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Cobra Kai always seemed like a series that would not last long; it often felt like the series was eventually going to run out of storylines and character arcs. However, this 5th season not only maintains the quality of the previous seasons, but builds on them in exciting ways.
We have already seen All Valley Tournament explored in this series, and a continuation of the trope would be tiring, but instead the showrunners focus on the characters first, with new relationships created and fights that result in maturation for the characters. This season has a BIG focus on the emotional arc of the characters as well, with exploration of what they are going through and their mental health, and that is very interesting to see. For example, we see Sam uncomfortable and why he’s not well (for several reasons), Miguel wants to see his father and suffers a great emotional load this season, and several other cases throughout.
If you thought Silver was a very mean and violent villain, wait until you see him in this fifth season… Terry Silver is as evil as he’s ever been. He seeks pure carnage and doesn’t seem to care if this carnage involves killing someone or destroying the livelihood of an opponent; I expect the hatred that the viewer will accumulate throughout the season will be immense.
We have here a great focus on Kreese’s emotional state, which makes us think that he is becoming a better person since he went to prison. He seems to have changed for the better…but has he?
Mike Barnes is very well fitted into the plot; the scenes he appears in are well contextualized and contain some exceptional action scenes.
The action scenes this season are incredible. The fights are very well choreographed and often contain some very interesting encounters, many that leave the viewer wondering who might come out on top. The series has a very good cast, and the showrunners smartly don’t add any new characters this season, allowing the characters we already know to develop further.
I can’t forget to talk about our kings Johnny Lawrence and Daniel LaRusso, who this season experience a variety of events that impact their lives in tremendous ways. Johnny is in a new stage of his life, but he receives an incredible surprise that certainly affects the way he functions and acts this season. I can say that Daniel suffers a lot this season and I don’t think I’ve ever seen him suffer as much as here in this season.
The classic soundtrack of the series is well fitted. However, the cheap camera movement in some scenes is something that bothers me. Outside of that minor gripe, the season is excellent.
Cobra Kai S5 shows that this series is not just about fighting. This season focuses on the development, maturation and evolution of the characters while we have the biggest villain this series has ever had, Terry Silver.
Rating: 89%
