Yes, this is about both the show and the characters in it. And no, this is not meant to hate on the show or any character whatsoever. What I will point out is something the show is showing us through its framing, writing, and narrative choices. These are the 3 keywords I will be using a lot in this essay. Please make sure that you fully understand their meaning to understand what I say better.
With the disclaimers out of the way, let’s go, baby!
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Robby Keene is easily the most intriguing character in Cobra Kai to me. Mostly because I couldn’t slot him in any archetype when I started watching.
He isn’t the protagonist – he is billed 5th and introduced all the way in the 4th episode. He is not the quintessential hero or good guy because he is introduced as running scams. That should mean that he is the antagonist? Well, stealing some money so you can have food and having remorse while doing it really disqualifies you for that. He is neither the a-hole with the heart of gold because my guy is so quiet in nature.
The closest I could come up with was him being someone like Katniss Everdeen, the protagonist of the Hunger Games series. She doesn’t have a distinct personality because all her energy goes into survival. Similarly, Robby doesn’t fit in any clear archetype because all his energy goes into survival as well. He regularly chucks his self-esteem down the drain and does what he needs to to survive – from running scams to allowing being bullied.
Robby’s story has been fascinating all through S1 to S4. I’m amused at how much prominence he holds in the narrative while simultaneously being treated unfairly than other characters. He is the 4th main character and is directly in competition with Miguel. And things are pretty bleak for the guy…
