Cobra Kai Season 4 promises high stakes and lots of action, as Johnny and Daniel try to ready their students for a decisive fight against John Kreese’s pupils in the All Valley Karate Tournament. Kreese will have some backup, thanks to the return of The Karate Kid Part III’s Terry Silver, and there’s reason to believe the devious Silver changed over time. The latest evidence of that comes from one of the co-creators, who hinted that Thomas Ian Griffith’s character might experience a bit of an evolution from his previous appearance.
The creators sat down with Screen Rant and chatted about what fans can expect from this new string of episodes of the beloved Netflix series. Co-creator Josh Heald fielded a question about Terry Silver’s return, specifically whether the villainous character has changed since his last appearance. With this, Heald teased that he’s not exactly the same person who tried to take down Ralph Macchio's Daniel LaRusso so many years ago:
He's kind of like every other character we're bringing back into [the Cobra Kai] universe from the original movies. They've grown, they've reflected upon who they were, and they have an opinion about what life is like for them now and for the rest of the world now. We know with characters like Johnny, it was a life full of resentment. We know with characters like Chozen [Yuji Okumoto] in season 3, it was a life full of regret and embarrassment. We know with Daniel, it was a life full of rewards and looking back on the past as beautiful stepping stones to get where you're at…I think audiences can expect [Terry Silver] to come in with a clear point of view as to who he was when we last knew him in [The Karate Kid Part III], and that will inevitably create some conflicts with the forces around him.
In the latest trailer, Terry Silver appeared to instruct Cobra Kai students to refrain from fighting ahead of the All Valley tournament, which seemed surprising. The Karate Kid’s villains typically aren’t the type to take the high road in any situation but, as Josh Heald mentioned in regard to Chozen, people can change.
Of course, one still has to wonder just how much Terry Silver has evolved, considering he’s back with John Kreese. Together, the two will try to coach the victor of the All Valley tournament and exact revenge on old rivals in the best way possible. At least, that’s what one may believe from footage this far, but maybe Silver is motivated by other goals? I guess we can only wait and see.
Cobra Kai Season 4 premieres over on Netflix on Friday, December 31st. Tune in for what will hopefully be one of the biggest seasons of the show yet, and one that’s absolutely filled with thrills from start to finish.
