Cobra Kai Review: Sekai Taikai & World Domination!

Silver’s ultimate plan has finally come to light!

Thanks to some finesse by Daniel and Johnny and Kreese falling for their trap on Cobra Kai Season 5 Episode 7, we know what Silver’s ultimate plan was this whole time. Global Domination.

The arrival of Sekai Taikai on Cobra Kai Season 5 Episode 8 led to another exciting tournament, and now the war of the dojos has kicked it into the next gear.

Amanda and Chozen are in a dual of their own for the status of MVP of the season, and at this rate, there’s nothing wrong with calling it a draw.

They’ve been consistent highlights of this season, and not only do they work well together and play off the other characters well, too finding their respective paths in the ongoing drama.

It was a genuinely laugh-out-loud moment when Amanda ran off her title of “karate-adjacent” while standing side by side with the men. She’s poured her heart into all of this as much as them, and the turnaround is amusing.

Now, she totally gets the addictive draw of the karate world and the chokehold it has on everyone in her life. I love the idea that she’s been the strategist of the crew as they’ve plotted how they can get ahead of Silver as he continues to take over the Valley.

Gunther: And who are you?
Daniel: I’m Sensei Daniel LaRusso, two-time All-Valley champion.
Johnny: Sensei Johnny Lawrence, also two-time champion.
Chozen: Chozen Toguchi. Master Sensei.
Amanda: Amanda LaRusso, karate-adjacent.

And Chozen is just a natural mentor, leader, and friend in this role. As silly as the egg game was and the fact that they spent an entire installment on the matter, Yuji Okumoto is just such a damn scene-stealer and a joy to watch onscreen.

The distinction in how Chozen, Daniel, and even Johnny train and prepare the kids compared to the high-tech, glossiness, and brutality of Silver and Kim’s way of doing things was so transparent.

Chozen spent an entire installment teaching the students about the art of working together and how teamwork will be vital to defeating Cobra Kai.

But it was such good fun getting to see him orchestrate stealth attacks on the kids and bust all their eggs that you could ignore the ridiculousness of them needing all of that to comprehend teamwork.

And it also gave Anthony a moment to assert himself and solidify his spot as part of this team. He’s long overdue to join the fray and take it seriously.

Fortunately, he has more respect for karate and appreciation for what’s at stake and those around him now than ever before. Anthony needed a bit of a win, but in true Karate Kid form, that won’t exactly happen until he can square off with Kenny and hold his own.

And that moment may soon come. Based on the outcome of the competition, it’ll be here soon.

We haven’t seen Silver thrown off his game yet, so it was delightful to witness him peeved but trying to hide it when the others showed up, shared their titles, and expressed why they deserve a spot on the world stage in karate.

Devon: You want me to fight Sam LaRusso?
Kim: No. I want you to defeat her.

Kreese came through with the information in that regard. I loved that Daniel screwed him over, too. Initially, it seemed like Kreese would be making a turn, but he still harbored such irritation with Daniel and couldn’t move past that.

And even though he intended to protect Tory and do what’s best for her, he let her down by leading her into this battle and then leaving her astray.

The use of flashbacks in this series often feels like a desire to bring Kove’s son into the mix for kicks, but you’ll never catch me complaining. I’m pleasantly surprised by how much use they’ve gotten out of him in two seasons!

Amanda knew that they’d need Kreese to get a jump on Silver, and she was right. It also led to tension between Silver and Kim, which is crucial to everything slipping away from him.

Kim is not impressed with how messy things are and how his rivalries are interfering with their plan. And after what happened with Tory, she’s also put off on that front.

A lot depended on Tory. She is the champion and the face of Cobra Kai these days, but she doesn’t want that. It took Devon getting pulled deeper into everything for Tory to reevaluate her feelings about Cobra Kai and how they use her.

She and Devon make a great pair, and the two, even attempting to fight Kim, made for some exciting content. The power struggle between Devon and Tory kept tripping them up, but that exercise proved that both girls were leaders.

It was vastly different than Kenny initially submitting to Kyler, who doesn’t have what it takes to lead a horse to water on a good day.

I’ve seen the best fighters in the Valley. Keene. Moskowitz. Diaz. I believe you have more potential than any of them if you’re ready to be a leader.

Silver [to Kenny]

Devon stepped in when Tory left, and she did well fighting Sam, given the circumstances. But there’s a genuine concern about her getting too far gone into Cobra Kai, too. And without Tory there, who knows how much worse it can get for her?

Tory is finally ready to do right, and her coming to speak to Sam says it all. It’s one of the few lingering beefs that needs to be put to bed, and Tory telling Sam the truth about the All Valley is the first step.

Silver will never change. From the beginning, it was evident that he paid off the ref to make bad calls. Some of them were downright enraging.

But while another Tory and Sam standoff would’ve been nice to see and more impactful for Sam, she still proved herself with how she succeeded in beating Devon despite Cobra Kai’s advantages.

She had to ensure that there was no wiggle room for the ref to interpret her moves as anything but points, and she succeeded in that. Sam earned and deserved that moment.

Now that we may have Tory brought into the fold, it’s giving off some kind of Karate Avengers. Who doesn’t love an exemplary assembly of a team?

Sam’s only struggle now is her feelings for Miguel. The two of them keep missing one another. When Miguel wanted Sam back, she wasn’t in the place for it, so he had to step back.

Now she’s ready. She found that octopus necklace she knew was for her, but she was heartbroken when Miguel kissed another girl.

She has to know that Miguel will drop that rando in a New York minute if she only gives him the word. Sam needs to put on her big girl Gi and be open about her feelings, and the two of them will be fine.

For the love of all things good, when will Kenny get his redemption arc?

One can appreciate that once Robby and Hawk squashed their issues when Hawk realized that Miguel doesn’t hate Robby anymore, they could both acknowledge how Cobra Kai made them assholes.

And because they understand that, there is this empathy for Kenny and a greater understanding of him. Robby has such a connection with the kid; he just wants to get his mentee back and break through to him.

Silver has taken the Valley, now he’s putting together the pieces to take everything else. You may have found the will to fight, but you’re outmatched and outnumbered. Silver is on the verge of getting everything he’s ever wanted.

Kreese

Kenny went from the bullied kid to the bully; by now, it’s not even about Anthony anymore. Now it’s about who Kenny wants to be and how he can find his way back to that adorable, sweet kid.

Kenny’s obviously close to Robby, and Robby is the one who will likely have the breakthrough for him, but Kenny and Hawk would be an interesting dynamic to explore.

Hawk knows what it’s like to be bullied for appearances and being a total nerd. He and Kenny have a lot in common if only they could move past all this and see it.

However, it may take some time after their match. The moment Silver taught Kenny the Silver Bullet, it was obvious that it would factor into the match in a dirty way.

Tory: LaRusso, I’m not here to fight. I’m here to talk.
Sam: About what?
Tory: You didn’t lose the All Valley.

Kenny perfected the move. He knocked the wind out of Hawk so hard it made you wonder if more severe damage was done.

Cobra Kai will always find a way to make you gasp with some of its fight sequences.

Silver is thrilled to have a mentee of his own. He has a genuine fondness for Kenny, and you can tell he wants to mold the kid into his image.

Kenny may also be essential to taking Silver down another peg.

The Tory and Sam discussion served as the cliffhanger for the one installment, but frankly, a girl is dying to know what the new dojo name will be!

Over to you, Cobra Kai Fanatics. Were you surprised that Daniel didn’t honor his word to Kreese? How much are Chozen and Amanda slaying this season?! Sound off below.

Edit Delete

Jasmine Blu is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.

You can view the original article HERE.