Cobra Kai season 4 is expected to continue a number of the show’s unresolved plotlines. Much of what the main characters have been dealing with relates directly to the upcoming All Valley Karate Tournament. Students from all three dojos will be competing for the title of All Valley Karate Champion when the Netflix series returns.
In following the tradition established by previous seasons, Cobra Kai season 4 is confirmed to bring back at least one additional character from The Karate Kid trilogy. In season 3, the show featured surprising guest appearances from the original movie’s Ali Mills (Elizabeth Shue) and Chozen (Yuji Okumoto), the villain of The Karate Kid Part II. This time around, the characters will be crossing paths with Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith), one of the main antagonists of The Karate Kid Part III and an old nemesis of Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio). The villain is sure to complicate what is already an intense conflict between Cobra Kai, Miyagi-do, and Eagle Fang Karate, which are all in the midst of training for the show’s second tournament.
With or without Silver in play, Johnny (William Zabka) and Daniel’s respective dojos both have their fair share of problems going into season 4. Season 3 featured quite a few major developments that are likely to affect their paths to the tournament. Here’s a recap of all the important events thought to be relevant to Cobra Kai’s season 4 story.
Terry Silver’s Conflict With Daniel Explained
Karate Kid Part III introduced Silver as a loyal friend to Kreese (Martin Kove) and the co-founder of Cobra Kai. The character came onto the scene to get revenge on Daniel and Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita) for the humiliation suffered by Kreese and to restore Cobra Kai’s image. To ruin his enemies, Silver put together a convoluted plan. In an effort to force Daniel into competing for the 1985 All Valley Karate Tournament, Kreese hired professional fighter Mike Barnes to bully him. As a result of Silver’s complex machinations, Daniel broke with Mr. Miyagi over the latter’s decision not to train him for the tournament and became a pupil of Silver’s for a brief period. Silver used this opportunity to not only emotionally and physically torture Daniel, but also to force his overly aggressive martial arts philosophy on him.
Despite all the money and effort that went into Terry Silver’s scheme, it was ultimately foiled at the end of the movie. Daniel refused to let go of his principles and with help from Mr. Miyagi, he beat Barnes in the final round of the tournament, much to Silver’s disappointment. Regardless of his failure to get revenge, Silver maintains a reputation as the cruelest and most twisted antagonist of the entire Karate Kid trilogy.
Kreese Made a Truce With Johnny & Daniel
The ending of Cobra Kai season 3 established certain rules for the main characters to follow in the months to come. After a huge fight between the students broke out at a Christmas party, Kreese agreed to a truce of sorts with Johnny and Daniel. According to the terms of their agreement, Cobra Kai won’t pick any more fights with Eagle Fang or Miyagi-do until after the tournament. Also, if one of the Cobra Kai students takes home the championship trophy, Daniel and Johnny have to shut down their schools and give up teaching karate for good. The same will go for Kreese if one of their dojos wins the tournament. They see this deal as the only way to stop Kreese’s teachings from spreading and corrupting other kids.
Cobra Kai Season 3 Set Up Two Team-Ups
In the aftermath of their deal, Kreese made a mysterious phone call, presumably to his friend in the military who promised his loyalty to him in season 3’s flashback story. Though the episode itself didn’t confirm it outright, everything that’s known about season 4 has made it clear that the person on the other end of the phone call was Terry Silver, who hasn’t been seen since the end of Karate Kid Part III. The implication of this scene is that Kreese now wants to team up with Silver to ensure Cobra Kai’s victory over Miyagi-do and Eagle Fang.
Such an alliance may be in order, considering that Daniel and Johnny have announced similar intentions. Johnny and Daniel are finally trying to put aside their differences in pursuit of a common goal. In the Cobra Kai season 3 finale, the two decided to stop competing against each other so that they can focus on stopping Kreese from winning the tournament. As a result, the students of Eagle Fang and Miyagi-do will begin training together at Daniel’s dojo.
Robby Is Now on Kreese’s Side
Discovering that Sam (Mary Mouser) has resumed her romance with Miguel (Xolo Maridueña) has contributed greatly to the alienation of Robby (Tanner Buchanan), who once had a close bond with the LaRusso family. That, combined with his stint in a juvenile prison and Johnny’s relationship with Miguel, has pushed Robby further and further away from Johnny and Daniel and closer to Kreese, who recognized Robby’s frustrations and seized on this opportunity. He brought Robby into Cobra Kai and decided to train him. Robby later fought in the brawl at the Christmas party on the side of the Cobra Kai students.
Hawk Betrayed Kreese & Cobra Kai
Hawk (Jacob Bertrand) diverged from a dark and self-destructive path at the end of Cobra Kai season 3. Hawk reached his breaking point with Kreese’s dojo at the Christmas party fight when his fellow students were urging him to hurt Demetri (Gianni DeCenzo). By turning on his allies and helping his former friends, Hawk effectively cut all his ties to Cobra Kai and earned redemption. Now, it seems he’s joined forces with Johnny and Daniel.
Sam Won Her Last Fight With Tory
Rather than provide an ending to Sam and Tory’s rivalry, Cobra Kai season 3 escalated it further. After spending a season trying to overcome the fear and emotional distress she endured from fighting Tory (Peyton List) in the season 2 high school brawl, Sam managed to defeat her in a highly-anticipated rematch. The loss will likely increase Tory’s resentment for Sam and fuel her motivation ahead of the next All Valley Karate Tournament in Cobra Kai season 4.
Cobra Kai returns with new episodes on December 31 on Netflix.
