the queen cobra, cobra kai

the queen cobra.

MARIA GALLAGHER NEVER KNEW WHAT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN TO HER BY JOINING THE COBRA KAI DOJO.

In her eyes, she thought that she was just going to learn how to fight, defend herself against bullies. And she did do that. But what she didn't know was that she was going to do more than that. She was going to not only uphold her family's legacy, but create her own. She was going to show the world who exactly Maria Gallagher was, aside from being Sean Gallagher's daughter.

She lived in Ireland up until she was ten, immigrating to the United States with her father to where her aunt lived. Maria was then placed in her Aunt Maeve's care, while Sean was off in the military. Her mother was no where to be seen. Sean never so much as said her name, so Maria never had a clue in the world of who her mother was.

While Sean was fighting his battles, Maria was fighting her own. When she became a teenager, she had befriended a boy who had moved to the San Fernando Valley as well. His name was Miguel Diaz. He was a sweet, kind boy, a stark contrast to the fierceness that Maria portrayed. They became like siblings. Two peas in a pod. They fought together, laughed together, and cried together. The fact that they didn't share blood meant nothing to them, for their bond was stronger than anything in the world.

They both competed in a local karate tournament, the All Valley, they called it. But the aftermath of that tournament would set the course of their relationship  in a way that that neither of them could have predicted.

Johnny Lawrence was a good man. A little...uneducated perhaps, but he still had good intentions at heart. However, he was gullible, easily manipulated, had a lot of demons, and that's what changed everything. John Kreese was one of those demons. Johnny Lawrence and John Kreese had a complex relationship. It was akin to mentor and mentee, but it was more toxic. Kreese manipulated Johnny into thinking that he was a changed man, a better man, but it was all a facade.

Meanwhile, as Kreese was manipulating Johnny, tensions were rising between the two rival dojos, Cobra Kai, lead by Johnny Lawrence and John Kreese, and Miyagi-Do, led by Daniel LaRusso, the man both Johnny and Kreese despised. Maria had formed a friendship with a new student in Cobra Kai, Tory Nichols. She was the typical bad girl, and her and Maria instantly clicked.

But one day, when they were at the country club, a confrontation with Samantha LaRusso—Daniel LaRusso's daughter—occurred. Samantha had wrongfully accused Tory of stealing her mom's wallet when it went missing, which set the stage for the fierce rivalry with not only Samantha and Tory, but for Samantha and Maria as well. Miguel, who had dated Samantha previously, had begun to date Tory, which added another layer to their rivalry.

Eventually, it all fell down as quickly as it built up. At a party, Miguel and Sam, who were both intoxicated, had shared a kiss. Tory had seen it from a distance. After so many confrontations and almost-fights with Samantha, this was her breaking point. Samantha was the embodiment of everything she despised, of everything she wanted but couldn't have, she couldn't let her get away with this.

And so, the very next day—which happened to be the first day of school—Tory made a decision that would change everything.

She started a fight.

But it wasn't just a typical high school fight between her and Samantha. It escalated quicker and quicker, and transformed into an all out brawl, Cobra Kai vs Miyagi-Do. It was every man (and woman) for themselves.

Miguel and Robby Keene (Johnny Lawrence's estranged son), had the fiercest rivalry of all. Robby, being abandoned by Johnny when he was born, resented both Johnny and Miguel for their newly formed bond, the father-son bond that Robby never got. Robby had also been dating Sam while Miguel was dating Tory, which formed a very complex love square.

Miguel and Robby's fight escalated until they were on the second floor, only several feet away from the railing. One wrong move could possibly end someone's life.

Maria, who had noticed that the fight was escalating to a dangerous level, tried to intervene. She stepped in the middle of Robby and Miguel, and pleaded for Robby to stop. But Robby, who was too blinded by his rage, was deaf to her pleas. He placed a kick that was meant for Miguel, but landed on Maria. She stumbled back into Miguel, and the two fell over the balcony.

Maria couldn't think. She could have sworn her heart stopped beating. The last thing she could see was Robby above her, and the last thing she could hear was her name being screamed out by Tory.

And then, snap.

But what Maria didn't realize was that Miguel had taken the brunt of the fall. He had wrapped his arms around Maria, acting as a shield between her and the railing of the staircase. He would rather die than see Maria in that condition.

Who knew that one little kiss could change not only the stability of a town, but the lives of teenagers, who had learned to fight for fun, and not to survive?