"Feel The Night" is the penultimate episode of season three of the Netflix series Cobra Kai. For the series' main character Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka), things feel like they come full circle, but he also has a difficult decision to make. We also have an obvious change in dynamic within the youth dojo war between Cobra Kai, Eagle Fang, and Miyagi-do. This is your spoilers warning for the episode.
Since near the end of season two, the showrunners/executive producers teased the appearance of Ali Mills from the original 1984 film The Karate Kid. They gambled that Elisabeth Shue would return and it pays off handsomely, to say the least. We're reintroduced to her who was since married as Ali Mills Schwarber as Johnny discovered on Facebook where she happens to be in Valley visiting her parents from Colorado. Prior to meeting for lunch, Miguel (Xolo Maridueña) helped him refine his social media profile to "impress" her in a previous episode to "match" her likes.
Johnny Lawrence's Full Circle from The Karate Kid to Cobra Kai
When the two finally reunite, it felt like a giant piece fell into place. Obviously, given the time of the original filming of the 1984 film, a series like Cobra Kai wasn't exactly something anyone involved in the production ever imagined happening. We never saw what Ali and Johnny had before since it took place from Daniel LaRusso's (Ralph Macchio) perspective. With the way Johnny's been the entire series, it felt like a complete redemption to the point where there's no questioning where his morals lie and the kind of person he is now. When it comes to Shue, I feel this is almost not even acting. As humble and honest as Johnny is about his life, she matches him every which way in her down-to-earth nature. His former high school sweetheart admits she's in the middle of going through a divorce and just wants to enjoy life again. He takes her up on the offer spending time at the Golf N' Stuff amusement center reliving their high school days before they had to learn how to adult. While the bulk of the episode follows Shue and Zabka, the B arc sets up for the season finale. Directed by co-creator Josh Heald, "Feel the Night" was co-written by co-creators Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg along with Michael Jonathan Smith. It's another classic episode that delivers every which way. Season three of Cobra Kai is available to stream on Netflix.
This post is part of a multi-part series: Cobra Kai Season 3 Reviews.
- Cobra Kai S03 "The Good, The Bad & The Badass" Review: Going Footloose
- Cobra Kai Season 3 "Obstáculos" Review: Crossroads for Miguel & Sam
- Cobra Kai Season 3 "King Cobra" Review: Addition by Subtraction
- Cobra Kai Season 3 "Miyagi-Do" Review: Daniel Becomes The Chozen One
- Cobra Kai Season 3 "The Right Path" Review: Mr. LaRusso Goes to Japan
- Cobra Kai Season 3 "Now You're Gonna Pay" Review: Daniel at Crossroads
- Cobra Kai Season 3 "Nature vs. Nurture" Review: Chasing Loyalty
- Cobra Kai Season 3 "Aftermath": Johnny & Daniel Pick Up the Pieces