Prison really doesn’t mean much in the world of Cobra Kai, does it? I’m glad Johnny hangs a lampshade on that fact in this episode. Then again, it does make sense that the case against Terry Silver wasn’t very strong; after all, it relied on Stingray of all people as a credible witness. It just feels a little unbelievable that the other senseis wouldn’t know anything about this. But hey, we’re watching Cobra Kai, where creating drama is the main goal, and in that regard this is a pretty great turn.
“Blood In Blood Out” is quick to clarify the basics of what’s been going on with Silver. He’s on a quest for revenge, obviously, after our heroes snatched away the one thing he cared about. (I guess he’s not sold on returning to the pleasant but mundane life we saw early in season four, playing piano and feasting on tofu skewers with a hot girlfriend who’s launching a mindfulness app.) So three months ago in Bangkok, he recruited the savage Sensei Wolf to his cause, promising to pay off his debts by signing ownership of the Iron Dragons dojo back to him if he embarrasses Miyagi-Do on the world stage.
Johnny, Daniel, and Chozen know they need to come together to take on both Kreese and Silver, the two of whom aren’t aligned this time. I like that this episode underplays Johnny and Daniel’s reconciliation; we’ve seen plenty of break-up/make-up cycles with these two, and this one doesn’t require much more than a brief acknowledgment of the nice voicemail Johnny sent. The sooner they make amends, the sooner they can team up, and Cobra Kai can get to the good stuff.
In this case, “the good stuff” means playing on Kreese and Silver’s rivalry by stealing the former’s treasured eunjangdo and framing Silver during the final group event for the top eight dojos. The plan works flawlessly, with Kreese jabbing Silver in the face. Sure, it’s a small thing, and Kim Da-Eun sniffs out Chozen’s manipulations pretty soon after. But it’s energizing to finally see the good guys playing dirty and to see Kreese and Silver at odds.
This event, an all-dojo best-of-three tag team competition, is pretty important for Miyagi-Do to win. But Kenny’s arrival in Barcelona doesn’t go as smoothly as he’d hope; Demetri thinks he’s a traitor, showing up conveniently at the same time as Silver and forgiving Devon for the Shit Butt sabotage a little too easily. That suspicion clouds Demetri and Eli’s judgment during the event when they both refuse to tag in Kenny. Furia de Pantera scores one point on Demetri, then two on a still-distracted Robby, ending the first match and putting Miyagi-Do at risk of elimination once again.
It feels for a moment like Demetri and Eli’s distrust might push Kenny back into Silver’s arms, which would be extremely frustrating; Silver still knows how to push the kid’s buttons, exploiting his rocky relationship with his teammates. But when the second match begins, Robby makes the executive decision to tag Kenny in over Eli, leading Kenny to score two points and earn the win. (He even gives the finger to Silver. There’s a lot of flipping off at this supposedly sacred tournament.) That means Miyagi-Do and Cobra Kai are tied up, each with one win and one loss. Their next match will determine who goes forward to the captains-only portion of the competition.
That also means this is the last time this specific group will fight as a team, and the locker room scene before the last match is pretty wholesome: All beefs are set aside, with Demetri and Eli finally apologizing and hugging it out. (I do wish they actively apologized to Kenny, but whatever.) The kids don’t even need any wisdom from the senseis, who have said all they need to say.
At Kim Da-Eun’s instruction, Tory comes to the last match with a different aim: To feel her emotions fully and use them rather than trying to suppress her anger. I wasn’t expecting Tory and Robby to face off — as I mentioned in my last recap, fights tend to follow gender lines in this show — but it’s a great sequence, with Tory coming right at Robby while he plays defense. I almost wish it could’ve lasted longer! After tagging out, they continue their argument, getting the truth straight: Tory did not hook up with Kwon like Robby foolishly assumed.
I should mention that the karate really, really shines in this episode, with some of the best fight choreography of the whole show. The point system in this tournament can be slightly confusing at times, but here, the stakes are clear, and the tagging conceit allows for a wide variety of different potential combinations happening in real time. Kwon scores a point on Sam; Miguel scores a point on one of the other Cobra Kais; Demetri, Eli, and Kenny try a novel strategy of tagging in and out continuously while preventing Yoon from the relief of tagging himself out. Eventually they tire him out and Eli lands a perfect kick, scoring the second point of the match — which quickly gets matched by Kwon, who scores on Miguel.
The fitting final match-up is Robby and Kwon, the latter of whom refuses to tag out after his last point. He wants this prey for himself. Whether because of fatigue or overinvestment or some real imbalance in ability, he eventually loses to Robby, but it’s a drawn-out, captivating fight.
So there we are: Miyagi-Do goes to the semifinals with three other teams, and Cobra Kai loses out for the last time. Or does it? There’s one episode left in the Sekai Taikai saga, and Kreese seems convinced that this isn’t over. Based on the way he keeps staring at that knife, he has something nasty in mind. And so does Silver, though he’s out for himself and the Iron Dragons now, not Cobra Kai. He “kindly” gives Daniel an old Sekai Taikai record that seems to reveal Mr. Miyagi killed his opponent during a match, throwing the original karate kid off his game for the final day of the world tournament of karate. Can the stakes get higher than that?
Mr. Miyagi’s Little Trees
• Silver’s lawyer warns that Silver could “end up in a morgue like his buddy Snake,” a reference to Mike Barnes’s other crony (besides Dennis) back in The Karate Kid Part III. So the whole squad is accounted for now!
• Tory grabs Zara’s phone while she’s live-streaming and tells her fans that she steals people’s boyfriends, which seems to genuinely scare Zara. But come on, she practically dared Tory to do that.
• I do wish the show didn’t rely so much on characters getting distracted by the sight of someone in the middle of their fight; there are other ways to show that your mind is somewhere else. But at least Robby isn’t the only one who falls victim to it this time: Tory gets distracted by his face and loses one round for Cobra Kai.
• Nice to see Miguel set aside his ego and give Robby the pep talk he actually needs this time.
• “You finally beat Kreese.” “We finally beat Kreese.” “Well, I actually beat him in my very first tournament.” “Don’t make me hit you.”
• “Couldn’t happen to a shittier guy. See you in another life, Kreese.” Fuck yeah, Johnny.
