The Hawk Scene That Cobra Kai Fans Think Kills Three Birds With One Stone
A major reason why "Cobra Kai" has caught on with YouTube Red and later Netflix viewers since its premiere in 2018 is its presentation. From episode to episode, it shows that it's capable of handling a range of tones and working within a variety of genres. It can be funny, dramatic, campy, empowering, and more, allowing it to appeal to a wide swath of television viewers. Not to mention, in addition to shedding light on the old guard of the "Karate Kid" film franchise, it has developed several new characters who are all engaging in their own ways and thus help carry the series.
Arguably one of the most talked about of the younger "Cobra Kai" cast is the wild-haired Eli "Hawk" Moskowitz (Jacob Bertrand), and it's not difficult to see why. Like many, he's spent much of his youth being picked on by people at school with no hope of retaliation. However, he manages to find a way to do so when he joins the Cobra Kai dojo, leading him to reinvent himself and muster up the confidence to stand up to his bullies. While this sounds great on paper, Hawk has allowed his retribution to consume him, making life difficult for him once he left the dojo behind.
Hawk has had his fair share of important moments throughout his time in the "Cobra Kai" spotlight, with fans arguing this is one of the most integral since it effectively killed three birds with one stone.
Hawk's beatdown of Brucks served more than one purpose
During "Cobra Kai" Season 3, Hawk gets some revenge on one of his longtime school bullies, Brucks (Bo Mitchell), who joined Cobra Kai alongside fellow bully Kyler Park (Joe Seo). Under the evil eye of sensei John Kreese (Martin Kove), Hawk uses his anger and martial arts skill to beat Brucks into a bloody mess for all of his fellow Cobra Kai members to see. As pointed out by Redditor u/turdutalp1, this moment accomplishes three things for Hawk at once: it ensures Brucks won't give him a hard time anymore, scares Kyler to the bone, and asserts Hawk as one of the top pupils under the Cobra Kai banner.
The scariest part of this scene is that Hawk clearly knows what he's doing, having considered what attacking Brucks would do for him in the long run. It just goes to show how dangerous someone who's spent so long being bullied can become without a proper outlet to deal with those emotions. Jacob Bertrand has a good grasp on this concept himself, as he explained in an interview with Complex. "Retaliation only drives more hurt and creates a wedge of polarization between people when you fight fire with fire and hate with hate," Bertrand said, explaining the complexity and depth behind those labeled as "bullies" and the importance of understanding why they are the way they are.
Since leaving Cobra Kai, Hawk has a long way to go in terms of atoning for all of the pain he's caused. He surely will eventually, but it stands to reason that his confrontation with Brucks won't be easy to live down.