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Carmen Diaz is a major character in the Netflix series Cobra Kai. She is the mother of Miguel Diaz and the girlfriend of Johnny Lawrence.
She is portrayed by Vanessa Rubio.
Biography[]
Carmen was born in Ecuador on March 27th, 1984. She got married to a man named Hector Salazar. After she learned that her husband is a criminal, Carmen fled Ecuador with her mother, Rosa, and unborn son. They moved around the United States until settling in Riverside, where her son, Miguel, grew up. She found employment as a nurse and X-Ray technician at local hospitals, though her job required her to work long shifts to support her family. The family of three eventually moved to Reseda, a neighborhood in Los Angeles.
Cobra Kai[]
Season 1[]
Carmen comes home late again from work and has dinner with her son and mother. She asks Miguel what costume he wants to wear for the Halloween dance and he says that he wants to go as Deadpool. However, Carmen is unable to afford the price of the costume so she says that she can make him one. She inquires about his injured hand, but her mother brushes off her concern as she's unaware that he's taking karate lessons.
After Kyler and his goons beat up Miguel at the Halloween dance, Johnny Lawrence brings Miguel home and Carmen is horrified at this. She blames Johnny and his karate for Miguel's assault and forbids him from training with Johnny ever again. Before Miguel leaves for the next school day, she offers to inform the school for protection, but he rejects her offer and insists on continuing his karate training. Carmen forbids Miguel from training, worrying that he'll get hurt again. She then argues with her mother about the training, in which she calls Johnny a "bad influence". She later picks up Miguel from school with the intention to take him to the movies, but Miguel, upset with the bullying at school, asks her to drive them home instead. After Johnny sees a father and son eating at dinner, he comes to Miguel's apartment and tells Carmen that Miguel is the only person who never gave up on him, and he promises that he won't fail him again. She agrees, knowing how much her son cares for Johnny as a father-figure.
After her son spends a night training at the dojo for the All-Valley Tournament, she invites Johnny over for dinner. Carmen voices her concern for Miguel's well-being at the tournament, but Johnny explains that there is no danger, which sets her at ease. When Miguel leaves to talk to Sam, Carmen expresses gratitude that Miguel was able to make good friends despite difficulty due to their constant moving, and tells Johnny of her marriage and fleeing Ecuador. Johnny apologizes and she says that it is unwise to let the past take control of the future. Johnny takes Carmen's words to heart and cleans up his life and makes changes in his apartment room.
Carmen and her mother are later seen attending the All-Valley Karate Tournament, rooting for her son. She panics about her son's health and possible loss, and is confused as to why her mother is visibly relaxed at the tournament. Nevertheless, her son wins the tournament, beating Robby Keene 3-2 and bringing Cobra Kai back to the spotlight, except for Johnny Lawrence who feels that despite the victory, his students have been misled and become dirty fighters.
Season 2[]
Carmen grows closer to Johnny thanks to him helping Miguel make more friends. After the tournament, she comes to his room, presenting him with a dessert called "Tres Leches" (three milks) to celebrate with him. They talk and she expresses her thanks to Johnny for giving Miguel confidence, but also her concerns about Miguel's aggressiveness during the tournament, however Johnny brushes it off as his "game face". As a response, Johnny tells her that Miguel is a good kid, and he will keep him on the right path. Shortly, Johnny's phone rings and he answers and after that, Carmen asks who is it and he claims that it was no-one.
When Johnny came back drunk after learning that Robby has moved in with Daniel, Carmen goes to his room and they talk. She encourages him to be a better man.
Johnny begins to show a romantic interest in Carmen. After waking up having a dream, Johnny sees Carmen coming home with another man, named Graham. At a bar, Johnny overhears Graham and finds out that he plans to dump and has no interest in raising her son. He beats him up and tells him to stay away from her. When he returns home, he finds Carmen outside having been stood up on her date, and he finally plucks up the courage to ask her out.
After dressing up for the date, Carmen denies to her mother that she is interested in Johnny and states that it's a dinner night if Miguel finds out, but Rosa sees right through her and laughingly accuses her of being "hot for teacher." Carmen and Johnny go on a successful date, where Carmen also meets and befriends Amanda and Daniel LaRusso. The 2 couple ends up in a double date, eventually participating in a salsa dance, and it goes successful. When Johnny and Carmen return to their apartment, the two share a kiss before they return to their rooms.
However, after Miguel is injured horribly in a fight with Robby at school, a heartbroken Carmen blames Johnny for the accident and tells him she never wants to see him again.
Season 3[]
Devastated by Miguel's injury, Carmen is distraught. Initially she is cold and angry with Johnny for what she perceives as his role in her son's injury. She and Rosa continue to check up on him. Miguel is having the dream sequence of the fight at the next All Valley, interspersed with flashbacks of the fight, at the same time, Carmen and Rose speak to him which he can hear.
Miguel is now awake and Carmen shows him gifts from the LaRusso's and Demetri. When he asks where Johnny is, she doesn't answer him. Carmen feeds Miguel while a doctor checks up on him. He confirms that he can feel his hands. Carmen makes small talk about what his grandmother is doing at home while the doctor tests Miguel's leg and foot. Miguel does not feel anything, and confirms as such, even when the doctor presses a pen against the bottom of Miguel's feet. The doctor then takes Carmen outside his room to talk. The news doesn't look good, as Miguel watches through the window and sees his mom break down. He realizes that he may never walk again.
After she sees Johnny leaving a large check with the hospital for Miguel's surgery in, she thanks him and begins to warm up to him again.
Later, Johnny heads to Miguel’s apartment as he planned to do some training exercises to recover his legs, but sees Miguel is doing physical therapy. Carmen convinces Johnny to trust the methods of a trained physical therapist and he agrees to wait for Miguel to finish. While Johnny tries to look up physically therapy drills to help Miguel, he sees Carmen outside crying about how Miguel is right now. He goes out from his room and comforts Carmen before asking her to take Miguel with him. After taking him to a Dee Snyder concert, they return home where Miguel shows Carmen that his feet are moving thanks to the music. She is impressed and happily thanks Johnny for it. He later continues to coach Miguel as he relearns how to stand and walk, which further helps salvage Carmen's feelings.
After hearing Johnny and Miguel having an argument about him not competing in the next All Valley Tournament even when it's going to be banned, Carmen overhears this and she and Johnny have a talk inside. She reconciles with Johnny, admitting that it wasn't really his fault Miguel got injured, that Johnny was just as hurt by what happened as she was. She is also touched by how much he clearly cares for her son. After hearing that the All-Valley is back following Miguel and Sam's speech, Carmen goes to Johnny's apartment to congratulate him. She then kisses Johnny passionately and they vanish into his bedroom.
They wake up in bed together. Carmen and Johnny talk about what Miguel and what will happen to their relationship in the future, but they stop short of a commitment, promising to talk more about it when Carmen gets home from work.
After spending the day with Ali Mills at lunch, Golf N' Stuff Arcade, the Encino Oaks Country Club with Daniel and Amanda, and getting closure on his past, Johnny decides to admit to Carmen that he loves her, but instead finds a beaten-up Miguel due to the Cobra Kai students' attack on the LaRusso house leading Johnny to confront his former mentor, John Kreese, for ordering the attack.
Season 4[]
Carmen Diaz continued to take care of her son Miguel Diaz and date Johnny Lawrence. After the first day of Eagle Fang and Miyagi-Do training together, Johnny makes dinner for her and her son Miguel, basing it off a Mexican dish from Chili's. During dinner, she then remarked on Johnny's first day of training which is turning to a work in progress, and is glad that he and Daniel are getting along so they can ensure Miguel Diaz's safety. She is also happy for Miguel's reconciliation with Sam as well. Following dinner, she and Johnny wash dishes as he tells her that the things he said to his ex-girlfriend Ali Mills wasn't romantic as they were just catching up. She also brushes off Johnny's conversation about what was going to say to her on the night of the fight at the LaRusso home, saying that they should slow things down and give enough time. Johnny agrees, unconvincingly to give it some time but when she leaves, he tosses his sponge.
Carmen and her family come to the LaRusso house for dinner, with her having a conversation with Amanda while waiting for the food. She praises how Daniel and Johnny are not letting their rivalry affect the night. She also talks about the dealership and how things are running. After Miguel tells the LaRusso's about going to Stanford, Carmen explains about the school and tells him to stay local, live at home, and save money.
Eventually, Carmen's having a car trouble and informs Miguel that she can't pick him up at Miyagi-Do. Daniel offers to help Miguel fix Carmen's car at the dealership. Later that day, Johnny heads to Carmen's apartment, confident and ready to take his own advice to not hesitate and make the first move. He knocks on the door and admits he wants to talk about their relationship now, with her. He steps inside to see Rosa with her friends, but he doesn't care as they can hear this. He explains doesn't want to sit in the backseat anymore, and isn't afraid to take the leap with him. He wants to figure everything out together with her and just wanted her to know, and prepares to leave. She stops him as she agrees. They kiss as the women approve from the background.
After spending another night together, Carmen and Johnny talk about Daniel and Miguel bonding. They spend so much time together, but she sees it as a good chance for her and Johnny to spend time together. She wants to tell Miguel about them as she doesn't want to carry secrets. He worries it will make things worse, but she doesn't see how it can. She decides that Johnny can tell Miguel when he's ready. Later on, Daniel and Miguel managed to fix Carmen's car.
Days later, Carmen sees Miguel stretching and tells her that Eagle Fang is going through intense training. When Johnny arrives, he and Carmen talk about how they're going to tell Miguel about their relationship. She tells them that they can go to Applebee's but Johnny tells her he had an incident there and Miguel gives his sensei his headband has he found it in her bedroom. Johnny and Carmen talk to Miguel about their relationship. He tells them that he's happy that his mom is dating Johnny. The two kiss and tell each other how happy they are to finally tell the truth. At night, Johnny and Carmen have dinner where Miguel came home late. He tells him that it was irresponsible to lose track of time but Miguel tells the two that he was with Sam. Carmen and Johnny tell Miguel that they want him to be safe but Johnny reminds him about it in a dirty way. Miguel is upset with how weird their relationship is but he wanted the two to be happy. Carmen also gets upset about how Johnny mentioned protection.
The Diaz's come to the LaRusso house to take pictures with Samantha and the rest of the LaRusso family before Miguel and Sam go to prom. When Carmen and Johnny return to their apartment, they are approached by his ex-girlfriend and Robby's mother, Shannon Keene, who wants to talk and warn Johnny about Terry SIlver's influence on Robby.
Carmen attends the All-Valley Tournament where she and Rosa watch Miguel compete for another championship. They sit with Amanda and Anthony. She gets excited after seeing grammy award winning artist Carrie Underwood perform "The Moment of Truth." When Miguel faces off against his former Cobra Kai and Eagle Fang classmate Eli/Hawk, he injures himself, shocking Carmen, Rosa and Johnny in the process.
Johnny, Carmen and Rosa are watching a medic tend to Miguel's injury and are relieved that it's only a pulled muscle, though Miguel chooses to not participate in the finals, which allows Hawk to win the semifinals by default and advances to the finals to face against Robby. Nevertheless, Carmen and Rosa still continue to watch the final divisions. After the tournament, she tells Johnny that Miguel went home by himself through an Uber, saying he needs to be left alone but informs Johnny that they should go home now, having been disappointed for Cobra Kai's victory. Carmen then goes home while Johnny first goes to the old Cobra Kai dojo, reuniting and reconciling with Robby. When Johnny returns home, Carmen reveals a letter Miguel wrote saying he left to find his biological father. Carmen tells Johnny that she never told him that her ex-husband doesn't know about Miguel's existence and wants Miguel home. They share a hug, with Johnny promising to bring him back home.
Season 5[]
Johnny heads to Mexico with Robby with the intent of finding Miguel before he meets his father. She stays in communication with Johnny for updates, while trying to reach Miguel on his cellphone. She even says that she should've gone there herself but Johnny says to not put herself in danger and promises to find him.
Miguel finally answers to Carmen much to her relief, though the boy is angry. He chastises her for lying to him about Hector knowing he had a son. He tells her that Hector is a good man, nothing like she describes him, and that he missed out on everything because of her. He hangs up on her so she calls Johnny, telling him to hurry as Hector is more dangerous than Miguel can understand. She gives Johnny a tip that leads them to an underground MMA club. That night, Miguel calls her crying, admitting that his father isn't the man he thought he was and realizing she was right about him. He's ready to come home, leaving Mexico with Johnny and Robby.
Once back in Reseda, Carmen continues her relationship with Johnny, as he solidifies his presence in Miguel and Rosa's lives. Miguel makes breakfast for the family as he's making amends for abandoning them and promises not perform a stunt like that again. Johnny informs Carmen that Miguel and Robby will need time to make amends. Carmen reveals to Johnny that she might be pregnant, but not 100% sure. They go to a pharmacy store to buy pregnancy tests. He vents to Carmen about his failures as a father. When he sees a father taking care of a baby, he gets haunted about his mistakes and before Carmen leaves, she tells him he is not ready. After processing the information, Johnny baby proofs his apartment, changes his outlook on life, and after finding out they are having a baby and promises not screw it up like he did for Robby. Carmen arrives at Johnny's apartment and is impressed with how he fixed everything up in one day. Johnny tells her that he is ready to take on the challenges on the father. Carmen reveals that she finally took the pregnancy test and it is confirmed that she and Johnny are going to have a baby. The two kiss in celebration of the good news.
Johnny commits to getting Miguel and Robby to bury their hatchet, though his first few attempts fail. He finally gets them to put their beef aside by letting them fight it out in the apartment complex. Johnny is relieved they put it aside and accidentally reveals Carmen's pregnancy. This stuns both boys, and Johnny realizes he's let it slip. He tells them to pretend to be excited when he and Carmen tell them. Miguel and Robby congratulate Johnny on the news. The trio heads to the Diaz apartment for Olive Garden, and Carmen comes home to find the peaceful dinner. She tells Robby he's always welcome at their house, pleased that Johnny finally got them to friendly terms.
Later, Carmen and Amanda make dinner for the Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang students. The next day, Johnny accompanies Carmen during her ultrasound. When they leave, they run into Terry Silver in the elevator, with Johnny standing protectively in front of Carmen. Silver offers his congratulations for qualifying in the Sekai Taikai. Johnny heads to LaRusso Auto to tell Daniel, Amanda, and Chozen about their run-in with Silver. The couple later reveals Carmen's pregnancy and the three including Louie LaRusso Jr. congratulates them. The group heads out for a night on the town through a limo to celebrate, with Carmen enjoying herself even without alcohol. She loves dancing and pulls Amanda onto the dance floor with her for a few songs. She returns for Johnny, dancing with him on the floor. When the night ends, the women decide to go home but encourage Johnny, Daniel, and Chozen to continue their fun before taking off in the limo.
Amanda and Carmen return to the LaRusso house and talk, but a panicked call from Daniel changes plans. He reveals that Mike Barnes hijacked their limo and then he, Chozen, and Johnny went off to fight Silver at his home while drunk. He needs Amanda to pick him up. Shortly, Carmen and Amanda gets worried when a Cobra Kai car pulls into the driveway. Luckily for them, it's Stingray, who has a change of heart after learning about a brawl at the dojo against the Miyagi-Do's and Eagle Fang's through a text he received. He helps the women save Daniel and drives them to the Cobra Kai dojo, where Stingray defeats the students guarding the door. Amanda wants to call the police a few times, until she remembers they're the ones breaking and entering. When the trio enters the dojo, they see the kids brawling and bleeding, so Amanda decides it is time to call the cops. Carmen then watches a duel between Daniel and Silver, which leads to Daniel's victory.
Once the fighting is over, Johnny, Barnes, and Chozen rush to the dojo to reunite with their loved ones. Carmen embraces Johnny, who is badly beaten, remarking that she was afraid she lost him and needs to get him to a doctor before he states that he was on his way there and wanted to stop by. He assures Carmen she can't get rid of him that easily; Johnny stated that the thought of losing his family allowed him to regain his strength and fight back, while adding that he couldn't stand the thought of missing out on the rest of their life together. Carmen, moved by the words, kisses Johnny in the parking lot.
Season 6[]
Johnny celebrates his new baby with the rest of the family in aftermath of Terry Silver's arrest. Later, Miguel is reading his Stanford personal statement to Johnny, Robby, Carmen and Rosa and they are happy with how he wrote it. However, the pipe in their apartment breaks and the plumber is still working on the situation. Carmen vents about how their family is expanding and how they can't afford to send Miguel to Stanford but Johnny promises her that the Sekai Taikai will help them win the money. Johnny then seeks a better apartment to rent, but finds that nobody is willing to rent to him without a more stable job. He thus takes a position with the LaRusso Auto Group to better support her and Miguel.
Carmen has her gender reveal at the LaRusso house with her family, Johnny, Robby, the LaRusso's, Chozen, and Tory attending while setting up the party stuff before it begins. Shortly, Johnny arrives to the kitchen with a pink stained shirt from the package, this reveals that Johnny and Carmen are having a girl.
Back at the Diaz apartment, Johnny tells Carmen that the training for the captain's match is well and that the baby is kicking while they plan to bring her to Barcelona, Spain where the Sekai Taikai will be taking place. Carmen hopes that Miguel and Robby's match for male captain create a rift between the boys, but Johnny assures that they'll be good as he's watching them. When Miguel comes home, he tells them that he got deferred for Stanford and they hug him. The next day at night, when Miguel and Robby talk about how badly they want to be male captain for their own opportunities, Carmen offers burgers but Robby declines.
Carmen ends up staying in the Valley while Johnny, Miguel, Robby, and Miyagi-Do competes in the Sekai Taikai. Later, Carmen’s pregnancy faces complications. She is rushed to the hospital with Amanda and Rose accompanying her. Rosa informs this to Johnny and Miguel after Miyagi-Do’s victory in one of their matches. Johnny and Miguel leaves Barcelona to fly back home with Amanda updating Johnny on the situation. When they arrive at the hospital, the duo were shocked to discover the blood-spattered sheets in Carmen’s room. However, Carmen and the baby are fine as the nurse tells them about the emergency cerclage. She will need bed-rest for the next few weeks. She praises the two for coming back to check on her. Despite their urgent to stay, she tells them to return to Barcelona so they can finish what they started, making them promise one thing: “win.”
Personality[]
To be added.
Trivia[]
- Carmen loves Top Gun, which is a 1986 movie that starred Tom Cruise and also involved fighter jets. Ironically, Iron Eagle is Johnny Lawrence's favorite film, which released in the same year.
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The Karate Kid (1984) | ||