Strike First
Directed by Jon Hurwitz & Hayden Schlossberg
Amanda: Neither do I. But keep throwing her friends out of the house. See where that gets you with your relationship with your daughter.
The opposite of Johnny's morning, we see Daniel start his day in his mansion while "Ain't That a Kick in the Head" by Dean Martin plays. It seems he hasn't left the past behind, either. He still remembers every kick from the Cobra Kai, and it all comes flooding back when he sees the sign for Johnny's newly established dojo. The scene fades to an empty studio and Johnny, clean-shaven and apparently sober, gives Miguel his first karate lesson. A health inspector shows up and tells Johnny he'll need to get the place in order before he can open an "exercise studio." Luckily, he convinces the inspector that Miguel is "an illegal," not a student.
Daniel and his wife attend a party at the Encino Oaks Country Club. Daniel bemoans the fact that he would have loved to be invited to such an event, but neither of his kids is the least bit interested. Sam stayed home, while Anthony is more interested in his video game. Aisha Robinson, Sam's best friend from school, asks about her presence, but Sam's mother tells her she is visiting her grandmother to avoid hurting Aisha's feelings. The LaRussos leave early, only to find Sam has thrown a pool party without asking; Daniel admonishes Sam and expels her friends from the property.
School begins, and Miguel makes friends with the nerdy kids Eli and Demetri during lunch. Seeking to "strike first", Miguel finds himself drawn to a table of attractive rich girls led by Yasmine, who Sam is currently friends with. He approaches Sam, only to be undermined by Kyler and the other kids who roughed him up in the previous episode. Cut to training at the dojo. Johnny gets a call from the school regarding his bratty son, Robby Keene, who's in trouble for dealing drugs; Johnny attempts to chastise his son, but Robby shrugs it off while calling his father a "pathetic loser". Ending the call, Johnny gives Miguel a lesson in how to picture his enemy while punching the training dummy.
Daniel invites Sam’s boyfriend Kyler to dinner. Trying to make small talk, Daniel finds out that Kyler was in a fight with "some guy at a mini-mall" who used karate. He goes to confront Johnny about his methods. The two argue, and Johnny tries to warn Daniel about the kind of friends his daughter has. In turn, Daniel warns Miguel not to listen to Johnny, or else he will end up just like him, and informs Johnny that their feud is not over. Johnny then challenges Daniel on the spot, but Daniel waves him off with a smirk and walks out of the dojo. As the two men stare each other down through the window, Johnny offers a smirk of his own.
Tropes:
- Actually Pretty Funny: Eli laughs at Demetri's sarcastic remark about Eli being homecoming king.
- Asian Airhead: Despite being of Asian descent, Kyler doesn't know what sashimi is (as not only is he clearly not interested in other cultures, his family is Korean, not Japanese, and depending on how closely tied they are to Korea are likely somewhere between indifferent and hostile to Japanese culture), and when Daniel asked where his parents are from (as in what country they originated from), Kyler replies "Irvine."
- Blatant Lies:
- Daniel and Amanda make up a story about why Sam isn't at the party, rather than admit to Aisha that Sam would rather hang out with her new friends.
- Kyler telling Daniel he was buying "protein bars" at the bodega.
- Yasmine told her father that the damage to her car was the result of hitting a deer.
- Berserk Button: Just the thought of Kyler's face lets loose Miguel's rage.
- Both Sides Have a Point:
- Daniel was 100% right that Sam was acting completely out of line by having a pool party without permission and letting her friends use her dad's bathing suits. To be fair, Amanda isn't unreasonable in pointing out that publicly yelling at Sam like that would alienate her friends and possibly make her an easy target for the type of bullying Daniel experienced, and given the type of people Kyler and Yasmine are, that fear isn't unfounded.
- Johnny and Daniel's argument in the dojo is framed like this, with both sides having their respective points and shortcomings; Daniel is quick to point out how reckless and irresponsible it is for Johnny to be fighting teenagers like Kyler, and is not unjustified in fearing that Johnny will teach Miguel to be just like him. Johnny, on the other hand, is not wrong when he points out that Daniel doesn't know everything about his daughter, including the fact that her friends are bullies like Kyler and Yasmine.
- Bratty Teenage Daughter: Discussed and played with. Daniel is worried about the prospect of his daughter turning into a "privileged Encino brat", she throws a Wild Teen Party at his house without permission while her parents are out of the house, and her new friend Yasmine is an Alpha Bitch who seems to be having a Toxic Friend Influence on her. However, Daniel and Sam's conversation makes clear that she is, at heart, a Nice Girl and a Daddy's Girl and she apologizes for not asking his permission to invite her friends over.
- Bring It: Johnny's attitude towards Daniel at the end of their first real confrontation in the new Cobra Kai dojo.Daniel: "You and I — this — we aren't done." (turns to walk out)
Johnny: (unimpressed) "I'm right here, man." - Call-Back:
- Miguel cleaning the dojo, asking what it has to do with karate.
- Subverted when Miguel asks how Johnny wants the windows washed."I don't give a shit. Whatever's easiest."
- For a second time, Daniel has intruded into a Cobra Kai dojo, and left disgruntled with Johnny smirking at him. And the exchange about one side beating up the other has the roles reversed.[From The Karate Kid (1984)...]
Kreese: I hear you jumped some of my students last night.
Mr. Miyagi: Afraid the facts mixed up.
[From this episode...]
Daniel: I heard you beat up a bunch of teenagers in that parking lot out there.
Johnny: Oh, that. No. I didn't beat up any teenagers. I kicked the shit out of a bunch of assholes who deserved it.
- Cut Himself Shaving: When Kyler shows up for dinner with bruises from the fight with Johnny, he tries to play it off as a sports injury. Danny isn't fooled for a minute, and his concern for Kyler (who he's just met) is really quite touching. He asks if it's from a fight at school, or if there's a problem at home, before learning what actually happened (at least Kyler's version).
- Didn't Think This Through: Johnny pays for a lease and opens up a dojo... only to learn that he forgot to pass the dojo by a health inspector which is necessary to get the place properly insured.
- Disappeared Dad: Miguel never knew his father.
- Drill Sergeant Nasty: Per Cobra Kai tradition, Johnny takes this approach with Miguel.
- Establishing Character Moment:
- The opposite of Johnny (and a role reversal from their status in the film), Daniel wakes up in his big house beside his beautiful wife and happily drives to his dream job.
- Robby's first appearance sees him getting into trouble at school for dealing drugs and then calling Johnny a "pathetic loser" when the vice-principal calls him about it.
- Friendless Background: Miguel has never been to a party.
- Gendered Insult: Johnny unleashes a tirade of these as he teaches Miguel the philosophy Cobra Kai subscribes to.Johnny: Striking first is about being aggressive. Right? If you're not aggressive, then you're being a pussy. You don't want to be a pussy; you want to have balls.
Miguel: Don't you think you're doing a lot of genderizing?
...
Johnny: Now stop yapping like a little girl and give me fifty push-ups on your knuckles. - Gilligan Cut: Miguel tells Eli that Yasmine isn't making fun of him and that just because the rich girls are hot doesn't mean they're mean. Cut to Yasmine gossiping about Eli's scar on his lip and stating that he's wearing "the ugliest sweater she has seen."
- Hairstyle Inertia: In a flashback to when Sam was about eight, she wears her hair exactly the same as in the present.
- Honest John's Dealership: Daniel owns several car lots and has cheesy ads everywhere.
- Insistent Terminology:
- They're not pajamas, it's a gi. And that's a cobra, not a rattlesnake.
- It's a karate dojo, not an exercise studio.
- Johnny didn't beat up any teens; he kicked the shit out of a bunch of assholes who deserved it.
- Jerkass Has a Point:
- Even if he is still quite a Jerkass, Johnny is right when he says "I didn't beat up any teenagers, I kicked the shit out of a bunch of assholes who deserved it". Kyler and his gang were assaulting Miguel and when Johnny intervened, they proceeded to assault him. Johnny is also right that Daniel should pay closer attention to what kind of friends his daughter has, and that maybe he does not know his daughter as well as he thinks.
- Similarly, Daniel is completely wrong about what happened between Johnny and Kyler, but he is right when he warns Miguel not to listen to Johnny or he'll become just like him (though that doesn't come to pass until near the end of the season).
- Literal-Minded:
- When told to take off Daniel's bathing suit, one genius starts to strip poolside.
- Johnny assumes Robby is dating a girl named Molly, unaware that it's a nickname for an illegal drug, MDMA.
- Refuge in Audacity: When the inspector informs Johnny that he can't have students until the dojo passes inspection, Johnny blatantly claims that Miguel is not a student, but an illegal immigrant worker... and the inspector doesn't push the issue.
- Second Episode Introduction: Robby, Amanda, Eli (later Hawk) and Demetri all make their first appearances in this episode.
- Sickly Neurotic Geek: Asthmatic Miguel. Johnny throws away his inhaler in disgust, calling it a made-up problem.
- Wild Teen Party: Downplayed. Daniel is more upset that the guys are wearing his trunks (how many pairs of swimming trunks does he have, anyway?) than anything that's going on at the party.
