‘Cobra Kai’ Recap: Season 5, Episode 9 “Survivors”
In the penultimate episode of the season, there’s a lull in conflict with Silver. The adults learn about Carmen’s pregnancy and enjoy a night out to celebrate. Meanwhile, some of the kids continue to try and find concrete evidence about Silver Shady.
Warning: Spoilers exist in this dojo.
The Real All Valley Champ
The episode picks up shortly after Tory has told Sam everything. Sam is LIVID and trying to fight, but Tory won’t fight back. When everyone rushes outside, Sam tells Robby and Miguel. When Sam tries to question why Tory didn’t reveal this sooner, calling her a coward, Tory gets fed up and leaves. The next day, the others get Demetri up to speed. Miguel wants to tell the senseis but Sam doesn’t know how much good it will do, and she doesn’t want Daniel to get hurt again. They also don’t know if Stingray or the ref would even confess. Bert thinks he might have an in with Stingray, though.
At the flagship, Silver and Sensei Kim watch the class, and Sensei Kim says Tory’s reasoning for leaving the exhibition was a lie. Silver says Daniel et al. will pay for what happened. Shortly after, Robby walks in and disrupts the class. He tries to tell them all that Silver and Cobra Kai are bad, but he looks directly at Kenny as he talks. Of course, this does nothing, and Silver reminds Robby where his students’ loyalty lies. Before Robby leaves, he and Tory share a look that Sensei Kim notices. So, after class, Silver and Sensei Kim pull her aside. They bring out Silver’s human-ish-shaped contraption that usually holds boards. This time, it’s with solid stone and they want Tory to break it. She can’t. Sensei Kim gets in front of her and thinks it’s because of Robby and that Tory cares more about him than the dojo. Tory says they broke up because of the dojo and goes to punch Sensei Kim. She moves, and Tory breaks through the stone. Then, the lesson is over.
Celebrate Good Times
Carmen has her first ultrasound, and the doctor confirms she and Johnny can start telling people and hands them the result. They are very excited, with Johnny especially happy because he wasn’t there to do this with Shannon. As they leave, Silver shows up in the elevator with them. Silver offers his congrats, and Johnny gets on edge, thinking Silver means the baby. He actually meant Sekai, but now that he knows, he notes it as something else to celebrate. Johnny starts to get extra protective, but Silver assures him that he doesn’t want to fight. What he’s doing is for future generations.
At the dealership, Johnny tells everyone what happened and is still on edge, which Louie does not help in the slightest. Daniel thinks it was a genuine coincidence, considering Silver won’t jeopardize his spot at Sekai. Chozen has also finished a sweep of the perimeter to further ease Johnny’s mind. After all the madness, Amanda is ready for a night off, so she asks Johnny if Carmen wants to down some tequila with her. Obviously, she can’t. And when Johnny confirms the reason, everyone is positively thrilled. Louie wants to celebrate and is going to plan the whole thing, also as a way to make up for that one time he set Johnny’s car on fire. (We’ve really come a long way.) He invites Anoush, who can’t come because he has a date.
The group pulls up to the club in a giant limo. Once Chozen relinquishes his weapons, they head inside and grab drinks, toasting to Carmen, Johnny, and the future. At a table, Chozen reminisces about the scam he was running in The Karate Kid II and how, in hindsight, it didn’t really benefit him. Daniel goes to get another round of drinks, and Carmen and Amanda hit the dance floor. Chozen tells Johnny that he’s happy for them and asks how Johnny’s doing. Johnny isn’t really sure. He shares that he’s been haunted by THAT kick his whole life, thinking that if he could go back and react differently, his life would be fixed. As he watches Carmen, he says that now he wants to look forward instead. Chozen expresses a similar sentiment and how he always wanted a family and children. When prompted, he mentions a special woman back in Okinawa. He doesn’t say who (though I’m sure we all know) as Johnny heads to the bar. He tells Daniel that Chozen is a good man, then mentions Kumiko. Before Carmen pulls him to dance, he says he can tell that Chozen is seriously into Kumiko.
Love of My Life
Daniel heads back to Chozen, who is really feeling those Long Islands as he brags to someone about the time Daniel broke ice blocks. Daniel brings up Kumiko, and Chozen shares how when they were kids, Kumiko always found him. When he was disgraced in the village and tried to hide, Kumiko still found him. Daniel thinks she should know, but Chozen disagrees, not after how he treated her and is unforgivable. But Daniel knows that’s not true. Afterward, they join everyone else on the dance floor. Soon, Louie spots Anoush and finds out he’s dating Vanessa. They get into a fight that everyone (except Vanessa, who tries to break it up) just watches.
Chozen goes outside and leaves a voicemail for Kumiko. He wants to see her when he gets home. He’s also glad he went to Cali but should’ve brought her. At that point, he panic hangs up. He rejoins the others, and he, Daniel, and Johnny are going to head to another bar while Carmen and Amanda head home.
Dungeons & Dojos
Stingray plays a makeshift version of D&D with his friends, Dungeons & Dojos, and his friends hate it. Someone knocks on his door and it’s Bert. Stingray is excited until the others show up (and his friends leave). Sam and the others want the truth. He sits back at the table where he keeps dodging answers. After a beat, he wants to tell them about a new D&D campaign he’s been working on. Through that, he confirms that he and Silver framed Kreese. The kids think he won’t come forward because he doesn’t want to lose the benefits, but Stingray is just scared. Sam is aggravated and leaves. Miguel follows and knows it sucks. He then apologizes for the party but is confused that Sam is upset because of what she said before. She explains that she just wants normalcy and blames Tory. Miguel gets that, but Sam doesn’t know what Cobra Kai is like. He agrees Tory should’ve come forward sooner, but what matters is that she did.
Sam goes to see Tory, whose hand is in rough shape. Tory shares how badly she wanted to win the All Valley. When she did, she was so proud. But when she saw Silver and the ref, she felt like a fraud. So, she turned to Kreese. Now that Sam knows, she thinks they can help each other. She mentions Stingray and Tory says that if the assault happened at the old dojo, they can get video proof.
Eye of the Senseis
At Silver’s, he and Sensei Kim discuss the students, including Tory. However, Sensei Kim thinks the younger students are better because they have less to unlearn. She notes Devon, whose youth is an asset. Despite Silver’s surprise, it doesn’t matter because if they succeed, Cobra Kai will live forever. And he won’t let anyone ruin that.
Meanwhile, Chozen, Johnny, and Daniel are hammered but happily rocking out to “Eye of the Tiger.” Outside the club, Anoush and Louie have made up when the limo driver, the real one, finds them and asks where the limo is. Then, the drunken trio realizes something is wrong and can’t get out, and the ride is starting to get a little bumpy.
Cobra Kai season 5 is streaming now on Netflix. Keep up with our season recaps and additional coverage here.