Diksha Sundriyal
Netflix’s ‘Cobra Kai’ continues the story of ‘The Karate Kid’ by focusing on the lives of Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence, who are now adults and living completely different lives. Still, karate remains an important part of their lives, and so do their senseis. For Johnny, it is about shaking off the bad influence of his sensei, John Kreese, but for Daniel, it is about continuing the legacy of his, Mr. Miyagi. The sixth season shakes things up by introducing a different aspect of Mr. Miyagi’s life and past, things that Johnny never knew about. As he delves deeper into this mystery, the clues paint a very different picture of the Mr. Miyagi that Daniel knows and loves. Interestingly, Mr. Miyagi makes a rather unexpected appearance in the sixth season. SPOILERS AHEAD
Mr. Miyagi’s Presence Explained
Despite having died before the events of ‘Cobra Kai,’ Mr. Miyagi has remained a constant presence in the story. The show regularly references the character, and footage from ‘The Karate Kid’ movies is used to remember Mr. Miyagi and his teachings. Considering that Pat Morita, who immortalized Mr. Miyagi, passed away in 2005, it makes sense that we don’t get any new scenes of him until the sixth season. An episode in Season 6 Part II shows Mr. Miyagi in Daniel’s dream. This scene is not from the previous movies, which makes it kind of eerier to see Mr. Miyagi like that. The context and the importance of the scene are completely understood. This is after Daniel discovers that Mr. Miyagi’s opponent in the Sekai Taikai tournament all those years ago was declared dead, which means that Mr. Miyagi, who never believed in tournaments, killed a man.
Understandably, Daniel is rattled by this discovery and it starts to show in his dreams as well as his waking hours. Because this is the side of Mr. Miyagi that Daniel had never seen before, it makes sense that a new scene would be required to present his state of mind. The footage from the movie cannot be used in this context because that Mr. Miyagi is the one Daniel has idolized for so long. The one he sees in his dreams is a man he knows nothing about. However, it raises the problem of the actor’s absence. Fortunately, technology has taken quite a leap, allowing several options that can be employed in such a situation.
Reportedly, the creators used the past footage of Morita and employed a mix of visual effects and AI to create the dream (or rather, nightmare) version of Mr. Miyagi that we see in the sixth season of ‘Cobra Kai.’ Knowing the sensitive nature of the CGI resurrection of a person, the show’s creator first cleared it up with Morita’s estate to make sure that they were on board with the idea and comfortable with the way the process would be handled. An actor was present in Mr. Miyagi’s place during the filming, but later, Morita’s face was superimposed to get the intended effect. Interestingly, Morita’s out-of-place presence and the way he appears in the dream serve the intention of the scene rather well. It’s not an entirely clear view of Mr. Miyagi, but rather a hazier vision, which emphasizes Daniel’s fear of whether or not he knew his mentor at all.
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