Daniel Larusso was the hero of the original Karate Kid movies, so why does his adult self in the Cobra Kai series choose such awful friends?
Daniel Larusso (Ralph Macchio) learned essential life lessons in the Karate Kid movies, but the dubious people he surrounded himself with as an adult in Cobra Kai showed that he had forgotten some of them. When audiences were first introduced to Daniel back in 1984, Daniel was a hotheaded New Jersey teen with a tendency to get himself into trouble. After flirting with karate star Johnny Lawrence's(William Zabka) girlfriend Ali (Elisabeth Shue), he was targeted by Johnny's dojo, Cobra Kai. Daniel sought the help of Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita), his apartment's handyman, in defending himself from the bullies. Mr. Miyagi not only taught Daniel karate, but concentration, patience, and humility, which he used to rise above Johnny's aggressive tactics in the All-Valley Karate Tournament.
Even after Daniel defeated Johnny with a (possibly illegal) crane kick, the animosity between the two would remain. In Cobra Kai, the two characters are adults, but their rivalry burns on as they start their own karate dojos. This time, however, Johnny and Daniel do not fall into a simple "hero and villain" dynamic. After a series of bad decisions, Johnny is left living in the past but attempts to redeem himself through his new batch of Cobra Kai students. Daniel is a successful car salesman, but his life is not as perfect as it seems on the surface.
Despite having a loving family and prosperous career, Daniel still attracts toxic influences. He employs his dim-witted cousin Louie at his car dealership, who cruelly pranks Daniel's student Robby with his fellow salesman Anoush. Louie later lights Johnny's car on fire, making the conflict between them even more intense. Daniel's willingness to let people like Louie into his life shows how he had lost his way after Mr. Miyagi's passing, allowing himself to be blinded by his own success.
Ever since the first Karate Kid movie, Daniel has struggled with his flaws. He was somewhat panicky and quick to anger and while this sometimes manifested as heroism, as when he stood up for Ali when Johnny treated her poorly, he lacked balance. Mr. Miyagi rectified this through his karate lessons, which often involved seemingly boring, menial chores like waxing his car. This taught Daniel the value of hard work and humility, showing that flashy moves were not the only important thing in karate.
While these teachings aimed to show Daniel the importance of remaining humble, Miyagi's lesson was lost on his student after he passed away. His oversight led to a misplaced trust in Louie and others in supporting his business. After his past experiences with Cobra Kai, Daniel thought he and his "friends" could not be anything but the good guys, even as he hung onto a decades-old grudge. He was still unbalanced. In his anger, Daniel used underhanded tactics to stop Johnny and the new Cobra Kai, like unfairly raising the dojo's rent.
Daniel has remained somewhat misguided throughout the first two seasons of Cobra Kai, but the ending note of season two will certainly give him a rude awakening. A massive brawl traumatized and injured his own daughter Sam (Mary Mouser), and left another Cobra Kai student hospitalized. The ongoing grudge between Daniel and Johnny undoubtedly fueled the fight. In season three of Cobra Kai, both of them will have to work hard to undo the mental damage they've unwittingly dealt to their students, and from the looks of the trailer, they will have to do so together.
