Cobra Kai Proves Barney’s How I Met Your Mother Karate Kid Rant Was Right

Throughout How I Met Your Mother, Barney Stinson repeatedly expressed his support for Johnny Lawrence — and Cobra Kai has proven that he was right to do so. Played by Neil Patrick Harris, Barney was the breakout character of the CBS sitcom despite his questionable decisions and largely flexible morals. The latter manifested in several humorous ways. However, they were never more prominent than when he revealed his predisposition to root for a film’s villain over its established hero. He believed Hans Gruber to be the title character of Die Hard and teared up over the fact that the T-800 “never got to kill all those people” in The Terminator.

The reveal occurred in How I Met Your Mother season 4, episode 15, “The Stinsons” and was first centered around The Karate Kid. After Marshall noticed a poster for the movie above his childhood bed, Barney recounted that it was “the story of a hopeful, young Karate enthusiast whose dreams and moxie take him all the way to the All-Valley Karate championship.” However, it was at this point that Barney’s recollection took as a turn as he lamented the character being defeated by who he later described as “the scrawny loser from New Jersey who barely even knows karate.” Though Lily referred to him as “that mean blonde boy,” Barney defended Johnny Lawrence of the Cobra Kai dojo as the true Karate Kid. Barney reaffirmed his support when he met Ralph Macchio in How I Met Your Mother season 8, episode 22, “The Bro Mitzvah” — labeling Daniel LaRusso a “monster” that only won the tournament because of “an illegal kick.“

It’s been over a decade since Barney first made his position known. Many have since come around to his way of thinking because of Cobra Kai, which recently enjoyed a new lease of life via Netflix. The series picked up with Johnny Lawrence still haunted by that defeat, and the direction his life had taken ever since. When the pair reunited in Cobra Kai season 1, episode 1, “Ace Degenerate,” Johnny even stated that Daniel’s kick had been illegal. The statement does have validity since even Daniel declared direct face contact to be a disqualification-level offense in The Karate Kid III. And while shots to the side of the head were generally permitted, Daniel’s famous crane kick impacted Johnny’s face directly around the nose and thus head-on. As such, it’s understandable that Johnny (and others) could view that as illegal.

The debate regarding the tournament’s rules will continue to rage. Whatever side of the fence one sits on, however, Cobra Kai delved into something that that The Karate Kid never did — Johnny Lawrence’s side of things. Of course, as with most people, Johnny’s point of view is obviously skewed by his own personal biases. Regardless, there is no denying that Daniel LaRusso was often an antagonizing force. Even after Cobra Kai obeyed instructions to leave Daniel alone, he sought them out in efforts to mock them.

Daniel’s faultless view of himself and his pettiness has only lingered into adulthood. Equally, Daniel has weaponized his 1984 victory as perpetual proof of his moral superiority and that he’s on the right side of the dispute. Conversely, as Barney also stated, Karate Kid culminated with Johnny learning a lesson about graciously accepting defeat. Throughout Cobra Kai, Johnny has continued that trend. He has made mistakes, but repeatedly learned and evolved. He took his failures and missteps to heart, and subsequently fought for self-improvement and redemption.

While Johnny often saw things from Daniel’s view, Daniel never bothered to do the same.  He has denied Johnny’s overall humanity and often saw only that which fuels his grudge. Even after the tragic events of Cobra Kai season 2, Daniel put that grudge above everything — to the point that even his own wife called him out. Besides John Kreese, the show has avoided making anybody an outright villain. Still,  Johnny has frequently demonstrated more heroic traits than Daniel. As such, though the same can’t be said for every movie villain that Barney defended, Cobra Kai confirmed that his view of Johnny Lawrence was at least somewhat justified.

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