This post contains spoilers for the latest season of Cobra Kai. You know the drill.
Cobra Kai is just an amazing blend of ridiculousness and nostalgia. Every episode is cheesier and cringier than the last, and I absolutely love them. I have learned after four seasons to expect nonsensical plotlines, random karate fights and general child endangerment.
What I was not expecting, however, was to discover that Terry Silver, the wealthy mastermind and current leader of Cobra Kai, who tortured Daniel LaRusso in the 80s and continues to do so today, is, so it seems, Jewish.
The reveal of Silver’s possible Jewish identity happened in the sixth episode of season five, when Silver, in the act of taking over yet another dojo, is confronted by the fired sensei, who is bewildered and says to Silver, “that’s not what we discussed at Shabbat services.”
Beep, beep, beep, is that my Jewdar sounding off?
So, Terry Silver is Jewish, or Jewish-adjacent, or a guy who is so committed to taking over a dojo he would go to a Shabbat service. All plausible in this universe.
I am going to assume that Silver is Jewish, and this has me wondering what that means for a character as repulsive as his to be identified as such.
I realize as a Jew myself, I am more in tune with how Jews are represented on screen. I know many watching the show, may not even have picked up on the line regarding Shabbat services or even understood what it meant. At the same time, I know how subtle influences can impact how people view those unlike themselves, and how problematic it can be to conflate the behaviors of a maniacal, power-hungry fictional billionaire with all Jews.
Since viewing that episode, I have wondered if we have evolved to a point where a person - real or fiction - can be an awful person who just so happens to be Jewish, and not, as often the case, have their awfulness inextricably linked to their Jewishness.
I think this question may be better examined via the character of Eli Moskowitz. OK, the guy is never explicitly said to be Jewish, but I think most of us who are Jewish would agree he is at least somewhat part of the tribe. Eli has been my favorite of the kids since the beginning, and I love how he has gone from bullied nerd, to sexy badass, to straight-up asshole, to an overall decent human being.
I don’t think anyone is thinking that Eli being Jewish has any bearing on his behavior, nor do they feel it reflects on all Jews. Yes, Terry Silver is a bit different, because he embodies so many awful Jewish stereotypes, but even with him, I don’t think audiences are looking to him as reflection of the Jewish people.
It is worth noting that many of the people involved in the original Karate Kid franchise and Cobra Kai are Jewish themselves, and I doubt they would want to do anything to encourage any form of antisemitism.
Now that I have thoroughly read to much into things, I have concluded that the Shabbat services line was probably meant as a subtle nod to Jewish audiences, and perhaps nothing more.
If I see Terry Silver getting called up for an aliyah next season, however, I may have other thoughts.