Cobra Kai Season 5 Episode 8 Recap – Taikai

[00:00:30] Silver invites the board members of the Sekai Taikai to his dojo. He‘s showing off everything he has to offer to get a slot in the tournament. The board is impressed, but they won’t let Silver bribe his way into the tournament. He must prove that his dojo has the best students and not just the best amenities. Silver boasts that his dojo is the best in the valley, but Daniel, Johnny, Chozen, and Amanda show up to contest. They tell the board there’s still one other dojo in the valley that’s up to the challenge. The board members get curious about the other dojo, so they want a match between the two to prove who the best dojo is. Whoever wins will get the slot in Sekai Taikai.

[00:03:30] Sensei Kim is angry at Silver’s lack of preparation. He didn’t think Daniel and the others would contest his slot in Sekai Taikai. Silver assures Kim that their plan will succeed. Kim agrees to continue training the students of Cobra Kai to beat Daniel and Johnny’s students, but she warns Silver that mistakes will no longer be tolerated. Silver is very angry at how things turned out, but he must focus on beating Miyagi-Do. His money and power aren’t enough to assure Sekai Taikai even if he has paid everyone he can.

[00:06:00] Miyagi-Do is excited for Sekai Taikai. They‘re already getting ahead of themselves about money and fame, so Daniel tells everyone to settle down and focus on beating Cobra Kai first. They can’t allow Cobra Kai to compete globally, or many kids will experience the pain and suffering they did at the hands of Cobra Kai. Johnny checks on Miguel to see if he’s doing okay. Miguel tells Johnny that he doesn’t have to worry about anything because he’s doing fine and his relationship with Sam is in the right direction.

[00:07:30] Both dojos do their best to show the board members that they deserve the slot in the tournament. Cobra Kai boasts technology and the new era of Karate, while Miyagi-Do boasts old-school and traditional training to achieve the results. After a few days of presentations, the board members can’t decide which dojo is the best. So they must select their best fighters to go head-to-head in a three-point competition to determine who should attend the tournament.

[00:12:00] Miyagi-Do must focus on training to take down Cobra Kai. They failed in the All Valley tournament, but now the stakes are higher so failure is no longer an option. Meanwhile, Silver chooses Tory and Kenny as his champions. Kenny knows he’s ready, but the fate of Cobra Kai is resting on his shoulders; the pressure could easily collapse on him. Tory goes to Kreese for advice about the tournament. She’s fighting for Cobra Kai even if she doesn’t want to. Kreese tells Tory to follow her heart and do what’s best for her. He can’t help Tory because he’s still in jail. Tory leaves him disappointed. She thought Kreese was looking out for her, but he’s just looking out for himself.

[00:13:30] Johnny talks to the boys to find their male representative. The senseis can’t decide who will represent them because they have three of the best male fighters in the valley. Miguel and Robby made the decision easier for Johnny because they agreed that Eli should represent them. Eli is flattered and assures them he’ll do everything possible to win his match against Cobra Kai. Meanwhile, Sam is the female representative. She’s hungry to redeem herself after her loss to Tory. She‘s done letting down her friends and senseis. Sam wants to continue training, but both Chozen and Daniel agree that she should take everything one step at a time.

[00:15:00] Sam worries about losing to Tory. She took a break from Karate to find herself, but she’s back in Karate more confused than ever. Chozen and Daniel explain to Sam that the fight is not about the Sekai Taikai or stopping Cobra Kai — it’s about what she believes is right. They want Sam to give her best and not focus on winning. Win or lose, what matters is she gives her all and fights for what she believes is right. Sam feels better, which is all they want her to feel.

[00:16:30] Sam is on her way out of the dojo when she finds the octopus necklace Miguel was supposed to give her. She picks up the necklace and knows that Miguel was supposed to give it to her the night they broke up. Meanwhile, Kenny worries about his fight, having pre-fight jitters. Silver helps him out. He shows Kenny his special move — the Silver Bullet. It‘s a focused punch to the opponent’s chest. The attack is designed to knock the wind out of the opponent and force them to concede. Kenny asks Silver why go for the extra damage when a hit to the chest is already a guaranteed point. Silver says taking out the opponent is the fastest way to victory.

[00:19:00] Miyagi-Do arrives at Cobra Kai. Sensei Kim tells Tory to end her fight with Sam quickly. She already won against Sam in the All Valley tournament, so Kim expects the fight to be an easy win for her. Kenny and Eli discover that they are fighting each other. Eli knows he has the upper hand, but Kenny has the Silver Bullet. He confronts Robby for teaching Anthony Karate. Robby tries to show Kenny that peace is the better way in life, but he refuses to believe him. Kenny uses all the hatred in his body and focuses on his match with Eli.

[00:21:30] The board members arrive, and they begin with the boys‘ matchup: Eli versus Kenny. Kenny scores the first point to take the lead. Eli should’ve scored the next point, but Silver has the referee in his pocket again. Kenny lands an illegal strike on Eli, but the referee doesn’t disqualify him. The Miyagi-Do senseis try to object the referee’s call, but Eli tells them he’s fine.

[00:23:00] Eli tells everyone not to worry as he unleashes the Hawk. Hawk limps back to the mat and prepares to take down Kenny. Kenny prepares the Silver Bullet and takes Eli down in one blow. Eli struggles to get up because he can’t breathe. The medic attends to him, and once Eli breathes again, Daniel and Johnny help him up and off the mat. Cobra Kai celebrates the victory as Kenny trash-talks Eli and calls him Faux-Hawk. Once everyone settles down, the board members call on Tory and Sam for the girls‘ fight.

[00:25:00] Tory knows Silver paid the referee again, so she sneaks out while Cobra Kai celebrates their first win. Once they call out her name, everyone notices she‘s no longer there. Silver tries to find Tory, but she‘s no longer inside the dojo. They need someone to fight Sam, so Devon replaces Tory. Sam scores the first point, but once again, the referee doesn’t award the point. She blocks Devon’s attack, but the referee gives Devon the point.  Sam calls a time-out and asks her senseis for advice. She worries she’ll lose because the referee isn’t calling out a fair fight. Miguel tells Sam that she’s the better fighter. They tell her to tighten her defense so the referee can’t give Devon a point.

[00:28:00] Sam returns to the mat and evens the fight immediately. She also scores the next point to get the lead. Devon must score, or she’ll lose the match. The referee can’t give Devon the win because it will be obvious that Silver paid him. He gives Sam the winning point; the matches are even. Kenny wins the male group while Sam wins the female group. Miyagi-Do celebrates the victory as the board members deliberate. Devon apologizes to Sensei Kim, but she doesn’t blame her for the loss. Devon didn’t prepare for the fight, so she blames Silver and Tory for Cobra Kai’s defeat.

[00:29:30] Kim tells Devon she’s the new leader of Cobra Kai’s female division. Devon appreciates the opportunity. She’s burning with the desire to redeem herself. The board members allow Cobra Kai to compete in Sekai Taikai. Cobra Kai celebrates, but to their surprise, the board members also allow Miyagi-Do to compete, which means there’s still an opportunity to beat Cobra Kai at the world stage.

[00:31:00] The board members are happy with both dojos. They call out to Johnny and Daniel to get the official name of their dojo for the tournament. Johnny and Daniel can’t decide on a name, so the board members allow them some time to come up with an official name for their dojo. They congratulate all the winners and leave. Johnny tells Miguel and Robby to host the victory party because he‘ll take Carmen and Rosa to the movies. Miguel and Robby don’t disappoint as they throw one of the best parties in the valley to celebrate their victory against Cobra Kai.

[00:33:00] Moon invited many kids to the party. Eli introduces Miguel around since he‘s currently single. Sam arrives late to the party and sees Miguel making out with another girl. She leaves the party in tears. Sam wants to make up with Miguel, but he‘s too busy with another girl. She goes out of the apartment block and calls a cab. Before the cab arrives, Tory sees Sam and tells her they must talk. Sam thinks Tory came over to fight, but Tory tells her that she came to tell her the truth about the championship match at the All Valley tournament. Tory finally comes to her senses, but Sam keeps blaming her for everything.