Netflix's 65-Episode Martial Arts Show Is So Good, We Forgive It For Not Making Any Sense

Published Oct 13, 2026, 8:30 PM EDT Tom is a Senior Staff Writer at Screen Rant, with expertise covering everything from hilarious sitcoms to jaw-dropping sci-fi epics. Initially he was an Updates writer, though before long he found his way to the TV and movies team. He now spends his days keeping Screen Rant readers informed about the TV shows of yesteryear, whether it's recommending hidden gems that may have been missed by genre fans or deep diving into ways your favorite shows have (or haven't) stood the test of time. Tom is based in the UK and when he's not writing about TV shows, he's watching them. He's also an avid horror fiction writer, gamer, and has a Dungeons and Dragons habit that he tries (and fails) to keep in check. Realism has become an increasingly important audience expectation for television dramas. Outside genres like science fiction and fantasy, TV dramas are generally expected to tell believable stories, with characters who behave like real people and plot developments that remain within the boundaries of plausibility. Even when dealing with extraordinary circumstances, modern prestige series tend to avoid the kind of outrageous twists and melodramatic soap opera-style storytelling, instead prioritizing grounded narratives that feel authentic and convincing. This makes the success of one of Netflix's most popular sports dramas particularly baffling. Cobra Kai is undoubtedly one of the best drama series available to stream, with its six seasons delivering an incredibly entertaining combination of martial arts action, comedy, and satisfying character development across 65 episodes. However, it's also one of the most spectacularly unrealistic modern TV shows (at least among those set in the real world in the present day). Virtually every major storyline becomes completely implausible when subjected to even the slightest scrutiny. What's more, Cobra Kai doesn’t care about this at all. Serving as a sequel to the original Karate Kid movies, Cobra Kai revisits the rivalry between Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) and Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) decades after their famous confrontation at the All Valley Karate Tournament. What begins as a relatively grounded story about two middle-aged men struggling with their pasts escalates into an increasingly ridiculous martial arts saga. While most contemporary dramas strive for realism, Cobra Kai enthusiastically embraces bombastic storytelling that demands an extraordinary suspension of disbelief. Amazingly, this approach doesn't just work, but is arguably the show's greatest strength. Cobra Kai Decided Realism Is For Other Shows The overarching plot of Cobra Kai is, in no uncertain terms, absolutely bonkers. What begins as a rivalry between competing karate instructors becomes what is essentially an organized gang war. There’s home invasions, brutal assaults, and increasingly elaborate acts of revenge. Teenagers are hospitalized, and karate instructors behave like criminal masterminds. Somehow, the authorities never intervene meaningfully, and concerned parents continue allowing their children to attend the very dojos responsible for the chaos. However, the sheer ridiculousness of Cobra Kai is also why it’s so entertaining. The series approaches even its most ludicrous plot developments with complete sincerity, and the superb performances of its cast sell every outrageous twist. Whether it's a school-wide karate brawl or an international martial arts conspiracy, Cobra Kai characters react with such poker-faced authenticity that the audiences accept these ridiculous developments as perfectly sensible. Crucially, Cobra Kai also possesses enough self-awareness to acknowledge its own absurdity. Amanda LaRusso (Courtney Henggeler), in particular, frequently points out how ludicrous Daniel and Johnny's obsession with their decades-old karate rivalry has become. Her reactions remind viewers that the show understands just how quietly nonsensical its central premise really is. Cobra Kai doesn’t make excuses for its lack of realism. It embraces it wholeheartedly. This combination of earnest storytelling, self-aware humor, and relentlessly entertaining plot twists allows Cobra Kai to get away with almost anything. Its escalating rivalries make resisting the “next episode” button practically impossible, even when the story has abandoned plausibility entirely. In an era when most live-action dramas are expected to prioritize realism, Cobra Kai proves that leaning into the bombastic can be equally effective. Despite Its Off-The-Rails Plot, Cobra Kai Grounds The Karate Kid Franchise Perhaps the only thing more surprising than Cobra Kai making its ridiculous narrative work is that the series somehow makes the original Karate Kid movies feel more grounded. Despite its increasingly outrageous storylines, Netflix’s Karate Kid sequel offers considerably more complex characterizations than the films, retroactively adding psychological depth and believable motivations to characters who were previously didn’t hold up to scrutiny. Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith) is arguably the best example. In The Karate Kid Part III, Silver is essentially a James Bond villain, a wealthy businessman who devotes an extraordinary amount of time and resources to tormenting a teenager over a karate tournament. His behavior is almost comically impossible to believe. However, Cobra Kai explores Silver's psychological instability, traumatic military experiences, and toxic relationship with John Kreese (Martin Kove), making his obsession with karate and Daniel LaRusso considerably easier to understand. Cobra Kai also reexamines several questionable aspects of the original movies. Johnny's perspective challenges the simplistic portrayal of Daniel as the unquestionable hero, including the controversial crane kick that won him the 1984 tournament in The Karate Kid, which Johnny maintains was illegal. It also directly confronts Kreese's abusive treatment of his original students, particularly his violent confrontation with Johnny following his defeat in the first movie. What was once largely a hamfisted 1980’s demonstration of movie villainy becomes the foundation for a much deeper exploration of trauma and manipulation. Ultimately, Cobra Kai manages something genuinely remarkable. Despite having a plot so excessive that it almost resembles a live-action anime, it actually adds some much-needed emotional realism to the Karate Kid franchise. Its storytelling might be utterly ridiculous, but its characters are more believable and complex than ever. That unlikely combination is precisely why Cobra Kai works so well, even when absolutely nothing about its central premise makes sense. Release Date 2018 - 2025-00-00 Network Netflix, YouTube Premium Showrunner Jon Hurwitz Cast Ralph Macchio Daniel LaRusso Directors Hayden Schlossberg, Jon Hurwitz, Joel Novoa, Jennifer Celotta, Steven K. Tsuchida, Sherwin Shilati, Marielle Woods, Steve Pink, Lin Oeding, Michael Grossman Writers Josh Heald, Ashley Darnall, Chris Rafferty, Bill Posley Creator(s) Hayden Schlossberg, Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz