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

My only problem with this series: Robby

posted 7 years ago by fountainhead (323)
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.

[–] Threadkiller (3075) 4 years ago

I'm not a big fan of Robby but Dimitri is easily the worst character on the show. The only saving grace is that he's only a supporting character. That being said Robby's development did feel a bit rushed. It felt like his character should have been introduced earlier and the writers were trying to make up for lost time.

[–] Iffy762 (1334) 4 years ago

Who is Dmitri? Is that Daniel's cousin? I actually really like Robby as a character (not maybe as a person). I think that Robby is much more damaged than Miguel because Robby's mother and father both failed him, whereas at least Miguel's mother is a good mother. I don't think that Robby has instantly become a good person, I think what has happened is that he is instinctively reacting positively to the care that Daniel is giving him. I think Robby is naturally athletic and naturally focused, we see him do the skateboarding and he keeps at it over and over and even when he falls off of the skateboard he ends up in the very difficult position that Daniel showed him. So I think Robby is someone who could have done really well if Johnny had been a decent father.

I like how he is cast, too. He has a very morally ambiguous look about him, always seems like someone who would be up to no good.

[–] Threadkiller (3075) 4 years ago

Dimitri is the neurotic asshole character who starts the show off as Eli aka Hawk's best friend & the "alpha" nerd of the group.

I think Robby's motivation throughout is morally ambiguous. He ingratiated himself with Daniel with very dishonest ulterior motives and only begins to have a "change of heart" when like anybody in his position, he realized that playing things relatively straight was the sweeter deal. I say "relatively " because he continued to be dishonest about a number of important things that a truly genuine person would have fessed up to. A lot of his dishonesty ultimately caught up to him & backfired

[–] Iffy762 (1334) 4 years ago

Oh, yeah, you're right, Dimitri is really annoying.

I totally agree Robby is very morally ambiguous. I just finished season 1, so I don't know yet how this plays out in season 2, but I thought the way Robby was portrayed in the championship in the last episode of season 1 was really good. You can see that Robby's attempt to be a good person is very tenuous and mostly about his own survival, because he can't rely on Johnny. Miguel has Johnny (as morally ambiguous as Johnny is, at least he has taken an interest in Miguel), but Robby has no one.

I think Johnny can see this, and so can Daniel, because both of them were kids who did not have fathers, and both of them had surrogate father figures who affected how their lives turned out. Johnny can see his own morally problematic adolescence being played out again with Robby, but with the insight of his own adulthood, he kinda realises his own failure as a father is the cause of it.

Likewise, I think Daniel realises that Johnny has totally failed Robby, and that he himself is Robby's only chance at becoming a good person, but I think it will be difficult for Daniel to live up to Mr Miyagi as a role model (not to mention the temptation to keep feuding with Johnny) and I don't know if Robby is a good enough person underneath to be able to turn his life around, even with Daniel's help.