Is there potential for a Cobra Kai angle to Oskar's bullying?

[danielmann861]

I will admit I've been watching a LOT of Cobra Kai. It's quite an addictive spin on the Karate Kid. It got me thinking a little. Is there any room for a potential Cobra Kai angle to be played? As in Oskar is actually the bad guy or the instigator of his torture?

This is just a fun little angle so don't take it too seriously, but I am wondering, is there an angle where that spin could work? It's been a while since I've read the book but I remember the bullies being vile little shits in the book moreso than either film really portrays them. I mean the Swedish film actually shows they have some remorse towards the end, or at least some regret for what they're doing.

But it got me thinking. What started it? In the book, from memory -- correct me if I make a mistake -- but it's never really stated what started the bullying, is it? We know they prey on his weaknesses (his incontinence problem with the piss ball and such) and those qualities instantly make him a weak target in the eyes of the strong. Those who are different are usually preyed upon for said differences in child hood.

But still, it got me thinking in Cobra Kai terms. What would Connie's side of the story be? What actually led to him choosing Oskar as the target. Is there an angle where Oskar potentially started it? Is Oskar really a blameless victim?

I don't know...I just thought this would be fun to throw out there and see what people think considering how much Cobra Kai I've been watching.

[Siggdalos]

It's been a while since I've read the book but I remember the bullies being vile little shits in the book moreso than either film really portrays them. I mean the Swedish film actually shows they have some remorse towards the end, or at least some regret for what they're doing.

I would say that the book also shows that they have some remorse. Jonny hesitates about involving Jimmy and his "scary friends" since it could cause things to get out of hand (Saturday November 7), and even after Oskar's arson, on the night of the bathhouse incident, Jonny becomes unsure when Jimmy's friends show up. (Thursday November 12) Micke is the most sympathetic of the bunch, asking Tomas "What the hell" after he whips Oskar's face (Wednesday October 28) and wanting Jonny and Jimmy to stop once he realizes the full width of what they're planning to do to Oskar in the bathhouse, which is also what causes him to invite Eli. (Thursday November 12) Tomas, on the other hand, does seem to just be a sadist with no redeeming qualities, at least based on the little we see of him in the novel.

Either way, no, the book never says exactly what started the bullying. We only know that Oskar used to be treated as a normal kid with normal friends before he started getting picked on in fifth grade, which was also the period when he started with his scrapbook, (Wednesday October 21) and that he and Tomas used to be close friends before Tomas "changed" (e.g. started talking more like a grownup) between fourth and fifth grade. (Wednesday October 28) On the reasons for the bullying, Oskar himself thinks this in the opening October 28 chapter (my translation):

He had raised his hand, claimed that he existed, that he knew something. That was forbidden. For him. They came up with plenty of reasons for why he had to be tormented; he was too fat, too ugly, too gross. But the true problem was that he even existed, and every reminder of his existence was a crime.

I think one can certainly imagine an angle where Oskar started it in some way. For example, when it comes to the scrapbook, the novel only says that he started working on it during the same period that he started becoming an outcast; it technically doesn't say in which order the two happened. I have no doubt that the intended reading is that Oskar's fascination with murderers and his violent fantasies is a result of the bullying. However, if one wanted to, one could also theorize that the scrapbook actually came first and that the bullying started as a result of the other boys noticing that Oskar was becoming more eccentric and interested in things that they considered to be too weird.

[Wolfchild]

Even Tommy doesn't know it started, but it doesn't seem to surprise him. There was the scene where he ran into Oskar in the basement::

The door opened. Tommy was standing there, blinking.

"What the hell?"

Oskar wanted to say something, but his jaws were locked shut. He simply stayed where he was, kneeling on the rug of light that rolled out from the door, breathing through his nose.

"What the hell are you doing here? And what have you been up to?"

Almost without moving his jaws Oskar managed to press out a "... nothing."

Tommy took a step into the storage area, towering over him.

"With your cheek, I mean? How did you get that?"

"I ... it's nothing."

Tommy shook his head, screwed the light bulb so it turned on, and closed the door. Oskar got to his feet, standing in the middle of the room with his hands by his side, unsure of what he should do. He took a step toward the door. Tommy sank down in the armchair and pointed to the couch.

"Sit down."

Oskar sat down on the middle cushion, the one that didn't have anything stashed underneath it. Tommy sat quietly for a few moments, looking at him. Then he said: "Alright, let's hear it."

"What?"

"What happened to your cheek."

"...I ... I just ..."

"Someone beat you up. Right?" ... yeah ...

"How come?"

"I don't know."

"What? They beat you up with no reason?"

"Yes."

And then after Oskar leaves:

Tommy stayed in his armchair, sucked on the wad of tobacco, and stared at the dust bunnies that had collected under the couch.

Hopeless.

They would keep beating on Oskar until he finished ninth grade. He was the type. Tommy would have liked to do something but once it got started there was nothing you could do. No stopping it.

Tommy likes Oskar and is sympathetic, but he seems to just view bullying as some inexorable part of the culture, or human nature. At some point it becomes inevitable and must run its course. This attitude is shared by almost all adult characters in the book, except for Yvonne and the woman who witnessed Oskar being bullied in the subway station. I suppose Avila was also not entirely apathetic about it. While he seemed to share Tommy's view that there was nothing that he, Avila could do about it, he took it step beyond that by encouraging Oskar to do something.

No one seems to think that Oskar did anything in particular to get it started, not even Oskar himself.