Courtney Balcombe, Features Editor

clb6264@psu.edu

Netflix once again has brought back the action from “The Karate Kid” sequel series “Cobra Kai.” The series follows the next generation of martial arts students after Danny LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence’s fight 34 years prior in “The Karate Kid Part III.”

But some things are different this season compared to the last four. So “trust the quality of what you know, not quantity.” as Mr. Miyagi said in “The Karate Kid.”

For starters, the episodes are not long, however, they move slightly slower than in previous seasons. If you plan to watch this show in one day, I recommend starting it before 10 p.m. or you will be up until almost 3:30 a.m. just to finish all 10 episodes.

While the main focus is on the next generation; Miguel, Robby, Sam, Tory, etc., we continue to see the parents’ lives as well. Since these characters are part of this karate war, Danny, Johnny, and Silver continue their war. However, even Kreese makes some appearances throughout.

However, Netflix needs to “better learn balance. Balance is key. Balance good, karate good. Everything good. Balance bad, better pack up, go home.” as Mr. Miyagi would say from watching all the different fights happening at once that happen throughout each episode. Especially in the finale, the balance is good, but for other episodes, not so much.

Season five also shows us the start of Kreese and Silver’s training after Vietnam, and where these characters learned their skills to become sensei, prior to the events of “The Karate Kid” series. If you thought Kreese was bad in the first four seasons… well buckle up for the amount of trauma and brainwashing these kids go through with Silver.

This season alone I think is where we hear the most swearing per episode rather than in all the prior seasons as a whole, according to IMDB there are about two to three F-bombs dropped per episode. We see Johnny and Danny get closer and form a friendship, leading to them bringing in another friend from Danny’s past to join them in this long, winding karate war. However, does it come to an end or is it finally time for Netflix to continue pushing forward with “Cobra Kai” and make it better?