History TearJerker / CobraKai

** And how does Kenny win the match? By using the "Silver Bullet" to knock the wind out of Hawk. Even worse, the referee considers this as a forfeit on Hawk's end despite Hawk ''clearly trying to catch his breath'', with Kenny providing a KickTheDog moment with another EmbarrassingNickname for Hawk himself.

* Kreese, feeling that Terry was undermining his authority as the (supposed) head sensei, confronts his friend for daring to imply during a class that he had a weakness. What's worse was despite Kreese approaching the conversation like a CO disciplining an insubordinate officer, he was clearly just asserting his dominance over his "friend". Silver tries to explain that he was only trying to pass on a very practical lesson to the students, but is silenced by Kreese when he reminded him of the time they were both [=POW=]s and how he saved Silver from being forced to fight over the snake pit, or rather, how pathetically he cowered when was chosen. There wasn't a single iota of their old companionship that surfaced throughout the conversation, and by the end, Silver is on the verge of tears for being forced to recall such a traumatic experience, worse so by his own best friend(?).

* Kreese, feeling that Terry was undermining his authority as the (supposed) head sensei, confronts his friend for daring to imply during a class that he had a weakness. What's worse was despite Kreese approaching the conversation like a CO disciplining an insubordinate officer, he was clearly just asserting his dominance over his "friend". Silver attempts to explain that he had meant no disrespect, but is silenced by Kreese when he reminded him of the time they were both [=POW=]s and how he saved Silver from being forced to fight over the snake pit, or rather, how pathetically he cowered when was chosen. There wasn't a single iota of their old companionship that surfaced throughout the conversation, and by the end, Silver is on the verge of tears for being forced to recall such a traumatic experience, worse so by his own best friend(?).

** When Kreese is told of Betsy's death in a car accident, he falls to his knees on the spot, feeling perhaps for the first time truly ''broken''. This, long with having to kill his CO in the ensuing duel above the SnakePit, is essentially what quenches any bit of decency Kreese had left in him. The fact that he never seemed to have had another romantic partner after Betsy indicates that [[OneTrueLove no one has ever had a positive and moralistic influence on Kreese as she did.]]

** When Kreese is told of Betsy's death in a car accident, he falls to his knees on the spot, utterly devastated. This, long with having to kill his CO in the ensuing duel above the SnakePit, is essentially what quenches any bit of decency Kreese had left in him. The fact that he never seemed to have had another romantic partner after Betsy indicates that [[OneTrueLove no one has ever had a positive and moralistic influence on Kreese as she did.]]

** Particularly, Kenny's enthusiasm at what he thinks is Lia messaging him, only to realize that it was Anthony and his group. His simple, heartfelt, innocent joy being stomped to pieces is utterly heartbreaking for him and for the viewers alike.

-->'''Sam:''' You knew all along that Silver cheated the All-Valley and you did nothing?!\\

* Sam and Miguel's second breakup. Miguel can't hold back his tears as he exits Miyagi-Do. The real kicker is when he drops the octopus necklace he brought for Sam as an apology for leaving her finals match with Tory. Thankfully in the season finale, they rekindle their relationship.

* Prior to the party, Sam found out about the octopus necklace that Miguel dropped after their breakup and decides to bring it to him when she realizes that he still has feelings for her. She finds out too late when she arrives that Miguel has been hooking up with another girl. Bad timing at its finest.

* Following up from the previous episode's conclusion, Sam is understandably pissed that Tory kept Silver's match fixing from her. It's no surprise she'd resort to being the aggressor after realizing that everything she fought for was straight-up taken away from her by unethical means, which was only made worse by her family's abuse from a rising Cobra Kai, especially regarding the tormenting Daniel (and Amanda to a lesser extent) went through from Silver, and Anthony from Kenny.

'''Sam:''' ''(Proceeds to kick Tory and kicks a garbage chute while attempting to kick her again)'' My entire family has suffered...because of you!\\

** Tory is on the verge of tears as Sam berates her for the pain her family has gone through. Clearly, she never wanted any of this to happen. As Tory leaves the party, she shares a look with Robby and now feels even more isolated than before. It's to the point where unlike the entirety of the series, she ''doesn't even fight back'', only [[ScrewThisImOutOfHere leaving the scene out of heartbreak]].

** To hit this home, Sam's and Tory's exes, Miguel and Robby (mind you, two former rivals of each other) are the ones attempting to ''intervene'' in what is once again another Sam vs. Tory conflict, showing just how much they are ''done'' with the rivalries between all of them. And that's not even counting the fact that they just found out about Silver's deception that ultimately cost the Miyagi-Fangs their rightful victory.
* Robby giving a TheReasonYouSuckSpeech to Silver is no doubt a MomentOfAwesome, given that he has the balls to come face to face once again to someone that kicked his ass big-time last season and stand up for what he believes is right for the people he once fought with in the All-Valley. It's just the fact that they've gone way too deep in the Cobra Kai creed and Silver's teachings (as well as Kreese's to a lesser extent), to the point that what all they (especially Kenny) see in Robby is another enemy for them to show "No Mercy" towards.

* [[HateSink Lizzie-Anne Rooney]] continues to remind Amanda that despite completely moving on from her dark past and living her best life in the West Coast, she (to her) is still the jackass that smashed her tutor's car. Even as Amanda manages to play it off, it's a reminder of how bullies never forget others' shameful past even after decades and continue to rub it in their face.
* Sam finds out through Piper's Instagram reel that Anthony has become a victim of the Cobra Kais' bullying, much to her shock (in stark contrast to her previously [[NoSympathy unsympathetic]] response when Anthony told her of his issues with Kenny). Sam asks why Anthony didn't reach out to her for help, to which he admits that he actually deserves it as he was the one who hurt Kenny in the past.
** Even worse, ''Piper'', Cobra Kai's supposed TokenGoodTeammate, was the one who posted the video on Instagram, even going as far as to label Anthony a bully despite the latter now wanting to make up for his actions. It's tragic considering Cobra Kai's brainwashing and BlackAndWhite morality that has her and the rest of the students failing to see that they are no different than what Anthony was in the past.
* Amanda learning from her cousin, which features the return of Jessica Andrews, that Silver is every bit as bad as Daniel said he was and ''worse''. Amanda learns of the full details of the third movie and realizes her husband was right to be worried and obsessed with one of his old enemies. Then she comes home in L.A. to find her husband beaten by Silver himself.

* Prior to Miguel's and Robby's party, Sam find out about the octopus necklace that Miguel drops when Sam breaks up with him (again) and decides to bring it to him when she realizes that he still has feelings for her. She finds out too late when she arrives that Miguel has been hooking up with another girl. Bad timing at its finest.

* Following up from the previous episode's conclusion, Sam is understandably pissed that Tory kept this from her. It's no surprise she'd resort to being the aggressor after realizing that everything she fought for was straight-up taken away from her by unethical means, which was only made worse by her family's abuse from a rising Cobra Kai (especially regarding the tormenting Daniel (and Amanda to a lesser extent) went through from Silver, and Anthony from Kenny).

'''Sam:''' ''(Proceeds to kick Tory and kicks a garbage chute while attempting to kick her again)'' My entire family has suffered...because of you!!!\\

** Tory is on the verge of tears as Sam berates her for the pain her family has gone through. Clearly Tory never wanted any of this to happen. As she leaves the party she has one look at Robby and it is clear Tory feels even more isolated than before. It's to the point where unlike any other season she's in through the entirety of the series, she ''doesn't even fight back,'' only [[ScrewThisImOutOfHere leaving the scene out of heartbreak]].

** To hit this home, Sam's & Tory's exes, Miguel and Robby (mind you, two former rivals of each other) are the one attempting to ''intervene'' what is once again another Sam vs. Tory conflict, showing just how much they are so done with the rivalries between the four of them. And that's not even counting the fact that they just found out about Silver's deception that ultimately costed the victory for the Miyagi-Fangs.
* Robby giving a TheReasonYouSuckSpeech to Silver is no doubt a MomentOfAwesome, given that he has the balls to come face to face once again to someone that kicked his ass big-time last season and stand up for what he believes is right for the people he once fought with in the All-Valley. It's just the fact that they've gone way too deep in the Cobra Kai creed and Silver's teachings (as well as Kreese's to a lesser extent) to the point where all they see (especially Kenny) in Robby is another enemy for them to show "No Mercy" towards.
* As a punishment for going AWOL during the Sekai Taikai tryout, Sensei Kim forces Tory to repeatedly hit a stone dummy with her hand, cruelly goading her until she shatters the dummy's head (and her own hand) in a rage. Afterwards, Tory falls to her knees in a near-fetal position, crying in agony as everyone (including Kim) abandons her. It's too reminiscent of Daniel at the end of his first fight wi th Johnny in the original ''Karate Kid'', wailing and broken as everyone left the beach.

* When the fight between the Miyagi-Fangs and Cobra Kai breaks out, Kenny targets Robby and attacks him with all of his might. Robby on the other hand just pleads with Kenny that he doesn't want to fight him and only uses defensive moves because he doesn't have the heart to strike him. It's basically a repeat of Robby fighting Johnny in the Season 3 finale, only with Robby on the other side of it.
* The Cobra Kai students' disenchanted reactions to finding out just what [[BrokenPedestal a dishonorable, unethical fraud Terry Silver is]] when his bribery of the referee at the All-Valley Tournament is revealed, especially Kenny, who looks devastated to find out that the mentor that he idolized and who directly took him under his wing (due to their shared status as scrappy, underestimated pushovers who became feared fighters) is a contemptible cheater, and shares a sad glance with Robby when realizing that the latter was right all along. When the fight is over, Kenny is the first to angrily discard his Cobra Kai shirt atop Terry Silver's barely-conscious body, followed by Kyler and the other Cobra Kai students, and he asks Robby to give him time alone to sort out his feelings afterward.
** Some of the students look like they’re on the verge of tears realizing that whatever achievements they have in the dojo -- future or past -- would mean anything or if they were all bought and paid for. Therefore, the revelation made the students think that the dojo's 2019 All-Valley win were AllForNothing.

* While Kreese clearly [[ManipulativeBastard has his ulterior motives,]] he ends up opening up a little to his therapist, even talking about Betsy for the very first time. When he sees her (in a psychological representation of his conscience or mind), it's clear he's still damaged by her memory and he even refers to her as the love of his life. Additionally, seeing [[StartOfDarkness Captain Turner]] makes him genuinely distressed. Regardless of his true intentions, it's apparent that Kreese is a broken man with ''a lot'' of demons that still haunt him.

* Also counts as NightmareFuel: Anthony being ambushed and getting a swirly in a dirty toilet from the Cobra Kais is definitely not a pretty sight — considering how Kenny has succumbed to Silver's corruption, fully taking his vengeance ''way too far''.
** Even worse, the public is clearly ''not'' on his side, with [[KidsAreCruel peers from left to right]] [[KickTheDog calling him]] [[EmbarrassingNickname "Shithead"]]. Anthony laments that to his sister, while also expressing doubt that he will ever catch up with his nemesis, Kenny.

* Following up from the previous episode's conclusion, Sam is understandably pissed that Tory kept this from her. It's no surprise she'd resort to being the aggressor after realizing that everything she fought for was straight-up taken away from her by unethical means, which was only made worse by her family's abuse from a rising Cobra Kai (especially when one remembers the bullying Daniel went through from Silver, and Anthony from Kenny).
** Tory is on the verge of tears as Sam berates her for the pain her family has gone through. Clearly Tory never wanted any of this to happen. As she leaves the party she has one look at Robby and it is clear Tory feels even more isolated than before.

** Daniel tries to get Robby a lighter prison sentence by making him turn himself in, but when the cops close in without warning, Robby sees this as Daniel selling him out. Robby is so hurt that every time Daniel calls him in the prison, he just hangs up at the first sound of Daniel's voice.

* Going back to Shawn Payne for a moment, season 4 retroactively makes his bullying in season 3 even more sad, as it's revealed Shawn actually came from a ''nice'' family, with GoodParents and a little brother who idolizes him, and the only reason he's in juvie is for brutalizing a thief who attacked that brother. It's hard to believe this family would be happy if they knew all the pointless cruelty we see Shawn perpetrating in juvie.

* Following up from the previous episode's conclusion, Sam is understandably pissed that Tory kept this from her. It's no surprise she'd resort to being the aggressor after realizing that everything she fought for was straight-up taken away from her by unethical means, which was only made worse by her family's abuse from a rising Cobra Kai (especially when one remembers the bullying Daniel went through from Silver, and Anthony from Kenny). ** Tory is on the verge of tears as Sam berates her for the pain her family has gone through. Clearly Tory never wanted any of this to happen. As she leaves the party she has one look at Robby and it is clear Tory feels even more isolated than before.
* As a punishment for going AWOL during the Sekai Taikai tryout, Sensei Kim forces Tory to repeatedly hit a stone dummy with her hand, cruelly goading her until she shatters the dummy's head (and her own hand) in a rage. Afterwards, Tory falls to her knees in a near-fetal position, crying in agony as everyone (including Kim) abandons her. It's too reminiscent of Daniel at the end of his first fight with Johnny in the original ''Karate Kid'', wailing and broken as everyone left the beach.

* Following up from the previous episode's conclusion, Sam is understandably pissed that Tory kept this from her. It's no surprise she'd resort to being the aggressor after realizing that everything she fought for was straight-up taken away from her by unethical means, which was only made worse by her family's abuse from a rising Cobra Kai (especially when one remembers the bullying Daniel went through from Silver, and Anthony from Kenny).

* Sam finds out through Piper's Instagram reel that Anthony has become a bully victim to the Cobra Kais much to her horror (in stark contrast to her unsympathetic response when Anthony tells her of his issues with Kenny). Sam asks Anthony why he didn't reach out to her, which Anthony responds that he deserves every bit of it as he was the one who hurt Kenny in the past.
** Even worse, ''Piper'', Cobra Kai's supposed TokenGoodTeammate, was the one who posted the video on Instagram, even going as far as to label Anthony a bully despite the latter wanting to make up for their actions. It's tragic considering Cobra Kai's strong brainwashing and Black-and-Whie morality that has her and the rest of the Cobra Kais failing to see that they are no different than what Anthony was in the past.

** Kenny's story rivals Hawk's and Johnny's. Here's a kid who idolized his brother and saw him get caught in a bad crowd and then put in juvenile hall while protecting him from this crowd. Both his parents work long hours, leaving him very susceptible to influence. Despite being a great kid, he makes a bad first impression on his first day at school, causing him to be targeted by bullies. Through his brother's misguided good intentions, he finds help with Cobra Kai and finds a group of kids willing to help him get what he believes he needs. It actually works temporarily, and he fights back against his bullies. Unfortunately, a series of events in quick succession ruins this. First, school policy requires he be suspended too for fighting back despite being 100% justified. Next, his own mentor eliminates him from the All Valley Tournament using a cheap move that causes him to embrace the unhealthy mentality Cobra Kai preaches. His own bully apologizes, but does so in the worst way possible, making it sound like he's just sorry he got caught. Finally, when he fights back, his own mentor turns on him, thinking he's the perpetrator, not the victim. Things only get worse the next season. He's still not satisfied, for understandable reasons, so whenever he runs into Anthony, he wants to finalize the revenge. While Anthony does not help matters by expecting to be EasilyForgiven, his revenge crosses the line into criminal offenses that, had Anthony gotten injured, would've resulted in him going to juvie. The whole season, you see him becoming the mirror image of his brother and putting his family at risk of another tragedy, but this time, rather than becoming aggressive as a result of being in juvenile hall, it would've been the other way around. Making matters worse, the only person who has been with him this whole time is a criminal and has no problem taking advantage of him. While he thankfully sees Silver's true character, the finale still leaves his future up in the air.

** Later on, Devon and Tory are called on for a sparring challenge. At first, Tory holds back but [[EvilMentor Kim Da eun]] pushes Tory to [[CurbStompBattle show no mercy to Devon]]. At the end of the session, Devon is lying on the floor and runs out the dojo on the verge of tears when the class is dismissed.

* Devon talks about an inspirational quote from her mom (that "the only way to lose is by giving up"). When Tory says her mom sounds cool, Devon looks down and replies that "[[PosthumousCharacter she was]]". She elaborates that her mom died of cancer and she wishes there was a way to hit the disease the way she hits her opponents. Tory clearly empathizes with her.
** later on Devon and Tory are called on for a sparring challenge. At first Tory holds back but [[EvilMentor Kim Da eun]] pushes Tory to [[CurbStompBattle show no mercy to Devon]]. At the end of the session Devon is lying on the floor and runs out the dojo on the verge of tears when the class is dismissed.

* While we've seen Mr Miyagi's house - now the Miyagi-Do dojo - plenty of times in the show, we've never seen Mr Miyagi's bedroom. That's because Daniel hasn't set foot in it since Mr Miyagi died, some (at that point) 8 years ago. Amanda gently leads him in front of the door and lets him open it, finding everything still in place, as though Miyagi just left and will be coming back shortly. The naked grief on Daniel's face and the way his voice breaks when he says "It's like a time capsule in here" is heartbreaking.

* While the reveal and confrontation of Mike Barnes hijacking the limo and the interaction between him, Johnny, Chozen, and Daniel is supposed to be PlayedForLaughs, it's noticeably sad to see Karate's Bad Boy like this. Clearly, [[OCCIsSeriousBusiness him being completely unshaven and revering back to his]] BloodKnight [[OCCIsSeriousBusiness tendencies]] is enough to give the audience the impression that he is back to becoming a broken man after Terry Silver (mind you, his old EvilMentor and employer) burns down his business. And that's not even counting the fact that he's admitting to be broke and doesn't finish his sentence when he mentions his wife. As a matter of fact, he's so broken and filled with rage, that he manages to convince a drunk Johnny and Chozen to storm Silver's house and take on the ponytailed bastard themselves, even though Daniel understandably thinks it's a stupid idea.

** later on Devon and Tory are called on for a sparring challenge. At first Tory holds back but [[EvilMentor Kim Da eun]] pushes Tory to [[CurbStompBattle show no mercy to Devon]]. At the endof the session Devon is lying on the floor and runs out the dojo on the verge of tears when the class is dismissed.

* Devon talks about an inspirational quote from her mom (that "the only way to lose is by giving up"). When Tory says her mom sounds cool, Devon looks down and replies that "[[PosthumousCharacter she was]]". She elaborates that her mom died of cancer and she wishes there was a way to hit the disease the way she hits her opponents. Tory clearly empathizes with her. ** later on Devon and Tory are called on for a sparring challenge. At first Tory holds back but [[EvilMentor Kim Da eun]] pushes Tory to [[CurbStompBattle show no mercy to Devon]]. At the endof the session Devon is lying on the floor and runs out the dojo on the verge of tears when the class is dismissed.

* Devon talks about an inspirational quote from her mom (that "the only way to lose is by giving up"). When Tory says her mom sounds cool, Devon looks down and replies that "[[PosthumousCharacter she was]]". She elaborates that her mom died of cancer and she wishes there was a way to hit the disease the way she hits her opponents. Tory clearly empathizes with her.