Why The Cobra Kai Season 3 Trailer Has Hawk Fans Worried
Cobra Kai is the story of what happens when a former high school bully gaslights himself into thinking that he was a victim, then slingshots his newfound confidence into a revenge-fueled business venture teaching children how to hurt each other. In short, no character involved is living their best life.
That goes double for Eli Moskowitz, that rarest breed of former nerd that starts doing push-ups one day and doesn't stop, even when a new season of Doctor Who hits streaming services. After flipping the script and rebranding himself as "Hawk," Eli became one of Cobra Kai's standout players. Vicious in the ring and increasingly abrasive during his day-to-day, he walks the line between being the underdog that audiences root for and the jerk they hope to watch fall on his own hair spikes.
Now, observant fans think they may have spotted what could be the character's downfall. More Cobra Kai is coming in hot in January of 2021, and the show's recently released season 3 trailer has given Hawk fans reason to take pause. It's not because the kid is clearly setting himself up for a breakdown by trying to balance school, karate, and hair maintenance. It's not even because the world will eventually run out of Aquanet. It's the return of one of the show's most nefarious, sushi-snubbing antagonists that has viewers anxious.
With Kyler's return to Cobra Kai, things are looking Hawk-ward
Look at that smug son of a gun. That's right, the most punchable character in the Karate Kid franchise is back in action.
Longtime fans will remember Kyler as the bully from Cobra Kai's first season, mysteriously absent from season 2. He's got all of the earmarks of a classic high school bad guy: dishonest, manipulative, and dating the girl that the age-appropriate male lead likes.
What's more, Kyler is an important part of what convinces Eli to take on his Hawk persona, thanks to his constant physical and verbal abuse. It now appears that he's back in the game and training at the all-new, all-Kreese Cobra Kai dojo. The reemergence of an old bully is harrowing enough under normal circumstances, but the prospect of Kyler learning karate under Kreese's tutelage might just be enough to re-flip the script for Hawk.
Hopefully, the addition of yet another sociopathic martial arts enthusiast to a high school with more fistfights per minute than a Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! playthrough will be the shot in the arm that Hawk needs to get his life back on track. We'll just have to wait until Cobra Kai season 3 hits Netflix in January to find out for sure.