Cobra Kai (Karate Kid Show on YouTube Red)

[elevenism]

I heard the premise for Cobra Kai and thought it sounded HORRIBLE.
furthermore, the trailer was abysmal.
So when YouTube released the first two episodes, my wife and I turned it on to look at just how terrible it was.

Surprisingly, the first episode was reasonable. The second was pretty damn good.

I just finished the tenth episode, and I still can't believe it: this thing was fucking GREAT.

It's generous with the nostalgia, but in a good way. It's full of not just parallels, but parallels with juxtaposition. It boasts more emotional complexity than the original movie and , imho, is better than all of the sequels. It's a little campy, but in a self aware manner that's just right.
It's got a LOT of meaning and a LOT of depth and is full of moral grey areas that ask rhetorical questions about who is good and who is bad. It's got some seriously funny jokes. It's well written and directed and the actor playing Johnny is WAY more talented than I ever realized.

Basically, I feel like they knocked it out of the fucking park with this one.
it's obviously nothing like Twin Peaks, but that's the first thing that comes to mind, as The Return is the only reboot/revisitation I've seen that's this good.

my ONLY complaint is that some of the emotional payoff I predicted is saved for season 2 and I don't trust season 2

But SHIT, if you grew up with Karate Kid and loved it (aka aren't a robot,) I can't recommend this show enough.