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Summary
- Robby and Miguel’s rivalry in
Cobra Kai
is emotionally loaded, with fights driven by romantic jealousy and father issues. - The relationship between Robby and Miguel is nuanced, with their motives for combat evolving throughout the series.
- The epic fight scenes between Robby and Miguel in
Cobra Kai
showcase their growth in physical combat and emotional maturity.
Cobra Kai has no shortage of rivalries, and Robby Keene versus Miguel Diaz is one of the most emotionally loaded scenarios out of any in the Karate Kid universe. Throughout all five seasons of Cobra Kai, the on-again-off-again blood rivals have faced off a total of four times. Each time Robby and Miguel fight, there’s not always a clear winner. However, the ambiguity in their win/loss ratios is what makes the battles and overall relationship so compelling. Their motives for combat aren’t always the same, with motives ranging from romantic jealousy, father issues, and even just settling old feuds.
The Cobra Kai writers could easily have followed the template of the rivalry between Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence from 1984’s The Karate Kid. As Johnny’s son, having Johnny face off against Samantha “Sam” LaRusso would have been a direct parallel between the LaRusso/Lawrence pairing from the 1980s. However, Cobra Kai took a more nuanced approach by having Sam as part of the formula while introducing Miguel to serve as Johnny’s surrogate son. At the same time, Robby was initially without a father figure, and this slow-burning envy fanned the flames of Robby and Miguel’s rivalry throughout the show.
So far, Cobra Kai season 3 is the only installment of the Karate Kid spinoff show not to feature a fight between Robby and Miguel. However, both characters have bounced between being sworn enemies and uneasy allies. During their respective spells of learning karate as a member of the Miyagi-do, Cobra Kai, and Eagle Fang dojos, Miguel and Robby have learned a great deal about physical combat as well as how to follow the right path to emotional maturity. As such, their fights are often about much more than a clash of fists.
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4 The Prom Afterparty At Stingray’s House
Cobra Kai season 4, episode 8, “Party Time” (28:42)
Most of the face-offs between Robby and Miguel come with a great deal on the line. The potential price of each skirmish can range from an officially sanctioned victory to personal vengeance. In “Party Time,” the stakes are the lowest when all of Robby and Miguel’s fights are taken into account. Instead, the fight in this mid-season episode isn’t even instigated by either character. The clash between Robby and Miguel comes as the result of Tory Nichols goading Sam LaRusso into landing the first punch – or in this case, the first kick.
It’s clear that every combatant involved in this four-way fight is hurting on an emotional level. At this point in the show, Miguel and Sam are together, as are Robby and Tory. However, Miguel and Tory have previously been an item, as have Sam and Robby, and both past pairings have left their figurative scars. The bursts of dialogue that punctuate the short fight scene reveal much about the respective mindsets of all the characters embroiled in the skirmish, as well as the romantically tense looks between former partners.
Robby and Miguel’s fight in “Extreme Measures” is the pair’s first proper rematch since Robby’s hotheadedness almost led to Miguel’s death in the high school brawl in “No Mercy.”
The length of this fight and the reason why it began puts it at the bottom of the list of battles between Robby and Miguel. The two young men are acting more like peacekeepers, and while the Miguel/Sam versus Robby/Tory team-up is brilliantly choreographed, it fizzles to an end without the meaningful conclusion of the other three. With Robby and Miguel returning to Cobra Kai season 6 as allies for the show’s final season, it’s unlikely they’ll have another fight. As such, the poolside fight scene will probably remain the pair’s worst battle.
3 The High School Fight In The Cobra Kai Season 2 Finale
Cobra Kai season 2, episode 10, “No Mercy” (15:57)
The Cobra Kai season 2 ending is one of the best fight scenes in Cobra Kai so far. The sprawling riot encompasses the entire high school, with the tension between Miyagi-do and Cobra Kai reaching boiling point. Miguel and Robby’s intense rivalry isn’t the only focus of the lengthy sequence, but it is one of the scene’s most meaningful. Much of their dialogue relates to their fight from the Cobra Kai season 1 finale, where Miguel had defeated Robby in the All Valley Tournament.
As implied by the episode’s title, the various combatants of Cobra Kai are enacting their signature brand of “No Mercy” karate throughout the fight – Robby included. At this point in the Karate Kid timeline, Miguel has started to stray from this particular philosophy. So, while he has Robby at his mercy and has the chance to end the fight, Miguel decides to obey the voice of Johnny and tries to conclude the encounter as peacefully as possible.
The Cobra Kai Character Who’s Won The Most Fights In Every Rivalry
Cobra Kai is a series built around competing karate dojos, which leads to numerous rivalries between the members of the dojos as they fight it out.
The overall fight scene between various members of the Cobra Kai cast is impressively elaborate. However, ranking the school brawl any higher on the list of Robby/Miguel fights wouldn’t make any sense due to the sheer number of other participants. In addition, while Robby and Miguel are still one of the biggest dramatic threads running through this scene, their choreography doesn’t shine as brightly as it does in their other battles. As such, it pales in comparison to their other two fights while still being better than the post-prom skirmish in “Party Time.”
Miguel breaks his back as a result of this fight, leading to a long rehab process that eventually allows him to walk and even fight again.
2 The Fight At The Apartment Building
Cobra Kai season 5, episode 5, “Extreme Measures” (24:36)
Despite the unsteady alliance formed by Robby and Miguel in Cobra Kai season 5, Johnny Lawrence is well aware that the duo still harbor a deep-lying resentment towards one another. To settle the feud, Johnny instructs what is essentially his pair of sons to, “Fight it out. No points, no mats. Just keep fighting until you get it all out of your systems.” The scene is brilliantly put together, with even Johnny looking helpless when Miguel and Robby look to be taking the fight further than its intended purpose.
Robby and Miguel’s fight in “Extreme Measures” is the pair’s first proper rematch since Robby’s hotheadedness almost led to Miguel’s death in the high school brawl in “No Mercy.” The tension and frustration that has accumulated over this period is evident in the pair’s fighting styles. While the early innings of the skirmish begin tentatively, Miguel and Robby are soon in full swing and venting all the emotions they’ve been hiding beneath the surface.
Robby versus Miguel in the All Valley final has so much more on the line than a simple trophy.
Johnny quickly realizes he may have made a mistake when the fighting moves up the stairwell. For a few terrifying moments, it looks as though Miguel is seeking revenge for the paralysis caused by Robby in “No Mercy.” The fact that Miguel doesn’t act on his darker desires is proof that he has moved past the sins of the past in both characters’ lives. The end of this fight is essentially the evaporation of the bad blood between Robby and Miguel, with Johnny’s accidental baby reveal coming immediately afterward compounding the implication of the two younger men becoming family.
If it hadn’t been for this scene, Miguel and Robby’s simmering issues with each other would likely have come out in much more destructive ways at a later point. While Johnny’s actions in forcing the bout seem reckless, they are necessary for the healing process of all three characters. Without this fight, the alliance between Miguel and Robby would have remained as unpredictable as it always had been.
1 The All Valley Tournament In the Cobra Kai Season 1 Finale
Cobra Kai season 1, episode 10, “Mercy” (23:49)
The parallels between The Karate Kid and Cobra Kai are at their strongest during the final episode of Cobra Kai season 1. The fight between Daniel and Johnny in the 1984 All Valley Tournament is one of the franchise’s most iconic moments. As such, the respectful recreation of that very same scene in Cobra Kai carries extra weight. Robby versus Miguel in the All Valley final has so much more on the line than a simple trophy. Not only is Robby competing against his father’s dojo, but he’s also being coached by his father’s nemesis.
“Mercy” takes the original 1984 scene and reimagines it for new audiences while also maintaining the same continuity as the Karate Kid movies. For instance, Robby’s shoulder injury is reminiscent of Daniel fighting with a bad leg in The Karate Kid. In addition, Robby’s two-legged kick to Miguel’s torso is a throwback to Daniel’s crane kick. However, the fight between Robby and Miguel also boasts some significant changes that intentionally separate it from the 1984 Daniel/Johnny face-off.
Cobra Kai’s Biggest Missing Karate Kid Reference Reveals Exactly How The Show Should End
Cobra Kai’s avoidance of a massive reference to The Karate Kid’s ending may hint at how the show plans to end Johnny and Daniel’s story.
For instance, when Johnny tells Miguel not to fight dirty, Miguel’s reaction proves to Johnny what a corrupting force Cobra Kai can be. Also, Miguel and Cobra Kai’s victory over Robby and Daniel LaRusso is exactly the redemption that Johnny has been looking for ever since the first Karate Kid movie. What’s interesting is that the outcome is still seen as the bad guys winning due to Miguel’s demeanor throughout the fight. It would also arguably have made more sense to have Robby as a member of Cobra Kai for this fight, and for Miguel to be tutored by Daniel.
However, by making this clever switch, the writers made the fight much more dynamic from a situational standpoint. Finally, watching this scene retroactively displays the beginning of a brilliant arc for both Robby and Miguel. Instead of the level-headed character that Miguel becomes known as deeper into Cobra Kai, he’s portrayed as the villain here. Inversely, Robby is a meek underdog, which is very far from what his character eventually becomes further down the line. So, the dense narrative of this fight between Robby and Miguel easily makes it their best physical confrontation in Cobra Kai.
Cobra Kai
seasons 1-5 are available to stream on Netflix.
Cobra Kai
season 6 is confirmed for 2024, but there is no specific release window yet.
Cobra Kai
Set decades after the events of the Karate Kid franchise, Cobra Kai shifts gears and puts viewers into the perspective of a former rival/antagonist, Johnny Lawrence. In his 50s and down on his luck, a chance encounter with a bullied young man leads Johnny back to Karate. Agreeing to help him, Johnny takes the opportunity to revive his former home, the Cobra Kai dojo – becoming a refuge for outcast teens.
- Cast
- Tanner Buchanan , Xolo Mariduena , Mary Mouser , Connor Murdock , Ralph Macchio , Nichole Brown , Jacob Bertrand , Griffin Santopietro , William Zabka
- Seasons
- 5
- Showrunner
- Jon Hurwitz
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