That was a great part for Miguel

As a Miguel fan it was everything I could hope for. The man was the clear MVP of Miyagi-Do (as far as of the part of the whole I'd place him near Kwon), flat-out carrying the team and even being the one to get them hyped pre-fights for the first couple episodes of the part, not to mention even being the one to knock some sense into Johnny and Daniel when they needed it most. Protect the captain, platform fight, 2v1 and in plenty of other fights and exchanges, Miguel more than proved himself.

Even character-wise he was great. He was a jerk to Robby but in a way that made for some amazing moments like Miguel vs the Dublin Thunder duo and it didn't feel like they were justifying Miguel's words, simply explaining where he was coming from and showing why he was so frustrated with Robby after losing the captaincy to him and seeing him disappoint. I've seen some claim Miguel was never bitter about the captaincy which I disagree with, like come on the guy was clearly perturbed when it was time for the captains to step up and even hearing his bros tell him they wish it was him was pretty vindicating. Miguel was clearly still shaken up about not being captain despite being good enough to hold the position and now the person who beat him isn't carrying his weight, let alone leading the team like Miguel was. Miguel owning up to his mistake and making clear his words were bs was very fitting and made clear that Miguel wasn't going to intentionally take advantage of Robby being at his lowest to be captain when he had reached some clarity in regards to his issues in mindest and perspective (post Johnny telling him that it's all Robby has going for him and he has so much comparatively).

His moments with Johnny were great and the high point of the season for me and even sort of benefitted from Johnny being pre-occupied with other fighters since it allowed for Johnny to get 1 on 1 time with Devon for instance then give Miguel his share on the plane while appreciating him even more and making up for taking him for granted. I won't lie though, Johnny claimed he was busy with Robby, but aside from the general rooting for him and such, it didn't feel like he gave him the extra care he claimed Robby seemed to need over Miguel. That aside, their time on the plane was a nice way to wrap up their journey, made me think of their talk in the diner about Johnny always having Miguel's best interests at heart, but instead a step further from a father figure to his actual father.

The former nerd/loser trio moments were good too. It sucked for Robby, but seeing them say they wished it was him with the captaincy really showed they always rooted for their bro and could depend on him like they have prior. Seeing them go from being bullied to standing up for themselves with karate to fighting side by side at the top tournament was really satisfying. I hope they give them even more moments of just having each other's backs now that Demetri and Hawk reconciled.

In contrast to Robby/Tory, the writers seemed to not want any real issues between Miguel/Sam which also seemed to lead to not much focus on them which I don't think I had much issue with. Sam as a character could've had more to do but perhaps part 3 will give her more focus, as we see more of Axel and perhaps she helps resolve issues concering him. Sam and Miguel being on good terms alll through out and having each other was good and I guess we didn't need too much of that pairing since it was so stable for once.

To being wrapping up, before the season dropped I was a firm believer that if Robby was getting Kwon as his rival, the writers wouldn't leave Miguel behind and would create a Miguel/Axel beef as a counterpart and I'm glad that came true. I enjoyed both rivalries for what they were, but while Robby/Kwon reached a peak, Miguel/Axel is still unresolved and I expect it to be further fleshed out. Both popping off into throwing blows was exciting and I was hoping for some contact between Miguel and Axel. Miguel did his best like Robby and later Kwon, but Axel is so good being able to defend just isn't enough and Miguel was getting whooped the whole brawl. I hope in part 3, we see a rematch and it goes much better for Miguel (I don't really need him to win, but I'd love that especially if Axel becomes more understanding and him and Miguel can smooth things out prior or after a potential rematch).

Are people sure they didn't get Miguel and Robby's parts mixed up cause if there's even more in store for Miguel in part 3 then it'll be wild? The only issues I had would probably be more to do with the season being too short despite being 15 episodes and me hoping certain interactions could've been more developed or created at all (like Devon and any member of the team but perhaps Miguel since they both have a strong relationship with Johnny though I suppose Johnny/Devon and Devon/Tory was considered enough then Kenny).