Cobra Kai Season 5 Is Moving Beyond Daniel & Johnny (& It’s About Time)

Cobra Kaiseason 5 will prove how the show has moved beyond Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence – which is great both for the Karate Kid legends and for the original Cobra Kai characters. At a time when many reboots and remakes fail on recapturing what made the original so good, Cobra Kai is a lesson in how to bring something back while also creating something new. Revisiting the original Karate Kid feud between Daniel and Johnny more than 30 years later in a TV show was a risky idea but was quickly proven a success. However, four seasons later Cobra Kai has grown enough not to rely on the same Daniel and Johnny stories.

Considering the track of Hollywood reboots, including within the Karate Kid franchise itself, Cobra Kai had to make a strong first impression to work. Initially a Youtube Original, Cobra Kai was at least promising to revisit the original Karate Kid characters instead of trying yet another complete reboot like 2010’s The Karate Kid. William Zabka, who had only appeared as Johnny Lawrence in The Karate Kid and briefly in The Karate KidPart II, and Ralph Macchio, the origial “karate kid” himself, were both on board with the Cobra Kai project – which allowed the show to become a true sequel to the events of Karate Kid that Karate Kid2 and Karate Kid3 never really were.

With Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence back, plus a new cast of interesting original characters, Cobra Kai had the perfect setup for a show that could work both for long-time Karate Kid fans and new audiences alike. That said, the feud between Daniel and Johnny was the heart of the show since its very first episode. It was through Daniel and Johnny’s relationship that the Cobra Kai plot advanced, and everything that happened with the young characters like Miguel and Robby was nothing but a reflection of what was going on with Daniel and Johnny. That strategy worked perfectly in Cobra Kai’s early seasons, as it created a thematic connection between the original Karate Kid characters and the Cobra Kai ones. However, later Cobra Kai seasons have become repetitive – especially regarding Daniel and Johnny’s rivalry. Fortunately, according to Ralph Macchio (via Sony), Cobra Kai Season 5 is much more than Daniel and Johnny’s rivalry.

Cobra Kai’s First Two Seasons Nailed Daniel & Johnny’s Rivalry

The very concept of telling a Karate Kid story from Johnny Lawrence’s point of view made Cobra Kai an interesting show from the start. The idea that Daniel LaRusso was the real bad guy in Karate Kid had been a funny discourse for years, and Cobra Kai found a way to make a story out of it. By following Johnny’s life around Cobra Kai 34 years after the events of Karate Kid, Cobra Kai flipped the dynamic of the original movies – and it made audiences much more sympathetic towards Johnny. Cobra Kai’s first few episodes framed Daniel LaRusso as the antagonist, thus starting a whole new rivalry story that mirrored that of the Karate Kid but with an opposite dynamic. Seeing two men in their 40s continue a karate rivalry from when they were in high school led to hilarious moments, but Cobra Kai also managed to add drama and non-stopping action into the mix. Cobra Kai season 1 was entirely focused on the clash between Daniel and Johnny over the latter reopening Cobra Kai, followed by Kreese’s role in Cobra Kai season 2 only making things worse for Johnny and Daniel’s relationship.

Cobra Kai’s Daniel & Johnny’s Rivalry Was Becoming Repetitive

Cobra Kai season 2 ended with Miguel critically injured after the school fight, and it would seem that such a disastrous result of the Miyagi-Do and Cobra Kai rivalry would put an end to Daniel and Johnny’s banter. At first, Cobra Kai season 3 saw Daniel and Johnny trying to work together to help Robby, but the long-awaited team-up quickly fell apart. Johnny was no longer paired with Kreese, but Lawrence’s feud against LaRusso never went away. Still, Cobra Kai season 3 ended with Daniel and Johnny teaming up to fight Kreese in one of the most exciting combats in the show. The final Cobra Kai season 3 scene saw Johnny’s Eagle Fang students and Daniel’s Miyagi-Do students joining forces, setting up a Cobra Kai season 4 in which Lawrence and LaRusso would teach karate together. However, Cobra Kai season 4 saw Daniel and Jonny’s team-up once again falling apart. Lawrence and LaRusso could not avoid repeating their same old arguments, which made Cobra Kai season 4 become both predictable and repetitive. Having Daniel and Johnny onscreen is always fun, but simply repeating the same rivalry storyline from the early Cobra Kai seasons did not work for Cobra Kai season 4.

Less Daniel & Johnny Is Good For Cobra Kai S5’s Returning Karate Kid Characters

With the arrival of Terry Silver and Chozen in Cobra Kai, plus all of the other Cobra Kai characters returning, Cobra Kai season 5 is set to have the largest set of characters since the beginning of the show. Not only that, but Cobra Kai season 5 will also see new sensei in the Cobra Kai dojo, plus the still mysterious Mike Barners Cobra Kai return. With so many characters around, it would be a waste for Cobra Kai season 5 to focus yet again on Johnny and Daniel’s rivalry. One of the most exciting things about Cobra Kai was the prospect of seeing characters from the Karate Kid sequels returning and interacting, which is something Cobra Kai season 5 can deliver. For example, Johnny Lawrence never met Chozen or Mike Barnes, and Terry Silver has no idea who Chozen is. The never-before-seen interactions between those returning Karate Kid characters can make Cobra Kai season 5 much more unique compared to other Cobra Kai seasons, but only if Daniel and Johnny take the backseat and let those other characters shine.

Cobra Kai’s Original Characters Can Work Without Daniel & Johnny

More than allowing for the new returning Karate Kid characters to shine, less of Daniel and Johnny’s rivalry in Cobra Kai season 5 is good news for the original Cobra Kai characters. The Karate Kid nostalgia is what got Cobra Kai started, but the reason why the show has become so popular is the story of young characters like Miguel, Robby, Sam, and Hawk. Even those who have never watched Karate Kid can enjoy the show precisely because of the original Cobra Kai characters, as they are the true protagonists of this new Karate Kid generation. Cobra Kai season 5 has several storylines to resolve regarding its original characters, such as Miguel and Robby’s rivalry, the fallout of Tory’s orchestrated victory against Sam in the tournament, and Kenny absorbing more and more of Terry Silver’s twisted Cobra Kai teachings.

Therefore, the originalCobra Kai characters have more than enough going on in their stories for them to work without Daniel and Johnny. In fact, Daniel and Johnny’s never-ending banter in Cobra Kai season 4 got in the way of the character development of names like Miguel and Sam. Obviously, Cobra Kaiseason 5 will not abandon Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence, but it seems like the show is finally ready to grow beyond the Karate Kid legends.