Rising from the secondary antagonist in S4, Terry Silver became one of Cobra Kai’s most fierce villains. In S5, we find out that his ultimate plan was to take Cobra Kai global, and capitalize on and monopolize the world of karate. He would stop at nothing to achieve his dream.
So, does he win? Or is he defeated by Daniel, Johnny, and their students?
In the Cobra Kai S5 finale, Johnny, Chozen, and Mike attack Silver in his house. Meanwhile, Tory, Sam, and others break into the CK dojo to secure CCTV footage incriminating Silver. The episode ends with Daniel defeating Silver in a one-on-one match, after which Terry is arrested.
So how did it go down exactly? Let me recap the finale for you:
1. Mike and Johnny Attack Silver’s House
The adults’ night out continues as Johnny, Chozen, and Daniel propose going to another bar for another round. Amanda and Carmen, however, decide to call it a night and head home.
Initially, it’s all jolly and fun, until the men realize their car has been hijacked. They fear it is Silver, but it turns out to be Mike Barnes who is extremely angry with Daniel for bringing his ugly karate past back into his present.
Johnny, Chozen, and Mike agree that the only course of action is to attack Silver head-on. When Daniel disagrees with their plan, they leave him stranded and head to Silver’s home.
Attacking Silver on his home turf was a big mistake, as he has countless trained sanseis loyal to him and an array of lethal weapons. Although the three put up a good fight, they are soon overpowered—Mike is knocked unconscious and Chozen is slashed several times by Silver with a sword.
It’s only later that Johnny gets a new surge of energy to keep fighting, taking down all of Silver’s men after he leaves to sort things at the dojo. Thankfully, by the end of the episode, the three of them are able to defeat Cobra Kai’s sanseis and head to the dojo to help the kids.
2. Stingray Rescues Daniel
So, Daniel is literally lost in the middle of nowhere, with no cell reception or transport. His one and only attempt at hitchhiking soon turns into a gang fight, which he might’ve lost—had Stingray not shown up!
Stingray and Amanda take Daniel to the Cobra Kai dojo where they learn that the kids are in major trouble. Stingray gets to show off his karate skills in earnest when some of the older kids block their entrance.
Boy, has he gotten good and quite deserving of that name! I’m also glad to see that Stingray has finally chosen the right side.
3. Sam and Tory’s Plan to Bring Down Cobra Kai
Sam and Tory are finally able to put their differences aside and figure out a plan to take down Silver. They propose breaking into the flagship Cobra Kai dojo, retrieving the CCTV footage of Silver assaulting Stingray, and framing Kreese.
The plan initially goes their way as they are able to find the video, but once they start uploading it to YouTube, they see that the Cobra Kai kids have discovered their ploy and are here to attack them. Turns out that Mitch betrayed them by telling Cobra Kai all about their plan.
Anthony safeguards the tablet to upload the video, while the rest of the Miyagi-do-Eagle Fang kids encircle him, protecting him (just like they learned during Sensei Chozen’s lessons). A special shout-out to Tory and Devon for finally knocking the lights out of Sensei Kim!
Right when the kids can’t hold on anymore, the video gets uploaded and played on the screen.
The Cobra Kai kids stare confused, as the video plays the footage of Silver confirming that he bribed the referee to ensure Tory won the All Valley Championship. This is when Silver walks in, laughing it off and calling Miyagi-do-Eagle Fang’s attempts futile and pathetic.
The adults decide this can only be stopped in one way—a final match between Terry and Daniel; the winner takes it all.
4. One Last Showdown: Terry vs Daniel
This is my favorite segment of the finale. While Daniel did go against Silver a couple of episodes ago, the two have never had a proper fight, not even in the original Karate Kid movies.
But the monumental callback was that a young Terry had deceived Daniel by posing as his friend and sensei. The older Terry did not know that this would come to bite him in the back, as Daniel still remembers these lesions, including all the moves in the “Silver Bullet” technique.
Putting his own Miyagi-Do spin to it, Daniel is able to knock the wind out of Terry during their ultimate fight. Of course, Daniel wins and it ends with the show replicating a scene from Karate Kid III, where the kids take off their Cobra Kai t-shirts and throw them in disgust at Silver.
5. Terry Silver Gets Arrested
The whole “war” against Cobra Kai ends on a rather victorious note with Silver getting arrested. The show leaves us here but it is unknown if Silver is gone for good or if his money and connections can get him out of trouble. I guess that is something that only S6 can answer.
We also don’t know what will happen to Cobra Kai or its students now. Will Kreese, recently broken out of prison, take over? Or does Sensei Kim have her eyes set on it? Will the Cobra Kai kids assimilate into the other dojos? Are they even allowed to participate in the Sekai Taikai tournament?
Cobra Kai S5 finale sure does leave us with a lot of questions about the show’s future.
6. About Cobra Kai
Cobra Kai is an action drama that is a reboot/sequel of The Karate Kid movies. It premiered on YouTube in 2018, and subsequently moved to Netflix. The series stars Ralph Macchio, William Zabka, Xolo Maridueña, Tanner Buchanan, Courtney Henggeler and Mary Mouser.
When Johnny Lawrence opens the Cobra Kai dojo to teach his bullied teenage neighbor, Miguel, how to defend himself, his age-old rivalry with Daniel LaRusso is ignited once more. Will their rivalry continue to affect their present lives and those they love, or will they be able to bury the past?
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