Posted in: Cobra Kai, Netflix, Preview, streaming, TV | Tagged: cobra kai, Courtney Henggeler, Mary Mouser, netflix, Ralph Macchio, Tanner Buchanan, william zabka, Xolo Maridueña, Yuji Okumoto
Cobra Kai S05 Preview: Netflix Releases First 9 Minutes of Season 5
Netflix posted the first nine minutes, rather eight minutes and 50 seconds of the season five premiere of Cobra Kai. Season five picks up not long after the events of season four that sees Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith) emerging atop of the martial arts food chain following the All-Valley Karate Tournament that saw his dojo emerge victorious over Daniel LaRusso's (Ralph Macchio) Miyagi-do and Johnny Lawrence's (William Zabka) Eagle Fang where they all agreed the loser(s) would shut down. In the case of their agreement, if Cobra Kai won, Daniel and Johnny would shut their dojos down, whereas if either two won, Terry and John Kreese (Martin Kove) would shut down their dojo. Speaking of Kreese, he ends up arrested after being framed by his former war buddy for his staged attack on Stingray (Paul Walter-Hauser). Without further ado, this is your spoilers warning before we take a deeper dive into the preview.
The clip begins with Terry's voiceover promoting his grand plan to expand Cobra Kai throughout the Valley in the commercial, "Karate is more than a sport." We see the new location with a mural that features his likeness and two fists in the background. We see all his students donned in black gi and tons of new faces as they train, along with shots of their trophies. "Within every punch and kick lies centuries of tradition," he continues. "It has a rich past, and now, we want you to become part of its future. Welcome to Cobra Kai." We also see targeting graphics and metrics from the students that micromanage every aspect of fitness, health, and abilities, as well as highlights from their performance at the tournament before revealing their flagship dojo to be in Encino.
We then see Chozen (Yuji Okumoto) swim in the LaRusso family pool. As Amanda (Courtney Henggeler) is picking up the laundry, she's "surprised" by his presence before complaining to her husband about Chozen's morning routine. Given the experience from previous seasons, she's tired of the non-stop war reminding him he said that the All Valley was supposed to be it, summarizing the other events of the season four finale to him. As Daniel explains, Amanda shakes her head, resigning to his situation while still sick of his shit. She tries to refocus him on what the war is doing to their family.
We also see Miguel (Xolo Maridueña) emerge from his bus in Mexico in search of his father. After going through vendors who try to peddle their wares, he discovers his phone has no service in the area before locals confront him on the shore. He asks for directions, not knowing they'll take advantage of him from their grift. After Miguel gets ripped off, we see Johnny (William Zabka) emerges from a convenience store with sunglasses with the tag still there and "road supplies" to Robby (Tanner Buchanan. Johnny apparently thinks that time in Mexico operates differently than in America and compares it with their currency, bless his heart. We do get a cute "corgi in a sombrero" bobblehead, and Johnny's final items are novelty FBI shirts, but the back says "Female Body Inspector" before Robby asks him what's his real motivation behind the "father-son" bonding adventure.
The final scene is Daniel breaking the news to his Miyagi-do students about the dojo's shutdown and reasoning. As the students leave, his daughter Sam (Mary Mouser) sticks around as he explains more in-depth why and how he and Chozen must continue the fight and stubbornly not risk anyone else getting hurt (especially her) before she walks away, too. Now here's a look at where you can check out the fifth season opener (release it on YouTube, Netflix!):