Cobra Kai season 2: William Zabka on Johnny Lawrence’s internal journey

Cobra Kai season 2 continues Johnny Lawrence’s journey of personal growth, and William Zabka shares with Hidden Remote where his character is headed.

Cobra Kai proved once and for all that Johnny Lawrence wasn’t a bad guy, and now he’s back for another season of continuing to try to figure things out. But could a blast from the past return him to the dark side?

William Zabka connected with Hidden Remote to discuss Cobra Kai season 2, which premieres today exclusively on YouTube Premium, and begins where season 1 left off—with Johnny reeling from the return of his mentor John Kreese (Martin Kove).

He told us where Johnny’s head is at going into the second season, how the hit show continues to expand its universe in these ten new episodes, and what it’s been like introducing new viewers to the Karate Kid franchise.

Learn more about Johnny Lawrence in our interview with William Zabka below, then stream the season premiere of Cobra Kai for free today on YouTube Premium.

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Hidden Remote: The first season of Cobra Kai was showing a new side of Johnny Lawrence. What’s the reception that you’ve gotten since the show’s premiere? Are people reconsidering their opinion of Johnny?

William Zabka: I think a lot of people could relate to Johnny and his transgressions. Last time we saw Johnny [in the Karate Kid films], he was living large when he was a kid and he didn’t know where he came from.

Now we’re digging deep into his past and his roots and who he is, and the fact that he’s just trying to get through the day and make it.

There’s a little bit of an underdog in him that people are relating to, and I think he’s showing all his colors and a little more of his humanity. The feedback’s been really great.

What was your reaction when you read the end of the Cobra Kai season 1 finale and saw that Kreese was coming back? That floored so many viewers and it was certainly an ominous twist for Johnny’s future.

I knew from the very beginning that Kreese was going to step into the dojo at the end [of the season]. I was very excited about that and the idea of working with Martin Kove again, and bringing Kreese into the story.

On paper it was one thing, but after we filmed the final tournament it was very emotional in a way, because it was kind of a mirror of the past. Even though Johnny won, in a way he lost, because his student defeated his son. And he’s seeing the things he’s teaching aren’t all good.

So the last scene we filmed with Martin, [Kreese] walks into the dojo and Johnny’s in the office hitting the bottle again. Just figuring out what he’s going to do next and in comes his old sensei slash father figure. What was going to come from that next, I had a basic, general idea—and then the scripts came in and it was fantastic to play.

Should Cobra Kai fans be worried for Johnny? What kind of effect is Kreese going to have on the life he’s tried to rebuild for himself?

Johnny is a work in progress and the Coors aren’t helping that. (laughs) I said at the very beginning and even when we filmed it, Johnny’s avoided Cobra Kai for three decades and in many ways Cobra Kai is the snake that bit him. Him opening that back up was kind of Pandora’s Box and by opening the dojo again, he’s kind of summoned his past. Daniel’s in his life and he’s kind of repeating the same mistakes, but he’s trying to work it out and make changes.

He’s kind of hung onto the simplicity of life. He didn’t get involved into technology, and he’s just trying to make a living and get through the day and be left alone. Then he protects this kid and becomes his sensei in the dojo, and now he’s seeing all that he’s been teaching these kids—which was downloaded to him—might need some adjustments. At the end of the season Johnny’s got some thinking to do, and he’s going to make some adjustments.

In walks Kreese, who’s in many ways the King Cobra, so there’s a relationship there between them as the teacher [and] student, although the student is now a sensei. [Johnny]’s not a young boy anymore. He’s a man, and he sees eye to eye, and goes toe to toe with him. At the same time there’s a real father-son kind of dysfunctional relationship there that they’re working through.

But Johnny is old school. For these kids and this show today, he’s considered old school. Kreese is considered really old school. So we have the conflict of Johnny and this generation, and then you bring in a whole other generation in, and it really is a great mixed bag of intentions and a cross of wills and what’s right. There’s a battle between them emotionally and as sensei, so it’s a fantastic story to play.

What else can fans expect in Cobra Kai season 2, now that the groundwork has been laid?

This season really explores a more three-dimensional picture of the story. We’ve come in through season 1 in Johnny’s eyes and really seen it through his point of view. Season 2 moves back a bit and really develops the Miyagi-do and Daniel LaRusso, and [Daniel] trying to find his way to teach kids and try to, in his mind, protect them from the rising Cobras at the other end of the Valley.

At the same time we’re birthing and extending storylines. and getting deeper into the characters we met last season…Watching [Daniel and Amanda]’s relationship, their marriage getting deeper, and then we bring in some new characters this season. New Cobra Kais into the dojo that are incredible.

It’s very balanced as far as what we’re watching. There’s a lot of great choreography, a lot of great action, and the production value this season is bigger than last season. And they did a fantastic job of setting the stage for the story to continue. If you think the ending of season 1 was a page turner, the end of season 2 is times a hundred.

How has it been for you to portray Johnny Lawrence in an episodic TV format? Has Cobra Kai enabled you to uncover things about him you didn’t know or didn’t expect?

What’s great about this format is that we get to let the stories breathe and let the arcs go longer. That’s both fulfilling and exciting as an actor, as an artist, to play this character. I can’t wait to see the pages that come in every day for what these guys are writing. Sometimes I read and laugh out loud and sometimes it’s just like a knife in my heart. They’re just keeping me on my toes, turning all these different ways. I love how they’re writing to all my aspects—my comedy, my action and my drama. As an actor it can’t be more fulfilling.

He’s a little old school, which I love and completely relate to. There’s areas where my instincts as Billy, who kind of has a sense of ownership of Johnny, disagree in some ways with the direction things are going—because I want to step into his skin and fix Johnny. But Johnny’s a work in progress, so they’ve got this right. It’s exciting to lean on their writing and let them take the lead on where they’re driving the story.

I do have a lot of thoughts and opinions along the way and in the moment. Add this or that, or a question of could this work, and it’s a collaborative effort. They give me a lot of room and respect to personify this character, and sometimes if the words don’t land right or this or that they work with me on that, and it’s a lot of fun.

I’m thrilled to see the stories they’re giving Johnny. He’s really a work in progress, as I said, and he’s evolving. He’s getting a little bit more into technology and discovering the world of the Internet, which is brand new for him, and smartphones and stumbling into the beef that is today.

The Karate Kid is something that’s been close to your heart for decades now. What’s been the most rewarding thing to come out of doing Cobra Kai, and seeing how season 1 caught on and knowing people are connecting to it?

I think that we’re all pleased that The Karate Kid lives on and it’s marching forward in Cobra Kai. What’s been great about it is they haven’t leaned on the nostalgia of the past. We’re really birthing the universe, and all the seeds that are going to kind of take root for the future. These young actors, who are amazing, are really kind of carrying the torch now and we’re the sensei, the camp counselors, kind of nurturing them.

So to see the young kids that are now parents grown up, and are watching their show with the teenage kids—it’s crossed generations and that is unique and special, that it’s working and has a good heartbeat, and that everyone seems to be enjoying it. We’re having a great time with it. It’s an amazing rebirth of the franchise and a new direction. It’s tailored for today and modern times, and it’s exciting to be a part of that.

Cobra Kai season 2 is streaming now on YouTube Premium, with the first episode available for free on the show’s YouTube channel.