Johnny Lawrence, after reviving the “Cobra Kai” dojo and putting its name back on the map, has a figure from his past who wishes to change what the dojo truly stands for as he sees fit.

“Cobra Kai” proved to be an absolute smash hit with both critics and fans on the YouTube television-program platform YouTube Red (Now known as YouTube Premium) when it premiered on March 2, 2018. The premise follows Johnny Lawrence (Played by William Zabka) down on his luck and going through the aftermath of losing the 1984 All Valley Karate Tournament to Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio).

Johnny, still haunted by the loss despite it having been 34 years ago, appears to be a broken man in the present day. Through the first season alone, it manages to portray why it meant so much to him as well as showing how much his life went downhill because of it as well as showing a side to the character that was not seen in the original “The Karate Kid” film.

Within the first season, Johnny begins to build up the resources and money needed to restart the Cobra Kai dojo. Through the help of Miguel Diaz (Xolo Maridueña), he starts to attract more and more students to the dojo with a large majority of them becoming characters that gain a significance within the ongoing plot.

However, conflicts between characters begin to emerge with Johnny soon realizing that the dojo’s creed “Strike First. Strike Hard. No Mercy,” as well as his teaching style encourages negative emotions and traits within his pupils and fears losing control over them. Daniel, who was traumatized by the events of the first movie, attempts to be rid of the dojo through various means. With him engaging in an escalating feud with Johnny, his personal life starts to become affected as well.

What helps the show is that creators Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg clearly show an immense amount of love for the source material. The original 1984 “The Karate Kid” is still remembered as one of the best films of its times and to have it receive a continuation many years later without it coming off as pandering is quite honestly refreshing. Characters from the original film get fleshed out, their backstories explored and their motives explained in the present day in greater detail. In addition, the series proves to be watchable even if you haven’t seen “The Karate Kid” — although it certainly helps and I would recommend doing so.

Spoilers ahead.

The second season wastes no time in picking up and continuing the enormous cliffhanger of the first. Without spoiling too much for first time viewers, Martin Kove becomes part of the cast with his performance being stellar and showing how much power his character has over Johnny Lawrence. Overtime, Kove’s character reveals his motives and he suddenly decided to make a return.

As well as that, many more conflicts and problems arise in season two of the show. Several relationships are destroyed and the season finale is sure to leave several viewers in shock.

You can watch all 20 available episodes of the show on YouTube Premium.