Long, Long Way From Home
Directed by Joel Novoa & Steven Tsuchida
Season 5 opens with a new television ad for Terry Silver's flagship Cobra Kai dojo in Encino, complete with state-of-the-art training equipment doubtlessly supplied by the man himself. He declares that Cobra Kai is the home of the first female All Valley Tournament Champion, Tory Nichols, and boasts about his ability to transform kids into champions.
At the LaRusso house, Chozen finishes swimming several laps in Daniel's pool, but Amanda is shocked to find him doing so while nude. She confronts Daniel about Chozen's presence in the house, but is even more disturbed that he has seemingly refused to honor his agreement to shut down Miyagi-Do and end the karate war. Though Daniel argues he cannot allow Terry Silver to corrupt any more children, Amanda responds that the only children she is worried about are her own. Daniel vows he will not let anything happen to Anthony or Sam, but Amanda is skeptical that he can keep that promise.
Miguel arrives in Ceuta, Mexico, and is almost immediately thrown into culture shock by his new surroundings. With his cell phone out of service, he is approached by an outwardly friendly Australian man who proceeds to mark his destination on a map, but requests that Miguel compensate him for doing so. Miguel naively complies, only to find that the man's buddies have taken his backpack and demand further payment for its return. The scammers end up taking most of Miguel's money in exchange for his belongings.
While journeying south of the border, Johnny stocks up on snacks and novelty items at a convenience store, including a pair of "FBI - Female Body Inspector" shirts for both himself and Robby, who has not yet been told the true reason for their excursion to Mexico. Though Johnny considers it to be a father-son bonding trip, he does admit to Robby that there is another reason.
Daniel assembles his students at the Miyagi-Do dojo. Although he is proud of them all and commends Eli for winning the championship, he reluctantly announces that he is closing down the dojo for their own safety. As the disheartened students depart, Sam confronts her father about his decision. Feeling that the tournament loss was her fault, she begs him to reconsider, but Daniel stresses it is not her fight anymore, and that he and Chozen will handle Silver. He asks for her trust, but Sam only walks away in frustration.
Following the map provided to him by the scammers, Miguel finds himself in a seedy bar, where he interrupts a poker game with a man named Hector Salazar. Believing the man to be his father, he introduces himself and names Carmen as his mother, but the man only mocks him before ordering his cousin to eject him from the room. Miguel deftly fends him off and demands answers from Salazar, who insists he is not the person Miguel is looking for (as he has never heard of a Carmen Diaz) and threatens him with a gang beatdown if he does not leave. Realizing his mistake, Miguel humbly apologizes and departs.
Back on the road, Robby is furious about being taken to Mexico without being told they were coming to find Miguel. Johnny explains he couldn't just leave Robby behind and wanted the time together to bond with him, but also admits that he needed Robby's help in the search. Frustrated with his father's lack of planning, however, Robby laments the fact that he ever came on this trip. Remorseful, Johnny tells him he can go home if he so chooses once they reach the bus stop where Miguel first arrived, but then suddenly swerves off the road to avoid colliding with another vehicle, leaving them with a flat tire.
Back at home, Daniel introduces Chozen to Terry Silver by replaying his victory speech from the All Valley Tournament. He states that in order to stop Cobra Kai, they must cut the head off the snake - an expression that Chozen takes literally. After Daniel explains he only wants to expose Silver for who he really is, Chozen requests to see Silver for himself.
In the dojo, Sam trains vigorously as she mimics the final moments of her match with Tory on her laptop. She takes a break to answer a call from Miguel, who reports that he has not yet found his father. Despite being worried about him, Sam feels betrayed that he never told her he was leaving and that he seemingly doesn't care about the outcome of the tournament. As they accuse each other of not being supportive, Miguel states there are more important things in life than karate; Sam agrees, then indignantly ends the call. Afterwards, Miguel observes another man named Hector on the street and begins to follow him.
As he and Robby fix the Eagle Fang van, Johnny explains he acquired the vehicle when he and Daniel went looking for Robby after he disappeared following the school brawl, an admission that seems to surprise Robby (and soften his resentment of Johnny). Johnny expresses regret that he was never there for Robby when he was growing up, but adds that he also failed Miguel and is trying to atone for his mistakes. He encourages Robby to make peace with Miguel before calling Carmen to check in. He dissuades her from coming to Mexico to join the search and reassures her that he will find Miguel and bring him home.
Outside the new Cobra Kai dojo, Daniel and Chozen observe Terry Silver sparring through the window. Chozen immediately recognizes his style as Tang Soo Do, as taught by Korean master Kim Sun-Yung, who was once at odds with his uncle, Sato. Describing his style as "controversial", Chozen proceeds to demonstrate it to Daniel in the dojo, overwhelming him in short order. Since Silver's fighting methods are based on deception, Chozen suggests they begin to "think like a serpent" in order to expose him.
Miguel continues to follow the man named Hector from a distance, watching his interactions with the locals. He eventually discovers that the man has a family, with a young boy perhaps half of Miguel's own age. Suspecting they might be related, Miguel tries to start a conversation with the boy, but is unable to learn much about him before he is called back by his mother.
At the bus stop, Johnny gives Robby cash to cover his trip home before approaching the Australian man whom Miguel first met when he arrived. He and his buddies proceed to run another scam on Johnny, who catches them trying to lift his wallet. A fight ensues, and Robby rushes to his father's aid. They soundly defeat the scammers together.
As Miguel draws closer to Hector and his family, the boy accidentally kicks his ball into the path of an oncoming car. Miguel bravely rescues him from being struck, to the great relief and gratitude of his parents, who invite him to have dinner with them as thanks. As they converse, the man named Hector claims that Miguel seems familiar to him, which pleases Miguel.
Sharing drinks on the beach afterwards, Johnny and Robby bond over their first fight in tandem, although Robby teases his father about having technically kidnapped and absconded with a minor. Johnny reminds Robby that his bus will be leaving soon, only to find that Robby has decided to stay after all, wanting to make an effort to put things right with his father.
As Daniel officially closes down Miyagi-Do, Silver introduces a new crop of instructors to help run his many new dojos, among whom is Chozen himself, having seemingly infiltrated Cobra Kai.
Tropes:
- Aesop Amnesia: Daniel follows through on shutting down Miyagi-do, reasoning that doing so will mean the teens won't have that target on their back from Cobra Kai and will stay safe. He seems to have forgotten that this didn't exactly work in the first half Season 3, as Cobra Kai continued harassing them even with the dojo being shut down.
- Bait-and-Switch: In his search for his father Hector, Miguel is lead into a dark backroom full of scumbags, the head of whom is sleazy and ruthless enough to seem like the kind of criminal Carmen would have fled from. It later turns out that Miguel's Hector is not that guy, but a much friendlier family man (on first impression).
- Both Sides Have a Point: Amanda feels that Daniel continuing to try to shut down Cobra Kai is pointless, as Tory defeating Sam without seriously injuring her and Kreese being arrested means the family is safe now. Daniel retorts that while their family might be safe, the community's youth are still in danger because of Silver and the dojo's influence and they need to be stopped. So Amanda understandably wants Daniel to leave well enough alone (for once), but as we'll see, Daniel has every reason to fear Silver's tightening grip on the community.
- Call-Back:
- Silver is shown beating the heck out of his sparring partners in the Cobra Kai flagship dojo, much like his introduction in The Karate Kid Part III.
- Johnny breaks a radio on the beach just like in The Karate Kid (1984). At least this time, said radio owner deserved it being broken.
- Character Development: On display with Johnny right from the start of the season. At the start of Season 3, Johnny had lost his dojo and hit a dead end in his relationships with Miguel and Robby, and responded by drinking himself into oblivion and moping for two weeks until Daniel showed up at his home looking for his help. Here, he's in a similar position having been forced to quit as sensei after last season's tournament and having driven Miguel to run away from home, but he immediately takes steps to rectify the situation, heading to Mexico to find Miguel and bringing Robby with him to ensure that he still gets the chance to bond with his son instead of prioritising Miguel. Although Robby is annoyed Johnny didn't tell him why they were going to Mexico, he at least comes to appreciate that Johnny is doing his best to make things right.
- Cluster F-Bomb: The man that Miguel assumes to be Hector drops one in Spanish as he tells him off."Look, man. I'm not the guy you're looking for. And honestly, I've never known a fucking Carmen. Now if you don't fuck off, all these guys you see here are gonna beat the shit out of you. So go to fucking hell."
- Continuity Nod: When Robby asks where Johnny got his car, the latter recounts the day he and Daniel searched for Robby by tracking down this car, along with the brawl that ensued.
- Curb-Stomp Battle:
- Silver has no problem beating the heck out of his sparring partners when Daniel and Chozen spy on him at the flagship dojo.
- The first Hector Salazar that Miguel confronts orders his cousin to throw him out. Seconds later, said cousin is on the floor.
- Johnny and Robby make short work of the scammers who robbed Miguel (and then tried to rob Johnny as an encore).
- Double-Meaning Title:
- Miguel leaves America to search for his father in Mexico. Likewise, Johnny and Robby go down to Mexico to bring him home.
- The title also refers to Chozen, who is adjusting to his stay in America after leaving Okinawa.
- Esoteric Happy Ending: Discussed In-Universe. Amanda thinks the tournament ended as well as they could have hoped, Sam and Tory's brawl ended with no lasting injuries (with Tory apparently giving up her vendetta against Sam) and Kreese got arrested. Daniel insists just because it ended well for them doesn't mean there isn't still cause for concern.
- Everyone Has Standards: The Australian surfer that swindles Miguel out of his money returns a little of it to him, citing that he wasn't going to be that cruel.
- Improvised Weapon: Robby uses a skateboard to hit one of the scammers while Johnny smashes their radio on the lead scammer's head. The lead scammer does this too, using his surfboard to hit and block Johnny's attacks.
- Internal Reveal: Daniel learns that Kim Sun-Yung is indeed a real person who is responsible for Cobra Kai's fighting style and philosophy rather than being a fabrication created by Terry Silver. However, the audience is hinted at Kim Sun-Yung's existence back in Season 3 where Captain Turner mentions him to Kreese.
- Know When to Fold Them: In the confrontation with the man who Miguel thinks was his father, it ends with the man threatening to have his room full of thugs kick Miguel's ass. Miguel takes the hint and leaves.
- Laser-Guided Karma: The scammers who rob Miguel end up getting their asses kicked by Johnny and Robby.
- Mr. Fanservice: While we don't get a full body shot of nude Chozen, there's enough to reveal that he's very well built for a man of his (or any) age.
- Ms. Fanservice: Amanda is shown at the end wearing an orange one-piece swimsuit.
- My Greatest Failure: Losing to Tory in the tournament has now become Sam's biggest regret, as she obsessively watches the footage of that fight, and tries to practice the same moves she tried to use on that day, with tweaks to avoid being hit in the same way.
- Naked First Impression: Amanda sees Chozen for the first time after he's finished swimming laps in the nude.
- Papa Wolf: Looking carefully in the fight against the scammers, Johnny made sure that Robby did not get hurt, watching his back and attacking the scammers that tried to get him from behind.
- Real After All: Daniel had assumed that Kim Sun-Yung was someone Silver made up as part of his deception in Part III and is dismayed when Chozen reveals that he was not only a very real person, but the one responsible for Cobra Kai's fighting style and philosophy.
- Shout-Out: The episode shares its title with a Foreigner song.
- Stating the Simple Solution: Robby asks his dad how he plans on searching for Miguel, which entails asking the locals around if they have seen him. Robby thinks this plan is stupid, but it ultimately proves to be quite effective.Johnny: Miguel's looking for Hector Salazar. I know where the kid gets off the bus. That's our first stop.
Robby: And when we get there, what do you plan on doing?
Johnny: I'll ask around if anyone saw Miguel.
Robby: ...That's the big plan? - Wham Shot: At the end of the episode, Silver has gathered several candidates to become Cobra Kai senseis. The last candidate (and the final shot of the episode) is revealed to be Chozen.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Sam chews out Miguel for abandoning her at the tournament and not seeing her fight Tory. Miguel, however, immediately turns it back on her by noting that he's going through some pretty serious issues as well, and she's making it all about her.Sam: Gonna ask what happened at the tournament? You knew what it meant for me to face Tory. You're not gonna ask if I won or lost?
