- "You were right about me, John. I was living a lie. I lost who I was along the way. But now? Now there's nothing I want more than a second chance at finishing what we started. I just wanna make sure this time we win. And the only way to do that is to forget about the past. Focus on our students. We do that, everything else will fall into place. LaRusso will have to shut down Miyagi-Do. And Johnny Lawrence will rue the day he ever left Cobra Kai. So, what do you say?"
"I say... we've got a victory in our future." - ―Terry Silver and John Kreese[src]
"Match Point" is the fifth episode of the fourth season of Cobra Kai.
Summary
Johnny and Daniel's dojo - and their fragile alliance - teeter on the brink of collapse when they agree to a winner-takes-all sensei showdown.
Plot
Before Miyagi-Do Karate and Eagle Fang begin training, Terry Silver talks to Daniel LaRusso and apologizes for his misconduct from The Karate Kid Part III. However, Daniel sees through his deception and doesn't forgive him. The students then overhear the conversation and ask who he is, but Sam remarks that she doesn't know who Terry is. Terry fails to get forgiveness but tells him that they will hold all fighting before the All-Valley Karate Tournament. John Kreese also reminds Daniel and Johnny Lawrence of their deal but Daniel reminds him that Cobra Kai won't win and has them leave his dojo. Before they leave, Silver says that they will inflict a humiliating defeat on LaRusso.
Back at Cobra Kai, the students are warming up. Robby explains that he and Tory are the strong fighters but they can't violate probation. Terry explains to the students that there will be no more fighting until the tournament. Tory gets upset but Kreese then tells them to never show mercy. Silver then adds that they need to store their anger and save it when they're ready.
Daniel and Johnny are at a bar where Daniel is talking about his match with Mike Barnes in the 1985 All-Valley Tournament. He explains after the match, he never saw Terry Silver until he visited the dojo. Daniel also tells Johnny he knows Silver's playbook and that he now needs to takeover the training, upsetting Johnny. Johnny suggests beating him up. but Daniel said that Johnny's idea will not work. Daniel then tells him that he wants what's best for the students, but Johnny gets upset talking about Miguel and reminds him that his crane kick doesn't make him a better fighter. He tells them that he knows Cobra Kai well and can beat them. Daniel and Johnny agree to a rematch tournament style and whoever wins will take over the training.
At school, Demetri reads about Terry Silver and explains to Hawk that he did technological stuff to find out more about him. Yasmine and Moon are walking where Yasmine approaches Demetri and the two share a kiss. Moon compliments Hawk's new hair color and explains that purple symbolizes enlightenment. Yasmine tells Demetri that she will be in Australia and that she won't be able to go to prom and watch him in the tournament. They then go to Miguel and Sam where Miguel tells them about Daniel and Johnny's rematch and how Johnny kept talking about it on Twitter the previous night, and Hawk praises the fight.
Later on, Johnny is training for the fight while remembering his past experiences with Daniel. Sam comes home from school where she and Daniel talk about Johnny's teachings. She tells him that she needs to learn his methods in order to survive the All-Valley Tournament. However, Daniel denies the idea of stating how Johnny's methods are too aggressive. Sam ends the conversation saying she can make her own decisions.
Cobra Kai is then training where Silver talks about discipline and they need to receive it. He tells them that he understands how badly they want to defeat Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang, but Silver explains that they need to focus on their training. After class, Robby explains that they know how to get revenge on Hawk without fighting. When Miguel comes home, Johnny tells him how he can beat Daniel. Miguel tells him that he still wants to learn Miyagi-Do, but Johnny rejects the idea and explains that he doesn't care about their rivalry.
Daniel talks to a picture of Mr. Miyagi about how his alliance with Johnny didn't work and then begins his training while also remembering his experiences with Johnny. Kreese and Silver are having dinner where Kreese is happy that Silver rejoined him but explains that his teaching methods are confusing. Kreese then explains that Cobra Kai never breaks down from a fight. Silver then talks about Robby and how he's Johnny's son. He is upset that he stole him from Johnny and that his students are also added to their old drama. Silver then talks about forgetting the past and focusing on the dojo with Kreese ensuring victory.
Hawk is at the tattoo shop while waiting for his artist Rico, but he doesn't show up. Cobra Kai then comes in and ambushes him in revenge for bullying their classmate Kenny Payne, drenching them at the baseball diamond and betraying them. The other students hold him down and Robby cuts out his mohawk.
Johnny arrives at Miyagi-Do for his match with Daniel, surprised about the students watching. Daniel tells him that's what he got for tweeting his match. Johnny explains that he thinks Eagle Fang is best for the kids, but Daniel counters saying Miyagi-Do is better. Miguel and Samantha are the referees and the fight begins. Johnny scores the first point, but Daniel ties the score. Daniel then scores another point, but Johnny ties the score again. In the final round, the two both hit each other, but it's not clear who scored a point.
Hawk returns to the dojo where he shows everyone his cut off mohawk. Johnny wants to get payback, but Daniel rejects the idea. They argue about how their conflicting methods have affected their alliance and their students. Realizing that the merge failed, Eagle Fang leaves Miyagi-Do.
Cast
Starring
- Ralph Macchio as Daniel LaRusso
- William Zabka as Johnny Lawrence
- Courtney Henggeler as Amanda LaRusso
- Xolo Maridueña as Miguel Diaz
- Tanner Buchanan as Robby Keene
- Mary Mouser as Samantha LaRusso
- Jacob Bertrand as Eli "Hawk" Moskowitz
- Gianni Decenzo as Demetri
- Peyton List as Tory Nichols
- Vanessa Rubio as Carmen Diaz
- Thomas Ian Griffith as Terry Silver
- Martin Kove as John Kreese
Guest Starring
- Dallas Dupree Young as Kenny Payne
- Joe Seo as Kyler Park
- Aedin Mincks as Mitch
- Khalil Everage as Chris
- Annalisa Cochrane as Yasmine
- Dan Adhoot as Anoush Norouzi
- Bert Ernst as Louie LaRusso, Jr.
- Owen Morgan as Bert
- Nathaniel Oh as Nathaniel
Co-Starring
- Nick Eagles as Hipster Bartender
- Hannah Kepple as Moon Taylor
- Olivia Park as Hostess
- Jayden Rivers as Abe
Trivia
- Match Point is the shortest episode of the season, with a runtime of 28 minutes. It beats The Fall (29 minutes) by a single minute.
- A "match point" occurs in a sporting competition or tournament when both parties are tied for a victory, and the next to score wins the round and the match.
- The flashbacks shown when Daniel and Johnny are training include clips from the unused pie scene filmed for The Karate Kid previously mentioned in Pulpo, it's edited here to show the event from each characters point of view.
- This is the second time Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence face off each other in the series. The first time was in No Mercy when the two fought when Daniel finds out that Sam had snuck into Johnny Lawrence's apartment to keep her secret being drunk. Their match is basically similar to their fight at the 1984 All Valley Karate Tournament, but the only difference is that their match was to determine who becomes sensei and that there was no clear winner due to both senseis falling.
- Daniel and Johnny both falling meant no clear winner, but if this would happen at a karate tournament, a rule could suggest that if both opponents fall, then whoever fell first will be landed a point and be declared winner. (based on the video shown, Johnny wins as Daniel touched the mat first, based on angle.)
- Match Point is the first time that characters Terry Silver and Johnny Lawrence meet. Johnny had no previous knowledge of Terry before the episode's events.
- The scene where Eli gets held by a cloth on his neck and loses the mohawk resembles a scene from the Marvel's movie Thor: Ragnarok where Thor is unable to escape from a chair and loses his long hair.
- Eli also has purple for his mohawk color temporarily.
- It is revealed in this episode that Moon and Piper broke up.
- This is also the first episode where Piper is mentioned, but not seen in the episode.
- Anoush Norouzi references the events of All In, stating that Johnny "had me in an armbar like he was Royce Gracie." Gracie is a famous practitioner of Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and notably submitted several opponents by armbar during his mixed martial arts career, including Jason DeLucia at UFC 2, Kimo Leopoldo at UFC 3, and Keith Hackney at UFC 4. However, the technique Johnny used against him more closely resembled a hammerlock than an armbar.
- In the scene where Eli and Demetri are researching about Terry Silver, an actual publicity photo of Thomas Ian Griffith, Silver's actor, is used for the article. He's also notably depicted with shorter hair.
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