“Now the real pain begins.” If you’re not pumped to see the return of one of the most vicious villains from the Karate Kid trilogy, well, you might not be into the show or the movies. But those of us that remember Terry Silver, who was played by Thomas Ian Griffith, know very well that unless something has changed with this character that the teaser is correct, the real pain is about to begin. Terry Silver was by far the most diabolical villain to come along in the Karate Kid movies since to be fair, John Kreese was more of a blunt instrument in the movies, but in Cobra Kai season 2 he showed that he was manipulative as well. We’ve already learned that Johnny Lawrence was a bullied kid that wanted to learn how to take control of his life and fell under the sway of a less than reputable teacher. Chozen, from the second movie, had the same issue considering that his sensei taught him about revenge instead of honor. But while Johnny and Chozen found their redemption arcs, Kreese and Silver are still bound to be the same old puppetmasters they were in the movies. That might not sound fair since it could be that Terry wised up and learned how to be a decent human being over the years. But is anyone really buying that? He revealed in The Karate Kid 3 that he would do anything for Kreese, and he proved it. There’s no reason to think that he would be any less despicable now, at least not yet. The fact is that Silver came close to turning Daniel LaRusso away from Mr. Miyagi, and in doing so was prepared to make him ruthless, uncaring, and unfeeling. And yet, even after all that, it was going to be just a con so that he could gain revenge against Daniel and Miyagi for what they’d supposedly done to Kreese, who actually got what he had coming to him.
Say what you want, but there’s a difference between being ruthless and being dishonorable, and Kreese knew how to do both, but somehow didn’t feel bad about the latter. Terry was just as bad since he didn’t care and he was out to avenge whatever slight he believed his friend had suffered, which amounted to Kreese assaulting his own students, being beaten, and then losing all of his students and going broke. In other words, Terry was avenging his friend being a victim of his own shortcomings, but because Kreese had saved him in Vietnam, Terry’s devotion to his friend has been absolute for a long, long time now. That’s going to hopefully be tested in the coming season of Cobra Kai since it sounds as though it’s been a long time since Silver and Kreese have been in contact, and there’s no telling if Silver is still the rich man he was years ago, or if his own life started falling apart after a while. It’s been decades after all, and it’s fair to state that both men have likely had their fair share of disappointments since Cobra Kai was essentially taken down by a dojo with a single student. But the really fun part to wonder about is if Johnny and Terry ever met, as it sounds easy to think that they might have since Kreese’s dojo was being funded by Terry’s money, and it sounds as though Terry had a lot to do with Cobra Kai.
There’s been no overt mention of Terry Silver in the series so far, at least none that has had any chance of changing the course of the show. But seeing as how at least two of the characters, Daniel and Kreese, know about Terry, it’s kind of a hope that Johnny knows about him since it sounds easier than having to find a way to update him on the psycho that nearly revived Cobra Kai so long ago. If anyone’s asking why Johnny wasn’t around when Terry was trying to bring the dojo back, it’s likely that he wanted nothing to do with Cobra Kai for a while since he and Kreese weren’t exactly on good terms. But there’s still that hope that Johnny knows something about Silver, or at least knows of him and might recognize him when he arrives. It does sound as though Netflix is planning on releasing season 4 by the end of the year, which would make it a big deal since there other popular shows hitting the screen at that time as well, and it could be that 2021 will provide the kind of entertainment that people have been enjoying for the past couple of years as the last few months churn out one awesome show after another. It’s not a long wait, to be honest, but it’s going to feel that way.
Follow Us
