Cobra Kai season 5 is the show’s biggest season yet, not only in terms of scope – Terry Silver doesn’t do things by halves – but also in terms of stakes.
Throughout the season, peril permeates each move on the karate chessboard as the uneasy alliance between Daniel, Johnny, Chozen, and a returning Mike Barnes attempt to wrestle the grip of Silver away from Cobra Kai. With an incarcerated Kreese also having his own agenda behind bars, the risk of dire consequences hangs over all the major players come the season 5 finale.
Then, the final showdown: a brutal battle wraps up several arcs and potentially sees a handful of characters sign off for the show for good. If we didn’t know any better – and if the show didn’t introduce one final twist – we would say it had all the makings of a series finale.
What to make of it all? And what could come next? To answer those questions, we sat down with Cobra Kai creators Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg to break down all the major talking points, spoilers, and surprises from the latest season. From the secrets behind the finale’s fights to the stories surrounding familiar faces from Karate Kid’s past, we dive deep into all sides of Cobra Kai to bring you a comprehensive look at season 5.
Terry vs. Chozen & Terry vs. Daniel
We’re used to Cobra Kai’s fights not pulling any punches, but a pair of showdowns in the season 5 finale took things to the next level. In the first, Terry Silver, wielding a sword no less, fought with Karate Kid Part 2 villain and new Daniel ally Chozen – himself brandishing sais.
On how the face-off came into being, Hurwitz tells us: "It starts with an idea, and we entered the season knowing that we were going to be doing a fight with weapons between Terry Silver and Chozen. These are two characters in the franchise who are not afraid of dying. They are the most brutal, ruthless fighters and we wanted a brutal, ruthless fight between them."
The battle, however, changed from its conception to the final execution. "We started the season potentially thinking we would do just a sword fight," Hurwitz says, while also revealing that Terry Silver’s actor Thomas Ian Griffith told them he was proficient with a sword. "As we developed it further, we thought it’d be cooler to have swords versus sais."
He adds, "You're writing these fights, making sure that from a story standpoint, they're pushing story forward, and they're impactful emotionally. Then it’s about making sure each swing of that sword or block each have meaning. That’s a collaboration with us on the writer side and the stunt team."
Then, there was the showdown at the Cobra Kai dojo between Daniel LaRusso and his long-time nemesis Terry Silver.
"With Daniel, this was a fun one," Hurwitz says. "We had two Daniel/Silver fights this season, which was awesome to see. It’s cool to see the midseason fight, to see Daniel hold his own to some degree. And in that earlier fight when he was a little bit on tilt, he wasn't quite himself and didn't have the Miyagi-Do spirit in him in those moments. He regains himself through the strength of his friends and family."
Hurwitz praises the scene’s intercutting of Karate Kid 3 clips, something which he credits to editor Zack Arnold for bringing to life, while Schlossberg reveals that Daniel’s actor Ralph Macchio was "very excited and relieved when it turned out great."
The Crane Kick
Perhaps the most iconic image in Karate Kid’s storied history is Daniel’s trademark crane kick, which he used on Johnny Lawrence to win the All Valley Tournament in the original movie’s third act. Since the beginning of Cobra Kai, everyone’s been eagerly awaiting the return of Daniel’s signature move. In the season's biggest fist-pump of a sequence, he pulls it out – and not a moment too soon – to defeat Terry Silver for good during the finale.
"It was time," Hurwitz says. "Terry Silver disrespected the Crane Kick many, many years ago and he saw what it looks like when the foot hits the face this time."
Behind the scenes, Macchio was wondering if he could get his leg up high enough. The end result? "He delivered," Hurwitz reveals. "But it was one of those things where it was a few takes to warm up and then he got there. It was awesome."
Kreese’s ‘death’
In one of the show’s most ludicrously entertaining moments, Kreese escapes from jail by faking his own death – all thanks to Jell-o and some karate shenanigans. If there is an endgame – or future season – planned, it appears Martin Kove’s villainous sensei will factor into the equation.
"The one person who is out there to potentially wreak havoc is Kreese, who makes his escape at the very end. There’s plenty of drama to be had," Hurwitz says.
But which Kreese are we getting? Much of the season revolved around the Vietnam war vet coming to terms with his own grief and trauma – or so we thought. So is he repentant or truly repulsive? "We have more in store for Kreese so I don’t want to give too much away, but I’ll just say it’s possible that it’s both things," Schlossberg teases. "He was feeling all the emotion and, at the same time, was taking advantage of it and using it to manipulate people."
On Kreese’s paradoxical journey this year, Schlossberg adds: "In season five, we wanted him to have his most human moments where you really feel like he has the ability to turn and then use that as a way of getting out. So you get the best of both worlds. For people who want to see his redemption, you really are feeling him go through this five-season-long emotional journey, yet you [also] get the old-school Kreese from the original Karate Kid."
Mike Barnes’ return
It says a lot about the Cobra Kai season 5 ending that the return of "Karate’s Bad Boy" from Karate Kid Part 3 maybe didn’t get the headlines it deserved. Not least of all because he was on the side of the karate angels – and up against his former ally Terry Silver.
On the decision to bring Mike Barnes back as a well-adjusted working man, complete with his own store and family, Schlossberg says: "When it comes to all of these characters and deciding what their fates were after the movies, we wanted to represent different versions of what people can relate to. Because everyone has a different connection to their past.
"By the time we bring Mike Barnes into the story, we’ve seen a couple of different versions of how people have reacted to their past. One thing is: people move on. They’re able to meet somebody and realise, ‘Oh god,I was kind of a jerk back then’ and focus on the good things... They just feel like the past is the past. They're just going to move forward and try to be a better person."
Yet, we ended up getting flashes of Barnes’ aggression in the season finale. Having kidnapped Chozen, Johnny, and Daniel, he ends up fighting off Silver’s sensei goons. "We feel there are aspects of that character that we wanted to bring back. All you have to do is poke them a little and some of that ‘Karate’s Bad Boy’ comes out," Schlossberg says.
For the creators, Mike Barnes was a case study in "subverting expectations while delivering on things from the characters that [they] fell in love with originally."
Jessica’s comeback – and her surprise family connection
Mike’s return may have been telegraphed in advance, but one Karate Kid Part 3 actor’s comeback was held back from any marketing. After Amanda’s temporary split from Daniel, she heads back to Ohio to spend time with her family, including her cousin Jessica (Robyn Lively). Yes, that’s the same Jessica who was by Daniel’s side in Karate Kid 3 – and it turns out she’s a "huge fan of the show" and was keen to be involved.
"She had made it known to us that if the right opportunity came up that made sense for the story, she’d be all game," Hurwitz says. "It really worked story-wise this year as Daniel is dealing with the trauma from Karate Kid 3…When we were thinking about what would be the most impactful way for Amanda to truly understand Daniel – who better to tell her the experiences of Karate Kid 3 than someone who was actually there? Jessica Andrews was there with Daniel and she had her own trauma as a result of what went on there."
Brilliantly, Jessica’s surprise family ties to the Steiners and the LaRussos was born from some of the more unpredictable fan theories from the Cobra Kai community.
"In this franchise, everyone’s always talking about ‘who’s related to who?’ Is Terry Silver Miguel’s dad? Is Mike Barnes Tory’s dad? These are things that happen in the fanbase and we’re always like, ‘No one’s related to anybody.’ But, for this moment, I could buy Jessica being Amanda’s cousin," Hurwitz explains.
"They look like they could be from the same family, the two women have a really fun spirit. When the actresses got together, it felt like they were fast friends. We figured we’d throw an unexpected relative bone in there and it helps explain how Amanda and Daniel first met, which is something we always wanted to explore on the show."
The Sekai Takai tournament
The Sekai Takai is a new concept introduced in Cobra Kai season 5. A global tournament that brings together the world’s best dojos, Terry Silver has big plans to make it the "Super Bowl of karate." Prior to the season 5 finale, both Cobra Kai – now seemingly disbanded – and Johnny/Daniel’s dojo qualified for the event.
Schlossberg is reluctant to say much about what’s next, but teases: "We’ll see how that all plays out. We’ll just say we have lots of ideas for the future of where we’re going with these characters."
Schlossberg describes it as the "biggest tournament yet" in the series – and is looking for Rocky to inspire the next step up in the show. "It’s always starting from a place of how do we take it to the next level while staying true to the original movie? I use the Rocky movies as comparison: there’s always some new angle, something that feels bigger, or going back to the roots of what it is."
"But you know what you’re gonna get: you’re gonna get awesome montages, Johnny being amazing, and the soap opera has some really big moments still to come. We didn’t put the Sekai Takai out there as a red herring."
Season finale or series finale?
Cobra Kai is no more, Terry Silver has been defeated, and Daniel LaRusso has overcome his demons. That’s it, right?
Don’t be so sure. According to Hurwitz, there’s potentially more to come: "It was intended to have a different kind of feeling at the end there. We see how some people could see it as a little bit of a series finale kind of feeling, but Kreese has a famous line in one of the earlier seasons: ‘Peace is just a lull between battles.’"
Hurwitz adds, "We look forward to moving forward. Looks like everything’s ok in the Valley! Let’s see how it continues."
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