WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Season 2 of Cobra Kai.
Season 2 of Cobra Kai picked up right where the debut season left off, as Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) continues his rivalry with Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio), who goes on to reopen Miyagi-Do. However, with Johnny's cruel sensei, John Kreese (Martin Kove), returning to once more sink his fangs into a new generation of Cobra Kai students, we get quite a few nods to the old Karate Kid trilogy.
With that in mind, let's look at some of this season's biggest Easter eggs and callbacks as Daniel tries to honor Mr. Miyagi's legacy and break the Cobra Kai venom running through the Los Angeles valley again.
KREESE'S BARE KNUCKLE BRAWL
Early on in the season, Daniel runs into Johnny at Cobra Kai's dojo. However, Kreese emerges from the convenience store next door with some beers for him and his former protege. Daniel's shocked at how Johnny let Kreese back into his life, to the point that he's ready to fight his former nemesis again. However, Johnny avoids the confrontation, but not before Daniel can poke fun at Kreese, asking him how his knuckles are.
This diss is directly related to the beginning of 1986's The Karate Kid II. After Daniel and Miyagi went to the parking lot to leave and celebrate their win, they found Kreese physically abusing Johnny. Miyagi intervened, and when Kreese tried to throw a couple punches, Miyagi sidestepped both, which resulted in Kreese smashing his knuckles into a couple of car windows. Miyagi would then put him on the ground, only to show him mercy in front of both sets of students by playfully tweaking his noise.
MIYAGI'S YELLOW CAR RETURNS
This season finds Daniel officially training Johnny's estranged son, Robbie (Tanner Buchanan), as part of Miyagi-Do. Paying homage to the same mentorship he received in the '80s, Daniel has Robbie doing the entire "wax on, wax off" gig again. What makes their relationship all the more special is when Robbie stands in awe of Daniel's 1948 Ford Super DeLuxe Club convertible, which fans know holds a very special place in the franchise.
Apart from Daniel cleaning it in The Karate Kid to learn discipline, it was also a birthday gift from Miyagi to Daniel in the first film after they refurbished it. This scene came off like a passing of the torch, as Daniel and Robbie's bond echoes his own father-son relationship with Miyagi decades before. Daniel even hints that some day he might pass on the classic automobile to Robbie, as we see Daniel restored all Miyagi's cars in his garage.
DANIEL'S BIG ICE BREAKER
When Daniel realizes his dojo isn't getting much traction, as Cobra Kai got a head start on him last season, he decides to put on a showcase with him, Robbie and his daughter, Sam (Mary Mouser). At the Valley's Carnival, Daniel sets up ice blocks to break, which he touts as the move that'll make Miyagi-Do popular and increase its intake tenfold. However, the exhibition is jacked by Cobra Kai, who break flaming bricks to show up Daniel's small crew.
The ice blocks are a direct throwback to The Karate Kid II when Daniel and Miyagi returned to Okinawa, Japan. There, they began a feud with Sato (Miyagi's old rival) and his nephew, Chozen. In a scene at a bar, the villains made a bet Daniel couldn't chop through six huge blocks of ice in a challenge, but Miyagi inspired him to do just that, creating yet another iconic moment in the franchise.
JOHNNY'S LIFE-CHANGING TROPHY
After their tumultuous past, Kreese brings a trophy back to the Cobra Kai dojo to rekindle his friendship with the redeemed Johnny. The latter is very skeptical, thinking Kreese is nothing more than a drill sergeant, but the trophy stirs up memories, despite it being patched together with glue. Clearly, it holds sentiment, and so Johnny resumes his ill-advised relationship with Kreese.
This isn't any ordinary trophy, as fans would remember it's Johnny's second place trophy from the first film, and it's also the reason Kreese beat him up at the start of the sequel. When Johnny told Kreese second place meant something, it triggered the teacher, who flung the trophy away, breaking it, all before he began to choke the boy out. It appears Kreese kept it all this time, waiting for the right moment to make amends.
MIYAGI'S DOJO INTERIOR
When Daniel begins work on getting Miyagi-Do up and running, Robbie comes to help put the place together. As they chat, Robbie begins inquiring about certain items found in boxes and on the walls, trying to get a sense of what Daniel went through as a teen with Miyagi.
Firstly, he takes up the hand drum Miyagi and Daniel used in Japan to help with focus and meditation, and which also saved Daniel's life in the fight against Chozen. In addition, Robbie spots Miyagi's U.S. Medal of Honor and, lastly, he asks Daniel what Miyagi's two Japanese banners on the wall mean. Daniel recites exactly what Miyagi told him, "The first rule is karate is for defense only," and when Robbie asks about the second banner, Daniel adds, "First, learn rule number one!"
JOHNNY'S OLD GANG
Midway through the season, Johnny has to leave to go visit a dear old friend. He puts Kreese in charge, in what turns out to be the worst move he could make, but it's a very urgent matter he has to attend to. Johnny actually heads out of town to look for a guy who has cancer, and as we see the crew of friends coming together, it's not just any random group of high school buddies -- it's the old red-jacket wearing Cobra Kai crew.
Sadly, Tommy has been diagnosed with cancer, so Johnny, Bobby and Jimmy take him out for one last night on the town to relive old memories. They were the crew that bullied Daniel, but times have changed, as they recount their bad days with Kreese, as well as Johnny still being in love with Ali Mills. Sadly, it's a bittersweet trip, as Tommy ends up dying overnight in what turns into an overnight camping trip.
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).