‘Cobra Kai’: How Xolo Maridueña, Peyton List, Mary Mouser and Jacob Bertrand Say They Made Season 3 Fights More Intense
Cobra Kai season 2 ended with the show’s most intense fight yet. The high school brawl between Miyagi-Do and Cobra Kai student topped anything in the Karate Kid movies, too. It’ll be a tough act for season 3 to follow, but stars Xolo Maridueña, Peyton List, Mary Mouser and Jacob Bertrand are up to the challenge.
Maridueña, List, Mouser and Bertrand spoke with reporters in a Zoom roundtable interview about what to expect from season 3. Cobra Kai returns January on Netflix.
Peyton List and Mary Mouser had more training for ‘Cobra Kai’ season 3
List joined the cast of Cobra Kai in season 2 as Tory, a tough Cobra Kai student with eyes for Miguel (Maridueña). List said now that she’s had one season of the show under her belt, her training has improved to the point where she can do more in season 3.
“We were able to do a lot more physically and I think Mary and I had a lot of fun with that,” List said. “I feel like just with the props and everything else we got to use this season, and we were training hours and hours. Also, seeing progress from when I first came on to where I am now, the trainers and stunt coordinators and how much they work with us, it’s really cool to see it pay off now.”
Mouser has been on Cobra Kai since the beginning, but her character, Samantha LaRusso, didn’t really start training until season 2. Mouser also feels she’s learned enough to ramp up the third season.
“Now two years later I’m able to be like, ‘Oh, okay, you want me to jump up in the air and deliver a kick to somebody’s head? No problem. Just put a pad down and let me do that.’” Mouser said, then backpedalled. “Definitely not no problem. I’m still working on it but definitely in a completely different world than I was which is really cool and rewarding to see.”
Jacob Bertrand says the ‘Cobra Kai’ kids rarely rely on stunt doubles
Bertrand plays Eli, who became Hawk once Cobra Kai training gave him confidence. By season 3, Betrand said the young cast members do most of their own fighting.
I think coming off of the second season episode 10 fight, I think everyone was like, ‘Okay, we can do this’ because most of it was ourselves. I know for a lot of us, for pretty much everybody, everyone does like 90% of their stunts. So yeah, I think coming into season 3, I’m trying to think of specific moments that we had to use doubles but I don’t know. I don’t think there were a lot of doubles used for a lot of the fights for most parts. The stunt coordinators are really good at making the choreography so that we can do as much as we can. They push us and challenge us a lot but it’s mostly us.
Jacob Bertrand, Cobra Kai roundtable, 12/11/2020
Xolo Maridueña and Jacob Bertrand practice in real life
Cobra Kai fans are waiting to see if Miguel recovers from his season 2 injury. The trailers revealed he wakes up, but he still can’t walk. Maridueña said that in real life, he and Bertrand get into it behind the scenes, too.
“We both like wrestling so we’ve definitely wrestled a couple of times,” Maridueña said. “The first couple of times, Jacob definitely had the upper hand. I think Jacob definitely had the upper hand but I’d say going into season 4, I think maybe the tables have turned. I have a couple of special moves up my sleeve that I’m ready for.”
Maridueña gave his costar credit for his tenacity, something that plays into Hawk’s fights on Cobra Kai too.
“I say this all the time and it’s really because it’s true,” Maridueña said. “Jacob’s disdain towards losing is so large that I could break both of his arms and he would still find a way to beat me. It’s not a pride thing either. It’s just ‘I’m not going to lose.’ It fascinates me and I’m impressed by it. He’s like an ant how he’s seemingly a pretty skinny normal guy and all of a sudden you’re like he has a crocodile grip strength.”
