By Ben Wright (@iamzavagno | www.xgeeks.co.uk)
This review is spoiler-free.
I feel like I say this every time, but Cobra Kai has no right being this good…
As a concept, a teenage karate soap opera, should not be this entertaining, exciting, or emotional. Yet every time I enter a new series of Cobra Kai, the viewing experience I am left with at the end leaves me speechless.
With Cobra Kai victorious at the All Valley Tournament and beginning to expand, thanks to Silver’s vast fortune, Daniel must close down Miyagi-Do and give up his students in order to take down Silver by any means, and alongside his former enemy-turned friend Chozen, things are about to get flammable!
The main focus of the series is around LaRusso V Silver. So be prepared to witness a very different type of Cobra Kai experience this season. It is this fresh approach, however, that I think really works in the show’s favour and why I genuinely believe this is, by far, the best season of Cobra Kai to date! Every episode feels like a cliffhanger and leaves you thirsting for more.
One of the main themes this season, at least for the students, is dealing with the mental wounds caused by the ongoing ‘karate war’ that has been running for the past 3 seasons. Multiple characters are struggling with who they are, especially with the closure of Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang; and now the fighting has stopped and as they enter ‘peace time’, they need to fill a void left by Cobra Kai’s victory. These reflections and stories occupied the younger cast members throughout most of the season. With no tournament to prepare for and the Do Jos closed, having the younger characters focus on healing themselves and fixing fractured relationships was a great way to still have them involved in the show and grow as characters and groupings. A lot of the supporting and fringe characters are limited in regard to screen time, as the primary focus of the show is to tell the LaRusso versus Silver story. While they may have played more of a supporting role this season, the way the series ended is setting them up for big things next season, so I expect the balance to shift back to a more even level.
As for the cast in general, I think this was a huge season for the likes of Samantha (Mary Mouser), Robby (Tanner Buchanan) and Miguel (Xolo Mariduena) – all of whom have a lot of healing, growth, and discovery to undertake and I think, outside of the older cast, these were the ones who really had a strong outing. In terms of the ‘stand-out’, it is difficult to look past Chozen (Yuji Okumoto) who really steals the entire series as he switches from de-escalating humour to deadly threat with such natural ease. They get the balance just right, as he never went too cartoonish or over the top. As for Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith), he was at his best! His presence infected so many characters and was a constant threat, the perfect. Before finishing up the casting segment of the review, I want to give a special mention to the ‘Bay Boy of Karate’ Mike Barnes (Sean Kanan) who was used in such a satisfying way and Kim Da-Eun (Alicia Hannah-Kim) who I thought was a fantastic new addition to the show.
If you are anything like me, you will find yourself binging through this season in no time at all and will most certainly be left feeling entertained and craving for more.
Cobra Kai Season 5 is hands down the best series of Cobra Kai to date, delivering kicks to the feels and chops to the funny bone in equal measure. As a show and concept, Cobra Kai has no right to be this good, yet time and time again it delivers as being one of the best shows that Netflix has to offer. A season of healing and growth combined with brilliant writing and great performances proves that this show, just like Cobra Kai, will never die!
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