‘Cobra Kai’ Season 5 Ending, Explained and How It Sets up Season 6
The Cobra Kai Season 5 ending resolved a lot of things, but opened up some new possibilities for Cobra Kai Season 6. Hopefully, everyone has had a chance to watch all 10 episodes in the two weeks since it premiered on Netflix. Here’s where Cobra Kai Season 5 left things and what needs to happen in a sixth season.
[Warning: This article contains spoilers for the Cobra Kai Season 5 ending.]
‘Cobra Kai’ Season 5 Ending
The Cobra Kai students were riding high on their All-Valley Karate Tournament victory and the expansion of dojos across the Valley. To them, Miyagi-Do was just reneging on the deal by continuing to practice. But, Miyagi-Do showed the Cobra Kais who Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith) really was.
They hacked into the security footage which caught Silver admitting to cheating at the tournament. They uploaded the clip of Silver admitting to Tory (Peyton List) he paid off the judge to YouTube which played in the dojo to everyone.
Then, Terry threatened Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) again. This time with the support of his family, Daniel showed the Cobra Kai students how Miyagi-Do’s balance was more formidable than Silver’s aggression. He was able to block quicksilver, and of course used the crane kick from the original Karate Kid movie.
When Daniel said “The roots are strong so the tree will survive,” that’s a quote from Karate Kid III. Mike Barnes (Sean Kanan) broke a prized bonsai tree but it healed because the roots were strong. It’s a metaphor. And Silver got arrested for framing Kreese (Martin Kove) because Stingray (Paul Walter Hauser) told the truth.
This would be a logical conclusion of Silver’s story. Not that we don’t want more Griffith, but his modern day attempt to take over the valley and sabotage Daniel has failed. If we never see Silver again, we’ll know Miyagi-Do triumphed over him again.
How Kreese Fakes His Death in ‘Cobra Kai’ Season 5
Meanwhile in prison, Kreese didn’t wait for Stingray to set the record straight. He tried good behavior with the prison therapist too. In the end, Kreese had to resort to his old tricks.
The beginning of the season finale looked like the end for Kreese. In fact it looked like Cobra Kai Season 5 was going all Game of Thrones on Kreese and Chozen (Yuji Okumoto). It appeared Kreese got shivved breaking up a prison fight. Kreese used the red jello that’s been significant all season as fake blood. Then he stole a doctor’s coat and walked out of prison. He’d also stolen the therapist’s keycard during their last session.
Obviously, Kreese will be back for revenge but this is complicated. Breaking out of prison is a crime even if you were innocent before. So Kreese will still have to look over his shoulder for the law.
A happy ending for many characters
The end of Cobra Kai Season 5 left a lot of characters in a good place. Miguel (Xolo Maridueña) and Samantha (Mary Mouser) got back together, and both said the L word for the first time. Barnes took a Rembrandt from Silver’s house as compensation for the store so he’ll be okay. Johnny (William Zabka) ended up fighting for his family and discovering more inner strength than he even knew he had.
It’s a tad more complicated for Kenny (Dallas Dupree Young). After seeing Silver for who he really is, Kenny’s not quite ready to talk to Robby (Tanner Buchanan) yet. It’s still a process, and it’s only beginning. But, Robby and Tory are good and it seems like for one, Tory may actually have some peace.
