Summary
“Glory of Love” tests the strength of love both young and old, as romance threatens to overwhelm the war between dojos.
This Cobra Kai Season 2 Episode 8 recap for the episode titled “Glory of Love” contains spoilers. You can check out our thoughts on the previous episode by clicking these words.
“Glory of Love” begins with Johnny having a psychedelic sex/beer/karate dream about Miguel’s mother, Carmen. And when he wakes up he wishes it had been real. So, when he sees Carmen coming home with a new limey fella, it’s enough to persuade him to allow Miguel to create him a Tinder profile. In true Johnny fashion, he’s looking for smoking hot babes, and his “likes” include martial arts, muscle cars, Iron Eagle and Iron Eagle 2.
Daniel is still in the doghouse with Amanda; Sam and Robbie are a proper thing now, which is probably why he sneakily hid Mr. Miyagi’s Medal of Honor in the garden so it would look like it had been discovered by accident. He’s a sly one, that boy. “Glory of Love” is about all of these relationships, as well as Johnny’s futile attempts to find a new one.
First, though, his relationship to Cobra Kai has to be challenged. After ejecting Kreese, Johnny explains to his students his updated ideology, and why Kreese didn’t gel with it; it’s nice to see this kind of frankness from Johnny — being badass might still be a requirement of membership, but at least it doesn’t have to be synonymous with being an asshole. This evolution in Johnny’s thinking is a huge part of why Cobra Kai works so well, and why Johnny himself is such a compelling character.
That and the fact he’s hilarious, which “Glory of Love” showed to full effect on his various dates. (One of which was the women who got him fired in the first episode of the first season.) At a loss, Johnny composes a message to his old flame Ali, but just as he decides it sounds too desperate, a woman hits on him with his own old-school technique. He sends the message by accident and finds a companion. But things are never that easy for him.
As such, Carmen’s new boyfriend happens to be in the same bar, and he happens to be disparagingly talking about Carmen loud enough for Johnny to hear. This, needless to say, doesn’t go down well; Johnny abandons his date to whoop him outside. When he returns home, he finds Carmen outside, abandoned by her new squeeze, and he finally plucks up the courage to ask her out.
Meanwhile in “Glory of Love”, Daniel attempts to make amends with Amanda by bringing his students into the dealership to wax the cars, but it doesn’t go down too well. Sam and Robbie attempt to enjoy some alone time at a roller disco, but find themselves in the same venue as Tory (who works there) and Miguel. Tensions reach a boiling point as obvious chemistry between Sam and Miguel persists, and Tory just cannot help but cause trouble out of jealousy.
By the end, at least Daniel and Amanda have reminisced and reconciled. Their strong relationship is also a vital component of Cobra Kai; not a flawless union, but the kind of loving lifestyle that Johnny covets, and enough to make him wistful of what might have been had his life not been so thoroughly warped by Kreese. Punches and kicks might look nasty, but the marks they leave are temporary. What remains solid and sturdy in this show are the relationships underpinning it all, and the LaRusso marriage is one even a solid chop couldn’t break. Not yet, anyway.
