04x01 - Let's Begin

[bunniefuu]

[gentle piano music plays]

[piano music speeds up]

[cell phone buzzes]

- [man 1] Hello.
- [man 2] Hey.

Long time.

[dramatic piano music plays]

Ready?

Let's begin!

Uh, begin what exactly?

Begin a new era.

[uplifting music plays]

Many of us used to be enemies.

But rivalries

don't need to last forever.

The All Valley Tournament
is just a few months away,

and this year, the stakes are higher
than they've ever been.

We know that Cobra Kai is gonna use
every dirty trick in the book.

There's only one way
we're gonna be able to b*at...

By kicking their asses so hard
they sh*t themselves.

We gotta take things to the next level.

[dramatic music plays]

Gonna teach you an aggression stronger
than anything Cobra Kai can throw at us.

They strike first?

We'll pre-strike!

Okay, we're getting ahead of ourselves.
We are going to respond to what they do.

Eagles do not respond.

They swoop down
and take whatever they want.

That's what we're gonna do.
Take back the Valley.

Take it back in a measured
and organized approach.

We bite first!

[sighs]

Okay, let's just warm up
with some simple exercises.

All right, line up!

And just breathe and follow me.

Fighting positions!

Right leg back.

Front kick ready. Hi-yah!

- [thud]
- sh*t, dude. I'm sorry.

[groans]

Ready. Fight!

ENVY SEES ONLY THE GARDEN
WITHOUT THE ROCKS

- Go for the teeth!
- Hey, hey.

You're just swinging at each other.

Don't you teach any defense?

Best defense is more offense.

[grunting]

[Johnny] Holy...

[groaning]

Why do you have a rock in your dojo?

Fight!

♪ One life, I'm gonna live it up ♪

That's it. Keep circling.

♪ I'm takin' flight, I said... ♪

[Daniel] Don't anticipate.

Stay focused.

One of you do something.
What the hell is this?

That's not how this works.
One of us has to be provoked.

- Ah!
- [Daniel] Hey!

Provoked yet?

Wax on, wax off.

It doesn't matter
how many times you've done it.

You always need
to practice your fundamentals.

That's right, clean it good.
Want it to look brand-spanking-new.

Get all the cans out of there.

You find any loose change,
it belongs to me.

♪ ...be some action spent... ♪

Come on, you maggots! Faster!

Good, good, good!

[grunting]

- [Johnny] Come on, you got this!
- Johnny, come on.

- We're gonna get sued here.
- Uh, sue me for what?

Oh God. I think I'm about to barf.

- Let's go! Move it, move those feet!
- No, no, not the boat!

[vomiting]

[Daniel] Not the boat!

Fight!

[grunting]

♪ You've got another thing comin' ♪

[grunting]

[Hawk] Oh sh*t.

You see,
this is why we don't spar in here.

All right, who's next?

[thwacking]

[grunting and thwacking]

[laughter]

[Kyler] Yo, I'm telling you, man,
when I get to ASU,

honeys be lining up for this snack,
know what I mean?

[laughter]

Anyways, my dad,
he wants me to go to Harvard,

but ASU's like
the Harvard of the west coast.

You guys are pathetic. If you'd handled
your business, we would have won.

Okay, whatever. Hawk, he switched sides.

Yeah, Miguel just got out of a wheelchair
and he still kicked your ass.

[Kyler] You know what? At least
I'm still here. Half the squad quit.

[bell rings]

[Tory] Well, look who showed up.

[tense music plays]

[Kyler] That fool doesn't even practice,
but he gets to stay? I don't get it.

You're late.

I'm not here for practice.

Well, if you wanna be a Cobra Kai...

I never said I was joining.
I just needed a place to crash.

Well, you can crash here
as long as you want.

Look, this was a bad idea.

I know Cobra Kai helped
when I was getting jumped in juvie,

but I am not gonna be a pawn in this bet
you've made with my dad and Mr. LaRusso.

I don't think of you as a pawn.

I think of you as a king.

Your father had all the talent
in the world, but he squandered it.

I gave him every opportunity to come back,

but he chose Diaz.

And he left you
with that mark on your head.

Trust me, you've got
even more talent than your father.

You just need to show it to the world.

After everything,
do you think I care about a stupid trophy?

It's not about the trophy.

It's about being a champion.

Win or lose,

that reputation will follow you
the rest of your life.

Ask your father and LaRusso.

Yeah, well,

they have a good chance of winning
now they've teamed up.

They're not the only ones teaming up.

[alarm blaring]

Oh sh*t!

- [alarm stops]
- I'm sorry.

I-I'm still getting used to the code.

- This new alarm sucks.
- [phone ringing]

You should've sprung
for the one with facial recognition.

Hi, this is Amanda LaRusso.

Sorry, it was a false alarm.

Uh, password is "Outlander."

Okay.

I'm trapped, Daniel.

[Daniel sighs]

I thought the new security system
would make me feel safer,

but it's just putting me more on edge.

Those little Cobra Kai shits
ought to be locked up.

Especially that Tory psycho.

If anyone deserves no mercy, it's her.

If you want to, honey,
we could still go to the police.

We've already been through this.

Sam doesn't need
to go through all this again and our...

business can't survive
another PR nightmare.

I know things are less than ideal.

A small boy was thrown through our window.

Daniel, if you would have told me
a year ago

that our family's safety depended
on winning a karate tournament,

I would have thought you were joking.

Here we are. Living in The Twilight Zone.

Believe me, Amanda,
I want things to go back to normal too.

But if Johnny and I
can just actually work together,

it gives us the best sh*t
to put an end to all this.

So how did it go with Captain Eagle Claw?

At least we haven't
b*at each other up yet.

Oh. Well, progress.

Do you really think Kreese
is gonna shut down Cobra Kai if he loses?

Oh, he's gonna lose.

We got LaRusso 2.0 fighting for us.

And once he loses,
it won't matter if he welches.

Everyone in the Valley will see
that Cobra Kai doesn't work.

Especially Robby.

Dinner is served.

All right, tonight's main course
is fajitas and grilled vegetables.

I have pico de gallo

and corn and flour tortillas.

Wow. This looks delicious, Johnny.

Thanks. I got the recipe
off the Chili's website.

I wanted it to be authentic.

[in Spanish] Authentic for who?

We're Ecuadorian not Mexican.

- Mama!
- [Johnny in English] Here, try this.

Spicy mango.

Just like the old country.

Uh, gracias.

So how was the big first day?

Uh, you know, it's the first day.

Work in progress.

I'm happy
you and Daniel are working together.

I just want to make sure Miggy's safe.

My back's in better shape than ever, okay?
You don't have to worry.

She's your mom, she's always gonna worry.
But don't worry, I'm watching him.

[in Spanish] So, mijo, tell me,

how do you like
doing karate with your girlfriend?

You guys enjoy
a lot of one-on-one sparring?

[giggles]

[in English] I'm glad you and Sam
are back together. She's cute.

I'm not the only one who's getting
back together with an ex, huh, sensei?

He had a date with the love of his life.

The one that got away?

Is that right?

- It wasn't a date, no.
- [Miguel] He's being modest.

We took those cool pictures
and made you look...

Not to say you didn't look cool already,

but he had to look special
for the special lady.

Tell 'em about the sushi.

- We don't have to talk about it.
- [Miguel sighs]

I don't know why he's being shy right now.

We went to the sushi spot
because Ali likes sushi, or so we thought.

So we got the dragon roll...

It's not like that, you know?

- We're just old friends catching up.
- Okay.

Carmen, on the night
of what happened at the LaRusso house,

I was coming to see you to...

Johnny, I... think it's better
that we don't rush into anything.

With everything that's happened
and everything still happening,

I think we should give it some time.

Is that okay with you?

Yeah.

Totally.

We'll give it some time.

[door closes]

[dramatic musical crescendo]

[tense music plays]

[man 1] Whoa, whoa, Carla.
Let me help you.

Here, I got it.

There you go.

Thank you, Mr. Silver.

[Young Silver] Come on, say it.

- Say it! Cobra Kai...
- Never dies.

You bet your ass.

What do you want?

I'm not here to cause any trouble.
I just want to catch up.

You know, for old times...

sake.

[soft music playing]

Uh, excuse me for a second.

Everything okay, babe?

This is John Kreese. An old friend.

Well, any friend of Terrance
is a friend of mine.

Hi, I'm Cheyenne.

Pleasure.

So, Terrance,

you've actually tied the knot, huh?

Oh, no. We're not married.

Terrance and I
are enjoying the journey for now.

So we are just having some hors d'oeuvres.
Would you join us?

- John just...
- Oh, that would be splendid.

Great. How about a mimosa?

How about two?

Ooh.

[chuckling]

[Johnny] Ready, bow.

Sensei Lawrence and I have the same goal
of preparing you for the tournament.

But we have different ways
of getting you there.

We realize that teaching you
opposing viewpoints at the same time

can be a little confusing.

[Johnny] So we've discussed it
and come up with a solution.

We're gonna divide and conquer.

Eagle Fang trains out front.

And I'll be back here with the Miyagi-Dos.

I thought we were stronger
working together.

- We're still working together.
- Just separately.

On opposite ends of the dojo.

All right, Eagles, follow me.

Miyagi-Dos, come on over here.

- [Chris] Later, man.
- See you later.

- I guess I'll see you after class?
- Guess so.

Fall in!

Hawk, since you're new to Eagle Fang,
come on up.

Yes, sensei.

- [Johnny] Hi-yah!
- [Hawk groans]

What the heck?

Today we're gonna practice
our front sweeps. On Hawk.

All right.
I know I was a d*ck, but I'm sorry.

Talk is cheap.

Who's next?

Penis Breath, you're up.

[rock music playing on speakers]

[door opens]

[door closes]

You're supposed to have someone spot you,
you know.

I don't need a spotter.

Looks like you've upgraded
from running away to hiding.

I'm not hiding.

Could've fooled me.
I don't remember seeing you at the fight.

What were you even thinking?

That you'd break into the LaRussos'
and hurt Sam

and everything would be
sunshine and roses?

You're lucky the LaRussos
didn't call the cops.

At least I'm not straddling the fence.

Girls like Sam LaRusso
think the world revolves around them.

And why shouldn't she?

All she has to do to get what she wants
is make a puppy dog face and say please.

Even after she dropped you, she's still
got you wrapped around her finger.

- That is not true.
- Then why are you defending her?

You're right to skip practice.

If you're gonna stay on defense,
this isn't the right dojo for you.

[dramatic music plays]

[mellow music plays]

[woman] Appetizer?

[Cheyenne] It's a vegan tofu skewer.

Totally organic. Just, uh,
dip it in the cilantro cashew sauce.

It's to die for.

No, thank you. I'm... just not hungry.

So you and Terrance,
you've known each other for a while?

Fifty years.

We met in 'Nam.

Special Forces.

But you never told me
you were in the m*llitary.

There's not much to tell.

Right. Not much.

Something I can help you with, bud?

You have a Habsburg jawline.

I've never seen one quite so perfect.

[chuckles]

What nice new friends you have, Terrance.

Terrance was kind enough to host
the launch of my new mindfulness app.

Unfortunately, most of the schools
outside of Los Angeles,

they don't teach mindfulness,

so I figured why not create an app

where kids in places like Ohio,
for example, can learn it for themselves?

Ah, I'm sure kids would love that.

Terrance and I have a history
of teaching children, with martial arts.

Oh, that's right.

You did mention something
about a karate team once. Um...

What was it called again?

The Vipers?

- Cobra Kai.
- [chuckles] That's adorable!

I had no idea you had a karate phase.

Karate is not a phase.

It's a way of life.

You can leave it for a while,

but it never really leaves you.

[Daniel] We all have anger inside.

But I want you to let it go.

Don't let your emotions control you.

You have to be the one in control. Right?

Now, everyone close your eyes

and relax.

[Johnny] Stop whinin' like a little bitch.
Get up.

Stay focused.

Eyes closed.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

[Johnny] Don't be a p*ssy.
Punch him in the face.

[snickers]

Try not to be distracted.

Stay focused.

You punched him in the balls?
What the hell is wrong with you?

[students giggling]

Wait right here.

- [Hawk groaning]
- [Johnny] Boom! Nice sh*t, Gus!

- Right in the gut.
- Sensei Lawrence.

- [Johnny] Yes, sir!
- May I have a word with you?

All right, guys, everybody take five.
Walk it off. Looking good, looking good!

Could you keep it down?
I'm trying to teach.

Keep it down? Do you want me to whisper?
Karate's a loud sport.

I can't train my students
if you're shouting obscenities.

- Obscenities? What kinda bullshit is that?
- Yeah.

[Hawk] "Walk it off"?
I'm trying my best here.

[Demetri] That's the sparring deck

where Mr. Miyagi's great-grandfather
taught karate on the Okinawan waterfront.

- Yo, be careful with that.
- Why, you think I'm gonna break it?

You already broke a door.

- And you stole Mr. Miyagi's medal.
- And you b*at the sh*t out of me.

Hey, look,
I'm really sorry about all that.

Go back with your little Eagle g*ng.
You're not wanted here.

This was always gonna be a disaster,
wasn't it?

- Everything's a disaster with you.
- What? Me?

- Hey, Mr. LaRusso, can we talk?
- What?

- I don't know where I fit in here.
- What did you expect?

You've b*rned bridges
with pretty much everyone here.

[sighs] Hey! Hey!

- What the hell did you do?
- What did I do?

I'm not the one
who's been kicking his ass all day.

We're training for the All Valley,
not some yoga competition.

Don't disrespect my dojo
in front of your students.

Don't tell me how to run my class.
I'll do whatever I want.

- I know what you're doing.
- [Johnny] Yeah?

[Daniel] As long as you're under my roof,
they're both our students.

[Johnny] Oh, yeah, I know.
Under what roof? We're outside.

Look, I tried.

The only thing LaRusso and I
have in common is hating Kreese.

I thought that was enough, but it's not.

There's gotta be a way to make it work.
You guys just have to connect.

Not gonna happen. We're too different.
There's too much history.

Forget it, kid.
We'll take down Cobra Kai on our own.

What about Rocky III?

[guitar chord plays]

What about it?

How did Rocky defeat Clubber Lang?

Did he do it alone? No.
He and Apollo had to work together.

Even though they had all that history,
though they're complete opposites,

they made it work.

It was only because
someone had to reach out first.

That was Apollo.

Why can't LaRusso be Apollo?

'Cause striking first is more badass.

I'll think about it.

[door opens]

[door closes]

[phone ringing]

Hey. So how did it go?

I'm not sure it worked, but we'll see.
What about you?

Couldn't tell
if my dad went for it or not.

[Miguel] Well, we did everything we could.

If this doesn't keep our dojos together,
I don't know what will.

We've gotta try everything.

No matter how difficult it may be.

- [Miguel] All right.
- Bye.

[Miguel] Bye, babe.

Robby.

I came here every day after you ran away,
hoping I would find you.

So what do you want?

I was really angry at you
for what happened at the school.

But believe me,
I never stopped caring about you.

Never stopped caring about Miguel either.

I know.

I thought that that was over,
but it was more complicated.

There's nothing complicated about it.
It's a choice and you chose.

You're right.

But that doesn't mean
you have to make the wrong choice.

You're a good person.

My dad knows it. Your dad knows it.

My dad also had a choice,

and he chose to become a drunk loser
who still hasn't figured out his own life.

Now he wants to make up for lost time
so he can feel better about himself?

It's not gonna happen.

Please.

Your dad is trying to change.

Mine is too.

If you could just come back,

you could really help
bring everybody together.

That's all that I want.

Then it looks like I get to be
the first person to ever tell you this.

You're not getting what you want.

Okay.

Just remember,

this was your choice.

[sad music plays]

Nice view from up here.

I guess you get what you pay for.

Is that what you want, John?

A check?

I wanna finish what we started.

[laughs] Finish what we started.

Just like we were supposed to do
35 years ago?

Before you vanished?

I was in a bad place.

There's no question about that.

But I'm back now,

and you can be too.

Look around.

I'm doing just fine.

Are you?

Because the Terry Silver that I knew

would have roundhoused
old four-eyes back there

for calling Cobra Kai "adorable."

Do you remember
when we got back from 'Nam?

We went through hell
watching our friends die,

only to be welcomed home
by a bunch of hippies calling us K*llers.

People needed to learn some respect,

some discipline.

That's why we started Cobra Kai.

Together, we made a difference.

Yeah.

- We did.
- [Kreese] We can do it again.

There's a whole new generation out there
that can use what we know.

The only thing standing in our way
is Daniel LaRusso.

Danny boy?

He's even teamed up with... Johnny Lawrence.

Wait, wait.

Your champ and LaRusso working together?

That's why I'm here.

I need a partner.

And the only other person
who knows how to teach Cobra Kai

is you.

What do you say?

[tense music plays]

I say

no.

Back in the '80s,

I thought I could conquer the world.

[laughs]

[Silver] And I came pretty damn close.

I was so hopped up on cocaine

and revenge...

[maniacal laughing]

Hi-yah!

[Silver] ...I spent months
terrorizing a teenager

over a high school karate tournament.

[chuckles]
It sounds insane just talking about it.

After that tournament, I hit rock bottom.

But I built myself back up.

Got my ass into therapy,

found clarity.

Turns out you disappearing

was the best thing
that ever happened to me.

You know, people expect men of our age

to pack it in

and go off into the sunset.

[chuckles] That might work for you.

But I still have some fight left in me.

Please thank Cheyenne for the tofu.

[dramatic music plays]

[sighs]

"Hey, Daniel.
I know things have been tense."

"We got off on the wrong foot."

"I'm sorry
for interrupting your class today."

No. Don't apologize. It shows weakness.

[knock on door]

[dialing tone]

[phone clicks]

Too late for a pop-in?

What do you want?

I know we got off on the wrong foot
and I'm sorry I snapped at you.

Yeah, well, you should be sorry.

Maybe we could hash things out?

[Daniel] Ah.

Ham?

Uh. Uh, n-no. No, I'm, I'm... I'm good.

Suit yourself.

[Daniel sighs]

All right, look...

I understand

how difficult it must be
coming to my dojo.

It's no secret we've had our problems.

But I think we can agree
we have to try and make this thing work.

So for the sake of the kids, I think...

that it's time
that you officially join Miyagi-Do.

Wait, what?
Why the hell should I join your dojo?

Because the more we fight with each other,
the harder it is on the kids.

You join Miyagi-Do,
we're all on the same page.

Why do I have to be the one to switch?
Why can't you join Eagle Fang?

Ah, come on, Johnny.

Miyagi-Do has a rich tradition
going back hundreds of years.

You started your dojo,
what, three weeks ago in a park?

I'm pretty sure you came up with the name
from this poster.

Just 'cause something's
been around longer doesn't make it better.

Your dojo doesn't even have
a good place to fight.

You complaining about my dojo?
It's not costing you a thing.

- [chuckles] It's always about money.
- Money?

I haven't mentioned the fact you're
driving a stolen car from one of my lots.

Oh, please, the thing's a piece of sh*t.

The radio's busted,
the trunk smells like piss.

- You should go in there.
- You know what? Forget it.

I don't know what I was thinkin'.

How is this ever gonna work?

[melancholy music plays]

It's not.

[sighs]

If this is final,
we're gonna have to tell the kids.

We'll tell 'em tomorrow.

Rip the Band-Aid off.

[melancholy music continues]

[British accent] Good day, my lady.

My name is Miguel
and I'll be your chauffeur this morning.

[Miguel sighs]

As long as, uh,
you can help me hot-wire this thing?

Wow, not even a courtesy laugh?

My dad was gone by the time I woke up.

Know if he had a chance
to connect with Johnny?

I didn't see him this morning either.

[Miguel sighs] What's up, Hawk?

Hawk!

Was that a sledgehammer?

[bell ringing]

[Kyler] I'm telling you,

that fiesta burrito?

sh*t, it was like a party with...

Get a load of this chump.
What are you doing here?

Sensei Kreese isn't back yet,
so I'm gonna get you guys warmed up.

You've never been a part of this team
and you think you're our sensei?

- Get the hell outta here, man.
- Who says we even want you?

Okay, hit me.

Any of you.

If any of you can land a hit, I'll go.

All right.

[grunting]

[Kyler groaning]

Who's next?

[grunts]

[grunting]

[grunting]

[grunting continues]

[grunting]

[grunting continues]

[Robby] You just gonna watch?

[grunting]

[grunting]

[Robby] No hard feelings?

[grunting]

A deal's a deal.

I'll go.

No.

Stay.

Light traffic today?

What's that supposed to mean?

Nothing, I'm just surprised
you got here on time.

Why wouldn't I be?

Sooner we get this over with, the better.

Whatever. Let's just get on the same page
on how we're gonna break it to 'em.

[faint grunting]

All right, stand back. It's comin' down!

Hey! What are you doin'?

You were both right. Talk is cheap.

So I'm building a bridge.

Uh, more specifically,
an Okinawan sparring deck.

Eli's a design whiz. I looked it over
and the physics check out.

Mr. Miyagi just used this area
for extra storage,

but a new deck would mean
a lot more room for training.

We're all gonna help build it.
Assuming our senseis approve?

Sounds good to me.

Yeah.

Sounds awesome.

[uplifting music plays]

[Robby] Over at Miyagi-Do,
our enemies are uniting against us.

They think by working together,
they have the advantage.

They think they're better than us.

And I should know
because I used to be one of them.

That officially ends today.

I'll admit,

at first, I didn't want to join Cobra Kai.

But eventually,

we all need
to look ourselves in the mirror

and realize who we really are.

Terrance? Would you be a darling and get
a bottle of Montrachet from your cellar?

Of course.

[Robby] Now,
we may have taken some losses,

but it's not about how you start.

It's about how you finish.

And to b*at the enemy,
it helps to know the enemy's playbook.

So I'm gonna teach you Miyagi-Do karate,

so we can b*at Miyagi-Do Karate.

[all exclaim]

They're warmed up for you, sensei.

[dramatic music plays]

Ah-sah!

[Cheyenne] Terrance, is everything okay?

Yeah.

Coming.

[dramatic music crescendos]

[upbeat music plays]