Cobra Kai Season 1 Episode 10 Recap – Mercy

[00:00:30] It’s time for the All Valley Karate Championship. It’s a big event for such a small community that everyone is there to watch the teams compete. The Cobra Kais are outside waiting for Johnny to arrive. One of the students doesn’t think he will show up because of how drunk he was last night. They are starting to get worried, but Johnny shows up at the last minute. He tells everyone that he may not win all the time, but he never backs down from a fight. Miguel is so hyped to register. He needs a place to vent his anger, and the tournament is the perfect opportunity. Johnny says they still need to learn the final lesson.

[00:03:00] Johnny reminds everyone of how they must strike first and strike hard. He adds that they must also learn to show no mercy. Johnny explains that life isn’t fair and life doesn’t show mercy, so neither should they. He wants them to give their opponents everything they have and destroy the competition. Meanwhile, Sam and Daniel are at home just scrolling through their phones. Amanda asks them to get on their feet because they must attend the tournament. Sam and Daniel don’t want to go, but Amanda reminds them that their family business is the tournament’s main sponsor, so they must attend.

[00:06:00] Daniel and his family arrive. He couldn’t help but feel proud as the people warmly welcomed him. Everyone knows he‘s a former tournament champion and his signature photo is also a banner inside the event area. The tournament starts as one of the judges introduces all the participants. Daniel is surprised that Robby is participating in the tournament. They didn’t know he would enter the tournament, but there was no going back.

[00:08:30] Round starts and Cobra Kai dominates the tournament. Hawk and Aisha both win their first-round matches. Miguel also wins and shows off his moves as he demonstrates Daniel’s winning move per Johnny’s suggestion. After a few more fights, Miguel and Robby advance to the semifinals. Aisha isn’t so lucky as she lost to Xander Stone. Aisha really wants to be in the semifinals, but she loses her opportunity. She leaves the event in frustration, so Sam goes after her to try and console her.

[00:12:00] Xander is the defending champion. He‘s a formidable opponent, so Aisha just has bad luck that she came face-to-face with him in the tournament‘s early rounds. Xander throws a speech before the start of the semifinals. It‘s a moving speech, but Johnny doesn’t care. He tells Miguel to eliminate Xander with all he has.

[00:14:30] After the speech, the announcer immediately takes the mic from Xander to begin the semifinals. Miguel fights with sheer confidence. There‘s never a moment of doubt even as Xander flashed his fancy moves. Xander is a real highflyer, but Miguel pulls him back down and destroys him with a score of 3-1. Miguel moves on to the finals as Hawk gets to fight Robby.

[00:16:00] Hawk starts the fight strong with a bit of trash-talking. Daniel doesn’t want to cheer for Robby because he lied to him, but Amanda points out that kids lie, and since Robby is fighting against Cobra Kai, that only means he isn’t with them. Daniel notices that Robby isn’t focused, so he shouts at him and reminds him about his training. The fight is 1-1, but Hawk can’t control his emotions. Robby calls his haircut stupid, so Hawk makes illegal contact, disqualifying him. Robby gets to the finals to face Miguel.

[00:19:30] There‘s a short break before the finals, so Daniel goes to see Robby in the locker room. Robby apologizes to Daniel for lying to him. Daniel tells Robby that he must let go of all the anger and bad blood against Johnny. He explains that letting go is the best way to feel better. Daniel explains that Johnny will always be his father, and he’s lucky to even have one. Robby doesn’t need to like Johnny, but he doesn’t need to go down the same path he did. Daniel tells Robby that Johnny didn’t have a good coach or role model growing up, leading to his downfall, but he knows Johnny isn’t really a bad person. He’s trying to become a better person than before.

[00:20:30] Robby appreciates the advice, but he needs help with the injury he got from Hawk. It seems Daniel learned a few more tricks from Mr. Miyagi than Karate. He rubs his hands but stops midway and just calls for a medic. Meanwhile, Miguel is waiting for the finals to start. He sees Aisha with Sam and approaches her to apologize. Sam tells Miguel that he shouldn’t have hit anyone at the party. Miguel says it‘s her fault for bringing Robby to the party. Sam says he doesn’t know Robby, but Miguel sees him as the enemy, and it’s enough for him. Sam tells Miguel that he’s changed and she no longer knows him. He tells Sam that he will destroy Robby in the finals.

[00:22:00] Sam decides to leave the tournament. She wants to take an Uber, but Amanda decides to go home with her. Anthony wants to stay, but they can’t leave him alone in the stands. Meanwhile, a paramedic attends to Robby’s injury. His shoulder got dislocated, so the paramedic popped it back in. Daniel tells Robby he doesn’t need to fight, but he knows he must face Miguel sooner or later. The announcer returns and announces the final match between Miguel and Robby. Robby is fighting on his own, so he remains unaffiliated, but it changes for the finals. Daniel decides to continue being Robby’s coach. The announcer makes the change and tells everyone that Robby is fighting under the Miyagi-Do Karate.

[00:25:00] The fight starts, and Miguel loses the first point. Miguel quickly regains the point to make it an even match. Losing Sam brought Miguel to the dark side. He‘s no longer the sweet kid who started to learn Karate as self-defense. He makes a little illegal contact, but he doesn’t get disqualified. Johnny is starting to get worried about Robby. He tells Miguel they must win the right way, but Miguel disagrees. He reminds Johnny that Cobra Kai doesn’t show mercy. Miguel notices Robby’s shoulder and assures Johnny that he can exploit that weakness.

[00:28:00] The match is 2-2. One more point will determine who goes home as the champion. Robby does his best, even with an injured shoulder. Daniel knows Robby will lose, but he gives it his all. Miguel blocks Robby’s attack and lands the finishing blow to emerge as the champion. Johnny doesn’t feel victorious seeing his son injured. He‘s more concerned about his well-being, but Miguel and the rest of the Cobra Kais take Johnny to the center stage to celebrate. Miguel hoists the trophy and celebrates with everyone, honoring Johnny for the win as the tournament ends.

[00:30:00] Johnny approaches Robby before he leaves and apologizes. Robby says everything is okay, but Johnny doesn’t feel okay. After the tournament, Miguel looks for Sam, but she hasn’t stuck around to watch the fight. Miguel won, but without Sam, it all felt worthless. Sam starts training again, while Robby goes home with the second-place trophy. Daniel tells Robby that he’s the real winner because he fought with honor. Robby is happy for Johnny because he finally won. He tells Daniel that Cobra Kai will now dominate the Karate scene, but he won’t let it happen.

[00:32:30] Daniel takes Robby to the Miyagi-Do dojo. He tells him they will need more students if they compete against Cobra Kai. Meanwhile, Johnny sulks over his championship trophy. He hears someone enter the dojo, so he exits his office. Johnny thought it was Miguel, but it wasn’t. It‘s someone worse. Johnny is surprised to see his old coach and mentor, John Kreese. John tells Johnny that he finally did what he thought he could always do — winning. John is happy that Cobra Kai is back on top, and he reminds Johnny how everyone closed the book on Cobra Kai. Now everyone will see the real might of Cobra Kai.