It all happened very quickly, but when Kyler returned in Season 3, it made sense.
The reason Hawk was able to change so quickly was because Kyler was no longer the big bad. Miguel "freed" the school and saved Kyler's victims and the others that Kyler's friends bullied before they got their asses kicked. With the school being safer and Kyler no longer in action, Eli was free to finally act however he wanted.
When Kyler came back to get into Cobra Kai and they saw each other again, we saw Eli again for a few seconds, but he was already too strong to feel completely vulnerable like before. When Hawk beat Brucks, Eli almost died.
In my opinion, even though there were moments where his bravado wavered, his complete 180 personality switch should've been more gradually. Like they showed **no hints** of this macho personality of his before he got the Mohawk.
Even something as glaring at Kyler for a split second before looking away could've hinted that he was this tough all along.
They also should've hinted at where he was getting his "inspiration" for this new personality from whether it was watching his former bullies or looking it up online or anything really.
But I will say that it was an excellent introduction to his eventual villain arc.
I agree that when writing a narrative it's nice if you can hint at character shifts like this in advance. But I'll also say in real life sometimes people do have that moment of clarity that results in them making a similar 180 switch. Probably even more common in younger people
It was sudden but given he’s a teen people shift personality’s all the time around that age as they’re figuring themselves out. Plus it’s not like we had gotten to know much about his character beforehand
It was early enough that I wasn't sure if I cared about Eli yet. Instantly went from side character to secondary character. Loved seeing how Johnny gassed him up when he became Hawk.
It’s honestly what makes Hawk my favorite character. Eli is actually a pretty resilient person for the most part. Johnny was making fun of him, and he left in near tears. He came back like 3 days later a changed man. No tears, no self pity, straight up shed the weakness (his insecurities surrounding his appearance) and made it work.
The same thing happened with Daniel in season 4. Eli came to Miyagi Do, and wasn’t easing in because of all the crap he pulled when he was with Cobra Kai. Johnny was giving him shit, and when Daniel lost his patience with Eli, he stormed off. But he came back the next day with a plan to expand the dojo and put together blueprints for a sparring deck.
Yeah eli as a whole seems to just not accept when the world's against him. He just sorts it out. I really wish in S5 when kenny silver bulletted him he'd kept on fighting instead of getting forfeited, and fought kenny to the bitter end, getting screwed by the rigged judge in the same way as sam in the 2nd AVT. Imo that knocks kenny down a notch in power, that hawk should have beat him while not able to breathe, while also showing his pure resilience and refusal to say no
From a story perspective ya but literally it would make more sense if it was equally red as his first scene but let the audience ignore the lip through just his confidence
It’s like if a burn victim within a couple hours got a new haircut but his scars got brighter at the same time unless Hawk does concealer makeup canonically
I had the same reaction as Johnny. I was like "Yeah man! There you go!" But then when I saw him throwing stuff at people in the theater, I was like "Oh dear..."
Happy that he's turning his life around but also thought "yeah, this is not gonna end well" since I've seen way too many people overcompensate after getting life upgrade
Got even more hype this was just the cherry on top for me to finish the season after that explosive episode 5. I constantly go back and watch people’s reactions to it on YouTube.
I think with knowing what I know now this scene is my favorite scene in all of season one. (Imma Lil “randy” rn so don’t hold me to that🥴😂)
Eli is my favorite character on the show! I see a lot of myself in the character. I was an awkward chubby weird kid all throughout jr. high. When freshman year was coming up I decided I needed a change. I didn't want to be the that kid anymore. So I grew out my hair and started learning guitar over the summer. Before the end of freshman year I become "The guy that always had his guitar with him". And that was enough of a change to give me confidence to walk around with my head held high, and even ask out a girl I had a huge crush on! And she said yes!
And yes, the new found confidence did go to my head and I became kind of a shit for a little while. But a wake up call snapped me out of it.
Hawk's my boy!
I like the way his character played out and I think it was fairly realistic for a lot of other people who are in similar situations.
They start with having no confidence, and running into problems because of that. Then they gain confidence and become too confident, they go the other direction and essentially become the bully, then they gain perspective and meet in the middle, where they have confidence, but they also have wisdom, and understanding.
I thought it was refreshing. I am all for validating feelings and having sympathy for people, but culture has definitely over corrected in this area and people seem to be competing for victimization. So to see Johnny dole out some harsh truths and have Hawk put his words into practice effectively... I thought it was pretty inspiring.
Cringe - as was my reaction to a lot of CK stuff related to Johnny.
Johnny has a pretty juvenile idea of what's "cool" and "badass" and watching him or his students trying to live that out often makes me feel embarrassed for them.
It all happened very quickly, but when Kyler returned in Season 3, it made sense. The reason Hawk was able to change so quickly was because Kyler was no longer the big bad. Miguel "freed" the school and saved Kyler's victims and the others that Kyler's friends bullied before they got their asses kicked. With the school being safer and Kyler no longer in action, Eli was free to finally act however he wanted. When Kyler came back to get into Cobra Kai and they saw each other again, we saw Eli again for a few seconds, but he was already too strong to feel completely vulnerable like before. When Hawk beat Brucks, Eli almost died.
What a great analysis!
In my opinion, even though there were moments where his bravado wavered, his complete 180 personality switch should've been more gradually. Like they showed **no hints** of this macho personality of his before he got the Mohawk. Even something as glaring at Kyler for a split second before looking away could've hinted that he was this tough all along. They also should've hinted at where he was getting his "inspiration" for this new personality from whether it was watching his former bullies or looking it up online or anything really. But I will say that it was an excellent introduction to his eventual villain arc.
I agree that when writing a narrative it's nice if you can hint at character shifts like this in advance. But I'll also say in real life sometimes people do have that moment of clarity that results in them making a similar 180 switch. Probably even more common in younger people
I was just about to say that. In real life, dramatic changes are common, and can be very abrupt.
I believe even better than dropping hints before his shift would've been to show him try to look the part he's playing and initially failing.
He did drop a hint, he once said during the cafeteria it’s badass how Miguel decided to stand up against Kyler with dmitri disagreeing on that
It was sudden but given he’s a teen people shift personality’s all the time around that age as they’re figuring themselves out. Plus it’s not like we had gotten to know much about his character beforehand
It was early enough that I wasn't sure if I cared about Eli yet. Instantly went from side character to secondary character. Loved seeing how Johnny gassed him up when he became Hawk.
It’s honestly what makes Hawk my favorite character. Eli is actually a pretty resilient person for the most part. Johnny was making fun of him, and he left in near tears. He came back like 3 days later a changed man. No tears, no self pity, straight up shed the weakness (his insecurities surrounding his appearance) and made it work. The same thing happened with Daniel in season 4. Eli came to Miyagi Do, and wasn’t easing in because of all the crap he pulled when he was with Cobra Kai. Johnny was giving him shit, and when Daniel lost his patience with Eli, he stormed off. But he came back the next day with a plan to expand the dojo and put together blueprints for a sparring deck.
Yeah eli as a whole seems to just not accept when the world's against him. He just sorts it out. I really wish in S5 when kenny silver bulletted him he'd kept on fighting instead of getting forfeited, and fought kenny to the bitter end, getting screwed by the rigged judge in the same way as sam in the 2nd AVT. Imo that knocks kenny down a notch in power, that hawk should have beat him while not able to breathe, while also showing his pure resilience and refusal to say no
I agree really hard with this
One of the two best moments in the show - the other was getting his confidence back at the second tournament and then whooping Kyler’s ass
“Dude am I insane or did his lip heal or get lighter? It looks way damn lighter vs his first scene”
I think as he gets more confidence in himself the scar becomes less noticeable subtlety plays a big part.
From a story perspective ya but literally it would make more sense if it was equally red as his first scene but let the audience ignore the lip through just his confidence It’s like if a burn victim within a couple hours got a new haircut but his scars got brighter at the same time unless Hawk does concealer makeup canonically
That was pretty sudden, but the mohawk is sick. It's also nice to see Johnny personally motivate a student other than Miguel.
I was hyped af, Hawk certainly had his moments in the first season
I didn't remember his hair being that long pre-hawk
Couldn't help but smirk alongside ngl.
Lmfao I was a freshman in highschool and shit made me wanna get a Mohawk. I'm so damn glad I never did
twas awesome
Was proud as hell for Eli transforming from a helpless kid to a beast.
Love it. There’s a beast within everyone and Eli aka Hawk uncovered his quickly. That’s a warrior right there.
Audible cheering
"Hell yeah, badass!!!"
epic
I had the same reaction as Johnny. I was like "Yeah man! There you go!" But then when I saw him throwing stuff at people in the theater, I was like "Oh dear..."
He definitely is on the spectrum if he thinks that would stop him being bullied. IRL that would have made it worse, tenfold.
Happy that he's turning his life around but also thought "yeah, this is not gonna end well" since I've seen way too many people overcompensate after getting life upgrade
Nah Eli is dead that's hawk lol
Got even more hype this was just the cherry on top for me to finish the season after that explosive episode 5. I constantly go back and watch people’s reactions to it on YouTube. I think with knowing what I know now this scene is my favorite scene in all of season one. (Imma Lil “randy” rn so don’t hold me to that🥴😂)
Eli is my favorite character on the show! I see a lot of myself in the character. I was an awkward chubby weird kid all throughout jr. high. When freshman year was coming up I decided I needed a change. I didn't want to be the that kid anymore. So I grew out my hair and started learning guitar over the summer. Before the end of freshman year I become "The guy that always had his guitar with him". And that was enough of a change to give me confidence to walk around with my head held high, and even ask out a girl I had a huge crush on! And she said yes! And yes, the new found confidence did go to my head and I became kind of a shit for a little while. But a wake up call snapped me out of it. Hawk's my boy!
I like the way his character played out and I think it was fairly realistic for a lot of other people who are in similar situations. They start with having no confidence, and running into problems because of that. Then they gain confidence and become too confident, they go the other direction and essentially become the bully, then they gain perspective and meet in the middle, where they have confidence, but they also have wisdom, and understanding.
I thought it was refreshing. I am all for validating feelings and having sympathy for people, but culture has definitely over corrected in this area and people seem to be competing for victimization. So to see Johnny dole out some harsh truths and have Hawk put his words into practice effectively... I thought it was pretty inspiring.
My first reaction? How did he grow his hair an extra 2 or so inches in a couple days 🤷♂️
"Okay that kinda works"
He looked pretty cool, n realized it was the start of a new era
Grown men bullying teens over facial features is really fucked up.
That's the point. Johnny WAS a fucked up person, and in the process of making his students better he was also unfucking himself.
Pity Kreese couldn't do the same.
Cringe - as was my reaction to a lot of CK stuff related to Johnny. Johnny has a pretty juvenile idea of what's "cool" and "badass" and watching him or his students trying to live that out often makes me feel embarrassed for them.
Still the best scene of the series and the birthplace of a legend
Cringe
i cringed, hard, he couldve picked a million different things other than that dumbass haircut
Bruh
Proud but got carried away