A childhood sequel is the only one that can deliver a certain kind of disappointment. It’s not the blatant betrayal of a truly awful movie, but rather something more subdued—the gradual realization, around the halfway point, that what you’re watching won’t provide you with what the first two did. That’s the impression that many people have of The Karate Kid Part III, the 1989 finale to a franchise that had been genuinely heartwarming up until that point. When the movie was released on June 30, 1989, it was expected to live up to expectations. Each of the first two Karate…
Author: Sierra Foster
Sierra Foster
Born in Kansas City, Sierra Foster writes about politics and serves as Senior Editor at kbsd6.com. She was raised paying attention to this city, not just living in it. Sierra has a strong, deep connection to Kansas City, from the neighborhoods east of Troost to the discussions that take place in the city hall halls. Sierra, who is presently enrolled at the University of Kansas to pursue a degree in Political Science, applies the rigor of academic study to her journalism. She writes about politics in Missouri and Kansas as someone who genuinely cares about what happens to the people in these communities—the policies that impact them, the leaders who represent them, and the civic forces influencing their futures—rather than as an outsider watching from a distance. Her editorial coverage encompasses state-level policy, local government, and the national political currents that permeate bi-state regional life. Whether it's a city council vote or a Senate race, she has a special gift for turning complex policy language into writing that feels urgent, relatable, and worthwhile. Sierra seldom sits still off the page. She claims that playing soccer on a regular basis has sharpened her instincts for political reporting because of the sport's teamwork, strategy, and requirement to read a changing game in real time. She's probably somewhere in Kansas City with her friends when she's not writing or on the pitch, discovering new reasons to adore a city she already knows so well.
A character who escapes before chaos breaks out has a subtle satisfying quality. That’s precisely what Aisha Robinson accomplished in a show as crowded and explosive as Cobra Kai, and most viewers were unaware of how well-timed her exit was until much later. As Sam LaRusso’s closest friend, Nichole Brown’s character Aisha joins the Cobra Kai narrative. She is a young girl who has experienced bullying, rejection, and undervaluation; she discovers something helpful in the dojo that Johnny Lawrence is starting over. She follows Miguel Diaz as his second student of the new generation. It may not seem important, but…
In Cobra Kai Season 5, Daniel LaRusso enters a furniture store and discovers Mike Barnes sanding wood. I’m just working, not posing or threatening anyone. For a man who once terrorized a teenager for an entire movie, this scene is more subdued than you might anticipate. However, that contrast is precisely the point, and it hits harder than nearly everything the show has done with its returning cast members. For those who arrived late, The Karate Kid Part III’s primary antagonist was Mike Barnes. Barnes, who was hired by Terry Silver to beat Daniel at the 1985 All Valley Karate…
A certain type of television can catch you off guard. Maybe a friend kept bringing it up, or perhaps it appeared at the top of your Netflix queue on a slow Sunday, so you start watching it out of mild curiosity. By episode three, you realize you’re stuck with it. That kind of show is Cobra Kai. What started out as a 1984 movie sequel series When The Karate Kid debuted on YouTube Red in May 2018, it turned out to be much more complex than anyone had predicted. Cobra Kai appears to be about two middle-aged men who are…
In the first few episodes of Cobra Kai, there’s a scene that’s easy to laugh at and then forget. Aisha, the girl Yasmine had been harassing online for months, publicly humiliates the sharp-tongued social queen of West Valley High by giving her a front wedgie. The crowd goes crazy. Yasmine feels ashamed. For a brief moment, it seems just, tidy, and fulfilling. It’s not that easy, tho, because Cobra Kai is Cobra Kai. Over the course of the next few seasons, one of the show’s more subdued and sincere character reversals takes place; it happens gradually, almost reluctantly, rather than…
There is a certain type of television character that comes out swinging and never really stops—not because the writers are at a loss for what to do with them, but rather because they have only ever experienced anger. That’s how Tory Nichols enters Cobra Kai. In a few episodes of season two, a new dojo member with sharp edges and sharper instincts turns into the character that viewers are meant to despise. However, things didn’t exactly go that way. Without Peyton List’s grounded intensity, the role might have easily veered into cartoonish territory. A list of sympathetic backstory clichés could…
A show that began as a YouTube original and went on to become one of Netflix’s most popular shows, garnering six billion minutes of viewing time and spanning three different release windows, seems a little ridiculous. But that’s exactly what happened with Cobra Kai, and the cast themselves may be the most overlooked aspect of the entire narrative, not the plot twists or the tournament brackets. The characters in season 6 have backgrounds that make the fiction seem strangely humble in contrast to their gi tops and staged spin kicks. Let’s start with Rayna Vallandingham, who portrays Zara Malik, the…
Near the conclusion of the first act of The Karate Kid, Pat Morita is shown sitting by himself at a table while intoxicated and holding a letter from the US Army. He gives a mock salute while slurring. He goes by Sergeant Miyagi. He lets out a bitter laugh before disintegrating. It’s about ninety seconds of screen time. And it permanently altered the definition of a Hollywood mentor. It was intended to be cut by the studio. It slowed down the film, according to producer Jerry Weintraub. He was mistaken. Four decades later, people are still discussing Mr. Miyagi because…
Marvel almost made me feel good about how they pulled this off. For weeks, Bill Skarsgård’s name and then Tom Pelphrey’s had been all over the internet. People made up whole theories about what those choices would mean for the tone of the X-Men reboot. Then, on August 14 at D23, Kevin Feige, president of Marvel Studios, left the room and gave the part to Christopher Abbott. It looks like the room needed a moment. Anyone who has seen Abbott in James White, Possessor, or It’s All Gone Pete Tong will tell you without a doubt that he is a…
There’s a certain kind of announcement that stops everyone in the room in their tracks. The crowd at D23 reportedly didn’t move slowly or politely when Maya Boyd’s name showed up on the screen. It lost it. And that honest, right away response said something that a hundred carefully written press releases could never. Boyd is a Broadway actress who is best known for her role as Juliet on stage. Most people did not know about her when it came to Marvel’s X-Men reboot. The talk among fans had turned to Jayme Lawson, who had just become famous after starring…