. Miguel's behavior with Johnny wrt Johnny not running after him all the time is inexcusable, regardless of the circumstance. Miguel is 17/18 now. Let's take off the kid gloves. He's becoming a grown ass man. According to many fans, Robby has to suck it up and let go of all the legitimate lifetime of trauma he has due to Johnny (which Robby actually does still need therapy for). Well, Miguel must suck it up and not feel entitled over Johnny like this because, frankly, Miguel's feelings of entitlement are his own problem. They're not Johnny's problem, nor Robby's problem. Meanwhile, making amends to Robby directly for failing him is Johnny's problem. A problem that Johnny has yet to solve and may never solve because he's too busy running after the Diazs---his "do over" family.
Like I've said before, the Diazs and the baby are plot devices meant to distract Johnny from his actual goal of making amends with Robby.
Johnny to Miguel in s4e7: "I took all that bullshit I felt from them, and I put that on Robby's life. I can never fix that. I don't want to make that mistake again."
Of course, Johnny's talking about never making that mistake again by doing things right with Miguel because Johnny believes he can't fix anything with/for Robby.
The Diazs have always been a "do-over" family for Johnny. Their purpose is not genuine but is for Johnny to use them to feel better for his past and present failures with Robby. This is all in the writing.
Hence, Johnny's words in s6e8 as well: "I've tried my best to get myself together, be a good guy. Things like this happen, and it feels like I could lose everything all over again." Just like how, when he risked his own life for no reason at all in s5e10, he was also focused on everything he himself would lose.
Johnny's "do-over" "family"
Now, one thing that stuck out to me was that really important family stuff was going on, and Robby wasn't included. In fact, Robby was left behind, and he actually drank for the first time (which is... smh... another post that needs to be made). But, it really sticks out that, like the scenes in s6e5 where Johnny and Carmen feel the baby kicking and then Miguel comes in with his Stanford deferment news, Robby's not there.
The writers purposely exclude Robby from these heartfelt scenes of the family. In this episode, like in s6e5, both the baby plot device and Miguel got focus, but not Robby. Interesting... like in Carmen's dream in s5e4...
And when Carmen commented that the baby's big brother will win the world tournament, she only says "brother" singular. Yes, she's talking about Miguel, who is in the room, but this baby has two brothers competing in the tournament. Miguel is also not the brother who is the captain and would be competing in the final rounds.
Robby's existence was excluded from this situation completely.
This is one of many reasons I'm still saying that the whole blended "family" isn't meant to last. It will either be Johnny and Robby only in the end, because Johnny relationships with the Diazs are not healthy and are intentionally and explicitly built/written at Robby's expense. Or, it will be that Johnny and Robby won't have a relationship in the end and Johnny will live "happily", dysfunctionally ever after with the Diazs.
(Sidebar - It can actually be Johnny and Robby only in the end because this show has had its dark moments, and most recently Kwon died in front of everyone in a horrific way. And, the setup for something happening to the baby plot device (and maybe Carmen as well) is now there. I'm not saying I want this. I don't, for sure. I think if they go this route than they truly shouldn't have included the baby plot device at all. But given a lot of their decisions so far, they don't care about taking the moral or socially-acceptable approach to portraying serious topics---for example, intentionally framing Johnny's neglect and abuse of Robby, which benefits the Diazs, as wholesome and sympathetic is one of those things. At this point, I'd like to see no Johnny-Robby relationship in the end. Leave Johnny in his toxic relationships with the Diazs for all I care (though I do feel bad for Johnny cause he doesn't deserve to be stuck in dysfunctional relationships either) but get Robby away from these toxic people. That is how I want this story to go now.)
Anyway, leaving Robby out of these important family scenes, while also never giving him a scene with Johnny and Carmen in which they are, specifically Johnny is, focused on Robby's issues in a meaningful way is quite telling. The essay scene in s6e2 included Robby, but Robby was there (1) to point out that he was still being scapegoated for the school fight while the whole "family", including Johnny, were still going along with that, and (2) for Johnny to dismiss Robby after Robby brought up his struggles for his future. Then, a literal waterfall of shit rained down on Miguel's essay and this false "family".
Again, this all shows that Robby's place in the family is essentially non-existent. I mean, is it even surprising?
This "family" situation is meant to be another trauma that Johnny inflicts onto Robby.
Look at how the family was put together, or more specifically, how Robby was beaten into place by Johnny and Miguel, and then blinded-sided into people-pleasing because of the baby news. He's not a genuine part of this family, nor is he supposed to feel like he is, just like he's not being his genuine himself since that news.
In fact, I thought it was interesting that, in the locker room in s6e9, when Miguel said, "We're a family. All of us", Robby had a thoughtful expression and then stood and said, "Who are we?" and all the kids all said, "Miyagi-Do!"
Robby's family and home have always been Miyagi-Do.
Maybe this is one of a few reasons why he wasn't one of the "snakes on a plane".
Robby and Miguel
This "friendship" / "brotherhood" is one-sided. Keeping in mind that Miguel has never taken accountability with Robby and keeping in mind all of Miguel's other behavior towards Robby so far, nothing about Miguel's behavior in part 2 was surprising.
At first, Miguel's being a whiny bitch because he didn't get the captain spot and then Johnny was "disregarding him". He and everyone were blaming Robby and were upset with Robby for not having focus, even though he wasn't the only one doing poorly. Way to not be a supportive "friend" or "brother" but to be an unsupportive bully and asshole instead.
Then, after tearing Robby down, Miguel was only supportive of him after two things happened. That is, for two reasons: (1) Miguel got Johnny's confirmation again that Miguel will be Johnny's priority. Miguel was upset because he wasn't getting Johnny's attention the way he wanted---as his "son". So, as long as he got more attention than Robby, who actually does need Johnny's attention way more, Miguel was now happy with Johnny and hence happy with Robby. (2) Carmen made Miguel promise to win.
Miguel only became supportive of Robby after Johnny chose Miguel over Robby again. And the fact that he called Robby "messed up: shows Miguel's true feelings about Robby.
Miguel had called Robby "messed up" for no reason at all other than jealousy, just like Miguel had felt entitled to break Robby's arm for no reason at all in the school fight after Miguel attacked Robby for no reason other than jealousy.
Robby is still a punching bag for Miguel if not physically then verbally, and even when Robby's not present.
Again, this is all par for the course for Miguel. I'm not seeing anything different that hasn't always been there this whole time.
All of their history and Miguel's behavior up until s6e8 is why I doubt the intentions behind Miguel's "peptalk" with Robby in s6e9. Miguel wanted to win. He'd promised Carmen they would, so Miguel was now doing the opposite of what he had done before. Now he was supporting and telling him what he needed to hear in order for them to win.
In part 2, another rivalry was resolved in which both parties acknowledged their wrongs. In fact, Anthony even drank a laxative to make it up to Kenny and prove that he was truly sorry for what he had done in the past and for starting things, even though he hadn't been the one to put the laxative in Kenny's water.
In contrast, Miguel has never taken accountability with Robby for their rivalry that Miguel had started. Instead, even now, Miguel made sure that he is still Johnny's number one before Miguel started to support Robby again after (1) Miguel was bullying Robby for not having focus, and (2) insulting Robby as a way to attack Johnny.
The Johnny-loves-Robby hints
So, every season, there are hints, or I guess seeds, of Johnny's love for Robby.
Johnny is not codependent in his relationship with Robby, so Robby doesn't get the open "love" and "caring" that Miguel and Carmen get from Johnny.
This is really important to understand about Johnny's behavior/relationship with Robby.
Throughout part 2, we were shown the same hints of love that Johnny has for Robby, although they get no screentime together and Johnny has yet to makes amends and prove to Robby that Johnny is truly remorseful for what he has done to him. Johnny is still avoidant in this regard.
Although, to Robby, Johnny denied Robby's reality about his future, Johnny told Miguel that the tournament is all that Robby has for his future because he's not going to college. Again, Johnny's lack of actually trying to help Robby outside of training him for the tournament is glaring. He doesn't help Robby find alternatives to karate and also tells Robby a lie about his future prospects---it's a lie because Johnny himself doesn't believe that Robby has a future, not that this is actually true. Again, Robby just needs an adult to be there for him and to truly help him, which he doesn't have. For himself even, Johnny sees the tournament as his big shot. Also, in s6e6, at the sponsor's table, when the sponsor mentioned that winning dojos and champions are taken care of, Johnny asked "Like paying for college." He was very likely thinking about Miguel. Johnny doesn't believe that Robby can go to college, and in s6e2, Carmen told Johnny that he essentially needs to help pay for Miguel's college.
In the locker room in s6e7, Johnny's speech was a projection of his own failures onto the kids' possible futures. It's interesting that, as the kids walked out, Robby was the last one to leave. Johnny stepped towards Robby and said his name, but Robby said "Sorry, Dad" and left too. This was the closest we got to seeing Johnny try to have a conversation with Robby.
At least, we got a moment of Johnny defending Robby's win to Miguel, calling it fair and square.
Johnny also told Miguel to leave Robby out of their issues. At least that was Johnny's immediate reaction to Miguel's verbal attack on Robby. Later, after Miguel cold-shouldered Johnny, Johnny basically did put his relationship with Miguel above his relationship with Robby again. Also, although Johnny called Miguel "my son too", Johnny has been treating Miguel like more than his son, whereas Johnny still treats Robby like a stranger or a random student, for the most part.
Johnny is incapable of healthy relationships. He's caught between two extremes: He's codependent with the Diazs, while he neglects and abuses Robby. These relationships also aren't independent of each other. Johnny is still choosing Miguel/Diazs over Robby, as part 2 continues to show.
Regardless, Robby is and will always be an issue that Miguel has with Johnny in their relationship. Robby will always be an issue in their relationship, in general. Johnny uses Miguel to make up for his failures with Robby, and Miguel feels that he is more entitled to Johnny than Robby is.
Johnny did hug Robby after Robby's win against Kwon, which also knocked the Cobras out of the tournament (temporarily). So that was nice to see. But, it was just so quick and related to the tournament, so it wasn't a real focus, unlike Johnny's conversations with Miguel and Devon had been---Johnny's do-over kids.
During the brawl, Johnny frantically trying to get to Robby was something to note. Johnny wasn't able to get to him though.
There were also two small moments before this though that also stood out to me:
In s6e10, when Chozen said to Daniel and Johnny that Sam and Robby need their senseis and need their fathers, Johnny's expression was one of worry or self-reflection.
Johnny keeps failing to be there for Robby as he needs.
In fact, Johnny's not ready for this baby plot device either. When Carmen said that she's [the baby's] so luck to have him as a dad, he had the same reaction.
This was just a few hours after Miguel had called Robby "messed up" because of Johnny's behavior.
Carmen and Miguel are aware of Johnny's flaws, yet never encourage him to get better.
At the baby shower in s6e3, just minutes before Carmen told Johnny that she can't wait for his daughter to meet him, Daniel commented to Johnny that he never only has one drink.
They all know Johnny's an alcoholic.
Johnny tells Miguel in s6e8, "I've tried my best to get myself together, be a good guy." This is simply not true. He doesn't want to improve a lot of his behaviors, his drinking being one of those things.
Sadly, in this episode Robby drank and got drunk for the first time, and he messed up (at least that's how he and Tory talked about it, though his conscious decisions that night beyond his decision to drink are unclear). It's so telling that Miguel literally commented about Johnny messing up things, including Robby, because of his alcoholism, and in this same episode, Robby had his first drink to cope with his problems. Robby's goal is to not become like Johnny, and this first drink is sadly a step down a path to become like Johnny. (Robby's part 2 stuff is definitely getting it's own post.)
The writers have made this Johnny-Robby-Diaz situation an "either/or" situation this whole time, and this situation is meant to cause Robby more trauma. They literally set up Johnny's decision in s1e4 as a "do over". All of Johnny and Miguel's heartfelt conversations about their own relationship are in the context of Johnny's failures with Robby, Miguel's belief in his entitlement of Johnny over Robby's, and Johnny using Miguel to feel better about his own failures with Robby. In s5, Johnny talked about the baby only in terms of Johnny's failures with Robby. Robby is treated in the writing as not a member of this "family", which given the circumstances in which he was forced into it, is telling.
I wonder what will happen between Johnny and Robby now. Like I said, I'd always believed that Johnny and Robby only would be endgame, but after part 2, I'm wondering if Johnny and Robby are meant to be endgame at all. Regardless, there is no setup that genuinely includes Robby in Johnny's "do-over" "family". Given all the setup, no ending for Johnny and Robby's relationship will be satisfying. I just hope that, by the end of the story, Robby is no longer stuck in this abusive situation.
Overall, I get people being upset about the story. I am too. But, I also see so much nuance in the story that I wonder where all this will lead. (Billy's answer to this interview question (at 4:36) is also interesting. While, Tanner's answer in this other interview (at 2:00) is interesting as well, though I don't like Tanner's lack of compassion for Robby. Maybe Tanner doesn't get that in canon Johnny hasn't changed his behavior with Robby.)
(As always, please don't comment or reblog with dismissive comments about the nuance in the story. The nuance is part of the story, and the story is exploring important topics like trauma, bullying, neglect, and dysfunctional relationships.)
... in terms of the role a protagonist plays in a story
Also titled: Robby is the underdog - Part 3
Other posts in this series:
Robby is the underdog - Part 1
Robby is the underdog - Part 1.5
Robby has a Hero's Journey (Robby is the underdog - Part 2)
Robby is the underdog- Part 4
Putting Johnny and Daniel aside for now, I'm going to first focus on Robby as the protagonist amongst the younger generation. Then, I'll go into Robby's importance in Johnny's and Daniel's stories, followed by Robby's importance and role in the dojo war. I'll be making comparisons between Robby and Miguel, specifically.
Protagonist vs main pov character
The protagonist of a story isn't always the main pov character, or may not be a pov character at all. By definition, a protagonist has a specific role in the story compared to a pov character. It's not often that the protagonist and main pov character are separate characters in a story, but there are stories like this. Popular examples include Sherlock Holmes, The Great Gatsby, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, and To Kill a Mockingbird.
There are different reasons writers may do this:
One reason may be because the perspective of the protagonist isn't as easy to understand and relate to. The Cobra Kai writers have said that Johnny and Miguel are archetypal characters that fans can relate to.
Another reason is to allow for observation, and moreover, to disguise the motivations and intentions of the protagonist. The role of any pov character is to provide the view into the story. They are the audience surrogate. By keeping the protagonist's pov hidden, writers can provide an air of mystery to them, until the writers want the protagonist's view to be known. They can do this either by shifting to the protagonist's pov or by having the pov character(s) learn the protagonist's pov. Interestingly, the CK writers have said that the story is from the bully's perspective. Johnny and Miguel are two of the main pov characters. Miguel has provided the perspective of his and Robby's rivarly so far.
The third reason may be to create irony and juxtaposition. This is in the case that the pov character and the protagonist have opposing characteristics, some that aren't always explicitly portrayed. Although Miguel seemed to be the "good kid" and Robby the "bad kid" at the start of the series, their true characters are weaved into the story. For example, throughout the series, Miguel is entitled, lacks empathy, and doesn't take accountability, whereas Robby exhibits humility, is empathetic, and takes accountability.
The irony can be stretched to outright unreliability. The pov characters' views of the protagonist may be entirely wrong. This is definitely the case for Robby. The story is being told mainly through Miguel's and Johnny's povs, and they are "unreliable narrators". Their povs and the povs that other characters have of Robby are skewed because of how they perceive themselves and how they perceive Robby.
Ali: "You both think there's only one side to the story."
Johnny: "I know. There's two."
Ali: "No, there's three. There's your side and your side, and then there is the truth."
The purpose of dramatic irony is to present a juxtaposition between what is presented on the surface of a story and what is really occurring under the surface. Doing this adds layers of meaning to the story, offers deeper insights into the thematic principles, and shows the audience something that the characters themselves are missing. In Cobra Kai, these additional layers in the story are present throughout. For example, the contrast in Johnny's behavior with each boy is presented with this juxtaposition in all 5 seasons. Some examples of juxtaposition in s5 include the scene where Johnny calls out Daniel for reeking of booze and then hands him a beer, which Daniel thanks him for later. In this same scene, Johnny claims to have gotten Robby out of Cobra Kai, which is far from the truth. Daniel also said that Johnny cares for both boys, which doesn't match what's portrayed in all 5 seasons. After the apartment fight, Miguel told Robby that he learned karate to find balance and not hurt people, which isn't true. He learned Cobra Kai first, which doesn't involve finding balance. He's also used his karate to hurt Robby multiple times, including choosing the apartment fight so that he could hurt Robby again as he's always felt justified to. Afterwards, Johnny said that the boys beat each other into submission. Also not true. Submission means that one party becomes compliant to the other, and the audience was shown that Robby submit to Miguel. The list goes on. All of this is intentional as it's meant to show the audience that, for example, Johnny hasn't changed---he just believes that he has and tries to present to others that he has---, and that Miguel is the bully and not the underdog character between him and Robby.
If the role of the pov character is to provide the view into the story, what is the role of the protagonist?
The protagonist in a story is the character who offers the most conflict in situations, has the longest emotional journey, and has a primal goal to root for. Their transformation shapes the story's theme. Their choices and motivations affect the direction of the story. They're at the center of the conflict and their decisions push the plot forward. In a story with multiple characters with journeys, there is ultimately one character who is the primary driver of the overall story and their story tells the theme of the overall story. The other characters' can be protagonists in their own journeys but these become subplots of varying levels of importance. The protagonist is the character whose fate matters most. They have the highest stakes and the greatest obstacles.
Compared to Miguel, Robby has all the characteristics of a protagonist.
What makes Robby the protagonist of the overall story?
Robby has a Hero's Journey that is related to the story's theme of "finding balance".
Robby has a "want", "need", and "internal struggle" that drive his Hero's Journey. The "internal struggle" is usually tied to the "need". Miguel has "wants" and he probably has a "need", but he doesn't have an "internal struggle" related to that "need". In fact, he doesn't have much of an overarching emotional journey throughout the series. His injury arc and the Mexico arc for example could have been used to give his story more emotional depth, but they weren't used for this. In fact, those two arcs were used to emphasize that Johnny is willing to sacrifice his relationship with Robby and sacrifice Robby himself to maintain his relationship with Miguel, which in turn resulted in more trauma for Robby and made both his "want" and his "need" harder to achieve. That is, those two arcs served Robby's overarching journey more than they served Miguel's. Along with Miguel's lack of relevance to the overall plot (the dojo war), Miguel's lack of an overarching emotional journey is becoming more and more apparent each season. Miguel overall is a static character. For example, in the school fight, he did "strike first, strike hard, show mercy sometimes". In the apartment fight, he did the same thing, despite his injury and learning some Miyagi-Do. In contrast, Robby is a dynamic character who is constantly growing, positively and negatively, throughout his journey.
Robby's character introduction / Ordinary World for his Hero's Journey was his scenes in s1e4 to s1e5, up to the Inciting Incident. In turn, Miguel has no character introduction that fits the "Ordinary World" stage of a Hero's Journey. His first scenes are introducing himself to Johnny, being saved by Johnny while being bullied, asking Johnny to open a dojo for him, and Johnny eventually telling him that he'll be his sensei. All of those scenes are about the role he'll play in Johnny's character story. His scenes in the next few episodes continue to build on the plot and his role in Sam's story, while not building on his character or his Ordinary World.
Each season, many of Robby's decisions play a crucial role in the story. Moreover, he has a very character-driven story, where his decisions and actions as he reacts (mostly trauma responses) drives his own story, but greatly affects the plot and other characters' journeys as well. In general, Robby's character provides the most uncertainty in the story. For example, Robby showed up unexpectedly at the s1 avt, and Johnny's students using "no mercy" on Robby, specifically, changed Johnny's view on "no mercy" and prompted Daniel to reopen Miyagi-Do. Also, Robby's actions at the end of the school fight impacted all of the characters' stories moving forward. At the end of s3, the most resounding shifts in alliances occured because Robby chose to stay with Kreese at Cobra Kai and Johnny allied himself with Daniel. Even Hawk changing sides was most greatly influenced by Robby's change in alliance. In fact, Robby has played an important role in Hawk's journey despite them barely interacting throughout the series. In s4 and s5, Robby continued to make decisions that impacted the other characters, such as officially joining Cobra Kai and teaching them Miyagi-Do in s4 and deciding to stay and help Johnny find Miguel after Johnny ditched Robby at the bus stop in s5.
Robby's had independent arcs and is the only teen with side characters meant for him only and whose involvements served purposes in his arcs. In s1, he was dealing with his partners-in-crime and bullies, Trey and Cruz. In s2, he was dealing with Shannon abandoning him. In s3, he had his juvie arc with Shawn. In s4, he mentored Kenny. In fact, Kenny's introduction and character journey were created as an extension from Robby's character journey, which hasn't been done for any other kid. Robby continues to play an important role in Kenny's journey.
Robby is distinctly given the same importance as the senseis. He mentored a student, taught an entire dojo a style of karate, and was the "next one to land on their arms" when Silver and Kim were talking about Daniel, Johnny, and Chozen being pests. Robby is the only kid to fight alongside a sensei (Johnny). Robby is also the "mentor" trying to resolve the rivalry between Kenny and Anthony.
Robby is being built up as a leader / central figure for the kids. In s5, Robby was shown in a front & center position for both dojos in s5.
Robby is the only character to be in one of the conflicts in every mid-season episode and finale since s1e10:
s1e10 - avt final match
s2e5 - mall fight
s2e10 - school fight
s3e5 - juvie fight
s3e10 - dojo fight with Kreese and Johnny
s4e5 - Cobras shaving Hawk's mohawk
s4e10 - avt final match
s5e5 - apartment fight
s5e10 - dojo brawl
Robby is the most connected overall to all the other characters. For example, in s5, Robby directly influenced or interacted with the following characters: Johnny, Daniel, Miguel, Tory, Kenny, Carmen, Sam, Hawk, Demetri, Anthony, Chozen, and Silver. Robby was mentioned in important scenes by Shannon and even Kim when he wasn't present.
Robby's portrayed to have deeper connections with Sam and Tory than Miguel has with them. While Robby was in Miyagi-Do, he had the "love story" with Sam, the main girl in Miyagi-Do. While Robby was in Cobra Kai, he had the "love story" with Tory, the main girl in Cobra Kai. Robby's relationships with each of them were developed slowly as friendships first. In turn, Miguel started dating each girl soon after the first time he talked to them. Robby had the "meet cute" with Sam, while Miguel just stared at her from afar because she was with another guy. Robby got the prom entrance and main dance, despite not being a student in school, while Miguel watched Robby steal the show. Robby has fought successfully alongside each girl: Sam in the s2 mall fight and Tory in the s4 prom fight. Despite being broken up and in other relationships, Robby and Sam still have a deep connection, like Robby appearing in Sam's dream and them still being able to do the wheel technique in s5. In turn, Miguel and Tory have shared just one "moment" (during the prom fight) together since their break up.
Between Robby and Miguel, Robby has the traits of a traditional hero, rejects the toxic empowerment of Cobra Kai philosophies, and is the best example of positive/healthy masculinity in the story. Rocky is referenced a lot throughout the story as someone Johnny looks up to. Rocky is a popular protagonist, underdog character, and example of positive/healthy masculinity in film.
Throughout s5, the narrative did an interesting recap of Robby's journey. References to or redos of moments from Robby's character journey from s1 to s4 were sprinkled throughout the entire season. (This is yet another post or series of posts I can make.) This makes sense because Robby is the protagonist, and s5 was priming the audience for Act 3.
Although the story started with Miguel as seemingly the protagonist, Robby's role as the actual protagonist becomes more apparent at the end of s1e5 and more so as the series has gone on, making Miguel a "false/decoy protagonist". In s1e5, Robby's story picked up with the Inciting Incident in his Hero's Journey.
Miguel hasn't been an underdog since he beat his bullies in s1e5. Even after his injury, Miguel has resumed his position as one of the top fighters, if not the top fighter. Robby wins important fights, but by the end of s5, he has lost two avts and lost to his bully/rival. Robby started out the series with the most odds against him. Going into the final season, he still has the most odds against him and is even worse off than at the start of his journey. He faces the greatest obstacles and has the most uncertainty and stakes for his future. The Karate Kid story is about the underdog winning in the end against all the odds that are against him/her. Robby has the greatest odd against him, making Robby the underdog in the story.
Robby's importance in Johnny's and Daniel's stories
Robby has always played an important role in Johnny and Daniel's rivalry. In s1 and s2, Robby was the link between Johnny and Daniel. He was a reason for contention between them in a lot of their scenes in s1e9/10, s2e1, s2e5 (Johnny found out that Robby was living with Daniel), and s2e10. In s2e10, Robby suggested that Johnny and Daniel can learn from each other. In s3e2, Daniel and Johnny teamed up to look for Robby. In s3e8, they both came to juvie to pick up Robby and argued. In s4e1, Sam approached Robby believing that he was needed to unite Johnny and Daniel. This was despite Robby choosing to stand against them and with Kreese the last time they saw each other. Sam even went behind Miguel's back to do this. In s4e5, Robby and the Cobras shaving Hawk's head led to Johnny and Daniel's already weakened alliance falling apart because they disagreed on how to handle the situation. In s4e10, Robby teaching the Cobras Miyagi-Do led to Daniel teaming up with Johnny to coach Sam in her match. Even though Robby wasn't physically present with Johnny and Daniel, he played a critical role in affecting their alliance in s4. In turn, Miguel was clearly used as a plot device in Johnny's rivalry with Daniel in s4. Miguel has no significance in Daniel's story otherwise. Meanwhile, Robby has deep connections with both Johnny and Daniel since s1.
Amongst the kids, Robby narratively plays the most important role in Johnny and Daniel's stories.
In the opening shots of Johnny's story and the series, Robby's picture is shown on Johnny's fridge setting up Robby's significance to Johnny almost immediately. Johnny's relationship with Robby is the first relationship introduced for Johnny's character in this series. They have very few scenes together other than the Mexico arc in s5, but their relationship overshadows Johnny's character journey. The goal of Johnny's redemption as a character is his "need" to fight his inner demons and make amends with Robby.
"I love you too Robby"
Subtle similarities are shown between Johnny and Robby throughout the series using various shots or actions. For example, Robby and young Johnny put their headphones on to block out their parents, the way Robby is dejectedly sitting and eating a sandwich in s3e2 is exactly the way Johnny is dejectedly sitting and eating a sandwich in s2e5, the shot of Robby going to Kreese at the end of s3e8 is framed similarly to the shot of Johnny stopping Kreese at the end of s2e1, Robby's fight with Kenny in s5e10 is similar to Johnny's fight with Robby in s3e10, and Robby's most used move is sweeping the leg (Johnny's iconic move from kk1) though Robby is never shown learning that move.
Johnny and Miguel's popular and seemingly generic sensei-student story has always been overshadowed by Robby's existence in the story. It makes Robby an unpopular character, however his existence is the basis of Johnny and Miguel's relationship. Robby was right when he said that Johnny is just using Miguel to feel better about screwing up with Robby. Robby's existence is one of the greatest subversions in this "deadbeat loser meets a kid who changes his life" and "underdog kid meets a mentor who helps build him into a champion" generic story. In fact, the generic layers of Johnny and Miguel's story have lost emphasis as the series has gone on, and they're both somewhat sidelined in the dojo war, Miguel much moreso than Johnny has been.
Meanwhile, Johnny and Robby's relationship continues to be a highlight. Kreese and Silver make a point to remind Johnny that Robby is his "real" son and remind him of his failures with Robby. Kreese wanted to pass down his legacy to Robby because he's Johnny's son. Narratively, Robby is Johnny's weakness, and Kreese and Silver use Robby against him. In s3, Bobby met Robby in person and experienced Johnny choosing Miguel over Robby. Ali asked about Robby specifically, despite seeing Johnny's Facebook page filled with pics and videos of Miguel.
Throughout the series, there is an overarching plotline since s1e4 that Johnny chooses Miguel over Robby. In s5, the Mexico trip and apartment fight were used to portray the continued dysfunctional dynamic in Johnny's relationship with Robby: Johnny will choose the Diazs over Robby, even if Robby is compliant to Johnny. After Johnny found out about the baby, Johnny kept bringing up his failures with Robby, even late into s5. In fact, the last statement made by a character about Johnny becoming a father again is Silver's jab that Johnny will "screw up another kid", a reference to Johnny's abysmal behavior with Robby. The statement was bookended by scene transitions between Johnny and Robby. (End of this post.)
In s5, Johnny kept mentioning his failures with Robby when it came to the baby plot device. Johnny obviously hasn't been redeemed, as he himself keeps bringing up his failures. (Another example of irony and juxtaposition in s5.) The plot device baby had the greatest impact on Robby's character journey though, not even on Johnny's. Johnny once again went through his round-about arc of trying to change but ending the same, as in previous seasons when he's tried to make positive changes. The impacts of the plot device on Carmen and Miguel were barely explored. Johnny used the baby to force a violent "resolution" to the rivalry, which Robby lost. (Again, more juxtaposition. Johnny is failing Robby more as Johnny selfishly prepares for the baby coming and tries to use the baby to make up for screwing up with Robby.) After Johnny accidentally dropped the baby new, Robby completely adopted a fawn response and spent the rest of the season people-pleasing.
In Daniel's case, Robby is the student that Daniel has the greatest attachment to, aside from his own kids of course. Robby, not Miguel, is the most connected and cared about by the LaRussos, especially the OG Karate Kid. Daniel wanted to be a Mr. Miyagi to Robby (though Daniel has failed in doing so since s2e10).
Compared to the other mentor-mentee pairs (Miyagi-Daniel, Johnny-Miguel, Robby-Kenny), Daniel offered to train Robby (Robby's Call to Adventure). In s1, Robby is shown receiving the Miyagi-style training from Daniel that Daniel had received from Miyagi in kk1. In s2, Robby helped Daniel rebuild and bring back Miyagi-Do. Daniel brought Robby into his home and called him family at one point, fulfilling parental responsibilities for Robby in addition to being his sensei. After the school fight, Daniel searched continuously for Robby for 2 weeks. After Robby got out of juvie, Daniel went to pick him up and told him that Miyagi-Do will always be a home for him. Later, Daniel was so worried about Robby that he was taking it out on his students. In s4, Daniel went to warn Robby about Silver. In s5, after Daniel gave up his fight against Silver, only Robby was able to convince him to come back to the fight, showing just how important Robby is to Daniel.
Robby played a role each time Daniel closed Miyagi-Do. At the end of s2, Daniel closed Miyagi-Do because of Robby's actions at the end of school fight. At the beginning of s5, Daniel closed Miyagi-Do because they lost the tournament. Although they lost because of Silver paying off the ref, Robby teaching the Cobras Miyagi-Do had put Miyagi-Do at a noticable disadvantange, to the extent that Daniel gave Robby a talking to about giving Miyagi-Do "secrets" away.
Although Miguel is Sam's boyfriend, he barely has importance in Daniel's story or to the LaRussos. Daniel had no conversations with Miguel in s5 despite the time they spent together in s4. Amanda and Anthony haven't even spoken to Miguel alone, while Robby has had one on one conversations with each of them. Anthony praises Robby's karate and looks up to him, while not interacting much with Miguel. Anthony was excited about karate for the first time while watching Robby fight Hawk in the s1 avt. Anthony is connected to Robby through the rivalry with Kenny, which is Anthony's most important storyline.
Robby's importance and central role in the dojo war
Throughout the series, Robby has been at the center of the dojo war between Miyagi-Do and Cobra Kai. In s1 and s2, Robby linked Daniel and Johnny. In s3, Robby was the only kid approached by all 3 senseis. Each offered him a place with them. In s4, Robby was the only kid to have one-on-one scenes with each sensei. In s5, he was the only one in Miyagi Fang who had people in Cobra Kai that he cared about. (I'm not counting Johnny and Devon cause Johnny forgot about her pretty quickly, while Robby kept making efforts with Tory and Kenny and had rejoined Miyagi-Do to take down Silver to help them.)
Robby is the only one of the kids to have had full season arcs in each dojo. Robby is also the only kid to have fought in a final match in both avts and for each dojo in a final match: Miyagi-Do in s1 and Cobra Kai in s4. Interestingly, both times he wasn't wearing the dojo's emblem when he finished each match. He was wearing the plain white gi in s1 and took off his gi top in s4. At the s4 avt, the two main dojos in the dojo war were introduced with reference to Robby.
In contrast, Miguel's role in the dojo war has noticably diminished since the school fight. This is another reason Miguel fails to fulfill the role of a true protagonist in the story, as many are starting to notice. Overall, he's mostly been a supporting character to other characters and is a foil to Robby's character. The injury and Johnny creating Eagle Fang effectively sidelined Miguel in the dojo war, while still giving him some scenes here and there to make it seem like he has some relevance to the overall plot in s3 to s5. Johnny is still pulled into the dojo war from time to time because of Daniel, Kreese, or Silver. Johnny also helped coach Sam in the s4 avt final, making Johnny as a sensei significant during the avt finals, while Miguel ran off to a plotline that essentially went nowhere for him.
Of all the kids, the cycle of generational trauma is being passed down to Robby specifically from all the senseis: Kreese to Johnny to Robby (as emphasized in the s3 finale flashbacks and confrontations at the dojo) and Silver to Daniel to Robby. (Daniel's history with Cobra Kai affects his view of Robby, "too much Johnny in him".)
Robby in turn has tried to mentor Kenny better and actively try to break the cycles of generational trauma from both Johnny and Daniel. In s5e4, Robby told Kenny a combination of what Johnny told Robby about Kreese in s4e4 and what Daniel told Robby about Silver on s4e6 wrt Cobra Kai. In addition to dealing with external rivals, he has the greatest internal battles out of all the kids. As Daniel said, "The biggest battle is always the one within."
Robby has been using both styles of karate to try to cope with his "hate"/traumas and "find balance", the goal of his character journey. From late s1 to the end of s2, he tried to follow the Miyagi-Do way of finding balance but failed. In late s3 and to the end of s4, he tried to use Cobra Kai to channel his anger into fighting to help him find balance but he quit Cobra Kai after his match with Kenny because of "what it turns you into".
In s5, Robby wasn't focused on finding balance but was instead focused on dealing with his situation with Johnny and Miguel and with trying to take down Silver and Cobra Kai. Interestingly, Robby rejoined Miyagi-Do, instead of Eagle Fang, in his fight to take down Cobra Kai.
Robby carries the essence of Miyagi-Do with him, wherever he goes, including juvie (The Heart of Miyagi-Do - Part 1 and Part 2). Although, this show is called Cobra Kai. Cobra Kai represents the generational trauma that is being passed down from Kreese to Johnny to Robby and from Silver to Daniel to Robby. Miyagi-Do is presented as the opposition to Cobra Kai: The goal of Miyagi-Do is to teach a better way. In fact, all the important avt final matches and the ST trial matches were Miyagi-Do vs Cobra Kai. The whole goal is to take down Cobra Kai. In s4, Robby beat the whole Cobra Kai dojo using Miyagi's teachings. Of course, the kid who carries the essence of Miyagi-Do will be the one to take down Cobra Kai for good in the end.
In a story about every character having their own pov, Robby's pov not being shown is significant. At this point, Robby has been wronged by the most characters, especially the "good guys". In s5, he had one-sided "resolutions" with these characters. So far, the "bad guys", Kreese and Silver, haven't hurt Robby to the extent that the "good guys" have. The writers have said that every character is gray. Robby's pov of the characters would support this notion. The fact that, in s5, Robby can stand up to Silver fearlessly but can't stand up to Johnny without fear of abandonment speaks to this.
s6 is Act 3 of the story. Act 3 is when there is usually a significant paradigm shift for the characters. In s5, Robby's one-sided resolutions and the "recap" of his story from s1 to s4 indicate that his side of the story is yet to be told but is now set up to be told. In s6, the writers could shift to telling the story through Robby's pov, or they could continue to tell the story through the other characters' povs and have them learn and understand Robby's pov.
Johnny's redemption as a character lies in his relationship with Robby. If Johnny were already redeemed, he wouldn't be repeatedly bringing up his failures with Robby himself throughout s5, while he is shown continuing to fail Robby. Since s1e4, Johnny has been using Miguel as a do over. Since s5e3, Johnny has been using the baby as a do over. The Diazs and the baby are plot devices to make Johnny's relationship with Robby worse. By the end of s5, Johnny has everything to lose, which he even foreshadowed in his self-centered speech to Carmen, while Robby has nothing to lose including himself, which he gave up to stay in Johnny's good graces. Miguel is Robby's bully in the story. If Johnny starts to learn Robby's pov, not only would Johnny truly realize how and how much he has hurt Robby, Johnny would also realize that he trained, supported, and enabled Robby's bully to hurt him and get away with it as long as his bully "shows mercy" in the end.
In s5, Daniel relied on Robby to get back into being a sensei. He'd told Johnny to ask Robby how much he'd helped Robby. Robby is the student that Daniel has failed the most. In s5, Daniel repeated exactly what he'd said to Robby in s3, and Robby side-stepped Daniel's apology. To repair their relationship properly, Daniel has to actually listen to Robby's pov. Daniel also has to come to realize and accept that the teaching "no bad student, only bad teacher" applies in his relationship with Robby. He has to let go of the belief: "I'm willing to admit when I fail, or maybe Robby has too much of you [Johnny] in him."
This is Johnny's redemption story, and Johnny has failed his Robby his whole life including all 5 seasons. Robby is also Daniel's most important (non-related) student, and Daniel has failed as Robby's mentor. Johnny's and Daniel's character journeys won't be complete until they start repairing their relationships with Robby, start helping him overcome the odds that are against him, and support him to win the world tournament and succeed in his future.
Robby is the protagonist in the story. He has been since the start.
Cobra Kai has always been Robby's story.
Some references:
https://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/
https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/
https://thewritepractice.com/
(Note: Please don't reblog/reply with any dismissive comments/tags about the show writers, the writing, or the serious aspects of the show. Such comments/tags minimize the contents of the post. This blog (link) explains my general thoughts about posting after s5.)
Some thoughts about the trailer and pics from today. (Contains S6 SPOILERS!!!!)
All this talk has ramped up again that Robby's always taking Ls while Miguel always wins. There's a fight with Miguel and Robby vs Shawn(!!!!!) and Kenny. In one moment in the trailer, Robby and Shawn are on the ground, down from the fight, and Miguel and Kenny are still fighting. Everyone is assuming that Miguel will win this fight because he's of course more skilled than Kenny is at fighting. But, (1) we don't know how things will play out in the fight, and (2) this takes place pretty early in the season. If Miguel wins this fight, is it really that big a deal? The win that matters the most is the final ST win.
Why are some Robby fans sooo upset about the potential of Robby losing this fight? Seriously, we are rooting for the underdog in the series! He will have losses leading upto his big win! I have at least 5 posts describing why Robby is the underdog in the story, including the protagonist amongst the teens, so I won't repeat any of those points here.
Even this fight with Shawn and Kenny is meaningful to Robby's story, not to Miguel's. Shawn and Kenny are part of Robby's story. Shawn was a side character who was introduced exclusively for Robby's arc in s3, while Miguel's entire injury arc was really about Johnny becoming a magical physical therapist and healer who chose to save his student instead of his own son from the evil Kreese. Miguel's injury has essentially had no effect on his character after s3, unless it's relevant to the plot or other characters, like him pulling a muscle and then quitting the ST and the main plot in s4. In fact, Robby is the one still dealing with repercussions due to Miguel's injury. Also, in s4, Kenny was introduced to Robby, Cobra Kai, and the dojo war through Shawn. Shawn was also important to the start of Robby's CK arc, and Kenny was important to the end of it. This fight in s6 with Shawn and Kenny has no significance for Miguel, and Miguel has no significance to Shawn and Kenny. This is about Robby and his story, and Miguel is just a side character in it.
Robby is the protagonist, but of course Miguel thinks that he himself is, so he tries to be. It's likely that, whatever tensions arise between the four of them, Miguel will be the spark that ignites the fight. It fits. That's what Miguel does! He instigates shit and later acts like the victim and "good guy" who did nothing wrong. In the s5 finale brawl, Miguel got in Kenny's face, while Robby was trying to talk him down, and that provoked Kenny. Miguel literally had no reason to insert himself into their conversation. Honestly, given how Miguel was watching Robby talk to Kenny before his ST trial match with Hawk, how Miguel inserted himself into Robby's convo with Kenny and provoked him, and how Miguel kept kicking Kenny after that first time in the brawl, I wouldn't be surprised much if this were the scenario. And if there's one thing we know is that, in s5, Miguel was still all about striking first and instigating/choosing the fight, while Robby was trying to "no be there" each time. Of course, wrt the apartment fight, Robby is in an incredibly bad situation with Johnny, where Robby has to comply to Johnny. And no doubt that is Robby's dynamic with Miguel too. After all, Robby did submit to Miguel in that fight and was solidified as the scapegoat for the rivalry Miguel had started and kept going and for the fights and issues Miguel had created between them. That's a reason why, as I've mentioned, Robby's move to go to the CK dojo behind everyone's back was so meaningful.
Also, we don't know. Maybe Miguel gets the upper hand against Kenny at one point in this s6 fight and goes for a finishing strike, but Robby recovers enough to get between them and takes the hit for Kenny. Maybe this fight is yet another situation that distinguishes Robby's traits from Miguel's traits. Robby definitely won't fight back against Kenny, and Robby saving Kenny from Miguel at the end of it could be what leads Kenny to joining Miyagi-Do, which he's shown to be in in the trailer. Something like this could also get Shawn to realize that Kenny can just talk with Robby and hash out whatever issues Kenny has with him.
One idea I have for next season is that Anthony and Kenny hash things out and start a social media campaign to help Robby:
#justiceforRobby
In their campaign, they resurface and spread the clips from the school fight that highlight all of Miguel's wrongs against Robby as well as the fact that Robby was protecting Sam and the Cobras kept attacking them or stopping them from escaping. Miguel did no different. They can include how Miguel had attacked Robby at the canyon party and accidentally hit Sam. They can also include Miguel pulling on Robby's injured arm to win. (These two are incidents Anthony knows about.) They'd need to put a lot of emphasis that what happened at the end had been an accident. They can be the ones to help tell Robby's side of the story.
If Miguel flipped a switch and attacked Robby at the beginning and again in the middle of the school fight, and then later flipped an opposite switch to stop attacking Robby and attempting to break his arm for no reason at all, how could Robby know if Miguel wasn't going to flip yet another switch and attack him again? Miguel has always been unpredictable when it comes to attacking Robby. Miguel still is.
They can also spread how Robby helped and mentored them, never bullies anyone, and encouraged that they hash things out. Kenny can also talk about how Robby has always encouraged him to try a better way and that Robby even came to the Cobra Kai dojo to encourage all the students to leave Cobra Kai.
Robby will probably never get justice, but hopefully Miguel's reputation takes a hit. Miguel has shown no humility, taken no accountability, and still feels entitled to attack Robby whenever he wants.
Another idea is that they help Robby become a YouTuber. With his karate and skateboarding skills, he could rise to fame doing awesome stunts using both sets of skills. After all, he taught himself the two-legged kick using his skateboarding skills.
Robby is super smart and talented. I don't like that he won't get to earn his high school diploma through school and walk across the graduation stage like the other kids will. Even Tory's going to be able to do that.
The adults in Robby's life don't seem to care about helping and encouraging him for his future. His karate mentees might as well be the ones to help him. Maybe the message can be that at any age you can have a real positive impact on someone's life.
Robby teaching his mentees Miyagi-Do in the Cobra Kai dojo.
Robby was never going to be accepted by Johnny or a majority of fans because he is a constant reminder that Johnny is a shitty person. He was only accepted when he went back to Chameleon Robby and played the role of agreeable and people pleasing son. It infuriates me because Robby is a loving and kind boy who does everything he can for those he loves. And he just wanted that same love and attention in return, but never got it.
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