MovieChat Forums > Cobra Kai (2018) Discussion > My only problem with this series: Robby

My only problem with this series: Robby

posted 6 years ago by fountainhead (318)
42 replies | jump to latest

The writing in this series was almost perfect. My only gripe is the character of Robby and I wanted to know what you guys think.

First of all, when Robby hears from his mom that Johnny was trying to make things right with him, for a brief moment, it looks like Robby wants to give his dad a chance. He shows up at Cobra Kai and sees Johnny being friendly with Miguel. This seems to make him angry again and want revenge on Johnny for some reason. I don't get it. Why does it anger him to see that his dad is being a good teacher? Jealous of Miguel? That'd be strange.

My other complaint is that Robby transitions way too fast, both in terms of his karate and in terms of his change in attitude. He turned from an angry, rebellious teenager into a kind and gentle one in the flash of an eye.

It almost seems like they forced the character of Robby into the script because they wanted the sense of irony, but he didn't seem as well-developed as the others. I mean, I love the conflict between him and Johnny, but then inserting him as also Daniel's suddenly tournament-worthy student felt rushed.

[–] FilmBuff (6687) 6 years ago

I felt similar about both students. Robby especially went from pothead layabout criminal to chivalrous karate master in the blink of an eye. It wasn't believable that he could beat students who'd been studying karate for years to make it to the final. Meanwhile, Miguel went from a kind and gentle boy, who stood up to the bullies, to becoming a bully for no reason. It really felt like the scriptwriters decided they wanted the two characters to end up making those about-faces, but couldn't come up with believable reasons for it.

It's a shame, because for about the first 8 1/2 episodes the show was great, after which it fell apart.

[–] fountainhead (318) 6 years ago

True, true, now that you mention it, they probably wanted the two students to end up as mirror images of each other. Somehow I bought it more with Miguel, probably because they took a lot more time to develop him. And while he became a bully very abruptly, at least, I can say from experience, when you're a teenager, an outcast at school, mixing alcohol and heartbreak over a girl...yeah, you can find yourself turning into a jerk pretty quickly. It creeps up on you.

[–] strntz (10803) 6 years ago

He shows up at Cobra Kai and sees Johnny being friendly with Miguel. This seems to make him angry again and want revenge on Johnny for some reason. I don't get it. Why does it anger him to see that his dad is being a good teacher?

Because Johnny was never there for Robby. Robby shows up and sees his dad acting fatherly for the very first time in his life, and it's not with him. His reaction was understandable.

[–] pbt (108) 6 years ago

I gave this show a 9/10 rating on IMDB (for me Breaking Bad is 10/10).

The Robby character was "off" for me, because he touches the least number of other characters. All the other characters have interactions with good number of the rest of the cast. Miguel has a relationship with Johnny, Samantha, his friends at school, the bullies at school, and pretty much everyone who has ever incited some incident on the show. Samantha in particular seems to interact with almost everyone of importance. With Robby on the other hand, it's just him and his dad, and later on Daniel and Samantha, and those interactions are pretty sparse. Between him not having much cumulative screen time, and his character arc being developed in isolation (because his story thread doesn't cross paths with many people, unlike Miguel who crosses paths with many people), his character doesn't feel developed enough for his character arc to be entirely credible.

[–] Olivergbyrne (685) 6 years ago

I agree. I absolutely love this show but if there is a weak point for me it would be Robby. I did found Miguel transformation into a bully realistic enough because we spent time with him and being bullied plus Johnny teaching plus girl heart ache and alcohol makes it a believable combination for these changes in the character. However Robby went from Jerk to good boy in a flash and I just did not buy the "good Robby" as much as I did "Bad Miguel" . I still care much more about Miguel finding his real self again in season 2 then Robby development under Daniel teachings. As a "good guy" Robby does not have the charisma Daniel had in the original films.

[–] Juschill (779) 6 years ago

A number of people on this thread said Miguel turned into a bully? I fail to see that. He threw a punch at a guy who he thought (with good reason) was trying to steal his girl. Whether that is the best course of action is of course debatable but how many people have fought over a girl throughout history, not all or even close to all of them were bullies.

[–] strntz (10803) 6 years ago

I agree. Johnny and his friends were bullies in the movie, but Miguel is not so much a bully as just not a punching bag anymore.

[–] [email protected] (1631) 4 years ago

Yeah I'm in the last ep of season 2 and Miguel is still not a bully. How was he a bully? He doesn't drink and got drunk easily, got jealous, reacted impulsively, and did some thing stupid that one time. How many mistakes did Robby, Sam, Daniel, etc make? Why is Miguel now a bully for that one stupid accident but the rest aren't?

[–] AP (5258) 4 years ago

Yeah, Miguel never turned into a bully. He got tough and many of the other Cobra Kais were bullies, but he was never aggressive toward anyone but Robby. As mentioned above, he went about it all wrong, as it typical when it comes to teenage angst and hurt feelings, but there's a reason why he would want to beat him up. He never tried to beat anyone else up and was even critical of Kreese's cruelty.

[–] Threadkiller (2952) 4 years ago

It's true. Miguel never showed aggression/hostility towards anyone but Robby & (for good reason as you said) suspected he was moving in on his girlfriend who had "accidentally" blown him off the entire day. Ironically though in the original Karate Kid, Johnny never showed any sort of aggressive/hostile attitude towards anyone besides Daniel, who Johnny (also rightfully suspected) was moving on his very recently ex girlfriend who he was still trying to patch things up with. Miguel & Johnny both go about it poorly though which solidifies their break ups. The parallels there were pretty obvious.

[–] AP (5258) 4 years ago

True, although Johnny strikes me as the sort of guy who would've given a wedgie here or there, unprovoked.

[–] Threadkiller (2952) 4 years ago

Yeah, maybe. Personality wise, Miguel is portrayed as a reserved, easy going guy at heart & when we first meet high school aged Johnny he seemed more like a decent but flawed "ex degenerate", self assured jock type (with a couple of bad influences) who wasn't above a bit of rowdiness.

[–] Juschill (779) 6 years ago

I felt the same way.

One thing that keeps bugging me. He gets the job at the auto dealer. A juvenile delinquent that smokes dope and does other drugs and steals and has friends that do the same. When asked why he got the job at the dealership he says "My dad is gonna lose his s---." Uh, ok.

Really? That's the best this criminal can think of to get under his dad's skin? I'd think robbing a bank or setting Johnny's car on fire would be more in character. But getting a respectable job is his solution to pissing off his dad?

[–] fountainhead (318) 6 years ago

It WOULD get under Johnny's skin, but haha, you're right, it's not the first thing I would think of doing if I were Robby. But, I guess they needed an excuse for the irony and drama of Johnny's son befriending Daniel.

[–] Juschill (779) 6 years ago

If Robby were an honor roll student and a Boy Scout then I agree that would be rebellious. For a criminal ... it's just stupid.

[–] fountainhead (318) 6 years ago

Yeah. Plus, how does Robby even know about Johnny's rivalry with Daniel? It's implied that Johnny has been an absent father for the majority of Robby's life. So when did they even have time to have a father and son heart-to-heart about Johnny's high school karate days? For shame, writers! Haha, I'm just nitpicking though. I'm demanding perfection. Robby's character is just the weak link in an otherwise perfect script.

[–] strntz (10803) 6 years ago

The kid is at least 16 years old. I'm sure at one point in his life he heard his old man bitch about Daniel. Heart to heart not required.

[–] AP (5258) 4 years ago

Yeah, the way Johnny constantly whines about Daniel, Robby would have found out either from him or his mom.

[–] Iffy762 (1331) 4 years ago

I see Johnny as someone who has, for his entire adult life, held up his defeat by Daniel as the one thing that held him back from succeeding. So I definitely see him talking about it over and over to anyone who would listen, including Robby.

[–] Sandman81 (1501) 6 years ago

I didn't like Robbie at the start, and the more he became the good guy, the more and more I hated him. I would seriously have been mad if they had him win in the end.

[–] ExTechOp (2742) 6 years ago

Robby always had a “good” side that could be charming and say the right thing.

That’s established the very first time we see him

He’s just using it the wrong purposes, because he’s running with the wrong crowd

[–] fountainhead (318) 6 years ago

One thing I realized about Robby that I must admit, though: At least he had more training than Rey in both The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi, lol!

[–] Juschill (779) 6 years ago

This.

[–] Alex (1478) 6 years ago

HAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHA.

[–] fountainhead (318) 6 years ago

Another thing I just realized about Robby: he drops what, I believe, is the only F bomb in the entire series when he sees Johnny's flyer and says "...it's my fucking dad". This isn't a criticism, but it's telling that the writers chose to use, probably, their only allotted F bomb to reflect how Robby feels about his dad. Youch! I guess that's why, in spite of his efforts, it's gonna take a while for Johnny to repair their relationship.

[–] [deleted] 4 years ago

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