Cobra Kai: How Johnny & Daniel As Friends Makes Their Rivalry Worse
Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) and Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) start off Cobra Kai season 4 as friends but this may end up making their rivalry worse in the long term. Cobra Kai season 3 ended with Johnny and Daniel putting their differences aside and teaming up against John Kreese (Martin Kove) and Cobra Kai. Senseis LaRusso and Lawrence even combined their respective dojos, Miyagi Do and Eagle Fang, and they will train their students in both disciplines against their Cobra Kai rivals.
Daniel and Johnny have been at odds since the first day they met in the summer of 1984 in The Karate Kid when they immediately started fighting over Johnny's ex-girlfriend Ali Mills (Elisabeth Shue). The events of The Karate Kid ended with Daniel defeating Johnny in the All Valley Under 18 Karate Tournament. Despite remaining in high school together for a few more months, LaRusso and Lawrence stayed away from each other until Cobra Kai season 1 33 years later. When Johnny restarted the Cobra Kai dojo, Daniel did everything in his power to try to stop him. Kreese's arrival in Cobra Kai made everything worse, but even with a common foe, Johnny and Daniel remained enemies. However, Ali brought Daniel and Johnny together at the end of Cobra Kai season 3, and the LaRusso/Lawrence alliance was made official when they agreed to team up to drive Kreese from the San Fernando Valley.
Johnny Lawrence and Daniel LaRusso as friends is an amazing hook for Cobra Kai season 4 because it's never been done before. Lawrence and LaRusso had occasional truces where they briefly got along throughout Cobra Kai but they always reverted back into their rivalry and mistrust. Cobra Kai season 4's trailer suggests Johnny and Daniel will train each other as well as their students but the more they get to know each other, the more LaRusso and Lawrence will inevitably find new ways to aggravate each other. Amazingly, despite being enemies for 35 years, Johnny and Daniel didn't actually know a lot about each other until the events of Cobra Kai. As friends in Cobra Kai season 4, Johnny and Daniel will learn each other's quirks and that will likely provide ammunition against each other when their friendship inevitably implodes because Daniel and Johnny as friends likely can't last.
It's already clear from Cobra Kai season 4's trailer that, despite their fist bumps, Johnny and Daniel's teaching methods are polar opposites. Lawrence's "badass" style immediately undercuts LaRusso's measured, philosophical approach that he derives from his late mentor, Mr. Miyagi (Noriyuki "Pat" Morita). It's hard to imagine Johnny wouldn't loathe the Miyagi Do style of performing katas and equating karate with household chores. Meanwhile, Daniel will also hate Johnny putting him through Cobra Kai-style training, especially after LaRusso's mistake in joining Cobra Kai in The Karate Kid Part III. Meanwhile, Johnny would loathe the Miyagi Do style of performing katas and equating karate with household chores. In Cobra Kai season 4's trailer, a shot of Johnny mocking Daniel's famous crane kick already shows LaRusso's patience wearing thin.
Despite the upbeat tone of the trailer, it's unclear whether Johnny and Daniel's friendship will last through Cobra Kai season 4. LaRusso and Lawrence are in a marriage of convenience based on the old adage of "the enemy of my enemy is my friend." But Miyagi Do and Eagle Fang Karate are really only working together because Kreese agreed that if Cobra Kai loses, he would leave the Valley. Yet by the nature of the All Valley Tournament, Miyagi Do and Eagle Fang students will also have to compete against each other, and that could quickly flare up Sensei Lawrence and LaRusso's old rivalry. It's possible Johnny and Daniel's friendship could be over by the time the new All Valley Karate Champion is crowned and if Reese is defeated.
Daniel and Johnny really have come a long way, and there's bound to be lots of comedy derived from their working together in Cobra Kai season 4. After all, Ali made them realize just how similar they really are. Yet LaRusso and Lawrence are also very different in many equally important ways, and despite the mutual respect they've learned, the more Johnny and Daniel get to know each other could also easily cause a build-up of resentment all over again. Becoming good friends in Cobra Kai season 4 may just result in Johnny Lawrence and Daniel LaRusso becoming better enemies in Cobra Kai season 5.
Cobra Kai Season 4 premieres on December 31st on Netflix.