Strike First

Indeed, the flurry of nostalgic thrills seem to continue in "Strike First". While not nearly as well-paced as "Ace Degenerate", it serves as a worthy follow-up and opens up new doors for the series. The opening of the Cobra Kai dojo on Johnny's (William Zabka) behalf is a neat storyline to follow and I'm interested to see how he will be able to balance having to deal with Daniel (Ralph Macchio) and his new students. Macchio had a little more screen time here, allowing him to really show us what his family is like and what he has matured into. The scene where the two are standing in the new dojo was absolutely wonderful and we may actually get that showdown this season.

This is a fantastic follow up to the first episode. Here we explore more of Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio)'s life, mostly as it pertains to his wife (Courtney Henggeler) and daughter (Mary Mouser). The former seems to be a lot more acclimated to the rich upper-class life the LaRusso family now leads; Macchio, meanwhile, is convincing as a guy whose wealth was earned, not inherited. He is from New Jersey after all, as established in the first "Karate Kid" film. Exploring Daniel's character more in this episode also helps remove some of the d-baggery that hung over his brief appearance in episode 1.

Outside of that, there's decent work by the kids in the cast, one of whom, Xolo Maridueña, is taken under Johnny (William Zabka)'s wing at the new Cobra Kai dojo. And Joe Seo is suitably arrogant and vicious as Daniel's daughter's love interest; the scrapes and bruises he got in the first episode lead Daniel to assume he was the victim, not the aggressor, all culminating in an electric confrontation between Johnny and Daniel at the end. It's worth the wait.

This is about as good a reboot/revival/continuation as I've seen from Hollywood in quite awhile. As long as the scripts can keep Johnny and Daniel front and center, this one looks like it'll be a winner.

A good follow up to ep 1, showing the difference between LaRusso and Johnny's lives. Decent acting and good use of archival footage from the movies.

Strike First explores more of Daniel LaRusso, the boy from New Jersey make good. Yet dark clouds hover. He runs a successful business, has a nice house with a beautiful wife. Yet it was his daughter Samantha who crashed into Johnny's car and drove away. She is also going out with bad boy Kyler the one who was beating up Miguel before Johnny intervened.

Daniel is perturbed when he sees Johnny's new dojo leading to a face to face meeting with less bonhomie and reminiscing from Daniel compared to their earlier encounter.

Of course things still do not look good for Johnny. We see him get brushed off by his estranged son. He also gets Miguel to get the dojo into shape so he can get a license and insurance to operate. However his teaching methods leave a lot to be desired. He makes that music teacher from the movie Whiplash look like a pussycat!

Ep 2 keeps the momentum going, fleshing out the themes set in the premiere while expanding on both Johnny's struggles and Daniel's world.

The series cleverly continues its role reversal, giving each character moments that blur the line between hero and villain. What stands out here is how the show layers humor with moments of genuine heart, avoiding the trap of simply leaning on 80s nostalgia.

The pacing is slightly steadier than the high-energy opener, but it allows the show to add depth to its characters. We see the beginnings of relationships that will clearly shape the rest of the season, and the writing manages to balance comedy, drama, and action without tipping too far in one direction.

It's a confident follow-up that proves the pilot wasn't a one-off. The show has more to say than just revisiting the past-it's carving its own identity while respecting the original films.

Rating: 7.5/10.