Starring: William Zabka, Ralph Macchio, Martin Kove, Thomas Ian Griffith, Courtney Heggeler, Xolo Mariduena, Vanessa Rubio, Mary Mauser, Peyton Nichols
We're heading into Season Five of the saga which resurrected the Karate Kid franchise. Despite four seasons of conflict, threats, all-out brawls, and allegiances which shift on a dime, Cobra Kai remains a streaming page-turner. I'm sure there will come a time soon enough in which I'll be weary of the soap opera antics of Cobra Kai, but it isn't now.
Season Three ended with Johnny (Zabka) and Daniel (Macchio) allying to take down Cobra Kai dojo run by Johnny's former mentor Kreese (Kove). As Season Four begins, Johnny and Daniel train the Miyagi-Do students with contrasting styles which don't mesh with the students and each other. Meanwhile, as hinted at in the Vietnam flashbacks of Season Three, Kreese seeks out his former business partner Terry Silver (Griffith), whose long hair is now free-flowing instead of tied in a ponytail as he did in the dreadful Karate Kid, Part III. Terry isn't keen on returning to the world of Cobra Kai. He says something which I'm sure has at least popped into the minds of most viewers: They're messing with kids!
But Terry soon tires of his life of wealth and returns to Kreese's side, mostly because Kreese will play the "I saved your life in Vietnam" card whenever the opportunity arises. Terry isn't just another sensei, but someone scheming from behind the scenes to wrest control of Cobra Kai from Kreese and settle his old score with Daniel. Once Terry turns his hair up into the dreaded ponytail from Karate Kid, Part III, it's on!
Griffith relishes being the villain so much he can barely conceal the twinkle in his eye and his malicious grin. He doesn't show us all the cards, which keeps us involved in his character arc. When his final scene with Kreese plays out, we can't say we are all too surprised. Meanwhile, Johnny and Daniel continue to behave as the frenemies they are, eventually agreeing to battle in a one-on-one battle to determine who will lead Miyagi-Do in the upcoming All-Valley Tournament, which undergoes changes to include an all-female bracket and skills competitions announced in a game-show format by a board member who should be hosting Jeopardy and not sitting on late-night meetings of the All-Valley Board.
Cobra Kai remains flashy fun told in broad strokes. As both Miyagi-Do and Cobra Kai employ two senseis each instead of one, I'm reminded of the old football adage: "If you have two quarterbacks, then you have none," These guys apparently never heard of that.
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