Cobra Kai Season 5 Episode 2 Recap – Molé

[00:00:30] Okinawa, 1972 — Chozen’s training in Karate started when he was just a little boy. He‘s training with men and devised his way to get the training down to his level. Chozen’s uncle disapproved of his way, but Chozen chose to remain on his own path. Meanwhile, Silver introduces all the new senseis to his students. He tells them they will train with them to find the best among the applicants. Tory arrives late for their training, but Chozen approaches her as soon as they‘re assigned. He tells Tory he‘ll not go easy on her because she’s the current champion. She must show Chozen what she got.

[00:03:00] Johnny and Robby are getting closer to finding Miguel. The deeper they go into Mexico, there‘s language barrier since not many folks can speak English. A man tells Johnny to move his van because he‘s in a tow zone, but he doesn’t understand Mexican. Johnny thought the man was asking to buy his van, so he humbly said no. The man tows the vehicle away from Johnny and Robby, so they chase after it hoping to get it back.

[00:04:30] Miguel spends the night with Hector and his family.  He‘s about to tell Hector why he came to Mexico but can’t muster the courage just yet. Hector reveals Luis isn’t his real son and tells Miguel that he was supposed to be a family man, but the woman of his dreams left. The story matches Carmen’s story perfectly, and it seems Miguel really found his father. Hector invites Miguel to come with him to El Hoya Verde later that day. Meanwhile, Chozen speaks with Tory while they’re training. He knows Tory is troubled and tells her to focus her mind on Karate so she can land her kicks harder. Silver approaches Chozen and asks his name. Chozen tells Silver to call him Joe and shows him Tang Soo Do.

[00:07:30] Silver recognizes the moves and asks Chozen where he comes from. Chozen tells Silver that he hails from Kyoto, Japan. Silver leaves Chozen to continue his training with Tory. It seems Chozen has the first phase of their plan in the bag. He gets within Silver’s good side. Meanwhile, Robby and Johnny fail to get the van back. They need a lot of money to pay the fees, but they don’t have anything at the moment. Johnny and Robby see a pepper-eating contest and decide to join. Robby tells Johnny that he can do it and challenges the current champion. There‘s a lot of money at stake, and they need everything they can find to get the van back.

[00:10:00] Miguel calls Carmen to tell her she’s mistaken. Miguel is angry at Carmen because he sees nothing wrong with Hector. He seems like a nice guy, but it‘s what Carmen worries about. She tries to stop Miguel from going with Hector, but he doesn’t listen. Meanwhile, a man brings out the hottest pepper they have for the contest. Robby channels his inner strength and eats the pepper without giving in to the spiciness. The opponent does the same, but he gives in and loses. Johnny and Robby win as the crowd cheers for them. Meanwhile, Silver invites Chozen for dinner to get to know him better. Chozen agrees and leaves to prepare for his dinner date with Silver.

[00:12:30] Tory confronts Silver after training. She knows about the referee, but Silver doesn’t deny it. He tells Tory that paying the referee is an insurance policy to ensure Cobra Kai‘s win. Silver tells Tory he’ll do everything to ensure Cobra Kai’s survival. Tory knows everything to do with survival, and she won’t let anyone stand in her way. Silver tells Tory that she could leave Cobra Kai if she doesn’t feel confident about her win, but he assures Tory that if she decides to stay, she will become the future of Cobra Kai.

[00:14:00] Johnny and Robby are back on the road. Robby reveals he didn’t eat the hottest chili but instead took out a red candy they were snacking on earlier. He used misdirection to cheat the contest and win. Johnny has no issues with Robby cheating because they need the money, and he would’ve done the same to win. They‘re on their way to find Hector Salazar when Carmen calls them. She tells them that Hector and Miguel are going to El Hoya Verde. She worries about Miguel’s safety, so Johnny and Robby head over immediately.

[00:15:30] El Hoya Verde is a bar with an MMA ring. People go there to drink, have fun, and bet on fighters. Everyone knows Hector. He tells Miguel he made a lot of money back in the day. Hector adds that his business wasn’t a restaurant, and he made many friends and enemies, but he had already turned away from his past. Meanwhile, Chozen meets with Silver, who offers him all the best things money can buy. They‘re talking about rivalries, so Silver mentions Daniel to Chozen. He tells Chozen he finally had the last laugh with Daniel and decides to show him something.

[00:20:00] Johnny and Robby enter El Hoya Verde with their FBI shirts. FBI stands for Female Body Investigators, but Hector’s men think otherwise. They immediately call Hector to tell him the FBI is looking for him. Hector goes from a safe father figure to a vicious psychopath in a snap. He suspects Miguel is working with the FBI and starts harassing him. Hector demands Miguel’s phone and browses his pictures. He finds nothing out of the ordinary and returns the phone to Miguel. Hector apologizes for his attitude, but he doesn’t see Miguel’s picture with Carmen. Hector sees Johnny and Robby from the second floor and decides to leave as soon as possible. Johnny sees Miguel and tries to call out to him, but Hector’s men are determined to stop Johnny and Robby from finding Hector.

[00:23:00] An MMA fighter named Vicente tries to stop Johnny and Robby. Johnny fights Vicente, and it seems he‘s too much for him. Robby offers to help, but Johnny tells him to stay back. Vicente locks Johnny in a sleeper hold, so Robby tosses him the pepper so he can blind Vicente for a moment. Vicente staggers to his feet while wincing in pain as Johnny squeezes the pepper into his eye. Johnny does his flying tornado kick and knocks Vicente out cold. The crowd cheers as they have never seen anyone fight using Karate. After the fight, Johnny asks Vicente where Hector is.

[00:24:30] Silver shows Chozen his collection of katanas to soften him up. Chozen shows no interest in his collection and asks Silver what his plan is for Cobra Kai. Silver tells Chozen his philanthropist version, but Chozen isn’t convinced it‘s the truth. Silver tells Chozen he’ll let him know the real plan if he agrees to become Cobra Kai’s newest sensei. Chozen agrees to take the job to learn the truth.

[00:27:00] Hector brings Miguel to one of his businesses. It‘s already closed for the night, but they will use it as a safe house for the time being. Hector thinks the FBI is after him, so he can’t be seen in public again. Miguel asks Hector what Maria and Luis would think if he’ll be away for a while. Hector starts to reveal his true colors to Miguel — he doesn’t think too highly of women. He knows they‘re only after his money, so he doesn’t show them any respect, which is the exact opposite of how Carmen raised Miguel. Hector tells Miguel about how he escaped his past life in Ecuador and didn’t regret his decision.

[00:30:00] Miguel gets disappointed. He thought his father was a good man, but it turns out Carmen made the right decision to leave him. Hector offers Miguel some food but refuses to eat after hearing Hector talk trash about Carmen and her mother. Miguel leaves and calls Carmen. He apologizes to her because she‘s right. Johnny arrives, so Miguel tells Carmen he’s coming home. Miguel hugs Johnny.

[00:32:00] Tory arrives at the dojo with her championship trophy. She decides to stay with Cobra Kai, but there are no classes for the day. Silver tells Tory he has business to attend to. On her way out, Tory bumps into Chozen who‘s there for his first day as sensei. To his surprise, Silver calls out all the other sensei candidates and tells Chozen that he already knows who he really is. Chozen asks Silver how he knew. Chozen gave himself away when he said “karii,” when he raised his glass the other night. It‘s an Okinawan word for “toast,” but he told Silver that he‘s from Kyoto, and the word for “toast” there is “kanpai.” Chozen realizes his mistake, but there‘s no turning back. Silver tells his candidates to take Chozen down. Anyone who can take him down will become Cobra Kai‘s new sensei and receive triple the salary offered.

[00:34:30] All the other candidates circle Chozen. One by one they attack, and one by one they fall. They‘re no match for Chozen. After defeating all six candidates, Chozen gives an ultimatum to Silver. He tells Silver not to go near Daniel or his family again. Chozen tells Silver that he will face wrath if he goes over the line. Silver doesn’t flinch, but Chozen means business. Chozen leaves Silver, leaving all his candidates unconscious on the floor.