It’s immediately clear upon meeting Martin Kove that he is not John Kreese. In fact, it's pleasantly disconcerting to meet the actor behind the villain and realize he evokes Pat Morita’s Mr. Myagi more than his own Karate Kid character. He remarked in an interview at WonderCon "There’s two things that John Kreese cares about," he told CBR at WonderCon. "One is Cobra Kai - the integrity of Cobra Kai which is embedded in his soul, as a loner - and Johnny Lawrence because he was like his son."

When John Kreese returned to the Valley last season, it was a deliciously nostalgic piece of casting for YouTube's sleeper hit -- and yes, the show made reference to the less then beloved third Karate Kid sequel, in which Kreese faked his own death. Throughout the first season, Johnny Lawrence seems unaware that the “heart attack” Kreese suffered was a sham, allowing for considerable goofy surprise when the man showed up again, cigar and all. He’s initially mistrustful of his old sensai, but after a few episodes, the pathos surrounding Kreese’s situation (he’s completely alone, living in government housing) and Kreese’s considerable skills at manipulation ensure his reentry into Johnny’s life... and Cobra Kai.

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But despite the series' deft integration of key elements of the Karate Kid franchise (a huge percentage of kids in the same high school becoming karate experts, violent teachers with seriously blurred boundaries) with hallmarks of the 21st century young adulthood (bullying watchdogs, authority figures with much more harsly defined boundaries), the return of Cobra Kai’s original master could have been a huge misstep. That’s because Kreese is a villain who’s gotten much, much worse with age – from our vantage point, that is.

By today’s standards, a coach who spouts a literal Mortal Kombat slogan, tells his teenage Southern California suburb students that "Mercy is for the Weak" and encourages them to behave like a literal gang feels cartoonish and horrific at the same time. William Zabka’s sensitive portrayal of Johnny Lawrence’s pathos (paired with an unflinching eye on how he gets in his own way) is a huge part of what makes the show so compelling. Cobra Kai is something the Karate Kid films never attempted – a genuine redemption story. It helps that it’s drunk on '80s nostalgia complete with copious flashbacks and a certifiably bitchin’ soundtrack, but it’s Johnny Lawrence’s quest to find self-worth that drives the show. (Well, that and his star-crossed romance with Daniel LaRusso, but that’s another article for another website.)

Given the depth of perspective the show’s gifted all of its characters, introducing a man whose claim to fame was nearly killing one of his students on purpose, could have upset the delicate balance that makes Cobra Kai work so well. A two-dimensional Kreese doesn’t have a place in Cobra Kai, but conversely, is there really room for redemption in the life of a character this vile?

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Martin Kove doesn’t answer that question, but in speaking with CBR, he does give some valuable insight into how and why Kreese lives in the extremity he does. “You really think about John Kreese and his values once I guess, just before you get the job because I had to do a lot of homework about why John Kreese was the way he was, why was he, why did mercy for the weak work all the time for him? It’s because he was always allowed - he was a winner. And he was not allowed to win when he went to Vietnam. And there were children who’d come up laced with dynamite and they’d all want chocolate or something from his soldiers his platoon and they’d remotely blow up,” he revealed. He went on to discuss meeting with Army Rangers and sharing their experiences in order to put together a backstory that could lead to someone like Kreese."

“All those stories that we heard about Vietnam and we hear in Afghanistan existed for him and he did not want, he wasn’t allowed to come back as a winner. And he swore that his students and he would never lose again. And so therefore all of this evolved mercy is for the weak, no mercy, you know, my students will never lose anything…”

Kove doesn’t give the impression he’s rooting for Kreese, and neither does Cobra Kai. Even when the audience is faced with the truth of his situation -- an angry old man, barely keeping his head above water and spoiling for a fight with literally anyone but the woman who holds his spot at a shelter -- they’re immediately faced with his powers of manipulation. Hearing Kove’s backstory and seeing Kreese brought so low humanizes him just long enough for him to gain enough strength from our sympathy and Johnny’s to get back on his feet, just long enough to get up to his old tricks once more. It’s no surprise at all when he winds up stealing the dojo out from under Johnny, and it brilliantly sets up Johnny and Daniel to join forces in Season 3. The  prospect of that historic alliance alone makes Kreese’s addition worth the potential risk.

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If the first season of Cobra Kai spoke to the idea that everyone’s deserves a second chance, the latest points out that sometimes that second chance only helps someone get back to their old tricks. Kove spoke to that duality eloquently, leaving us to our own opinions of Kreese and his unique place in the franchise: "As this show evolves..., you learn much more about the character there’s a vulnerability there, but he’s still the John Kreese we all remember and hate. We love to hate this guy, or you hate to love him, Whichever it is.”

Starring William Zabka, Ralph Macchio, Courtney Henggeler, Xolo Maridueña, Mary Mouser, Tanner Buchanan and Martin Kove, Cobra Kai is currently available on YouTube Premium (previously YouTube Red).