Cobra Kai Season 1 Episode 1 Recap – Ace Degenerate

[00:00:30] December 19, 1984, the All Valley Under-18 Karate Tournament. Johnny stands in the middle of the ring as the announcer was about to award Johnny with the championship trophy. Daniel emerges from the locker rooms and tells the announcer he‘d fight. He was injured but needed to compete so he didn’t lose by default. Daniel scores the first two points of the match, but just as he’s about to win it all, Johnny makes a comeback to even the score. In the final round, Johnny got a warning for an illegal move to put an end to Daniel.

[00:01:30] As the referees reset the round, Daniel stands on one foot and kicks Johnny in the face to end the match. Daniel emerges victorious as Johnny stays on the floor in frustration. Thirty years later, Johnny wakes up to the sound of his alarm. He immediately gets up to make breakfast and watch TV.

[00:03:30] As Johnny leaves his apartment, Miguel, a teenager who recently moved into the area with his family, greets him. Johnny assumes he’s an immigrant, but Miguel tells him otherwise. Miguel continues the conversation, but Johnny ends it, saying he’s not interested and walks away. Johnny heads to his car and drives off to work. On his way to work, he sees a billboard of the LaRusso Auto Group, to which he expresses his dismay. It should be his face on the billboard if he won the tournament in 1984.

[00:05:00] Johnny works as a handyman for multiple clients. He goes from house to house getting things done. Later in the day, he gets into an argument with a client about not doing his job right. The client tells Johnny that he‘s supposed to put the TV on the other wall. Johnny argues that the client didn’t give clear instructions. Johnny ends up insulting the client out of frustration. Johnny’s boss calls him about the client’s feedback, so he loses his job.

[00:07:00] After a tough day, Johnny goes to a convenience store to buy dinner where he sees Miguel. They talk as Johnny waits for his pizza. Johnny leaves the store with his pizza and eats in the parking lot. A few moments later, Miguel gets in a fight with some bullies. Johnny saves Miguel from the bullies who aren’t going down without a fight. He puts on a small show for Miguel as he still has a few karate moves in his arsenal. The bullies didn’t stand a chance against him even though they tried to team up against him. The police arrest Johnny because they think a grown man is beating up a bunch of kids.

[00:11:30] The next day, Johnny leaves the police station and heads home. Miguel greets him upon arrival and extends his gratitude for saving him the other night. Johnny doesn’t want to talk with Miguel. Miguel tries to convince Johnny to teach him Karate, but Johnny refuses and ends the conversation. As Johnny enters his apartment, a man named Sid greets him. Sid is Johnny’s stepdad, who then reveals that he bailed him out of jail. Johnny appreciates the help, but they end up arguing about their failures in life. Sid decides to just leave and get lunch.

[00:15:00] Johnny starts drinking and reminiscing about his past. While reminiscing, Daniel’s commercial goes on. Johnny tries to change the channel, but the remote isn’t working. Filled with anger and jealousy, Johnny breaks his TV and leaves the apartment. He drives to the All Valley Sports Arena and reminisces about his glory days and how Daniel seems to be the cause of all his misery. While reminiscing, a couple of girls crash into his car. Johnny confronts the girls, but they quickly leave the scene in fear.

[00:19:30] Johnny tries to chase them, but his car won’t start, so he calls for a towing service to get his car into a garage which, to his surprise, belongs to none other than Daniel LaRusso. Johnny goes to Daniel’s garage the next day to get his car back. While waiting for the receptionist to check the details of his car, he overhears a conversation that Daniel is coming out to greet a customer, so he decides to leave. Still, before he exits the premises, Daniel recognizes him and calls him out. Daniel approaches Johnny to ask him how he’s been and introduces him to a couple of his employees who remember him from the Karate tournament. They mock and ridicule him for losing the tournament.

[00:23:30] After the short conversation, Johnny insists he’s only there to get his car back and move it to another garage. Daniel offers to fix the car for free to which he agrees as he can‘t pay for the fees. Daniel gives Johnny a bonsai tree as a freebie, but he immediately discards it in the parking lot.

[00:26:00] Johnny speaks to Miguel and asks him if he’s ready to learn Karate. Miguel can’t believe it but assures Johnny he’s willing to learn. Johnny becomes Miguel’s sensei, determined to get back his glory days and settle his score with Daniel. Johnny rents out a small space and reopens the Cobra Kai Dojo.