10 Cobra Kai Characters Season 5 Should Focus On

Cobra Kai, the TV continuation of The Karate Kid series, is getting close to the release of its fifth season. Over its four seasons so far, it has featured a vast host of characters. Some characters are original to Cobra Kai and others have returned from the original film or its sequels.

With such a large cast, not every character can get equal prominence. Cobra Kai has a tendency to focus on its core cast while also giving a few other characters the spotlight in each season. As a result, many fans are looking forward to learning which characters the narrative will focus on in its next season.

10 Anthony LaRusso Is In A Very Bad Position

Most of the LaRusso family are at least moderately significant characters. Daniel and his daughter Sam are two of Cobra Kai’s main characters. The exception is Anthony LaRusso, Daniel and Amanda’s son, who has drifted in and out of focus. After serving as comic relief in the first season, he became all-but-irrelevant for seasons 2 and 3 and then received some spotlight in season 4.

Anthony’s story ended on a cliffhanger with his former bullying target Kenny Payne physically assaulting him and promising to torment him in return at high school. Focusing on Anthony in season 5 could let Cobra Kai discuss bullying, revenge, and exploring how a character like Anthony can make things right.

9 Piper Elswith Is In With The Wrong Crowd

The ‘karate war’ between the three dojos in seasons 3 and 4 sent all of them looking for new members. One hotly-contested student is Piper Elswith, the top athlete of West Valley High School. Despite her generally kind nature, Piper fell in with the ruthless and unpleasant Cobra Kai due to their marketing and fought for them in the tournament.

Piper only received a meager amount of attention in season 4, but season 5 has a chance to expand on her character. As a kind-hearted person in with a crowd of thugs and bullies, she could make for an interesting character arc or act as a more human side to Terry Silver’s Cobra Kai.

8 Demetri Could Be The Archetypal Miyagi-Do Practitioner

The core conflict in Cobra Kai is between three karate styles: the defensive and patient Miyagi-Do, the ruthless and underhand Cobra Kai, and the aggressive but honorable Eagle Fang. Most characters make use of the more aggressive styles. Season 4 particularly emphasizes the need to temper defense with aggression.

Both Sam LaRusso and Hawk use Eagle Fang or Cobra Kai to even the odds in season 4’s tournament, but one character punches above their weight by sticking true to Miyagi-Do: Demetri Alexopolous. Focusing on this aspect of Demetri could further his increasing prominence inCobra Kai and give him his time in the spotlight, particularly with new teacher Chozen being a practitioner of an older and purer form of Miyagi-Do.

7 Mike Barnes Could Be An Old Enemy Returned

Most people agree that The Karate Kid Part III is not a particularly good film, but Cobra Kai has done very well in redeeming aspects of it. Notably, Cobra Kai made Part III’s villain, Terry Silver, the show’s most dominant antagonistic force. As such, another one of Part III’s villains could make a triumphant return, the bully and karateka Mike Barnes.

Serving mostly as a physical threat to Daniel in Part III, Barnes could take on a more important role in Cobra Kai. The show has even hinted at this possibility when Silver mentions bringing in ‘old friends’ to help him teach students. Bringing back Barnes could help to further redeem one of the series’ worst films.

6 Shawn Payne Could Be Let Out Of Prison

During Robby Keene’s stint in a juvenile detention center in season 3, Shawn Payne serves as his antagonist. A ruthless bully, Shawn is enough of a physical threat to challenge Robby without any knowledge of karate. After this, he turns into a more sympathetic figure, becomes a friend to Robby, and becomes a devoted older brother.

In season 4, Shawn is implied to be leaving prison soon. At the same time, his innocent younger brother has become twisted by Cobra Kai’s philosophy. Seeing Shawn react to this, and whether he joins any of the dojos as a result, could give him an interesting arc in season 5 and bring back a character who has already made an impact.

5 Tory Nichols Deserves Even More Focus

Tory Nichols’ prominence has increased throughout Cobra Kai. An antagonistic figure in season 2, seasons 3 and 4 have furthered Tory’s rivalry with Sam and made her one of the most effective villains. Despite this, they’ve also showcased the hardships she’s facing and emphasized her sympathetic aspects.

As a result, she’s one of the most significant charactersand deserves to have this continue into season 5. Season 4 ends with her winning a victory over Sam, only to learn that the match was rigged. Seeing how she reacts to this and to the changes in Cobra Kai would be a great addition to season 5.

4 Chozen Is A Curveball For The Conflict

After the violent gang war of season 3, Cobra Kai‘s fourth season features a peaceful bet between the dojos that rides on the end-of-year karate tournament. With Cobra Kai victorious due to their cheating, neither Daniel LaRusso nor Johnny Lawrence are allowed to teach karate in the valley. In response, Daniel recruits an old rival of his: Chozen Toguchi from Part II.

Introduced earlier in Cobra Kai as a redeemed figure and a karate practitioner almost on Mr. Miyagi’s level, Chozen is as far above Daniel, Johnny, and Silver as any of them are above their students. Promising to bring down Silver once and for all, Chozen looks sure to shake things up in season 5.

3 Devon Lee Is A Perfect Fit For Eagle Fang

In the scramble to acquire students for the tournament in season 4, Johnny’s Eagle Fang dojo finds Devon Lee. Although intelligent, studious, and at odds with Johnny’s political incorrectness, Devon proves herself a perfect fit for the dojo as an aggressive person with potent instincts.

Due to the number of storylines at play in season 4, Devon gets little focus and is eliminated from the tournament. However, she explicitly states her intention to get better and annihilate the opposition in the next year. Seeing a student with the perfect temperament for Eagle Fang succeed could help show off the potential of each style. Season 5 could give more spotlight to a very amusing character.

2 Kenny Payne Is On A Very Dark Path

Kenny Payne is Shawn’s younger brother and was bullied by Anthony LaRusso. After going to his brother for help, Kenny is sent to Robby Keene for training. However, Robby isn’t a part of the harmonious Miyagi-Do at this point. Instead, Kenny joins Cobra Kai and begins to internalize its violent and cruel philosophy.

Although Kenny learns to defend himself, he also becomes far more aggressive, promising to flip the script and begin bullying Anthony just as the latter tried to apologize. Robby is horrified by this turn, and season 5 could do well to explore their dynamic while giving Kenny his own storyline about giving in to his darker side.

1 Hawk Is The Reigning Champion

Eli ‘Hawk’ Moskowitz has been a part of the show since season 1 and is one of the most evolving characters in Cobra Kai. Introduced as a meek bullying victim, Eli became one of the biggest, most arrogant bullies in the school as a result of Cobra Kai’s teachings. This culminated in him snapping the arm of his former best friend, Demetri.

In the last episode of season 3, Hawk comes to his senses and season 4 follows his redemption. He progresses to the final of the All-Valley Tournament and is one of the last hopes for the heroic dojos in his epic bout against Robby. Ultimately, Hawk wins by blending Cobra Kai and Miyagi-Do, and his unique abilities and champion status put him in an interesting place for the new status quo of Cobra Kai in season 5.