Miyagi-Do
Episode 5 of Cobra Kai Season 3 begins in Okinawa 1985 as we see moments from the Karate Kid movies involving Chozen. The two fight, leading to a bloody brawl that Daniel eventually comes away from victorious. Cut back to the present and Chozen rocks up to the bar Daniel is in… and bows graciously to him. Thing are incredibly awkward though as Chozen remains emotionless and seemingly bitter over what transpired between them. It turns out Kumiko called him in and as she has errands to run, she leaves the two of them alone. Chozen and Daniel head up to a beautiful balcony overlooking the breathtaking beauty of Okinawa. He reveals what Mr Miyagi taught him before Chozen brings him to a dojo holding a scroll depicting the Sacred Crane technique. When Daniel tries to grab it, Chozen takes offence and tells him to keep his hands off. Instead, Chozen and Daniel begin fighting. Miyagi certainly has a few tricks up his sleeve, including special techniques he kept from Daniel that involve killing and incapacitating enemies. All of this leads to one technique that completely numbs Daniel’s limbs. Will all hope lost… Chozen “boops” him on the nose and ends their rivalry. With water under the bridge, both Chozen and Daniel patch up their differences. Chozen has a class to teach but as the two say goodbye, Chozen hands over the sacred scroll. Back in town, Daniel meets Yuna again; the girl he saved from the storm. It turns out she works for Dayona – what are the odds! Back in America, Johnny heads over to Miguel’s who’s going through physical therapy. He’s not happy with the positive vibes the professional therapist is exuding, leading Carmen to pull him aside and tell him to keep it together. However, Johnny has his own methods to get Miguel out of his seat, involving a fishing hook and the prospect of seeing half naked chicks in a magazine attached to the end. He even tries lighting Miguel’s shoelaces but nothing seems to work. After drawing up a list of possibilities, Johnny eventually plugs the laptop in and looks at “webemed” (webmd) for clues. He eventually brings Miguel to a heavy rock concert where none other than Dee Snider is performing. He gives a shout out to the “make-a-wish” kid (which is Miguel) and during the guitar riffs, Miguel’s foot suddenly starts moving. Kreese begins to wrap his venomous words around Robby’s insecurities, turning him against Johnny. Robby simply tells him to leave but it’s clear Kreese is starting to get through to him. Eventually Robby hits back and knocks out the bullies in prison. Amanda finds out about Sam’s extracurricular karate classes and she’s none too happy about it. Despite class being cancelled for now, Hawk and the other Cobra Kai stooges continue to meddle after ransacking and stealing things from the arcade. Sam leads the kids into fighting back against the Cobra Kai kids at the arcade. However, Tory suddenly shows up midway through the skirmish and calls out for Sam. Unfortunately, she’s not brave enough to face her. Cobra Kai gain the upper-hand as Hawk grabs Demetri’s arm and breaks it with a sickening crack. As he writhes in pain, Hawk begins to have second thoughts about what he’s doing. However, he hurries away with the others while Sam sobs and heads to the hospital with Demetri. Amanda is irate when she finds out what’s happened and confronts Kreese at Cobra Kai. She promises to shut him down before slapping him in the face.
The Episode Review
Johnny Lawrence never fails to deliver the laughs. This time, his list of things to help Miguel’s legs hilariously range from LSD, Tony Robbins and even hypnosis. It’s these little touches that really make Cobra Kai a show with a lot of heart and charm. In fact, Johnny’s character development has been great across these three seasons and seeing him helping Miguel to walk again is a great character arc for him, going from student to teacher and then on to unconventional sensei. The moments involving Daniel back in Japan are another nice touch too, one that signifies him finding purpose in life again and learning some new techniques along the way. Interestingly, this ties back into the dealership storyline too which is an interesting turn of events.
