Cobra Kai Season 5 Review

 Cobra Kai is back and bigger than ever, Literally. Under the new management of Terry Silver after the events of season 4, Terry will do whatever it takes to take over the karate world by force and show everyone what Cobra Kai has to offer. This really elevates the story to uncharted territory as Terry plans his expansion and introduces us to many really cool Sensei's, specifically Sensei Kim Da-Eun played by Alicia Hannah-Kim's who is just as crazy and unpredictable as Terry. Krease has always been a great character but his love for Johnny has always held him back in many ways. Terry is a much better villain and brings so much to this season and the stakes have never been higher.

While Cobra Kai is planning their take over, Miagi-Do and Eagle Fang are still picking up the pieces from last season and we get a lot of great character moments and self-reflection. It is great to see a lot of interactions this season that wrap a bow on a few relationships over the last few years. 

Chozen is by far my favourite character this season and I am happy that they brought him on as a season regular. He fills the void of Mr Miagi in a lot of ways for Daniel as he often is the voice of reason as Terry does what he does best which is get under Daniel's skin. I also really enjoy Chozen and Johnny's chemistry this season, I find that William Zabka is very adaptable and has great chemistry with any character but his exchanges with Chozen is definitely a highlight from this season. 

I am really impressed with the martial arts combat in this season and it seems as though it continuously improves as the series progresses. With the addition of some new blood in Sensei Kim and Chozen, they bring a new energy to the show that we have not yet seen. Without giving anything away,  I will also say one of my favourite fights from this season is also a weapon duel, It is great that the show is finding ways to stay fresh. 

Dallas Dupree Young who plays Kenny was upgraded to season regular as well and rightfully so because he is definitely one of the strongest actors in the series and it is noticeable with more screen time. The rest of the cast that we love are all back and it is surprising that with all of the new cast members, the show is able to balance all of them but it does well without really taking away from anyone's character development. 

Mike Barnes also makes a return from the Karate Kid universe in a surprising way that feels fresher than most of the past character introductions we have had. His story arc this season was definitely surprising in a great way. 

Cobra Kai is a guilty pleasure and if you like it as much as I do, you are going to love this season. It is full of really fun twists and some great character arcs come to a close but the series also introduces many new ways the series can keep growing. 

Cobra Kai season 5 is available on Netflix this Friday 

8/10 

Review by: Stefano Bove