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| Thomas Ian Griffith as TERRY SILVER in KARATE KID III |
The wait is almost over.
Cobra Kai season 5 drops on Netflix on September 9, 2022. Sure, you could spend your time trying to hate-shop for spoilers on Reddit, but why not be badass? Have patience, young grasshopper, and await the rest of the week with grace. Focus, center, breathe. Yosh. While you wait, digest upon these canonical scenes that will pay off in big and small ways in season 5. The more you know the material, the better to enjoy the goodness of the best show around.
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| Yuji Okumoto as CHOZEN TOGUCHI in KARATE KID II |
"I'm not going to go inside. I just want to see – you know. Look through the window."
In
Karate Kid II, Daniel decides to play peeping tom on an excursion into town with Kumiko. While the fair Kumiko tries to interest Daniel in a dance date, Daniel becomes glazy-eyed and makes a beeline toward Master Sato's Karate dojo. Inside the room, Chozen teaches a lesson, demonstrating how he can fight off multiple opponents, even though his hands are bound. Daniel tries not to be too impressed: "He's not bad." Ironically, this isn't the first time Daniel's watched rivals through a window, since he did the same at Cobra Kai in movie #1. And if Daniel is anything, it's a creature of habit.
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| [L-R] Sean Kanan as MIKE BARNES, William Christopher Ford as DENNIS in KARATE KID III |
"In order for me to do my best, which is what I want to do, I'm going to need 50%."
Early in Karate Kid III, Terry Silver flies in Mike Barnes, "Karate's Bad Boy," to defeat Daniel LaRusso in the upcoming All-Valley Tournament. He offers Barnes a weekly draw and a car, plus 25% share in the new line of Cobra Kai dojos. The Bad Boy is no fool and negotiates for a 50% share, impressing Terry – at least on the surface. Mike showed himself to be a businessman at heart, although one that only saw the cost and payout in dollar signs. |
| [L-R] Tamlyn Tomita as KUMIKO, Nobu McCarthy as YUKIE, Yuji Okumoto as CHOZEN, Ralph Macchio as DANIEL, Pat Morita as MIYAGI in Karate Kid II |
"$600 say he break all six."
During Daniel's escalating rivalry with Chozen in Karate Kid II, Daniel unwittingly gets pressured into taking the trickiest bet since the triple dog dare in A Christmas Story. Chozen places 3-to-1 odds that Daniel can't use his hands to break six sheets of ice. When Mr. Miyagi arrives on scene, Daniel feels relieved, sure that this madness will end. Miyagi surprises everyone and places his own bet of $600, showing great faith in Daniel and opening the door for a victory. More importantly, Daniel earns some much needed cash.
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| [L-R] Thomas Ian Griffith as TERRY SILVER, Ralph Macchio as DANIEL in KARATE KID III |
"Over the years, I've developed a system of intensive short-term training for situations just like this. It comes in two parts and has three rules."
Terry Silver uses Daniel's feelings of desperation to drive a wedge between he and Mr. Miyagi and pretends to want to help him train for the tournament. He teaches Daniel the Quicksilver Method, a system of deadly moves that help you incapacitate your opponent. "A man can't stand, he can't fight. A man can't breathe, he can't fight. A man can't see, he can't fight." Each move bestows levels of physical and psychological abuse upon Daniel and causes him to forget all of the goodness of Miyagi-Do. The Quicksilver Method reveals Terry to be a master manipulator and someone who uses karate for power and to purposefully inflict pain. His teachings have a devastating impact on Daniel, one that still lingers today.
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| [L-R] Yuji Okumoto as CHOZEN, Ralph Macchio as DANIEL in COBRA KAI |
"I have waited a long time for this. Honk!"
At the beginning of Karate Kid II, Mr. Miyagi brings Kreese to his knees and could have killed him. Instead, he gives Kreese's nose a resounding honk. Daniel later uses this same strategy to end his fight to the death with Chozen. Some jokes just never get old. In Cobra Kai season 3, Daniel comes face-to-face with his old rival Chozen again. Chozen's intentions remain blurry until he and Daniel spar on an outdoor deck. Chozen uses the secret Miyagi pressure points – a technique which shocks Daniel – to paralyze Daniel and bring him to his knees. Instead of giving a killing blow, Chozen gets the last laugh and honks Daniel's nose, revealing himself to be nothing but a big trickster.
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| [L-R] Pat Morita as MIYAGI, Ralph Macchio as DANIEL in KARATE KID III |
"I'll feel better if I get it over with now. I did it myself; I'll get out of it myself. I'll be back in a little while."
Toward the end of Karate Kid III, after Miyagi shows Daniel the bonsai tree has healed, Daniel finally sees the light and decides to cut the cord with Terry Silver and all of his teachings. In classic Daniel mode, he decides he needs to make it right, then and there, and goes alone, waving off Miyagi's offer to come with him. Daniel doesn't realize that Silver, Kreese, and Barnes are waiting to ambush him. Luckily Miyagi has been around the block a few times and knows when his surrogate son needs an extra hand. We will say this for Daniel, when he decides something, he goes all in balls to the walls, but as Mr. Miyagi reminds him, "Sometimes when take trip, better know how trip end. Otherwise better just stay home."
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| [L-R] Mary Mouser as SAM, Ralph Macchio As DANIEL, Tanner Buchanan as ROBBY in COBRA KAI |
"With the wheel technique, you'll see that two people can be as strong as 20."
In Cobra Kai season 2, Daniel trains Robby and Sam on the wheel technique. The wheel technique features two fighters performing a mirrored sequence of steps. They do the steps at the same speed and must maintain balance between their steps, even when they can't see each other. Daniel raises the stakes by having Robby and Sam perfect the technique on a wooden wheel floating in a pond. Once a Miyagi-Do, always a Miyagi-Do. |
| Ralph Macchio as DANIEL in KARATE KID III |
"If the root strong, tree will survive."
In one of the many heartbreaking scenes of Karate Kid III, Daniel brings the rare authentic bonsai tree, broken in half by Mike Barnes, to Mr. Miyagi. Daniel feels devastated that his actions have caused damage to the tree. This is a moment of crisis for Daniel. For Daniel, the bonsai tree represents his friendship with Mr. Miyagi and all that they have shared. Miyagi has always had faith in Daniel, and Daniel fears that he's broken that beyond repair. This is the low point of the movie – the point where Daniel doesn't feel things can get any worse. He feels lost, afraid, and ashamed. Daniel implores Miyagi, "Can you save it? Will it be all right?" Miyagi predicts that if the root is strong the tree will survive. Miyagi always has a way of speaking in metaphor. By the end of Karate Kid III, both the tree and Daniel are redeemed, but the remembrance of the damage remains.
Extra Credit: Got some extra time? Just watch all of Karate Kid II and III.
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