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Karate dojos took center stage on Friday, September 9, as Netflix dropped the fifth season of Cobra Kai. The introductory episode sets the tone for what to expect throughout the season, which now has the burden of validating multiple storylines.
Cobra Kai is a direct sequel to The Karate Kid film franchise by Robert Mark Kamen. The series was created by Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg.
With Ralph Macchio and William Zabka from The Karate Kid films reprising their roles, Cobra Kai follows the two as they discover that they are back to being martial arts rivals. While the former played the role of Daniel LaRusso, the latter reprised his role as Johnny Lawrence.
Cobra Kai also stars Tanner Buchanan, Courtney Henggeler, Xolo Maridueña, Mary Mouser, Jacob Bertrand, Gianni DeCenzo, Peyton List, Vanessa Rubio, and Dallas Dupree Young. Martin Kove and Thomas Ian Griffith are also reprising their roles from the films.
The Cobra Kai universe has become a sensation among youngsters worldwide, with characters from different backgrounds and ethnicities getting representation in this leading action series.
Read on for a detailed recap of episode one of Cobra Kai season 5.
Cobra Kai episode 1 sets the tone right with focus on multiple parallel storylines
Focus on characters' personal storylines
Titled Long Long Way From Home, the first episode of season five could sound deceptive in its direct reference to Miguel's quest to search for his biological father, Hector Salazar. But that is not how the fifth season kick-started.
Relations have strained since the results of the All Valley tournament last season and have percolated down into personal space.
In the first episode, arguments ensued between Daniel and Amanda, and Sam and Miguel, regarding the distance caused by the events of season 4. Amanda said that she was reluctant to spend her summer with Chozen at home, losing out on quality time with Daniel.
She blamed Karate and Daniel's involvement in the dojo as the biggest reasons behind his absence, both from her professional and personal life. This also came up earlier when Amanda felt Daniel's absence in handling the showroom.
When Miguel called Sam from Mexico to talk about a search gone wrong after his encounter with a different Hector, Sam expressed her anger at him for his absence from the tournament. She expected him to be by her side.
An argument ensued when the two tried to prioritize their problems over the other. However, not all relations reached the saturation point. Some were resurrected in the form of Johnny and Robby's father-son bonding over their Mexico trip, originally planned by Johnny to trace Miguel.
Although Robby had the option to return home, he decided to stay back and help Johnny find Miguel. Meanwhile, Miguel successfully traced his father, the real Hector Salazar, but also found out about his wife/partner and son Luis.
In a turn of events, Miguel saved Luis from being run over by a car and got himself invited to dinner as a reward. As Hector and Miguel shook hands, Hector said the cheesiest and most predictable words imaginable, "I feel like we've met somewhere before."
As expected, a good-hearted Miguel refused any former acquaintance and tagged along for a friendly dinner.
Focus on characters' professional storylines
On a professional note, episode one established all the right fears in the immediate aftermath of Miyagi-do's defeat in the All Valley tournament. It began with Terry Silver's voiceover announcing Cobra Kai's expansion and a new dojo's inauguration.
Meanwhile, Daniel gathered his students and officially closed the curtains on Miyagi-do as he lost the challenge to Terry Silver. Sam blamed herself and her loss to Tory, which had led to Cobra Kai's eventual triumph at the tournament, as the reason behind her father shutting Miyagi-do.
Although Daniel is remorseful for shutting down their Karate joint, he has plans to bounce back. The first step includes bringing down Terry Silver and the influence of his aggressive style among the valley kids. In cahoots with Chozen, Daniel sets off on a journey to follow Terry Silver's steps to strike him better.
During one such drive outside Terry Silver's Cobra Kai, Chozen recognized the former's style as he trained with his students. Chozen told Daniel that Terry Silver's style resembled that of Kim Sun-Yung, a master from South Korea, and his uncle, who was renowned for deception techniques.
He added that Kim taught American soldiers, thereby connecting the dots between how Kreese and Terry Silver - two war veterans - could have learned the form of Tung Soo-Doo, which is laced with the ideology, "No honor, no mercy."
Chozen's plan of action says, "We will use his style against him." It wasn't until the last scene of the episode that we realized that Chozen's literal plan of action involved joining Terry Silver's Cobra Kai as a potential sensei.
It remains to be seen if the jumping of houses is a mere tactic or a real act of deception against Daniel and the now-defunct Miyagi-do. Certain characters like Kreese, Tory, and the first female sensei Kim Da-Eun were absent, barring a few references.
It will be interesting to see them come back.
Cobra Kai is currently streaming on Netflix.
