WARNING: Spoilers ahead for Cobra Kai.
The Cobra Kai season 2 finale ends with John Kreese legally taking control of the titular dōjō, leading some viewers to question why Johnny Lawrence allowed him back in the first place? Three decades after being embarrassed at the All-Valley Karate Tournament in The Karate Kid, Kreese and Johnny still can't get over the past, which proves to be the driving force of the narrative continuation, now streaming on Netflix.
Cobra Kai revolves around the enduring conflict between Johnny (William Zabka) and his high school enemy, Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio). In The Karate Kid, released in 1984, the two teenagers fight over Ali Mills (Elisabeth Shue) and ultimately square off in a climatic karate competition. Kreese, the founder of Cobra Kai, orders Johnny to show "no mercy" in a match again LaRusso, who manages to win based on the lessons learned from his mentor, Mr. Miyagi. In Cobra Kai, Johnny remains haunted by the past while still living in the San Fernando Valley. During a chance meeting with Daniel — now the successful owner of LaRusso Auto Group — he's reminded about being shamed by Kreese after seemingly ruining Cobra Kai's reputation (as shown in The Karate Kid Part II).
In Cobra Kai season 1, Johnny is framed as a typical Straight White Male and former hotshot who makes questionable decisions and refuses to embrace change — still holding onto his previous teenage "glory days." As the series progresses, though, it's clear that Johnny has major insecurities to overcome, evidenced by his need to steadily self-medicate with cans of Coors Banquet and behavior that seemingly explains why he's estranged from his son, Robby (Tanner Buchanan). Still bitter about the past, Johnny re-opens the Cobra Kai dojo in a strip mall, and takes a no-nonsense approach with his first student, Miguel (Xolo Maridueña). When Kreese re-emerges and wants to help with Cobra Kai, Johnny's character arc becomes significantly more complex. He's forced to empathize with his mentor's dire living conditions (which parallel his own struggles), but also worries about being manipulated. By the Cobra Kai season 2 finale, Kreese transforms into the series' true villain by starting a dōjō war and legally assuming control of Johnny's business, the one thing in life that brings him joy.
Johnny's glory days from the past function as a security blanket. In Cobra Kai season 2, he must look into the eyes of a father figure, Kreese, who essentially abandoned and humiliated him; a major psychological blow that's he's still dealing with in the present. As a leader, Johnny's perspective changes when a student (Jacob Bertrand as Hawk) cheats during a competition and injures his estranged son, Robby, who now trains under Daniel. When Johnny realizes that he's failing his own student, he reconsiders Kreese's association with Cobra Kai and asks him to leave. Thematically, Cobra Kai season 2 underlines Johnny's personal evolution through a successful first date with Carmen (Vanessa Rubio) that ends with him resolving his differences with Daniel. Surely but slowly, Johnny learns how to consciously be more vulnerable in social settings. He doesn't feel the need to repeatedly establish himself as the Alpha Male, which is why he kept Kreese around for so long.
Cobra Kai season 2 ends with a dōjō war that Kreese predicted. For dramatic purposes, the finale includes an extended fight sequence that results in Miguel being severely injured. Incidentally, Johnny loses his girlfriend Carmen (Miguel's mother) and then learns that his students have abandoned him and teamed up with Kreese. Cobra Kai includes numerous nostalgic references to the past, but it's essentially a character study about Johnny's quest to be the best version of himself. He's alway been afraid to trust Kreese, and thus he's afraid to trust anyone else. Moving forward, Johnny will need someone who truly cares about his well-being, otherwise he'll self destruct and return to his old ways. In Cobra Kai season 3, it seems that Miguel's recovery will lead to a romantic reunion between Johnny and Carmen, and also a moment of reckoning between Johnny and Kreese.