- "Hey, the karate kid."
- ―Freddy Fernandez to Daniel LaRusso[src]
Freddy Fernandez is a minor character in the film The Karate Kid. He is portrayed by Israel Juarbe.
He is a teenager who lives in Daniel LaRusso's apartment building, South Seas. He also attended West Valley High School and was a senior just like Daniel.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
Freddy Fernandez was born on March 1, 1968. At some point, he moved to the South Seas Apartment Complex in Reseda.
Film series[]
The Karate Kid[]
Freddy first meets Daniel LaRusso when he kicks open the gate door to their apartment complex. Daniel, unaware that someone was on the other side of the door, knocks over Freddy. Quickly, Daniel apologizes and befriends Freddy, who introduces himself. Based off the kick Daniel threw, Freddy asked him if he knows karate. He then gives Daniel directions to Apartment 20. Freddy tells Daniel that he and his friends are holding a party at the beach to end the summer, and invites Daniel.
Daniel meets Freddy and his friends at the beach they play soccer and have a lot of fun. Daniel saw Ali Mills for the first time. Freddy knows Daniel liked Ali and tells Daniel he should talk to her. Freddy then notices Johnny Lawrence, along with his Cobra Kai friends Dutch, Bobby, Jimmy and Tommy riding their motorcycles and then gives himself a look of disapproval, which suggests that Johnny and his gang harassed Freddy in the past, or that the Cobras have earned a reputation for trouble-making. Johnny then approaches Ali about their recent breakup, despite the other Cobras recommending he forget the past, and then disrupts the party by demanding they talk. When Ali says their relationship is over, Johnny will not hear of it.
Daniel helps Ali by giving her radio back to her. Johnny throws the radio back at Daniel and they start fighting each other. Johnny has the upper hand and lands most of the punches, where the Cobra gang cheers Johnny on. When Daniel lands a couple of punches, Freddy is the only one who cheers Daniel on. When Johnny knocks Daniel to the ground, he declares the fight over and walks away with the Cobras. Freddy walks toward Daniel to help him up, but his friends show their true colors when they deride Freddy for bringing a loser like Daniel to their party. Freddy then leaves with them, but looks back at Daniel in regret, likely overcome by fear of being ostracized by his old friends.
On the first day of school, Freddy and his friends approach Daniel, now in a slightly better mood. Freddy asks about Daniel's eye, and one of Freddy's friends teases Daniel with a famous line "Karate kid? Make a move", which Daniel chuckles politely.
Much later in the film, when Daniel competes at the All-Valley tournament, Freddy and his friends are seen briefly as audience members. After defeating Johnny in the final round, Freddy and his friends are seen hoisting up Daniel in victory. It could be assumed that Freddy and his friends are apologetic to Daniel, having stopped the Cobras from bullying them, and Freddy is once again Daniel's friend.
The Karate Kid Part III[]
Daniel and his sensei Mr. Miyagi learn that the apartment complex was sold and the new owner evicted everyone, as he decided to turn the complex into a spa. As Freddy is not seen or mentioned in the third film, may have been likely that Freddy and his parents had their lease voided, or moved away prior to the evictions.
Cobra Kai[]
Season 1[]
When Daniel and Johnny visit Daniel's old apartment complex, Daniel talks about some of his memories of the place. Then, a brief flashback of Daniel and Freddy walking in the complex shortly after Daniel first moved there is shown.
Season 2[]
While not seen directly, he is referenced in Lull. During training on the hottest day of the summer, Daniel decides to train his students instead in a freezing meat locker at a butcher shop called Fernandez Meat Co. It's likely that Freddy got into the meat business with his own company, and that he and Daniel continued to stay friends given the fact that he allowed him to use his meat freezer for training purposes.
Personality[]
When Daniel first meets Freddy, Freddy is nice and kind to him. Freddy invites Daniel to join him and his friends at the beach, showing that he may want to start a friendship with him. During Daniel's fight with Johnny, Freddy roots for him. Despite wanting to help Daniel after being beaten up by Johnny, he ultimately chooses not to so his friends don't make fun of him, showing that he is a victim to peer pressure.
The following morning, he is shown making fun of Daniel with his friends, though it is unknown if he did this to fit in with his friends or not. Daniel's polite laughing to this teasing suggests he sees this as good-natured ribbing and not the derisive bullying he endures at the expense of the Cobras. At the All Valley tournament however, both he and his friends root for Daniel, and celebrate with Daniel when the latter wins in the finals. It is possible that Freddy renewed his friendship with Daniel following the tournament.
Trivia[]
- The status of Freddy's friendship with Daniel is unknown, as he hasn't been seen or mentioned after the first film
- Freddy rooted for Daniel in the tournament, possibly meaning that the two became friends again prior to the tournament, or that he wanted to see the underdog win.
- It is possible that Freddy was bullied by Johnny's gang prior to meeting Daniel.
- It is implied that Freddy falls for peer pressure, judging by him unwilling to help Daniel after being beaten up by Johnny due to his friends mocking Daniel and joining his friends in mocking Daniel the very next day.
- His counterpart in the remake appears to be Harry, the first kid Dre meets in China.