Warning: SPOILERS for Cobra Kai Season 4’s Finale – “The Rise”.
The season 4 finale of Cobra Kai dropped multiple shocking twists that changes the direction of several characters and the nature of the war between Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio), Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka), John Kreese (Martin Kove), and Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith) in season 5. Cobra Kai season 4 built to the All Valley Under 18 Karate Tournament, which encompassed the final two episodes of the season, respectively titled “The Fall” and “The Rise.” On the line was “the soul of the San Fernando Valley” as Cobra Kai, Miyagi-Do, and Eagle Fang’s students competed in the tournament, with the losing dojo(s) pledged to shut down forever.
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The All Valley Tournament was upgraded for Cobra Kai season 4, instituting a boy’s and girl’s division. This was an ingenious and necessary move that allowed the multiple feuds between Cobra Kai’s teenage characters to resolve their issues in spectacular one-on-one fights. The main event match saw Tory Nichols (Peyton List) defeat Samantha LaRusso (Mary Mouser) to win the first-ever Girls’ All Valley Championship, although Silver bribed the referee to score the contest in Cobra Kai’s favor. However, Eli “Hawk” Moskowitz (Jacob Bertrand) upset Robby Keene (Tanner Buchanan) to take the Boys’ All Valley Championship home for his dojo, Miyagi-Do. This match occurred because Miguel Diaz (Xolo Maridueña), who was the defending champion, voluntarily left the tournament due to injury. And yet, despite Eli’s championship win, Cobra Kai accumulated the most points and won the overall Grand Championship. This meant the losing dojos, Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang, must close their doors – a pledge Daniel chose not to honor.
Cobra Kai season 4 was a triumphant run of episodes that moved the characters forward in compelling ways that set up new possibilities going forward. Further, the theme of Cobra Kai season 4 was the necessity for change, as Daniel and Johnny, who couldn’t find a way to work together, learned that their particular worldviews aren’t the best way. Nearly all of the karate students melded the styles of their competing dojos, with Cobra Kai learning Miyagi-Do’s defensive moves and Sam, in particular, bringing Johnny and Daniel’s karate together into her own unique style. What’s more, Cobra Kai season 4 didn’t just bring back faces from the past like Terry Silver, Stingray (Paul Walter Hauser), and Aisha (Nichole Brown), but it also added tremendous new characters into the mix like Kenny Payne (Dallas Dupree Young) and Devon Lee (Oona O’Brien), who are poised to become even more important next season. Here is every major twist in Cobra Kai season 4’s ending and what it all means for season 5.
Why Terry Silver Betrayed Kreese (Does It Set Up Mike Barnes In Season 5)?
Terry Silver betraying John Kreese to take over Cobra Kai pays off both The Karate Kid Part III and the retconned origin story between the two Vietnam war veterans seen in Kreese’s Cobra Kai season 3’s flashbacks. Silver was reintroduced in Cobra Kai season 4 as someone who had left karate and his cartoonish villainy in the past, but Kreese reawakened the sinister snake that was always inside Terry. Yet Silver and Kreese’s reunion wasn’t like their team-up in The Karate Kid Part III because Terry, deep down, always resented how Kreese used the fact that he saved Silver’s life in Vietnam to guilt and manipulate him. Silver proved himself to be a next-level villain by the time Cobra Kai season 4 was over.
Kreese immediately sensed something was wrong when Silver first entered the Cobra Kai dojo and he objected to the way his old friend taught his students. Terry created an instant competition between himself and John but Kreese never doubted he had the upper hand. Yet Silver was working multiple angles and he turned Kreese’s lesson about finding your opponents’ weakness against John. Silver realized that Kreese, specifically the loyalty he feels to John for saving him in ‘Nam, has always been Terry’s weakness. Moreso, Silver identified Kreese’s weakness as Johnny Lawrence and the fact that he still feels a father-like affection towards his ex-student.
Silver turning on Kreese was poetically evil because it was the same move Kreese pulled on Johnny at the end of Cobra Kai season 2: stealing the Cobra Kai dojo from under John’s nose. Terry’s accomplice was Stingray, who desperately wanted to rejoin Cobra Kai. Silver beat Stingray nearly to death but he forced the ex-security guard to tell the police it was Kreese who assaulted him. With Kreese under arrest, Terry now controls Cobra Kai as its sole sensei, although he teased John that he might bring in “an old friend” to help him run his planned karate empire. This could mean Mike Barnes (Sean Kanan), Silver’s student in The Karate Kid Part III and one of the last remaining legacy villains, could join Cobra Kai season 5 and run the black and yellow dojo with Terry Silver.
What Daniel Calling In Chozen Means For Cobra Kai Season 5
At the grave of Mr. Miyagi (Noriyuki “Pat” Morita), Daniel apologized for his failures as Miyagi-Do’s sensei and revealed that he asked Chozen (Yuji Okumoto) to join him and show Daniel-san how to go on the offensive against Cobra Kai. LaRusso tried his best to instill Mr. Miyagi’s teachings in his students but one of the themes of Cobra Kai season 4 is that what worked in the past doesn’t always have the same impact in the present day. As Cobra Kai’s students evolved by learning Miyagi-Do’s secrets, Daniel realized he needs someone who knows more about Miyagi-Do than he does, as well as someone accustomed to going on the offense, which is where Chozen comes in.
Chozen was redeemed in Cobra Kai season 3 as he told Daniel-san that he had spent the last 30 years since The Karate Kid Part II trying to be a better person. However, by going back on his word and vowing to keep fighting Cobra Kai (which likely means LaRusso isn’t shutting down Miyagi-D0), Daniel is purposely dishonoring himself for what he feels is the greater good. In his “karate cousin,” Chozen, LaRusso feels he has now an ally who understands Miyagi-Do in all the ways Johnny didn’t but also knows how to fight a war aggressively. It’s also exciting for longtime fans of The Karate Kid Part II because this is the first time Chozen has come to Los Angeles to become embroiled in Cobra Kai’s main story. How Chozen will influence Daniel’s students like Sam, Eli, and the others will be most interesting, as is the possibility of Chozen fighting Terry Silver or some of the other adult Cobra Kai characters.
Johnny Reunited With Robby But Will Leave Him To Find Miguel
Johnny is the father (figure) to two sons in Cobra Kai but he lost his surrogate son, Miguel, just before he was surprisingly reunited with his biological son, Robby. Keene planted a seed of doubt in Diaz’s mind when he told him Johnny only pretends to be his father while wishing all along he could be with Robby. Miguel was heartbroken when a drunken Johnny called him “Robby,” and this robbed Diaz of all of confidence and faith in his sensei at the All Valley. Miguel then chose to leave Los Angeles and travel to Mexico City to find his biological father, whom Carmen (Vanessa Rubio), admitted doesn’t know Miguel even exists. Johnny promised Carmen that he’d bring Miguel home, setting up Lawrence going to Mexico at the onset of Cobra Kai season 5 to bring Miguel back – and possibly fighting Diaz’s mysterious ‘real’ father whose identity will finally be revealed.
Meanwhile, Robby apologizing to Johnny seemingly resolves their lifelong conflict at long last. Lawrence’s deepest desire is to be worthy of being a father to Robby, but he also loves Miguel and wants to be his father as well, especially now that Johnny is dating Carmen. The confused, lost Robby joined Cobra Kai out of a desire for revenge against his father and Daniel, but Keene now regrets being part of Cobra Kai. And yet, Robby coming back to Johnny is immediately threatened by his father skipping town to bring back Miguel, Keene’s arch-rival. It seems like Johnny will continue to be torn between his two sons in Cobra Kai season 5, and it’s also worth watching what Terry Silver will do since it’s unlikely Cobra Kai’s sensei would willingly allow Robby, his best male fighter, leave his dojo and join up with Lawrence.
What Will Tory Do Now That She Knows Silver Rigged Her All Valley Win?
Cobra Kai season 4 showed new shades to Tory and made her more sympathetic. Although Nichols is a Cobra Kai through and through, she was heartbroken to discover that Terry Silver paid off the referee to score the final fight with Sam LaRusso in Tory’s favor. Tory confessed to Robby at the junior prom that she wanted to win the All Valley so she could know that she was the best at something. But her glory was short-lived and Tory was understandably shattered to find out her All Valley Championship was tainted and Nichols didn’t legitimately beat LaRusso.
What Tory will do next will be one of Cobra Kai season 5’s most compelling issues to resolve. Nichols’ doesn’t really have loyalty to Silver, especially not after what he did behind her back. Tory’s true sensei is John Kreese, who has looked out for her since she joined the dojo. Once Nichols finds out that Silver betrayed Kreese too, it’s possible Tory may leave Cobra Kai. But could Nichols go to war with Silver and would she join up with Miyagi-Do or Eagle Fang to fight Cobra Kai? Another question is whether or not Tory’s All Valley Championship win will be invalidated if Silver’s cheating is brought to light. Whatever comes next, Tory, who emerged from villain to fan-favorite, is poised to become an even more central character in Cobra Kai season 5.
Is Tory And Sam’s Feud Over?
By Cobra Kai season 4, the rivalry between Tory and Sam became the equivalent of Johnny and Daniel’s legendary feud but it’s possible that the war between Nichols and LaRusso may finally be over. Or, at least, backburnered. Sam was understandably outraged when she found out her mother, Amanda (Courtney Henggeler), reached out to Tory and even sponsored Nichols’ return to West Valley High. However, when Amanda learned about Tory’s difficult life of having to care for her sick mother and younger brother, Mrs. LaRusso reached out to help Nichols. Tory also took Amanda’s hopes seriously when she asked that the All Valley finals be the end of Nichols’ feud with Sam and Tory even expressed concern over a confused LaRusso’s well-being when she won the fight.
Considering her new problem with Terry Silver, Tory may finally be over her animosity with Sam but it’s possible the LaRussos’ daughter may feel differently. Especially if Sam finds out she never should have lost the All Valley Championship to Tory. Samantha was heartbroken to lose at the All Valley and she may not be willing to drop her grudge with Tory, especially since LaRusso has embraced Eagle Fang’s style to become more aggressive. While Sam and Tory may never become friends, it’s possible their rivalry will shift into a different iteration in Cobra Kai season 5.
What Cobra Kai Winning The All Valley Means For Season 5
In The Karate Kid Part III, Terry Silver’s plan was to open Cobra Kai dojos all over the Valley and control all karate, but Daniel LaRusso defeating Mike Barnes ruined Silver’s scheme. 34 years later, Cobra Kai winning the Grand Championship at the 51st Annual All Valley tournament allows Silver to finally exact his master plan. Silver already closed the Cobra Kai location that Johnny opened and Kreese took over in favor of reopening Cobra Kai’s original dojo as seen in The Karate Kid movies. With his vast fortune, Terry will likely move quickly to sprout multiple Cobra Kai dojos to become the main source of karate in the Valley, which is Daniel’s nightmare come true.
Cobra Kai already began recruiting aggressively in season 4, including adding Kenny Payne to their ranks. Kenny, who was bullied in middle school by Anthony LaRusso (Griffin Santopietro) and his friends, turned to Robby and Cobra Kai for help and he became a major new character that remolded the original Karate Kid archetype in a new and fascinating way. Kenny also promised Anthony that he’d make the youngest LaRusso’s life miserable in high school, which is another interesting twist since Anthony was the bad guy in his Cobra Kai season 4 story with Kenny. With Cobra Kai becoming more powerful than ever at the end of season 4, things look dire for Daniel, Johnny, and their side of the Valley’s karate war, but anything can happen in Cobra Kai season 5.
Cobra Kai Season 4 is streaming on Netflix.
About The Author
John Orquiola
(2013 Articles Published)
John Orquiola is a Features staff writer who has been with Screen Rant for four years. He began as a director’s assistant on various independent films. As a lover of film and film theory, John wrote humorous movie reviews on his blog, Back of the Head, which got him noticed by Screen Rant. John happily became the Star Trek guy at Screen Rant and he leads Feature coverage of the various Star Trek series, but he also writes about a wide range of subjects from the Marvel Cinematic Universe to Cobra Kai. His other great nerdy love is British TV series like The Crown, Downton Abbey, and Killing Eve. John can be found on Twitter @BackoftheHead if you want to see photos of the food he eats.
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