LOS ALAMITOS, CA– Season five of the hit Netflix series “Cobra Kai” brings back familiar stars, Ralph Macchio, as Daniel LaRusso, Bill Zabka as Johnny Lawrence, and Thomas Ian Griffith as Terry Silver. Silver provides an antagonistic foil to the characters of Lawrence and LaRusso. Courtney Henggeler also returns as Amanda LaRusso, spouse of Daniel. The show includes a host of young talent such as Peyton List as Tory Nichols, Xolo Mariduena as Miguel Diaz, Tanner Buchanan as Robby Keene, son of Lawrence, Mary Mouser as Samantha LaRusso, daughter of Daniel, and Jacob Bertrand as Eli Moskowitz. The season’s primary battle builds off of the conflict set up in Sony’s “The Karate Kid III” to present a very tangible threat from Silver to the San Fernando Valley.

This season is mostly plot-driven, and in that respect, it does a great job of creating high stakes with Silver and the opposition he provides, though there is not much fighting in this season compared to seasons prior. Moreover, the teen romance that has been present in the show’s past also takes a backseat, so it is less satisfying to see this storyline come to a close. It takes a while for the story to get going, but once it gets the ball rolling, the drama is very compelling. Silver’s house provides for a particularly intriguing set piece, as it allows for some enthralling combat scenes. The greatest improved aspect of this season is how it utilizes the “Karate Kid” movie lore. It utilizes characters from these decades-old movies while bringing audience members into the knowledge in a way that feels natural and not like a series of exposition dumps.

The show currently boasts a 100% critical approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes; based on audience scores on the site, the show holds a 93% approval rating. On Metacritic, the show has a user score of 8.3/10 based on audience reviews, which the website dubbed “Universal Acclaim.” The show currently boasts an 8.5/10 rating on the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) based on roughly 178 thousand reviews from IMDB users.

This show has delighted general audiences since the first season, as it is the kind of television that allows for mindless binge-watching; it simultaneously incorporates a decent plot and a colorful cast of characters for those in search of a nice storytelling experience. All in all, this show is most deserving of its “Universal Acclaim.”