WARNING: Spoilers from the newest Cobra Kai season will be found below.
Cobra Kai‘s infuriatingly good third season filled itself with very obvious callbacks and faces from the past. The franchise not only brought back Chozen (Yuji Okumoto) and Kumiko (Tamlyn Tomita) but also contained a very special visit (and owning of both Daniel-san and Johnny) from Ali Mills (Elisabeth Shue). Beyond those personified references to yesteryear, there were also a ton of Easter eggs, too. Netflix rounded up over 20 examples from the season, so you can watch them all and realize how well (or poorly) you would score if quizzed.
One thing is for certain: creators and showrunners Jon Hurwitz, Josh Heald, and Hayden Schlossberg dove deep into canon. They emerged with wonderful nuggets that will key younger viewers into the tiniest special moments from the movies and also refresh those who lived through the releases and need some refreshers. There are throwbacks to Mr. Miyagi’s classic cars, and then there’s the “warm beer” rejected by Hawk that referenced how Johnny Lawrence did the same back in the day; and a near run-in between Johnny’s white suit and spaghetti sauce, which goes back to Daniel-san’s previous collision with a waiter. Oh, and the one that weirds me out most: Johnny and Ali going on a date at the same amusement-type park where she once canoodled with Daniel.
It’s all good stuff, and there will be more of it because Netflix already renewed Cobra Kai for a fourth season. Hopefully, they’ll bring back Aisha and maybe reserve even less time for the worst character on the show and his popsicle-wielding judginess.
