Whose side each of the kids will take at the beginning of Cobra Kai season 5 have all been revealed. In the Netflix show, it’s become sort of an unspoken tradition for loyalties to change from season to season. Quite a few of the show’s principal characters aren’t with the same dojo they initially joined.
For a long time now, details on what The Karate Kid sequel series has in store for Miguel, Robby, Sam, and all the others have remained under wraps, but with season 5 inching closer and closer, several questions about the story have already been answered. Just as season 4’s ending implied, Silver will make Cobra Kai stronger than ever while Johnny, Chozen, and Daniel work together to stop him.
From the looks of things, there will be at least two warring karate factions in Cobra Kai season 5. On one side, there’s Terry Silver’s Cobra Kai, which will be joined by multiple new karate instructors. On the other, there’s Johnny, Daniel, and Chozen, who appear to have formed a trio. Both dojos are expected to boast strong rosters. Here’s which dojo of the show’s teenage fighters will be aligned with from the start.
Hawk
After completing his redemption arc and winning the boys’ division of the All Valley for Miyagi-do, Hawk has no reason to switch loyalties in Cobra Kai season 5. According to what was said by the characters in the trailer, Miyagi-do will indeed shut down, but clearly, it will either reopen or a new dojo formed by Daniel, Chozen, and Johnny will take its place. Either way, Hawk will once again be on the same side as the protagonists when the dojo war with Terry Silver reignites in season 5.
Dimitri
Spotted in multiple scenes in the Cobra Kai season 5 trailer, Demetri will be a member of the dojo run by Daniel and Chozen. In season 4, how much his training with Ralph Macchio's Daniel LaRusso has paid off was proven by his ability to progress all the way to the tournament semifinals. He ultimately lost to Robby, but the impressive gains he’s made under Daniel’s guidance is enough to justify that relationship continuing into season 5.
Kyler
Cobra Kai will keep its top bully when season 5 kicks off. While the character’s skills remain far behind the likes of Robby, Miguel, and Hawk, he’s still considered one of the best students it had left when season 4 concluded. While that could very well be changed by Cobra Kai’s promised expansion, images and trailers indicate that Kyler will remain a key player for Terry Silver’s dojo. As has become the trend with his character, it makes sense that he’ll be one of the instigators in the fights to come.
Tory
Tory, one of the few main characters who’s only been with one dojo, was put in a position to finally part ways with Cobra Kai for good by the season 4 finale. Silver ousting her mentor (Kreese) and Tory finding out that Silver paid off a referee to win the tournament gave her two good reasons to leave. That being said, all indications point to Tory staying with Cobra Kai as one of Terry Silver’s students. She could leave before the end of the season, of course, but marketing for Cobra Kai season 5 shows that any decision to join a different dojo won’t be made in haste. Another push may be needed before Tory severs ties with Cobra Kai.
Miguel
Following Miguel’s season 4 ending, there was talk of him potentially aligning with Cobra Kai due to the deepening division between his character and Johnny, but the Cobra Kai season 5 trailer has quelled those theories by showing Miguel as one of the students training under Johnny, Daniel, and Chozen. What this implies is that the upcoming Mexico storyline won’t be stretched out for too long. An early resolution should make it possible for Cobra Kai to bring Johnny and Miguel back to the Valley within a few episodes and get both involved in the fight against Cobra Kai.
Robby
Robby’s reconciliation with Johnny in the season 4 finale put an end to any lingering reasons Tanner Buchanan’s character still had for fighting for Cobra Kai. Now, viewers will finally have an opportunity to see Robby fight on the same side as his father, a scenario that once felt miles out of reach. Not only that, but this also means he’ll have to work with Miguel. Trailers highlight the fact that these two haven’t gotten over their issues, but training together at Johnny, Daniel, and Chozen’s dojo could be a step in the right direction.
Kenny
As expected, it looks like Kenny will decide against taking Robby’s advice to leave Cobra Kai. It’s been revealed that Kenny will remain a key player at the Cobra Kai dojo when the show returns. And based on how he fared at the tournament and the interest Silver showed in developing his skills, Kenny has the potential to be one of Cobra Kai’s star students, particularly if Tory winds up leaving before the end of the season.
Anthony
Anthony LaRusso’s history with Kenny has made it impossible for him to keep maintaining a comfortable distance from his father’s conflict with Cobra Kai. Kenny practically declared war on Anthony when season 4 ended, which is why it will be more important than ever that he take up karate and get into the dojo with the others. Official photos for season 5 confirm that’s exactly what will happen. It appears he’ll be training alongside the main group under Daniel, Chozen, and possibly Johnny.
Sam
Due to Silver’s cheating, Samantha LaRusso suffered a crushing loss to Tory in the show’s second All Valley Karate Tournament. But her defeat is unlikely to keep her down for long. In the Cobra Kai season 5 trailer, Sam was seen training alongside her friends at Daniel’s dojo. She’ll always be her father’s student first, but his alliance with Chozen and Johnny could allow her to get guidance from them as well. She already expressed respect for Johnny’s aggressive approach, so season 5 could certainly see a continuation of her character learning from his methods.
Devon
The young karate prodigy Johnny hoped would become Eagle Fang’s female champion is set to change dojos. The show has confirmed through released footage that Devon Lee will be a member of Topanga Karate, a dojo that made it to the semifinals via Xander Stone in season 1's tournament. However, the trailer also makes no secret of the fact that Devon will eventually jump to Cobra Kai, as she's also seen wearing the black-and-gold uniforms of the Cobra Kai students. Though she admittedly wasn’t around for very long, her character was so important to Eagle Fang that her absence will be deeply felt. That being said, Devon's decision does make sense. She didn’t have any known friendships with Miguel, Mitch, and the others, nor did she have a bond with Johnny. So when Eagle Fang shut down, she could have joined Topanga Karate before eventually signing up with Cobra Kai, whose funding may have made them a tremendously lucrative prospect.
Bert, Nathaniel, Chris & Mitch
Tertiary characters like Bert, Nathaniel, Chris, and Mitch have all been a party to the various dojo changes that have taken place over the years. For different reasons, each of the four started with Cobra Kai but have all since cut ties with the dojo. In the cases of Nathaniel and Chris, both left willingly to join Miyagi-do when Johnny was still in charge, while Bert and Mitch joined Eagle Fang after being kicked out by Kreese. In Cobra Kai season 5, all four will be practicing together under the same roof as students of Johnny, Daniel, and Chozen.