Counterbalance
Directed by Josh Heald
The episode opens with Miguel and Johnny in a rigorous training montage, in which Miguel practices blocking baseballs fired at him from a pitching machine. Afterwards, a yoga class enters the dojo, leading Johnny to explain that he had to sublet the property at night to keep up with expenses.
At the Oaks Country Club, Daniel has dinner with Armand Zarkarian, who owns the strip mall in Reseda where the Cobra Kai dojo is located. Though he inquires about buying the property from Zarkarian, his true intention is to entice him to raise the rent on the dojo, effectively putting Johnny out of business as a reprisal to the billboard prank. Also at the club, Sam tells her mother that she had planned to go to a concert with Yasmine and Moon, who have not been returning her texts. She then shows her mother a video of the two girls gloating at the concert, to which her mother replies she is better off without them.
Robby returns home from a shopping trip in the hopes of spending some time with his mother, only to find Shannon getting ready for another night out. She mentions that Johnny came to speak with her and suggested that Robby move in with him, but while she doubts his sincerity, Robby seems conflicted.
Tired of being bullied, Aisha interrupts a training session at the dojo and asks to join up. Johnny is reluctant to train a girl in the ways of Cobra Kai, but Miguel convinces him to give her a chance. In turn, Johnny orders him to attack Aisha with full force, and an apologetic Miguel kicks her to the ground. However, Aisha responds by tackling Miguel and delivering a brutal knee drop to his midsection, for which Johnny deems her "a natural Cobra."
In a parking lot, Sam confronts Yasmine and Moon to find out why they have been avoiding her. She then learns that Kyler has been spreading ugly rumors about her around school, telling everyone she performed oral sex on him in the theater. Perturbed, Sam breaks off their friendship and leaves.
Faced with a doubled rent, Johnny visits a pawn shop to sell some of his vintage possessions, but to no avail. He then drops by the mini-mart to pick up some more beer and encounters Daniel, who pretends to buy a can of red spray paint as a subtle reference to the billboard prank, but then puts Johnny's beer on his tab and leaves. At home, Daniel opens up a bottle of wine to celebrate the impending closure of Cobra Kai, but his wife Amanda is beside herself when she learns about Daniel's scheme. Though he succeeded in getting back at his rival, she points out that he failed to take the other businesses at the mall into account, meaning that their rents have all been doubled too. She implores Daniel to return to his old self and not stoop to Johnny's level.
At school, Sam finds that her association with Yasmine's group has caused a rift between her and Aisha. Fed up with her classmates' teasing, Sam confronts Kyler about the rumors, but he openly mocks her. She poises to attack him, but Miguel interrupts and tells Kyler off. Kyler shoves Miguel and taunts him, but Miguel responds by trapping Kyler's arm and punching him in the face. The cafeteria erupts as Miguel does battle with Kyler and his gang, decimating them in short order and impressing Sam. The fight footage quickly goes viral and attracts a large number of prospective students to the dojo. Johnny rewards Miguel with his old Cobra Kai training gi and embraces him, but Robby, who has come to make amends with his father, secretly witnesses the act. To get back at Johnny, he applies for a job at LaRusso Auto and is promptly hired by Amanda.
Daniel visits Mr. Miyagi's grave. After a moment of reflection and a flashback to Miyagi's speech about balance, Daniel returns home and clears out his old dojo. Donning the iconic headband and gi once more, he begins to perform the Miyagi family kata, having seemingly returned to his old self.
Tropes:
- All There in the Script: Although not mentioned in dialogue, the subtitles identifies the yoga instructor as "Fauna".
- And There Was Much Rejoicing: How Miguel's classmates react to Kyler and his goons getting their asses kicked by Miguel.
- Artistic License – Education: While the school made an attempt to contact Miguel's mother, he doesn't seem to get suspended for the cafeteria fight. Most modern high schools have a zero tolerance policy on violence, and even in the case of an aggressive bully getting beaten up in a fight they provoked, the other kid can expect at least a token punishment. Especially given the way that this school generally treats bullying.
- Bait-and-Switch:
- When Aisha tells him that people have gone online and told her to kill herself, Johnny is shocked and dismayed... that those people are so cowardly they wouldn't tell her to her face.
- When Armand and Daniel meet at the country club, their conversation implies that Armand had his membership revoked because of inappropriate horse play in the locker room. Their later conversation reveals that it was because Armand was caught urinating in the showers.
- Sam tells Yas to enjoy puking up burritos before leaving her with Moon, who is incensed... that Yasmine has been "purging" without telling her.
- Batman Gambit: Daniel's entire plan to get the Cobra Kai dojo's rent raised relies on his knowing how to play Armand Zakarian like a fiddle. He pretends to want to buy the strip mall for a new dealership location, knowing Zakarian would become suspicious of such a terrible business decision and suspect ulterior motives. Then Daniel feigns innocence and mentions that a mall near the strip mall charges twice as much rent as Zakarian does and walks away from the deal. Zakarian then doubles the rent at the strip mall, utterly convinced it was all his own idea.
- Became Their Own Antithesis: Daniel's plan to raise the rent on the strip mall so Johnny has to close down his dojo is effectively him using his financial status to bully Johnny the exact way he used to do to him when they were teens.
- Bullying a Dragon: Kyler spreading a false rumor about Sam giving him a blowjob in the movie theater. This is despite the fact that he got a pretty clear idea of Sam's fighting prowess in the previous episode. When he insults Sam and her father in front of the entire school cafeteria, Sam is about ready to fight him and probably would have had Miguel not done so for her.
- Call-Back:
- Johnny's line that "this isn't a knitting class, this is a dojo" echoes Kreese's argument in the original movie why he won't let Daniel leave without fighting.
- Johnny giving Miguel a gi is reminiscent of Mr. Miyagi giving one to Daniel in the first film.
- In the cafeteria brawl, Miguel once yells “yaaa!” in a voice that sounds exactly like Johnny’s distinctive “yaaa” in the original movie.
- Cassandra Truth: Shannon thinks Johnny is lying about Robby skipping school because he wants to get out of paying child support. In reality, Johnny is genuinely trying to repair his relationship with Robby.
- Chekhov's Skill: Johnny sparred with Miguel in the opening Training Montage and taught him how to redirect his line of attack, anticipate and defend himself from multiple enemies and how to "slither" out of a choke hold. Almost every move is mirrored in the fight with Kyler and his group at the end.
- Combat Pragmatist: How Miguel ends up defeating Kyler and his gang. He combines his new level of Cobra Kai Karate skills and the environment of the school cafeteria to win and leave his opponents on the ground.
- Curb Stomp Cushion: Though the fight ends with the group thoroughly thrashed, Kyler manages to land a few hits on Miguel, starting the fight off by throwing Miguel around like a ragdoll before placing him in a headlock. But then Miguel gains the upper hand, and Kyler's gang fail to land another hit before it's over.
- Didn't Think This Through: Messing with one person's rent in an effort to drive them out of business will affect all of the other tenants and screw with their rent as well, Daniel LaRusso.
- The Dog Bites Back: The training Miguel went through pays off, as he delivers a rightfully deserved ass-kicking to Kyler and his goons, earning the respect of his classmates and the attention of Sam. In later episodes, Kyler actively keeps his distance from Miguel.
- Easily Forgiven: Miguel's kick clearly hurt Aisha, given that she not only fell down but grunted in pain/shock... but after she delivers her own devastating tackle and knee-drop in return, a brief shot shows Aisha offering her hand to help Miguel back up.
- Gendered Insult: Johnny asserts that Aisha can't "act like a girl" if she's to be a Cobra Kai.Johnny: If you wanna be in Cobra Kai, you can't act like a girl.
Aisha: What do you mean? How do girls act?
Johnny: Oh, don't give me that. You know, all emotional, loud, complainy. Never letting you finish a sentence. - He's Back!: Daniel cleaning out the family dojo for use again, donning his white gi and flower-patterned headband and beginning his familiar kata is accompanied by the victory music from the first film, making Daniel's return to active training a big moment.
- Hopeless with Tech: Johnny doesn't know the difference between an Atari 2600 and a NES. This is particularly egregious, considering that he would have been a teenager when both of those consoles were huge. Then again, maybe Johnny was fully aware of the difference and was merely trying to pull one over on the pawn shop guy.
- Hypocritical Humor:
- Miguel convinces Johnny to let Aisha join the dojo because girls can do the same things guys can. Johnny acquiesces and immediately has the two of them spar off. Miguel protests that he might hurt her since she's a girl and Johnny reminds him what he said earlier.
- Johnny accuses women of never letting you finish a sentence. Aisha objects that some men are just like–"Quiet!"
- Insistent Terminology:
- It's an Atari 2600, not a Nintendo console.
- It's not lame-ass karate, it's Cobra Kai.
- Jerkass Ball: Daniel shows an incredible disregard for collateral damage in his attempt to drive Cobra Kai out of business. Given how he spent the 80's having Cobra Kai putting him through one Trauma Conga Line after another, it's understandable — but that would be of little comfort to the other strip mall stores who got their rent doubled right alongside Johnny.
- Kick the Dog: Kyler openly humiliates Sam in the lunchroom, claiming that she follows her father in the fellatio department. When Miguel steps in, Kyler was clearly seconds away from hitting Bullying a Dragon with Sam."Hey, guys. You know that billboard with a big-ass dick on it? I guess Sam takes after her dad."
- Laser-Guided Karma: What Miguel delivers to Kyler and his gang during the lunchroom fight, to the delight of his classmates and disapproval of the school guidance counselor.
- Literal-Minded: Aisha tries to remind Johnny that its her first day learning karate. Johnny informs her that her enemies don't care what day it is.
- Locked Out of the Loop: Since Robby hasn't attended school in a month, he has no knowledge of the fight between Kyler and Miguel so he mistakes Johnny hugging Miguel to mean he's given up on Robby in favor of Miguel rather than him being proud of Miguel for finally taking the lessons to heart.
- Mood Whiplash: We go from Johnny and Miguel sparring to a yoga class. One of the yoga instructors even says, "We need to change the energy in here."
- Not Afraid of You Anymore: Miguel proves this to Kyler when he calls him out for being an asshole to Sam, and then proceeds to wipe the floor with Kyler and his gang.
- Pre Ass Kicking One Liner: "It's not lame-ass Karate. It's ''Cobra Kai''."
- So Proud of You: Implied to be the reaction to Miguel beating up Kyler and his gang from his Grandmother. Definitely the reaction Johnny has, as shown when he gives Miguel his old gi.
- Speaks in Shout-Outs: A lot of Johnny's dialogue, especially when teaching, sounds like it either came from 80's hair metal or teen sports movies."You gotta conquer your fears, and jump face first into the fire!"
- Talking to the Dead: Daniel visits Mr. Miyagi's grave and trims the bonsai. He also reminisces about Mr. Miyagi's lesson about balance."I really wish you could be here right now."
- Training from Hell: Miguel's training has evolved to directly sparring with Johnny. While Johnny is obviously going easy on him, he still lands functional hits on him so that he understands those kind of attacks are possible and refuses to let him tap out of a choke hold. When Miguel manages a lucky leg sweep on Johnny, he uses the baseball pitching machine to send a ball at Miguel's ear.
- Training Montage: The episode begins with a montage of Miguel exercising and training with Johnny.
- Villain Forgot to Level Grind: How Kyler and his gang end up losing to Miguel. Kyler still fought in the exact same way and assumed his numerical advantage would be enough, while Miguel has been training hard and long.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Amanda calls out Daniel for disregarding the collateral damage his feud with the Cobra Kai dojo will create by getting a lot of people's rent doubled. She also calls him out for his various other behaviors like embarrassing Sam and kicking Cole's drink out of his hand.
- Wouldn't Hit a Girl: Miguel hesitates to spar with Aisha. He gets over it quickly enough, when she rams him onto the ground and drops a knee on him.
- The Worf Effect: Kyler and his gang are hit hard by this when they are beaten up by Miguel in the lunchroom fight. As well as Catharsis Factor, the purpose of this fight is to show just how formidable Miguel is as a practitioner of Cobra Kai Karate.
- Wrong Genre Savvy: At one point during the Training Montage, Johnny has Miguel in a choke-hold and asks him what he should do. Miguel, whose combat knowledge comes from the Ultimate Fighting Championship and mixed martial arts, tries tapping out. Johnny tells him that tapping out isn't practiced in karate.
