What Do We Know about Daniel LaRusso’s Father Anyway?

There’s no trouble saying that there are some serious father issues in Cobra Kai, but one name that doesn’t really get much mention is that of Mr. LaRusso, Daniel’s father. He was mentioned in the second Karate Kid movie when Daniel was attempting to console Mr. Miyagi after the death of his father, and again in season 2 of Cobra Kai when Daniel and his mother were talking. But apart from that, it doesn’t appear that Daniel’s father is really mentioned much. But if one takes the idea that Daniel remembers the one day at Coney Island before his father got really sick, it makes a little more sense considering that if his father died when he was still young, then Daniel might not have a lot of memories of his father, at least none that reach past his childhood obviously. That could be one of the biggest reasons we don’t hear much about him, since his mother had to raise him after a certain point and she simply didn’t take the time to date or think about finding another man in her life, as far as we know. In the meantime, the father issues in Cobra Kai have been mounting since season 1 as we’ve seen a number of different developments that have been ongoing.

Now that Daniel and Johnny are both fathers we get to see how they’ve done, and while both of them are currently trying to be a lot better than they have been, it’s fair to say that both men have tripped up a bit since neither one of them can really connect with their own sons, while Johnny has a pain in the backside stepfather that constantly reminds him of his failures and a father figure in John Kreese that has now tried to kill him. Daniel’s father figure, Mr. Miyagi, was one of the best and strongest influences on his life, but since he’s gone now it’s hard to say that he hasn’t fallen off the rails a bit as he’s pushed Sam too hard and virtually ignored his son. On the other hand, Johnny has lost his connection with Robby for the time being while his bond with Miguel is currently stronger than ever thanks to the continued growth of both individuals. Neither Daniel nor Johnny are perfect at this point, but they’ve had a lot of help and are currently on the same page finally, as in season 4, whenever it comes, they’ll be seeking to take Kreese down, and it’s not going to be easy, that much is for certain since a lot of people are hoping to see Terry Silver enter the fray again, and if that happens then things are about to get dialed up to 11 in a hurry since Silver knows how to manipulate and hurt people in numerous ways, much as he did to Daniel in the third Karate Kid movie.

Being a father is one of the big ideas that has been coming through in the Cobra Kai series at this point, as it wasn’t much of a concern in the movies. Daniel’s father was a relevant story when it was needed and not much else, but in Cobra Kai, since Daniel and Johnny are both fathers at this time, it becomes a much more important aspect of the show since it highlights a portion of their character that wasn’t evident when they were younger. Some might not be too surprised by the unfortunate fact that Johnny became kind of a deadbeat dad, but it was a bit of a surprise that Daniel ended up being kind of a jerk that would become so obsessed with the return of Cobra Kai. One might think that after the final match that he had with Johnny that things might have clicked, that he might have realized that Johnny had a few issues as well he had to deal with, but that wasn’t the message that was pushed, it was simply a way for Mr. Miyagi to teach Daniel another lesson about mercy and when to practice it. Fatherhood in the movies wasn’t really something that was examined that far, at least not until the second movie, and even then it was kind of hard to equate the same feeling with Miyagi’s father since he was already on his deathbed.

There’s no doubt that Daniel has to find a way to connect with his son, and that Johnny has to find a way to get Robby away from Kreese. This means that season 4 is going to be absolutely epic, as seeing Johnny and Daniel team up against a common enemy and join their dojos is bound to be one of the best things that the fans have ever seen. Now if only we can get confirmation as to whether a couple of key characters are going to be there or not.