I'll be writing a full review of the final season (Season 6) of "Cobra Kai" once I'm done watching it, but if the first two episodes of the season are any indication, I'm not going to like this. Thus far, Season 6 has featured most of the show's worst tendencies: fighters who can't really fight, poor (and over-edited) choreography, dodgy acting by some of the less major characters, and—for whatever reason—a bizarre focus on Koreans as the saps and bad guys, a fact that normally wouldn't bother me except that "Cobra Kai" has been, over the past two or three seasons, pretty relentless about it. And like a lot of American shows, the show gets a lot about Asian culture wrong, indicating that the scriptwriters haven't really bothered to do their homework.* So far, the main bad guy seems to be an old, Korean grandfather who looks to have stepped out of a bad Hong Kong action movie from the 70s, fake gray beard and all. The script still shows occasional wit in terms of dialogue, plot twists, and character arcs, but it also telegraphs plot points and features a painful amount of sappy corniness. I guess I'll get through all fifteen episodes of Season 6, but I have to say: after watching only two episodes, I was ready to step back and take a breather. Also: I don't think that cobras are native to Korea. That's all I'll say for now; expect a complete review soon.
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*Korean TV shows get a lot about Westerners and the West wrong, which is immediately noticeable to Westerners watching Korean TV. But it's only fair to point out that it's the rare American TV show that gets various Asian cultures right. How hard can it be for either side to do a little research and demand a little accuracy? Already in Episode 2 of this season, there were some truly cringe-worthy moments during the scenes supposedly located in Korea—both in terms of how people dressed and how they behaved. More on this soon.
Remember LOST? All those scenes supposed to be set in Korea that were so clearly actually filmed in Hawaii and looked absolutely nothing like Korea. Also, supposedly native Koreans who can't speak Korean properly.
ReplyDeleteI think I remember your Liminality discussions of the show. Didn't "Lost" demonstrate some improvement over time?
DeleteNot many TV shows/films are shot on actual locations due to many factors but mostly it comes down to cost and efficiency. "Little House on the Prairie" wasn't filmed in the Midwest and "Star Wars" wasn't filmed in outer space. I know I was bummed when I grew up enough and realized it's all just fiction. Some better rendered than others but just as fake.
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