Counterbalance

Ep 5 of Cobra Kai is where the series truly kicks into high gear, combining adrenaline-pumping action with heartfelt emotional arcs.

Miguel's training reaches a thrilling peak, giving us our first real taste of what Cobra Kai karate looks like in the modern age. The fight choreography is sharp, clean, and surprisingly powerful for a streaming series... every punch feels earned because the show has built Miguel's journey with care.

At the same time, the drama between Johnny and Daniel deepens, echoing their decades-old rivalry while showing how the past still shapes their present. Johnny, played with raw sincerity by William Zabka, is increasingly complex- flawed but sympathetic. Xolo Maridueña proves he's more than capable of carrying the emotional and physical demands of his role, while Ralph Macchio grounds the narrative with family-driven stakes.

What elevates this episode is balance: we get emotional payoffs, kinetic action, and a renewed sense of momentum. It's the first time the show feels truly unmissable - nostalgia and new storytelling colliding in perfect rhythm.

Rating: 9/10. Emotionally charged, action-packed, and gripping - a standout episode that cements Cobra Kai as more than just a nostalgic revival.

Just like memoriam. Mr. Miyagi is far away but I feel his motto on behavior and words of Mr. LaRusso:) Good to see him even it's old screen shots. It is special show. I remember the first releasing time.

This is another solid episode that features some surprisingly fierce fight choreography, in a scene that mirrors Johnny's fight against the high-school punks in the first episode.

Outside of that there's some enjoyable work by Nichole Brown as she becomes only the second applicant to the struggling martial arts program at the new Cobra Kai dojo - it's just a shame for her, then, that William Zabka has a "no girls in Cobra Kai" rule; and Ralph Macchio admirably evokes a sense of mid-life soul-searching, returning to the grave of his old sensei Pat Morita in the hopes of recapturing a sense of "balance" in his life.

While this show does not have an original bone in its body - and, like some of the recent Star Wars films, seems intent on rehashing elements from the original source material beat for beat - there's still a really nice balance of humor and drama here. The writing also has a way of not being completely lazy, even when the episode plots undoubtably are.

To that end, what Daniel does in this episode to get back at Johnny (with the help of a sleazy Ken Davitian) is genuinely surprising - it's a jerk move that puts other peoples' livelihoods at risk, and he's rightly called out for it. Its character moments like this that make "Cobra Kai" worth viewing; without them, the show would be dangerously close to being just another cheesy nostalgia trip.

Does this review include spoilers? Maybe, of a kind...

Every time I expect the kids to do something "typically inane" they surprise me by stepping back and coming out with something above and beyond rather than ridiculous.

Every time I see one of the pro(an)agonists do something silly, I expect it to escalate beyond reasonable, as it seems to en every single other series I've watched recently... It doesn't... it stays firmly grounded in that person's honest desire to do what they feel is right and doesn't spiral out of control as I've seen it happen so often of late.

This series is right on par with Breaking Bad in terms of character relationship development!

Outstandingly heartwarming without unnecessary saccharine.

This is a solid episode. The one I've been waiting for. The fight in the canteen was excellent. It all came together. Daniel and Johnny have achieved a complete role reversal from the movies. Now a wonderfully recrafted Johnny Lawrence is the one we're all rooting for. While Daniel is acting without thinking. The visit to Mr Miyagi's grave was poignant. He is missed. I also loved the pictures from the old movies. The humour is still on point and finally we see Daniel trying to slip into his old self. The gi and the famous bandana comes out. Maybe it's time to see if Daniel has still got it.