Summary
“Party Time” takes a couple of dark turns as we approach the finale with much more serious stakes.
This recap of Cobra Kai season 4, episode 8, “Party Time”, contains spoilers.
You can’t have a teen drama of any kind without a prom, and that’s exactly what becomes the focus of “Party Time”. But, since we’re only a couple of episodes away from the finale, Cobra Kai also uses this as a turning point in several subplots, and it’s where the show starts to get pretty serious. While you wouldn’t necessarily think so at first glance, one of the ways in which it gets serious is through Raymond, otherwise known, mostly to himself, as Stingray.
Cobra Kai season 4, episode 8 recap
Stingray has been on probation, annoying his neighbor, Greg, and he can’t wait to return to Cobra Kai. But his triumphant return is undermined somewhat by Kreese, who absolutely decimates him verbally. Admittedly, things are still tense between Kreese and Silver, and prom is on everyone’s minds, particularly Tory, who asks Robby to attend with her “strictly as a tactical move.” Silver likes the plan, and assures them they’ll go in style.
Terry’s idea of style is to loan Robby a car to go to prom in, not to mention offering his mother, Shannon, a ton of cash, a place to live, and a job, all apparently for Robby’s sake. Shannon tells Johnny about this, and also that he needs to handle it. I’m happy she’s seeing through the ruse, but it doesn’t bode well for Johnny, who breaks into the Cobra Kai dojo to confront Silver, who is watching him on the cameras and taunting him over the phone. Silver tells Johnny to visit a particular address in what is obviously a setup, and when he gets there Silver jumps him, having dragged Kreese along to witness it. Silver’s plan, which he explains to Kreese, is to brutalize Johnny in order to shatter Miguel’s confidence, thus removing him as a potential obstacle in the upcoming tournament. Johnny — who you’ll notice employs some Miyagi-Do techniques — gets a whooping, but Kreese intervenes. He’d rather settle things in the tournament, which is uncharacteristic for him, but then again he has always had a soft spot where Johnny is concerned.
Elsewhere, prom doesn’t disappoint. Robby and Tory arrive like Barbie and Ken and show everyone up with their dancing and sexual chemistry, and both Sam and Miguel are so distracted by them that they can hardly enjoy their own evening. Stingray, not one to be upstaged, invites all the kids back to his for an afterparty, and of course, a fight breaks out there almost immediately between Robby, Miguel, Sam, and Tory. It’s Sam who starts it, and she and Miguel have an argument about it afterward. Talk about a love square.
While all this is going on, Anthony is paying the price for bullying Kenny, although both Daniel and Amanda are furious to discover he isn’t taking his punishment particularly seriously. They’re hardly cheered up when Vanessa tells them that they’re probably largely to blame for what’s going on with him mentally; his feeling of being alone, misunderstood, and de-prioritized over his sister, left to essentially raise himself with the help of the internet and social media. This is probably a very relevant and important issue for many parents for whom burgeoning technology has become a kind of unpaid babysitter and tutor, but in thematic terms, it’s really another manifestation of Daniel’s defensive mindset not always being the best one — when he really flips out at Anthony, that seems to get the message across.
Here’s where “Party Time” gets dark. First, Miguel goes to see Johnny after prom and finds him drunk on the floor of his apartment, licking his wounds. Miguel dutifully puts him to bed, and Johnny slurs about wanting to be a father to him and sucking at it. It’s a nice moment, especially when Miguel responds that he’s doing just fine and he loves him, but then Johnny says, “You too, Robby,” and it just stings so much, man.
Speaking of things that sting, Stingray goes back to Cobra Kai and finds a very drunk and increasingly unstable Terry Silver there, and as the episode comes to a close, Silver begins to savagely beat him.
You can stream Cobra Kai season 4, episode 8, “Party Time”, exclusively on Netflix.
