Molé
Directed by Steven Tsuchida
In a flashback to Okinawa in 1972, a young Sato forces his students to repeatedly thrust their fingers into pots of sand to toughen them up. Upon catching his nephew Chozen having concealed a pillow in his sand to soften the blow, he chastises him as a coward and states that "a man without honor is no man". After Sato resumes the drill, Chozen defiantly replaces the pillow in his sand and continues to thrust.
At Cobra Kai, Silver addresses his students and reiterates that this is a new era devoid of John Kreese, and proclaims their championship is merely a springboard to new heights, which necessitates recruiting the best senseis from across the Valley. As the students warm up under their new instructors, Chozen immediately pairs himself with Tory but warns that he will not go easy on her.
While seeking directions to the destination marked on the scammers' map, Johnny attempts to ask a local who does not speak English, but insists that Johnny move his illegally parked van. Due to the language barrier, Johnny cannot understand his instructions which ultimately results in his van being towed away right under his nose.
Miguel awakens in Hector's house, having spent the night there as part of his hospitality. As he helps prepare breakfast, Miguel begins to bond with Hector, recounting his karate training and subsequent championship in California. Impressed, Hector responds he has never heard of Miguel, but goes on to explain that the young boy in his family was actually from his girlfriend's previous marriage, and that he has no children of his own, despite having once been married to a woman who left him. Miguel offers his condolences before Hector invites him out to show him a good time.
At the dojo, Tory practices on the kicking pad but Chozen observes that she is troubled. He calls her out for having lost her conviction after winning the tournament, but Tory is adamant that nothing has changed and that she fights to be strong. Conversely, Chozen reveals he only fights for honor, and that honor is everything to him. He advises Tory that if she wants to overcome her troubles, she must face them directly - a lesson that Tory begins to take to heart. When Chozen demonstrates Tang Soo Do on the practice dummy, Silver promptly inquires about his background; Chozen claims he is from Kyoto and manages to allay Silver's suspicions with his knowledge of Japanese tourism.
Unable to afford the $200 impound fee for the van, Johnny contemplates entering a hot pepper-eating contest to acquire the funds, but Robby confidently volunteers in his stead. After consuming an entire jar of peppers, Robby is sweating profusely, but continues to hold his own against his opponent who shows no signs of discomfort. Fiercely determined to win, Robby demands the hottest pepper in the house for the next round, to the awe of the spectators.
Miguel phones his mother to confront her about her perceived deception; he claims that Hector is a good man whom she walked out on without reason, and thus robbed him of having a real father. Carmen insists he is still dangerous, but is unable to convince him before Hector walks into the room, prompting Miguel to terminate the call.
As the peppers arrive on the table, Johnny goes all-in with his bet on Robby, who centers himself with his Miyagi-Do training before popping the pepper into his mouth and seemingly swallowing it. Unwilling to be upstaged by a teenager, his opponent attempts to follow suit but succumbs to the intense heat, leaving Robby the winner by default.
After class, Silver invites Chozen to dinner at his home, which Chozen graciously accepts. Tory then finally confronts Silver about his subterfuge at the tournament. Silver confirms he bribed the referee to help Cobra Kai win, but also maintains that Tory is a legitimate champion, a notion which she doubts. While Silver admits he doesn't have the same connection that Tory had with Kreese, he knows how to use every advantage to get ahead, and did so to ensure the survival of Cobra Kai. He finishes by stating that if Tory wants to leave, he will not hold it against her, but if she stays, he vows to make her the future of the dojo.
Back on the road after the pepper-eating contest, Robby reveals to Johnny that he used sleight-of-hand trickery to replace the last pepper with snack food, thereby winning the bet without exceeding his tolerance. Nevertheless, Johnny commends his effort as one of the most badass things he has ever seen, before Carmen calls to inform him that Miguel refuses to listen to reason and is going out with Hector to a place called El Hoyo Verde. Johnny and Robby rush to the location.
At the club, Hector introduces Miguel to his business: running an MMA arena. He explains he made a lot of money in his former business to finance this one, and despite gaining a lot of enemies, he claims to have put the past behind him. With that, he and Miguel mark the occasion with a toast.
Daniel nervously tries to prepare Chozen for his dinner with Silver, reiterating that Silver is a man without honor. Reflecting back on his training with Sato, Chozen confesses that he himself had taken shortcuts and even cheated to get ahead in the past, thus he understands Silver and is determined to find his weakness. Even so, Daniel reminds him not to let his guard down.
As dinner begins, Silver asks Chozen why he wants to be an instructor; Chozen responds he is not yet sure he wants the job and was even close to retirement when he saw Silver's ad. He points out that he and Kreese had some issues in the past, which Silver chalks up to disloyalty. Claiming to carry the legacy of Kim Sun-Yung, Silver inquires as to Chozen's own legacy; Chozen answers that he was raised by his uncle after his father died, which he claims was due to cowardice. He admits to being a coward once himself, alluding to his death match with Daniel as a fight he should have won. Silver mentions his own rivalry with Daniel and states that it's never too late to get the last laugh, before offering to show something to Chozen.
Clad in their FBI shirts, Johnny and Robby arrive at El Hoyo Verde through the back door, rousing the suspicion of one of Hector's employees who notifies him of their presence. In the arena, Hector becomes suspicious of Miguel being in league with the two American intruders and checks him for a wire before demanding to see his cell phone. After looking through his contact list and photos (just barely missing a picture of Miguel with his mother), Hector finally relents and apologizes to Miguel for distrusting him. As Johnny and Robby emerge on the arena floor, Hector departs with Miguel, and Johnny finds himself challenged by one of Hector's MMA fighters who gains the upper hand, until Johnny uses Robby's hot pepper to his advantage before taking his opponent down with one last kick.
Silver shows off his collection of antique swords from around the world, but Chozen is more interested in learning Silver's true intentions. Silver explains that his only legacy is Cobra Kai, which he intends to expand to a global scale, but does not wish to elaborate further on his plan with someone not yet fully aligned with him. To that end, Chozen accepts the job as Silver's "right-hand man" and they make a toast.
Taking refuge in an abandoned restaurant, Hector tells Miguel that he intends to lay low for some time, to the exclusion of his own family who he claims are only interested in his money. He compares women to the sun in the story of Icarus, and believes that if men get too close to them, they will only cause the man's downfall. When Miguel asks him what happened in Ecuador, Hector claims he found success in his illegal ventures before Carmen and her mother impeded him, and bears no regret for his actions in the past, believing that Carmen and Rosa only held him back. Upon seeing his father's true colors, Miguel abandons him and tearfully phones his mother to apologize. As Johnny arrives on the scene to reunite with his student, Miguel assures Carmen that he is safe and is coming home.
After reflecting on Silver's offer, Tory returns to the dojo and places her trophy on the wall, but Silver tells her he has cancelled class for the day, intending to take care of some other business instead. As Chozen enters the dojo, he finds himself confronted by Silver and the rest of the instructors, with Silver having deduced his scheme to infiltrate Cobra Kai by using the Okinawan word of "karii" instead of the Japanese "kanpai" during their toast. Placing a bounty on Chozen's head, Silver orders the instructors to attack him, but Chozen defeats them all with ease and issues an ultimatum to Silver: No more expansion or interference with Daniel and Miyagi-Do. He vows that if Silver crosses this line, he will make him beg for mercy.
Tropes:
- Armor-Piercing Response: Not only does Tory call bullshit out on Silver's excitement on her potential as the future of Cobra Kai, but she reveals she knows of his cheating.Silver: Nichols, what's on your mind? Excited to take things to the next level?
Tory: What's the point? You'll just pay to make me champion again. - All for Nothing: Miguel spent the last season's final episode and this season's previous episode to travel all the way to Mexico and find his biological father, only to discover that Hector is Evil All Along and that Carmen was right to leave him.
- Broken Pedestal: Miguel starts out thinking his biological father is a loving, hard-working family man whom Carmen left for no reason. After an (apparent) run in with the law and a few drinks, Hector shows that he neither respects his own family nor has any regret about his criminal past (including losing Carmen), and Miguel leaves Mexico in tears.
- Badass Boast: After Chozen effortlessly takes out the other potential senseis, he lays down an ultimatum for Silver.Now we draw line! No more expansion, no more senseis, no challenge Miyagi-Do. Do not come near LaRusso family. You cross line, you will beg for mercy.
- Bluff the Imposter: It's implied that Silver tries this when talking to Chozen about his experience in Tokyo. Chozen passes successfully by telling him that the location has too many tourists. Ironically, he ends up failing by accident later on.
- Call-Back: A subtle one. Chozen says "First train mind, then train body" in the same way that Miyagi told Daniel "First learn stand, then learn fly."
- Cassandra Truth: Daniel warns Chozen that this undercover move has a very short expiration date as Silver is far too crafty and intelligent to fall for it for long. Chozen seems skeptical that Silver could outwit him so easily... yet Silver picks up on a slip Chozen makes that night, and knows Chozen's real name by the next day.
- Chekhov's Gun:
- First, the candy that Johnny and Robby were eating are later used to trick Robby's opponent in the pepper eating contest. It's revealed that Robby actually swiped the dragon chili and used the candy instead.
- Johnny and Robby's Female Body Inspector t-shirts lead them to be mistaken for actual members of the FBI.
- Finally, the dragon chili that Robby secretly took is used to help Johnny blind "The Wolf" in their duel.
- Cool Versus Awesome:
- Karate sensei Johnny Lawrence versus MMA champion Vicente "The Wolf" Gonzales. Even the ring announcer gets excited about seeing the clash of styles.
- Chozen vs six martial arts teachers at once.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: When Silver reveals that he knows who Chozen really is, he instructs the other aspiring Cobra Kai senseis to attack the would-be infiltrator. None of them last more than a few seconds against Chozen.
- Double-Meaning Title: When using an accented é, the episode title "Molé" could be referring to the notable Mexican culinary dish, alluding to the conclusion of Miguel's journey to discover his father in Mexico while continuing the series' tradition of typically having one or more episodes in each season with Spanish-language titles, but with an unaccented e, "Mole" could also be alluding to Chozen's attempted (and ultimately abortive) efforts to infiltrate Silver's Cobra Kai as a "mole."
- Establishing Character Moment: A retroactive one with the flashback to Chozen's early childhood training under Sato. Sato is shown being twistedly obsessed with honor, while little Chozen keeps cheating (even after being harshly rebuked by Sato), echoing the villainous behavior the two of them exhibit in The Karate Kid Part II.
- Heroic Build: Chozen's muscular physique means Daniel's suit is too small for him. Fortunately, Daniel has a larger one, which fits him.
- Hidden Depths: Robby saying "uno mas" ("one more") is enough to give the audience the impression that he knows at least a little Spanish.
- The Infiltration: Chozen applies to be a Cobra Kai sensei to infiltrate Silver's organization. True to the trope, Chozen fails at the Only the Knowledgable May Pass point, when he does not give a traditional Kyoto version of "cheers" during a toast, spoiling his assumed identity.
- Insane Troll Logic: Silver compares bribing the ref for Cobra Kai's survival at the All-Valley Tournament to a poor person who steals food to survive. Sure, Silver, you've been a 'poor person' all your life...
- I Regret Nothing: Hector is not sorry for everything he's done to keep his unscrupulous business activities afloat and cares nothing for the costs involved (human or otherwise).
- Missed Him by That Much: Hector takes Miguel into hiding because his men spotted Johnny and Robby in "FBI" shirts. When Miguel leaves Hector, he almost immediately runs into Johnny and Robby outside, still clad in the FBI shirts. If Hector had bothered to glance out his front window at that point...
- Mook Chivalry: The teachers Silver hired try to rush Chozen one or two at a time. Given that they're up against the greatest living fighter in the franchise, the results are an embarrassment... for them. The trope is justified this time, as Silver promised a job to the one who takes Chozen down, and the attacking senseis obviously didn't want to share their "kill".
- Obliquely Obfuscated Occupation: The episode never spells out what Hector's criminal business actually was. The fact that it is something very illegal is clear from the fact that a) it made Carmen and her mother flee Ecuador without telling Hector she was pregnant, b) Hector himself had to flee Ecuador later and find refuge in Mexico and c) when told there's supposed FBI agents on the premises, Hector immediately assumes they're after him and goes into hiding.
- Pet the Dog: Despite Chozen's awareness that Tory is Cobra Kai's champion, and the fact that he is only present to infiltrate and undermine her dojo, his brief instruction to her is surprisingly sage and sincere.
- Precision F-Strike: Hector drops one in Spanish when ranting about Carmen, Rosa, and the Ecuadorian government getting in the way of his business ventures."They tried to fսck with me, a successful man! The corrupt sons of bitches in Ecuador, they did the same! And you know what I regret? Nothing. That is the cost of doing business."
- Reality Is Unrealistic: Some viewers were surprised that Hector would take a (supposed) FBI presence seriously, given that he's in Mexico and the FBI is a United States agency. But in reality, the FBI can conduct investigations in foreign countries with the permission of the local government. If Hector (or criminals under his orders) committed crimes on American soil that would interest the FBI, then FBI agents might indeed come after him even in Mexico.
- Screw This, I'm Out of Here!: After seeing his biological father's true colors, Miguel wastes even less time in leaving him than Carmen probably did.
- Sleight of Handiness: How Robby wins the pepper-eating contest.
- Spotting the Thread: Silver figures out that Chozen is lying about who he is because he exclaimed the Okinawan expression "karii" over drinks rather than the standard Japanese expression "kanpai".
- Suddenly Shouting: Silver's clearly pissed when he finds out that the sensei he's most impressed with is a mole allying with Daniel LaRusso."Anyone who takes this man down, gets the job. And I will pay TRIPLE!!!! What I promised."
- Too Dumb to Live: Johnny and Robby show up wearing novelty "Female Body Inspector" t-shirts (which have only "FBI" on the front), and Hector and all of his employees immediately assume they're actual FBI agents who are coming for him. This despite the fact that FBI agents don't wear marked shirts when infiltrating criminal organizations, nor would the FBI ever employ an obvious teenager like Robby as a field agent. Not to mention that the guy who warned Hector about the duo clearly didn't look at the back of the t-shirts.
- Training from Hell: Sato subjected his students (including Chozen) to rigorous training, where he made them repeatedly thrust their fingers into pots of sand to toughen them up.
- The Unmasking: Silver sees through Chozen's "Jokichi" identity when he noticed that he exclaimed "karii" instead of "kanpai" (the Okinawan and standard Japanese equivalents of "cheers", respectively) during their toast and that he isn't from Kyoto as he claimed.
- Wicked Cultured: Silver gets to show off more of his villainous refinement and knowledge of Japanese culture in this episode, which helps him to unmask Chozen.
