- "I was ready to let this go. And you just kept getting in my way. You bit off more than you could chew. And now that the writing's on the wall, you wanna surrender? No, no, no. We are way past the time of white flags, Danny Boy. Don't look at this as mercy. On the contrary. I want you alive and well for what's about to happen. Well, alive at least. Because the real pain is about to begin."
- ―Terry Silver to Daniel LaRusso[src]
"Extreme Measures" is the fifth episode of the fifth season of Cobra Kai.
Synopsis
Daniel leans on a friend - and frenemy. Tensions come to a head for Miguel and Robby. A familiar face returns.
Plot
We open at the new flagship Cobra Kai dojo, and Stingray is back. While Tory warms the class up, Silver talks with Stingray, where we find out that thanks to his loyalty, Silver hooked him up with an apartment. Outside, an all too familiar car is waiting for Stingray. It’s Johnny’s previous Cobra Kai car (which he abandoned and Terry later purchased at an impound auction). In the trunk, a gi with Stingray’s name is waiting.
Meanwhile, Daniel looks positively awful. Chozen tries to offer comfort, but it doesn’t really help. He soon notices something that came in the mail: a newspaper clipping of Kreese’s trial with a photo included of Stingray’s testimony. Written on it is the word “liar” and an address to Stingray's house. Chozen convinces Daniel to go there. They arrive just as Stingray is going inside, and Daniel recognizes the car. They go to Stingray’s nice new apartment. Daniel mentions the car and then the newspaper clipping, trying to explain that Silver is bad. He figures out what actually happened, but Stingray won’t hear it or admit it. Daniel gets a little more aggressive and causes Stingray to fall right onto his now broken PlayStation 4.
Robby and Miguel are at Olive Garden and are annoyed but not fully surprised that Johnny got them both there. Johnny arrives and a very enthusiastic server follows. Johnny tries to match the energy, but Miguel and Robby are sick of it and leave. Later, Johnny gets them both at his place where a makeshift escape room is set up (which backfires in the sense that Johnny reversed the lock and literally threw away the key. So, they’re locked in.) The boys are again annoyed, and Miguel is able to leave when Rosa (fully dressed for the occasion) shows up.
Daniel shows up next asking for Johnny’s help. He lays out the Stingray situation (which would sound normal if he didn’t look like that one Charlie Day meme). Johnny doesn’t want to get involved though. Shortly after, they sit, and Johnny mentions Daniel’s appearance and Amanda. Daniel shares that she’s in Ohio and laments the situation. Johnny isn’t sure how to help but he knows that Daniel and Amanda will figure things out. Daniel points out the escape room and Johnny explains. Daniel adds that maybe if the two of them had fought way back when without tournament rules, they might have worked the rivalry out of their systems. After a playful dig by Johnny, Daniel thanks him and leaves.
Johnny takes Daniel’s remark to heart and after unleashing Sensei Lawrence, he tells Robby and Miguel to fight it out. They start half-heartedly until Miguel gets in a good kick that escalates things. They carry it into the stairwell and to the second level of the complex, which is when Johnny really starts to get nervous. As they continue, flashes from the season 2 finale fight are interspersed. But before Miguel can knock Robby over the railing, he stops after remembering his fall. He didn’t get into karate to hurt people. He asks why Robby didn’t hold back, and Robby admits he just wanted the fight to end, but if he could take back, he would. Johnny reaches them and is relieved they’re done. He accidentally slips the baby news and Robby and Miguel are thrilled causing the two both go to hug him.
That night, the three dig into an Olive Garden feast at Miguel’s. Carmen comes home and is surprised, but happy, to see Robby and glad they worked things out. When she mentions the bruises, Johnny assures he did not do that, though Daniel gave him the idea. He tells her they aren’t working together yet, but probably should.
In Ohio, Amanda’s cousin Jessica arrives to take Amanda and the kids to a local bar for dinner. At a bar, the adults send Sam and Anthony off to play a game while they go the counter for drinks and conversation. Anthony plays the game while Sam scrolls on her phone. She sees a video of the incident between Kenny and Anthony at the waterpark. She’s upset with Anthony that he didn’t ask her for help, but Anthony says that he didn’t want his sister swooping in. He explains everything with Kenny and how Robby is the reason it wasn’t worse at the tournament. Amanda fills Jessica in on everything and shares her frustrations and after hearing Terry Silver's name, Jessica can sympathize with Daniel. She saw firsthand how Silver terrorized him back in the day, and (having also been physically terrorized by them) says she still has occasional nightmares of it. A few of their former high school classmates begin to heckle them, led by Elizabeth-Anne Rooney. Elizabeth calls Amanda "Babe Ruthless" (a reference to her math tutor incident) and the women get into a brawl. Amanda is easily restrained, but is saved at the last second by Sam who kicks Elizabeth into the bar. They then flee the scene. Back at home, Amanda and Jessica recount the episode. In the end, Jessica insists Amanda cut Daniel some slack.
Daniel gets home and Chozen packs to return to Japan, but he doesn’t want to. Daniel says he needs to let the fight go so he doesn’t lose his family. Chozen is disappointed and believes he failed Daniel, but Daniel owns up to the failures and plans to make amends with Stingray and Amanda. He goes to Stingray first but he’s not home. But Silver is there. Daniel tells Silver that he is giving up, but Terry doesn’t care. Terry then attacks Daniel and beats him severely, but not before telling him that he plans to take Cobra Kai worldwide.
In a voiceover, Tory tells someone about how she’s been struggling. Tory reveals that she was the one who left the note for Daniel. Scenes of Robby fixing Johnny’s lock, Amanda with Daniel, and Johnny arriving at the LaRussos’ plays out. We see Tory, who adds that she wants to know there’s an endgame. It’s revealed she’s talking to Kreese and he ensures her that Silver is going down.
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 (Credit only)
- Peyton List as Tory Nichols
- Dallas Dupree Young as Kenny Payne
- Vanessa Rubio as Carmen Diaz
- Thomas Ian Griffith as Terry Silver
- Martin Kove as John Kreese
Guest Starring
- Griffin Santopietro as Anthony LaRusso
- Paul Walter Hauser as Stingray
- Robyn Lively as Jessica Andrews
- Rose Bianco as Rosa Diaz
- Sunny Mabrey as Lizzie-Anne
- Yuji Okumoto as Chozen Toguchi
Co-Starring
- Rachelle Carson-Begley as Joanne
- Billy Hansmann as Waiter Henry
- Adam Murray as Random Dirtbag
Trivia
- The episode takes its title from one of Silver's lines in Part III, where he said to Daniel "Extreme situations require extreme measures."
- Jessica Andrews returned in this episode, though her plot wasn’t with Daniel. But surprisingly it is revealed that she is Amanda’s cousin and that she was the one who introduced them to each other and set them up.
- Amanda’s mother appears for the first time. This is the first time that any of Amanda’s family appears on the show. It is also revealed that she is from Columbus, Ohio.
- Flashbacks to The Karate Kid Part III are shown, unlike previous season no new footage is seen, but the shots have been re-scanned and re-framed.
- Elizabeth-Anne Rooney, who was mentioned in Part III, appeared for the first time in this episode and was played by Sunny Mabrey, though there is no mention of the time she stole Jessica's boyfriend, but it is also revealed she is an antagonist to Amanda too, not just Jessica.
- Courtney Henggeler and Sunny Mabrey both appeared in the TV movie Escaping Dad in which they play characters who are best friends instead of enemies.
- This is the only time the "QUIET" catchphrase is said this season.
Gallery
