Silver Shows his True Colors
In the wake of the tournament, Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith) and Kreese celebrate their victory by toasting Cobra Kai with a bottle of 1998 Bollinger, but we know something’s up when Silver doesn’t drink. True to his original Karate Kid Part III villainy, Silver reveals his treachery with a wicked backstabbing betrayal of Kreese.
“I’m shedding my weakness, Captain,” says Silver as his deceitful ploy comes to fruition. After beating down Stingray (Paul Walter Hauser) so badly he was hospitalized, Silver cajoles him into framing Kreese for the beating as the way to rejoin Cobra. When the police arrive, Silver makes a dismissive piano playing gesture, echoing the very first scene of season 4 where he is playing piano. He’s been playing Kreese, and everyone else, all along.
What’s more, Silver tips the hand of season 5 with a parting shot to Kreese as he gets arrested. In an offhand way, Silver tells Kreese, “I’m sure I can dig up an old friend or two to help out with Cobra Kai while you deal with your legal problems.” Who could that be?
Odds are that the helper will be Silver’s accomplice in The Karate Kid Part III, “Karate’s Bad Boy” Mike Barnes (Sean Kanen). In the threequel, Silver hired Barnes to be the Cobra Kai champion at the All Valley Karate Tournament. Not only was Barnes engaged to defeat Daniel, but he was also to beat him ruthlessly throughout the bout. If Barnes had won, his reward was 50% ownership of Cobra Kai, which Silver had planned to expand after the tournament. However, they were both banned from the tournament due to their misbehavior.
In addition, Barnes had two henchmen, Snake (Jonathan Avildsen) and Dennis (William Christopher Ford). Kanen, Avildsen, and Ford are all still active in Hollywood and are likely available to reprise their roles. Kanen has been working as an actor in both film and television, as well as a screenwriter. Avildsen, the son of the director of The Karate Kid Part III, John G. Avildsen, worked in television until 2002 but returned to appear in a 2017 documentary on his father. Ford has also continued to work as an actor, plus has been producer and director having worked on many recent shorts for the Martial Arts History Museum.
Another Cobra Kai veteran is Dutch (Chad McQueen). He was the most vicious in Johnny Lawrence’s teen gang. Cobra Kai already explained that Dutch is doing time in Lompoc Federal Prison in season 2. Dutch did not appear in The Karate Kid Part III so it’s unclear whether he and Silver ever crossed paths. But perhaps Lompoc is where Kreese will be sent.