Does Miguel meet his dad in Cobra Kai season 5?
Dust off your karate gi, because Cobra Kai is back with a new season on Netflix! The highly-anticipated installment picks up right where we left off after the All Valley tournament, which saw Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith) cheat into winning. Miguel (Xolo Maridueña) skipped town without warning to go find his birth father down in Mexico, leaving his family, Sam (Mary Mouser), and Johnny (William Zabka) all worried sick.
Cobra Kai season 5 consists of 10 episodes and each is a wild ride from start to finish. Get ready to dislike Silver even more as he plans to open up multiple dojos across the valley and beyond, while Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) and Chozen Toguchi (Yuji Okumoto) try to take him down. You’ll have to watch and find out if they’re successful or not.
Spoilers ahead for Cobra Kai season 5.
When the new season opens up, Daniel’s wife Amanda (Courtney Henggeler) is already getting annoyed with Chozen living with them, meanwhile Chozen discovers that Silver is training with a controversial karate style that came from karate master Kim Sun-Yung. As for Miguel, he’s out in Mexico at the start of season 5, and Johnny brings Robby (Tanner Buchanan) along for a road trip to go find him. However, Robby doesn’t know that’s why they are there at first.
We watch as Miguel gets off the bus and navigates his new surroundings. It doesn’t take him long to get scammed for money, but he’s dedicated to his mission to find his father, a man named Hector Salazar. At first, he mistakenly identifies someone as his dad, but it’s not the right Hector. But he eventually does find the right Hector in the premiere episode.
We don’t know much about Miguel’s dad in Cobra Kai, though he is supposedly bad news. Miguel’s mom Carmen (Vanessa Rubio) says she had to flee Ecuador with her mother while she was pregnant because of how dangerous Hector is, which is why Miguel has never met him. But once Miguel meets Hector, he takes a liking to him and thinks his mom was lying about him being a bad guy.
After Miguel saves Hector’s young son from a car driving down the road, Hector invites him to dinner with him and his wife at their home. They start bonding right away, and Miguel struggles to find the right time to tell him that he’s his son.
In episode 2, Miguel speaks with his mom on the phone, getting angry at her for keeping his father away from him. She overhears Hector in the background mention a place called El Hoyo Verde, and after their phone call she quickly tells Johnny where he might be able to find Miguel.
Is Miguel’s dad a criminal in Cobra Kai?
But of course, nothing is ever that easy. Although Johnny and Robby do show up at the place Miguel and Hector are at, they’re wearing these silly FBI shirts, which read on the back: “female body inspectors.” It’s just a gag gift Johnny buys for him and his son, but the security at the club think they are actual FBI agents, and warn Hector.
Hector must be involved in some illegal business because he’s very alarmed that the FBI might be looking for him. He brings Miguel to a shut-down store and says they need to hide out for a few days. He starts opening up about what happened in Ecuador, telling Miguel that he has no regrets.
Hector proves himself to be dangerous and very possibly a criminal, talking about a business he was running in Ecuador and saying that he can’t trust the government or women. He takes out a gun and starts drinking, and at one point even says bad things about Carmen.
Just like that, Miguel realizes that his mom was right. His father is dangerous, and just not a good guy to be around. He calls her up and starts crying, ready to come home. And with perfect timing, Johnny shows up to save the day.
Unfortunately, Miguel learns the hard way that his dad isn’t someone he wants in his life. But at least he wasn’t harmed in the process! And we’re glad he was able to see for himself. He’s back in Los Angeles for the rest of Cobra Kai season 5, where he continues training at Miyagi-Do and supporting his family and the LaRussos.
Check out Cobra Kai season 5, now streaming on Netflix.