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"Since you joined Cobra Kai, I have been hard on you. I've called you names. I've humiliated you. Some of you I've hit. And for that, I don't apologize. Cobra Kai is about strength. If you're not strong on the inside, you can't be strong on the outside. And right now, you're all weak. And I know that because I was you. I used to have no friends. Used to be the weirdo kid. Not that weird. I hooked up with babes and all, but... the point is, I wasn't always the badass sensei I am today. Just like a cobra, I had to shed my loser skin to find my true power. And you guys will too."
Johnny Lawrence[src]

"Quiver" is the sixth episode of the first season of Cobra Kai.

Summary[]

Johnny's dojo class attracts a group of misfits while his son Robby, who harbors ulterior motives, lands a new job. Samantha makes a new friend in science class. Daniel inspires interest in karate from an unlikely person.

Plot[]

The episode opens with a set of definitions:

qui-ver / kwiver / verb. Tremble or shake with a slight rapid motion.

noun. A slight trembling movement or sound, especially caused by fear.

noun (obsolete). A group of cobras.

In a flashback to 1979 in Encino Hills, California, 12-year-old Johnny Lawrence goes on a bike ride where he discovers the original Cobra Kai dojo. In the present day, he observes the new crop of students drawn to his dojo, but denounces them all as "losers" and "nerds". Demetri is reluctant to join but Eli persuades him to try it out after Miguel beat up Kyler. During a training session, Johnny openly ridicules Miguel's friend Eli, who has an unsightly scar from a cleft lip surgery, which in turn draws an objection from his friend Demetri. After he challenges Johnny's authority, Johnny orders Demetri to hit him and quickly flips him to the ground as a lesson to the others. Demetri then quits the dojo, claiming that as long as he is friends with Miguel, no one at school will bother him anyway. As if to demonstrate the point, a battered and bruised Kyler approaches the pair, but meekly turns and walks the other direction.

Meanwhile, Daniel has resumed his regular training routine but yearns for someone to train with. He approaches Sam, who is relaxing near the swimming pool, but she is too dejected by having become a target of Yasmine's cyberbullying to participate. His wife and his young son Anthony are also uninterested. At the car dealership, Robby has seemingly become a model employee, but Daniel's loutish cousin Louie begins to haze him by suggesting that he move one of the cars in the crowded showroom closer to the front window, as a favor to Daniel. Robby obligingly enters the car and turns on the engine, but Daniel quickly intervenes and scolds him for the reckless act, causing Robby to quit. Upon realizing the truth of the matter, Daniel goes after him to apologize but accidentally startles Robby, prompting the boy to wheel around with his fists raised. Daniel talks him down and corrects a flaw in Robby's punching technique, and the two reconcile.

At school, Sam finds herself without a partner in science lab, but Miguel volunteers to take her into his group with Demetri. Sam thanks Miguel for standing up for her in the lunch room, but playfully points out a flaw in his fighting technique and the two begin to bond. Back at the dojo, Johnny notices far fewer students than the day before, with many having quit due to his degrading teaching style and insults. He points out Eli (whom he has nicknamed Lip due to his scar), but when the boy objects to the name, Johnny encourages him to "flip the script" and do something to take the focus away from his scar. Instead, Eli walks out in humiliation. Miguel stands up for his friends by telling Johnny, "you don't know what it's like to be us." Later that night, Johnny returns home and has a flashback to his childhood where he asks his stepfather if he can take karate lessons, only to be mocked and berated.

At LaRusso Auto, Louie is forced to apologize to Robby for tricking him, but gives Robby the task of hand delivering the company sales report to Daniel's house that night as a peace offering. When Robby arrives, he finds Daniel in the midst of a kata session, which intrigues him. Upon revealing that the sales report was in fact another prank by Louie, Daniel invites Robby to stay and learn about kata, and Robby accepts.

The next day at Cobra Kai finds even fewer students in attendance, which Johnny claims is his fault. Though he makes no apologies for his harsh methods, he tells his students that he used to be just like them, and that with training, Cobra Kai can help them find their true power. At that moment, Eli re-enters the dojo with a blue mohawk and a cocky new attitude, thus earning Johnny's approval and the new nickname of Hawk. After reciting the Cobra Kai creed, Johnny prepares to lead his students in another training session.

Trivia[]

  • The episode's title, Quiver, comes from an obsolete noun used to refer to a group of Cobras. As shown in the beginning of the episode.
  • Johnny is seen using a Walkman in a flashback to 1979. Though the Walkman did exist at the time, it did not become available in the US until June 1980. Also, the model he is shown using is the WM-F77, which was not introduced until 1986.
  • Eli Moskowitz's transformation to Hawk becomes a major turning point for the show.
  • Demetri reunites with Johnny in season 4.
  • Anthony LaRusso is seen playing Tekken 5: Dark Ressurection on his PS Vita in the middle of the episode.
           Cobrakai

Season I
Ace Degenerate | Strike First | Esqueleto | Cobra Kai Never Dies | Counterbalance | Quiver | All Valley | Molting | Different but Same | Mercy

Season II
Mercy Part II | Back in Black | Fire and Ice | The Moment of Truth | All In | Take a Right | Lull | Glory of Love | Pulpo | No Mercy

Season III
Aftermath | Nature Vs. Nurture | Now You're Gonna Pay | The Right Path | Miyagi-Do | King Cobra | Obstáculos | The Good, The Bad, and The Badass | Feel The Night | December 19

Season IV
Let's Begin | First Learn Stand | Then Learn Fly | Bicephaly | Match Point | Kicks Get Chicks | Minefields | Party Time | The Fall | The Rise

Season V
Long, Long Way From Home | Molé | Playing With Fire | Downward Spiral | Extreme Measures | Ouroboros | Bad Eggs | Taikai | Survivors | Head of the Snake

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