A detailed review of the newest Cobra Kai Season 5 with an analysis of all the new and continuing from previous seasons’ plot lines and the best moments! Come with me and let’s jump into this wonderful world of the Karata Kid universe and discover how these TV series continue the tradition the movies established all those years ago!
Note: The review contains spoilers! You may want to watch Season 5 before you read!
Cobra Kai season 5 picks up where Season 4 left off. Miguel ran away from home to find his father in Mexico. Miyagi Do and Eagle Fang Karate are closing and Cobra Kai is the only dojo in the valley. Kreese was set up and is serving a jail sentence. He was set up by none other than Terry Silver, who manipulated everything behind the scenes. For instance, the Cobra Kai win in the All Valley tournament was because the referee was bribed so Tory never won the tournament.
Miguel Diaz goes to Mexico
We start off in Mexico where Miguel is looking for his father. He gets robbed by a few surfers and loses a lot of money. He continues his search and even ends up in a shady bar where he almost gets beat up. It wasn’t until he saved a little boy’s life that he got to meet his dad.
After figuring out the little boy’s stepdad is actually his own dad, Miguel couldn’t be happier. Family dinners, fatherly advice, and so forth. Miguel is in paradise. At least for a moment. When his father asks him to go clubbing, he says yes.
His father starts talking about having found the love of his life so many years ago but as he turned darker and she was unwilling to follow him into that darkness, the relationship ended. Hector, the name of Miguel’s father, still holds a strong animosity towards his ex and her mother. Her mother fought for her daughter and won.
When Johnny and Robbie Keene come looking for Miguel wearing their FBI shirts (Female Body Inspectors on the back not the Federal Bureau of Investigation), Hector panics and asks Miguel if he came alone.
Miguel truthfully tells him that he is there alone and gets the first hint of the darker side of his father when he forces him to give him his phone so he can check. Hector only sees pics of him and Samantha LaRusso.
Hector is still paranoid and gets out of the club, taking Miguel to a local deli. The conversation takes a very dark turn but Miguel stays true to himself and leaves the deli and his father behind. Johnny and Robbie are outside waiting for Miguel, who bursts into tears.
The three of them go back to California. The fight Miguel and Robbie had is forgotten for the duration of the trip.
Getting back to California, Miguel tries to reconcile with Samantha LaRusso but she rejects him and he throws away the necklace he bought her.
Johnny acts as an intermediate between Robbie and Miguel and hopes that the two will at least clear the air. Becoming friends is a step too far it looks like. Johnny tries to reconcile by organizing a lunch, and an escape room but wasn’t successful until Robbie and Miguel fought each other in Johnny’s apartment complex.
Miguel’s story was strong but there was less emphasis on his character in season 5. He learned that the grass isn’t greener on the other side after he visited his father. And he learned that he will be direct family with Robbie after finding out that he is about to become a big stepbrother after Johnny and his mother announced that they are engaged.
Robbie Keene, a brother’s keeper
Robbie Keene’s storyline for the season is close akin to Daniel LaRusso’s character. After picking up Miguel from Mexico and reconciling with Miguel and even befriending him after a big fight, Robbie mostly acts as an ambassador between Cobra Kai and Miyagi Do.
Like when both groups went swimming at the local pool. Cobra Kai became very territorial and aggressive towards anyone who crossed their territory. Like Antony LaRusso.
After bullying Kenny in previous seasons, Kenny joined Cobra Kai to be able to deal with bullies. In the process, Kenny became the biggest bully of them all. So when Antony passes them, Cobra Kai tossed him in the water.
Instead of fighting them, Robbie tries to talk them down and tries to diffuse the situation. He fails but still tries to get through to Kenny by telling him that Cobra Kai’s philosophy is one that only draws on people’s anger instead of inner peace like Miyagi Do. Instead, Kenny brands him a traitor.
On many occasions after that, Robbie tries to get through to Kenny but Kenny insists that Cobra Kai’s way is the only way to get through life.
Robbie still considers Tory a friend and tries to protect her. He still has a crush on her, is a better way of putting it. But he suppresses his feelings for her through many of the episodes until the last episode after he rescues Tory from Cobra Kai’s dojo.
Samantha deals with her anxiety and inner demons
In previous seasons we saw Samantha going from fearless to suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and in the previous season, it meant that her PTSD teammates that needed her skills, prowess, and help would suffer because she couldn’t do it. Dimitry broke his arm because her PTSD was triggered.
This season, after Miyagi Do was forced to close, Samantha reflects on what happened to her and takes a long break from karate. She starts reading and hanging out with friends talking about the break up with Miguel and possibly getting back together. She still harbors deep feelings for Miguel but figures that as long as she is not dealing with her issues then her relationship with him will keep failing.
When her friends take her to a meditation tank filled with water and soundproof, she starts to have visions. The visions all start out nice but gradually change into her deepest fears and she faces them.
The one that looked like Tory was the worst one. It looked like Tory but the closer you got the more it looked like Samantha herself. It means that she fears herself the most. And she got over that fear and achieved a new inner strength and control over her PTSD.
When she tries to reconcile with Miguel she found him kissing another girl. Miguel, who was rejected, ofcourse had every right to move on. But apparently, Samantha had different thoughts about that.
In the final fight scene at the Cobra Kai Dojo, Samantha comes to terms with what happened to her and she protects and helps Tory. The two even befriend each other after Terry Silver is apprehended and his minions are incapacitated.
Daniel LaRusso is obsessed with Cobra Kai
In previous seasons Daniel would stand up for truth, justice, and a better tomorrow. In season 5 however he is out of control. He lets Chozen go undercover in Cobra Kai’s dojo as a sensei. Chozen does it well until he drops the ball during a toast. He is unmasked by Terry Silver and is forced to leave the Cobra Kai dojo.
Daniel doesn’t give up and continues to delve into Terry Silver’s business. Like contacting his former lawyer to get him to open up about Silver’s shady businesses. Or looking for Mike Barnes, the guy who actually signed the contract drafted by said lawyer. Mike Barnes turned out really great. He runs a furniture store with his wife and father-in-law.
Daniel follows him thinking Barnes is up to no good. Instead, Barnes is finishing up an order. Chozen however thinks that Daniel is being attacked and silently took down the all the workers at the furniture store before attacking Mike. Daniel has a lot to explain.
Mike states that he was happy to have left the claws from Terry Silver. Silver is described as not having much of a conscious if you make a teen sign a contract to do his dirty work. Daniel and Chozen agree. To make up for the damage, Chozen buys a couch from Mike for double the price it usually gets sold for.
The following week, after Daniel makes a call to Silver’s lawyer, Mike’s store goes up in flames and he files for bankruptcy. That was the end of Mike’s good life. It was a warning from Silver to not come after him.
When Amanda, Daniel’s wife, asks him to join him to an event because she wants to be on the board, Daniel joins her and puts up bonsai trees for auction. It is Terry Silver who buys them for $30.000. Silver’s wife is on the board as well. Terry puts in a good word for Amanda. However, he tells Daniel the opposite and Daniel slams Terry in front of everyone. It cost Amanda her spot on the board.
Daniel starts to drink more and more alcohol and it shows. He has a 3 day beard, reeks of alcohol all the time and the worst part is that he gets his ass kicked by Terry Silver after Daniel wants to talk to Stingray.
Stingray was beaten up by Terry Silver but testified and told the police that it was John Kreese. Kreese went to jail and Stingray, after he got out of the hospital, got an apartment and Johnny’s old car. When Daniel and Chozen asked the first time, Stingray denied everything and said he didn’t know anything. When confronted with an article from the newspaper that was sent by an anonymous person, Stingray still denied all.
When Daniel tries to talk to Stingray alone, Silver waited for LaRusso and beats the crap out of him. Daniel is severely injured but manages to go home. After a few days, Daniel wants to get back to work and even Johnny is amazed by Daniel’s quick recovery.
After Daniel asks Johnny for help, John tells him he can’t because he has new responsibilities: that of a father of his soon-to-be-born baby. So it looks like Johnny and Daniel have a bit of a character reversal: Johnny is now the responsible one and Daniel is the irresponsible one. Which makes things very interesting.
Finding out that Johnny’s going to be the father of his and Carmen’s new baby, they decide to go out for a party. They hire a limo and do a twelve-step program and by that, they mean 12 bars for every step they take. They all get drunk and the girls soon want to go home because it’s getting late. For the record: Carmen has no alcoholic drinks, it would be unethical to have a pregnant lady drink alcohol!
Daniel, Chozen and Johnny take the limo but then we cut to a scene where the limo driver asks where his limo is. Who is driving? It turns out to be Mike Barnes. After his business went up in flames, he started to blame Daniel LaRusso. But LaRusso makes it clear it’s not him who did it and all signs point to Terry Silver.
The guys come up with a plan to visit Silver at home and teach him a lesson. They go off in their car but Daniel was too slow and never got into the car.
Arriving at their destination, Barnes, Chozen, and Johnny quickly enter the house. And the fight ensued between the senseis, Silver vs the other three. Seeing as it takes to take down 1 sensei, the guys are outnumbered and drunk. It’s a fight they can barely win but with the power of desperation, they manage to at least tie.
While the students are at Cobra Kai to prove that Terry Silver is a fraud by trying to find his surveillance video, Sensei Kim Da-Eun leaves Silver’s house to stop the kids at the dojo. Kim however is beaten by Samantha who aids Tory and the Miyagi Do students protect the tablet while the video is uploading to YouTube for everyone to see.
The Cobra Kai kids see the video and their instructor who they put on a pedal stool lie to Tory about her winning the tournament and they become disillusioned. Especially Kenny who joined Cobra Kai to stop the bullying.
Daniel, who is saved by Stingray, arrives at the Cobra Kai dojo to save his students but ends up fighting Terry Silver who rushed to his dojo after he beat Mike, Johnny, and Chozen with the help of his senseis ofcourse.
Daniel lost earlier in the season from Terry and got his ass kicked pretty bad. This time things are different. Silver already has gone through a fight and nearly lost versus Chozen. So he’s already fatigued.
Daniel however was drunk earlier and the alcohol is starting to wear off. So it feels like a tie but Daniel is much fitter and is ferocious. The fight ensues and Daniel pours his heart and soul into it.
The fight ends in Daniel’s favor and he ends it with the move that started it all: the crane kick. Silver goes down and Daniel saves the day once and for all. At least for the current season!
Silver is booked and criminal charges are already being drawn up at the station. They will look into his fraudulent actions and arson, Mike Barnes company. As well as battering assault for Stingray.
While they book him, the Miyagi do kids celebrate their victory and say they are free from Silver, Cobra Kai, and Kreese. Then one of the detectives tells them the bad news that Kreese has been shivved by a fellow inmate.
However, we then cut to the scene where the doctor is trying to perform a biopsy to find the cause of death. It’s a formality but it still needs to be done. The doctor takes off Kreese’s shirt and sees it’s all red jello. Kreese kills the guards and the doctor and takes on the disguise of a doctor while fleeing jail. I guess we will see Kreese in the next seasons.
Johnny Lawrence tries to adult and fails
This season Johnny Lawrence is the responsible adult instead of Daniel. It’s a nice change of pace. Johnny’s story starts when he tries to find Miguel in Mexico. He takes his other son, Robbie, with him. In hopes to reconcile but also getting Miguel and Robbie to talk about their differences.
They quickly find Miguel and the road trip home starts off difficult but at least the boys tolerate each other. Anything more is far-fetched at that point.
The next step is Johnny inviting the boys to a fancy restaurant. The two run off and have no intention of reconciling at all.
Johnny keeps trying, he turns his apartment into an escape room by gluing his windows, making the door one-way only. Except that Carmen, Johnny’s girlfriend, mother ruins it. And the two won’t reconcile that day. Except they start a fight. And they fight all over the complex.
No one wins and they accept that. Slowly but surely, while laying on the floor, the boys start talking. It takes hours and when Carmen comes home, she sees Miguel and Robbie having a good conversation while having an amicable chat. The two of them made up.
The reason why Johnny worked so hard is because Robbie and Miguel will become big brothers of Johnny and Carmen’s unborn baby.
When Johnny finds out he is going to be a dad, he isn’t fond of the idea. But eventually realizes that he doesn’t have to be a lame dad but a cool one. He tries to make money to be able to financially support raising his child.
He tries being an Uber and this is where you can see that Johnny missed the boat for adulting. Despite having a heart of gold, Johnny basically sucks at everything delivery/taxiing people. The only thing Johnny really is good at is being a sensei.
While celebrating his new daddy-to-be, the guys get kidnapped by a limo by Mike Barnes. They come up with a plan to kick the crap out of Terry Silver and go to his house sans Daniel, who gets left behind.
Johnny takes several beatings and the beatings just won’t stop. The senseis beat him over and over. When Silver leaves for his dojo, he clearly instructs the senseis to kill Johnny.
While Johnny is beaten half to death, a picture of the echo of his unborn baby falls out of his pocket and Johnny gets up and with a new sense of purpose he starts fighting back. He manages to take down a couple of the senseis but not all of them and just when his lights are about to go out for good, Chozen raises from a presumed death and kicks the senseis to the curb while the three of them get out of there. Because Mike Barnes, also regained consciousness.
Johnny arrives just in time at Cobra Kai to see Terry Silver get booked and receive the news that John Kreese died.
John Kreese, the snake
Kreese was set up in the previous season. Silver beat up Stingray in a fit of impotent rage and everything pointed to Kreese. So Kreese is in jail, serving a sentence for a crime he did not commit.
Kreese receives therapy and tells the therapist everything she wants to hear in order to get a reduced sentence. However, the therapist sees through it all and all that’s left for Kreese is to sit out his sentence.
Tory visits Kreese regularly to see what can be done to take down Silver. However, upon realizing that Kreese will likely die in jail, he cuts off all contact with Tory.
Johnny and Daniel visit Kreese in jail to get information about Silver. Daniel promises Kreese to get him in touch with his lawyer who can help Kreese get a reduced sentence. Daniel gives him a note with the ‘number’ but it turns out to be a doozy. And Johnny and Daniel leave Kreese.
While in jail, Kreese is harassed by a few tough guys and it isn’t until he makes light work of him that he is the new alpha male.
When his new henchmen stabs Kreese to death with a shiv, we see the end of Kreese. BUT Kreese wakes up because the blood was fake, it was red jello. Kreese manages to escape jail and is out for revenge, which we will see in season 6.
My thoughts on Cobra Kai season 5
Cobra Kai season 5 seems to be a transitional season. A season where new rivalries are forged and friendships are lost. Only to make new friends and new rivalries.
Without Terry Silver and the end of Cobra Kai in sight, nobody is counting on John Kreese coming back to take the helm of Cobra Kai. I am guessing we will see a big tournament in season 6 or 7.
All signs point to yes and I guess with the new Miyagi do taking over, all former students from the valley will be welcome if they accept Miyagi Do’s teachings. But with Kreese looking to take revenge on everyone who put him in jail or left him to rot, I guess he will take Cobra Kai underground and prepare for said tournament.
The season overall was pretty good, some stuff was far-fetched like the traitor who almost managed to end all of Miyagi Do’s students while finding the surveillance video.
The way Miyagi Do’s students approached Stingray to talk about what happened when he got beat up was heartwarming.
Tory’s role was small but pivotal, her inner conflict about winning the All Valley Tournament and finding out the referee was bribed was great acting by Peyton List. So was her reconciliation with Samantha and here’s hoping for a big team up with the two in season 6.
Cobra Kai is really worth the watch and I can’t wait for the next season.