Cobra Kai Season 3 Episode 2 Recap – Nature Vs. Nurture

[00:00:30] John experienced bullying in his teenage years. It‘s the reason he joined the army. He wanted to become tough to kick ass, and show the world he wasn’t supposed to get bullied. He always thought the world was unfair and cruel, so he teaches his students that they must be equally unfair and cruel. Kreese is preparing the new batch of Cobra Kai students to avenge what happened to Miguel. He tells everyone that Miguel is one of them and that what happened to him can happen to them. The students agree, especially Hawk, so they shout in unison that they will avenge Miguel.

[00:03:00] Miguel is now awake, so Carmen is attending to his every need. The LaRussos left him a fruit basket, and Demetri gave him a comic book. Miguel asks Carmen where Johnny is. Carmen doesn’t want to tell Miguel, but she knows she can’t keep a secret from him forever. Meanwhile, Johnny and Daniel are on a mission to find Robby. They start things with Shannon. Johnny isn’t in great shape for the reunion, but his current status will do. He‘s still bruised up, but at least he‘s sober. Johnny argues with Shannon, but Daniel tells them to focus on the task. Shannon tells them that when Robby got into trouble, it meant his old friends weren’t too far behind.

[00:06:30] Johnny realizes Shannon is talking about the dumbass kids he found Robby with a few months back. Daniel tells him he knows where they are. Meanwhile, Kreese treats his students to an eye-opener. He gives them a pet hamster which Bert names Clarence. They all thought they will keep Clarence, but it turns out Clarence is just food for the next pet, a cobra. Kreese unveils the cobra, and everyone gets ecstatic to see one up close and personal. The only task left is to feed Clarence to the cobra, but the majority of the team refused to feed Clarence to the cobra. Kreese kicks them off the team for showing weakness. The students can’t do anything but leave.

[00:09:00] After training, Hawk approaches Kreese to ask about his plan. He doesn’t understand why they kicked students out when they should be keeping them. Kreese explains he doesn’t have time to teach weak students. They must strengthen their core and find a new champion in Miguel’s absence. Hawk likes the sound of finding a new champion — it‘s his time to shine. Meanwhile, Tory continues to fight for her life. Life continues to be unfair to her. She’s struggling to pay rent and keep her entire family afloat after getting expelled. To make things worse, the landlord is hitting on her. The guy wants to make her his bitch so she can live a worry-free life. Tory won’t give up easily, but she’s very frustrated at how her life turned out.

[00:12:30] Daniel and Johnny meet Robby’s old friends in prison. They don’t plan on talking to them, but Johnny makes sure they will talk. Johnny smacks one of them and makes his nose bleed in front of everyone. The guards don’t do anything to stop Johnny, so he threatens to continue hurting him if they don’t talk. The guys eventually tell them everything and give them a lead to Robby’s whereabouts. Daniel warns the guys about lying to them because they will have to face Johnny on their own next time.

[00:14:00] A doctor checks on Miguel. Everything is fine except for his right leg. He can’t feel anything on it. The doctor talks to Carmen outside, and she bursts into tears. Miguel can see her crying from the window, so he knows things are bad for him. Miguel really wants to return to Karate, but he may never get to fight again. Meanwhile, Amanda checks up on Daniel. He tells her they have a new lead on Robby. He doesn’t want to tell her the specifics, but Johnny takes care of it for him. He tells Amanda about prison and what they did to the punks who were once Robby’s friends. Amanda disapproves of their plan, but Daniel assures her everything will be alright.

[00:17:30] Kreese visits Tory to get her back to Cobra Kai. Tory refuses to return because she needs to keep a clean record. She can’t go to juvie hall because no one will be left to care for her mother and little brother. Kreese offers to help Tory with her bills if she returns to Cobra Kai. Tory thinks about it and tells Kreese she must return to work, or she will have to take the landlord’s offer and sell her body to him. Kreese sees the landlord and understands the problem. He remembers a time in his youth when he faced the same oppression.

[00:20:00] Kreese met Betsy when he was working at a diner. Betsy’s boyfriend was a scumbag, and he hit her right in front of Kreese. Kreese wouldn’t let the guy get away with hitting Betsy because he liked her. He provoked Betsy’s boyfriend who teamed up with his friend to take him down. It seemed John knew how to fight long before he established Cobra Kai. He made quick work of the two men. Meanwhile, Daniel and Johnny are in a gas station picking up some food. They don’t have any leads, but Amanda tells Daniel that Miguel is awake. He tells Johnny the good news, and they‘re happy to hear that Miguel will recover. They‘re about to leave when the van they‘re looking for appears. They think Robby is driving, but it‘s another man.

[00:22:00] They call out to the man who runs and speeds away. Johnny gets into Daniel’s car and follows the van into a car shop. Johnny wrecks one of Daniel’s side mirrors on the way, but he tells him to relax because he has insurance. The men in the car shop don’t want any trouble, but they can’t have Johnny and Daniel calling the cops. They want to silence them for good, but they‘re no match for two Karate masters. Johnny and Daniel make quick work of everyone in the car shop. Johnny interrogates the man driving the van, but Daniel stops him because he‘s beating up the guy. Daniel is afraid that Johnny will end up killing him.

[00:26:00] Johnny’s temper leads to a fight with Daniel. As they fight, the man runs for his life. Daniel and Johnny argue about right and wrong, but the argument doesn’t end well, so the two split up. They‘re doing so well, but their differences set them apart once again. Johnny takes the van and leaves. Daniel tells Johnny he must return the van to the dealership once he’s done with it. Daniel is about to leave when he gets a call. It seems like an emergency because he quickly ends the call and leaves in a hurry.

[00:27:30] Kreese intimidates Tory’s landlord into doing his bidding. He makes an arrangement with him to convince Tory to join Cobra Kai again. Once again, Kreese is up to no good, and Tory is his next victim. Meanwhile, Miguel doesn’t feel like eating. He‘s contemplating what happened to him when Johnny shows up. Miguel asks Johnny why it happened to him because he may not be able to walk again. He blames Johnny for teaching him weakness. He showed Robby mercy, but it backfired on him. Johnny doesn’t know what to tell Miguel which disappoints him further. There‘s so much hatred and rage in Miguel’s heart that he just tells Johnny to leave.

[00:31:00] Robby is at Shannon’s rehab facility. He‘s eating when Daniel arrives. Shannon tells Daniel that Robby is planning to leave town, and she doesn’t know what to do. Daniel assures Shannon he‘s there to help Robby. Robby is in bad shape. It seems he hasn’t showered in weeks. Daniel talks to Robby and apologizes for everything he did. They‘re still talking when the police arrive. Daniel called the cops and told them where Robby was. He told them he would turn himself in, but Robby refused to go quietly. He tries to run from the cops, but they forcefully arrest him. Daniel begs the cops to go easy on him and assures Robby he will help him with everything. Robby says Daniel doesn’t need to bother with him anymore.

[00:33:30] The cops drag Robby out of the rehab facility while Kreese strengthens the current Cobra Kai roster. Everyone is surprised to see Tory walk into the dojo. She tells John that her problems are sorted out so she can return to the dojo and train. Kreese is pleased to hear her return and tells Tory to fall in to train immediately. Kreese remembers the time he left Betsy to join the army. Betsy assured him she would wait for his return. Kreese told Betsy he would return as a hero.

[00:35:00] Kreese tells his students there isn’t good or bad in the world. There are only strong and weak. He assures them that being strong is the only way forward because weakness has no place in the world. He tells everyone they will be unstoppable if they push forward with strength and brute force. Today marks a new era of Cobra Kai, and they are back at the top of the Karate world.