REVIEW: ‘Cobra Kai’ Season 5 is a Hamfisted Mess

It’s hard to think back to 2018 when Cobra Kai first debuted on Youtube Red as an original series, but here we are celebrating the show’s 5th season, which is available now on Netflix. With Miyagi-Do, and Eagle Fang dojo out of the picture, and John Kreese in prison, Terry Silver has big plans for his franchise dojo. While Daniel attempts to fend off the demons of his past, Johnny looks to the future as he attempts to reconcile the many differences in his family. Cobra Kai Season 5 lays out a big plot line that promises a showdown, unlike anything we’ve seen in the past.

Created by Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg, Cobra Kai largely follows the events of Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) as he reopens his childhood dojo in an attempt to find some balance in his life while also teaching the next generation of students. In Season 4 we saw the return of Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith), as he partnered with his old Army pal, John Kreese (Martin Kove) in a move to rid the Valley of Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio), and Johnny in order to restore Cobra Kai dojo to its former glory and grow it into the powerhouse it was destined to be.

From what I’ve seen of Cobra Kai Season 5 I’m honestly baffled at the glowing reviews from critics because even as a huge fan of this series, and the franchise, I couldn’t be more disappointed. The show has always had a certain je ne sais quoi about it as it fuses together bumbling comedy, soap opera-style drama, and some pretty kick-ass karate fight choreography. It’s almost overly ridiculous, but loveable. The narrative parallels its main protagonist in that sense, with Johnny being a perfect conduit encapsulating the very essence of charging forward with the best intentions at heart and stumbling through.

The show succeeded for quite a while under this direction, until Season 4 and 5 when the wheels fell off and no one could tell which way was up. As a foundation, I loved the overall choice to bring back Terry Silver and pair him next to Kreese standing opposite Daniel and Johnny. It taps into the nostalgia of the prior films and adds fuel to the fire for the main narrative. A show is only as good as its villain, and Griffith’s comes alive in this role elevating the tension and manifesting a despicable aura.

Sadly, I found myself far more on the edge of my seat in utter confusion, and at times just downright cringing at what I was watching outside of the main plot. The show suffers from a myriad of problems that completely cripples its quality. A perfect example was the atrocious lens filter used to depict extreme heat with a yellow tint. This happens early in the show while Johnny and Robbie (Tanner Buchanan) are in Mexico looking for Miguel (Xolo Maridueña). Hollywood horrifically overuses this style to showcase foreign countries with arid, dry lands in areas with a majority of people of color. It is beyond lazy to rely on decades-old visualization styles that should have faded away long ago.

For Cobra Kai, however, it doesn’t just stop there. While the series exists as an ode to all things 80’s, this season goes above and beyond to ram this notion into your face at what feels like every turn. During one episode there is a dream sequence in which the volleyball scene from Top Gun is re-enacted. I couldn’t help but recoil, and the acting was just terrible. As a reviewer, I’m more than willing to allow the runway to explore the ridiculous, and roll around in the obscene, but it has to have balance, and it has to serve a purpose. These scenes do nothing from the show while resulting in the pieces just feeling jammed in as a last-second “ha ha” gag.

Yellow tint, and ridiculous callbacks, none of this quite matches up to the unforgivable surface-level attention to detail on the character development from this season. I’m so tired of seeing redemption arcs for Sam (Mary Mouser), and Anthony (Griffin Santopietro) LaRusso who are just largely unlikeable and entitled rich kids. Robbie, Miguel, and Tory (Peyton List) all have far more depth of story that is considerably more compelling which is ultimately sacrificed in an attempt to give EVERY character a little something to chew on.

The cast is HUGE and there’s no good way to serve every role so what you end up with is a litany of very superficial narratives that never go anywhere. We saw this in Season 4 when the LaRusso’s standard of parenting gets called into question, and then it’s just swept under the rug never to be spoken of again. It happens time, after time in Season 5. Tory is a perfect depiction of why people without means have to fight so much harder for everything they get, and yet she’s constantly villainized for having ambition and wanting better for herself without the tools to get there. This is a thread I wanted to see more of. Not to mention List, Buchanan, and especially Maridueña are just sublime actors that have huge careers ahead of them. Put the trust in them to carry the narrative forward!

Sadly, Cobra Kai Season 5 feels like it’s smashed right into a creative brick wall as it’s lost its balance relying heavily on poor comedy and incredibly superficial character plot lines. It leans far too heavily on poorly timed 80’s montages that lack relevancy, or humor, with a thinly stretched narrative trying to cover every character’s motive. This season is just bad, plain and simple. No mercy.

Cobra Kai Season 5 is available now exclusively on Netflix.