At the beginning of Karate Kid 2 we see Daniel pull up to Mr. Miyagi's house in a bad tuxedo and a damaged car. Daniel places the blame on Ali, which isn't completely untrue. But he tells Mr. Miyagi she has left him for a UCLA football player. Another lie I believe.
My theory is Daniel and Ali's relationship continued on after the All Valley, Daniel riding high on the glory of his victory. And with a pocket full of cash to boot. But Johnny grew tired of waiting for him to call things off with Ali and he and his Cobras paid a little visit to Daniel after the senior prom. A couple of baseball bats to the engine and the front grill of the car can be quite persuasive.
Daniel, upon learning of Mr. Miyagi's sudden need to travel to Okinawa, felt a shock wave travel through him. What if Johnny and his friends came to pay Daniel another visit, maybe this time wanting the money back? Daniel realized he would not have Mr. Miyagi there to protect him as he has had over the past several months.
Daniel feels his life might be in danger and decides to tag along with Mr. Miyagi to Japan, although it took quite a bit of begging on Daniel's part. And another little lie about studying Okinawa history didn't hurt either.
But time is a cruel mistress, and with the passage of time truth has a way of making itself known.
Fast forward to current day and we can see what has become of our two heroes.
Johnny's life took a turn for the worst after his high school years. Unable to let go of the glory that should have been his Johnny became recluse. Unable to function in society Johnny sought comfort in a life off the grid.
Johnny currently lives in a trailer in the Californian desert somewhere. Still friends with his Cobras Johnny watches tape of the final fight every day, an attempt to exercise the ghosts of Larusso I suppose.
Johnny still dreams of what should have been, what would have been had he not thrown the fight. Perhaps it should have been Johnny who struck the pose of a crane. Then it would have been him who hoisted the trophy and came away with the girl.
A dream some might say, however if you were to ask Johnny I would imagine he would say it is more like a nightmare.
A dream some might say, however if you were to ask Johnny I would imagine he would say it is more like a nightmare.
Daniel's situation is different yet similar.
Daniel returned to New Jersey in later years and currently has a nice house and a loving wife. However he too struggles through life, full of anger and guilt thanks to a glory he enjoyed but deep down knows was not deserved.
Daniel has turned to the bottle for comfort and partakes a club life where he tries to fit into that life of fast cars and fast women he once tasted in California.
Anger is still a part of Daniel's character. Unable to let it go he frequently gets into fights and even still breaks out the Crane every now and then.
Sadly domestic disputes are a part of life in the Larusso household. Mrs. Larusso knows of Daniel's second life and doesn't approve, on more than one occasion Daniel has had to spend the night "sleeping off" his guilt in an alley way not too far from his favorite club.
I would hazard to guess that all of us have gone through similar situations at one point or another in our lives and our hearts go out to them. Hopefully they can salvage some type of existence far removed from the ghosts of the All Valley.
