Cobra Kai Season 5 ending explained – how Silence of the Lambs influenced finale

Cobra Kai dropped all 10 episodes of Season 5 today, the show building up to an action-packed climax, then ending with a coda that owes much to horror classic The Silence of the Lambs.

COBRA KAI SPOILERS AHEAD! Across the latest series of Cobra Kai, supervillain Terry Silver tortured and tormented enemies Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence, as well as his own students.

His plan was for world domination, opening a flagship dojo in Encino, then looking to expand throughout the valley, across America, and then the world.

But Daniel and Johnny – together with Chozen, Mike Barnes, and the kids of Miyagi-Fang – put a stop to that through a mixture of brains and brawn. But they forgot about Kreese.

What happens at the end of Cobra Kai Season 5?

As is tradition in Cobra Kai, Season 5 ends with an almighty battle royale. This one plays out in two locations: Terry Silver’s home, and his dojo.

Johnny, Chozen, and Mike show up at Silver’s house and fight both Terry and his goons. Outside, Silver gets the better of Chozen, slicing his back open with a blade. While inside, Johnny takes down all-comers, with a little help from “karate bad boy” Mike Barnes.

At the dojo, it’s mainly kids fighting kids, as Miyagi-Fang endeavors to expose Silver by posting incriminating videos of him online. While “protecting the egg” they battle Cobra Kai, and succeed in getting the footage up. Just as Terry enters the room.

The grand finale happens via a fight between Daniel and Terry, during which Daniel uses Terry’s “Quicksilver Method” to defeat his former teacher. Having been taken down, Silver is then arrested by the police, and carted off to jail.

How Silence of the Lambs influenced Cobra Kai

That’s it for the main storyline. But then, there’s Kreese. And while Silence of the Lambs might seem like a random influence for Cobra Kai, his actions at the end of the finale owe much to what Hannibal Lecter does in the 1991 movie. Aside from the cannibalism, obvs.

During Silence of the Lambs – and while imprisoned in a Tennessee courthouse – Lecter kills his guards, then pretends to be one of them, carrying a life-threatening injury. Lecter is then taken away by medics, who too late realize he’s fine, thereby allowing Hannibal to make his escape.

During Cobra Kai – and while imprisoned for a crime he didn’t commit – John Kreese is shanked, and left to bleed out on the floor. Medics take him to sick bay to tend to his life-threatening injury, where they realize his blood is actually melted jello. But it’s too late, and like Lecter dressed as a guard, Kreese dons his doctor’s coat, and makes his escape.

An escape that wasn’t actually necessary, as just prior to this, Sting-Ray tells the cops everything, thereby exonerating Kreese. But “My Way” plays on the soundtrack during this sequence, and the scene is all about John leaving prison, his way.

Season 5 is Cobra Kai is streaming on Netflix, and you can read our review here.