Warning: This article contains major spoilers from Cobra Kai Season 5, Episode 5. Read at your own risk!
Cobra Kai is always happy to bring back a Karate Kid veteran, and Season 5 is no exception. Alongside previous returning characters like Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith) and Chozen Toguchi (Yuji Okumoto), the new season sees The Karate Kid Part III’s Mike Barnes (Sean Kanan) return to the dojo’s fold.
But it doesn’t stop there: The action-comedy series also welcomed back another unexpected face.
The Karate Kid III’s Robyn Lively makes her long-awaited return as Jessica Andrews in the fifth episode of Season 5. “Being a legacy character is so thrilling and The Karate Kid III was my childhood. To be a part of that epic franchise, to this day, it's such an honor for me,” Lively tells Tudum. And in true Miyagi-verse fashion, Jessica has a few surprises up her sleeve — namely, that she’s Daniel LaRusso’s... cousin-in-law?
That’s right, Season 5 of the Karate Kid sequel series reveals that Daniel’s wife, Amanda (Courtney Henggeler), is Jessica’s cousin. It was a decision the creators didn’t make lightly: “One thing that we’ve noticed in the Cobra Kai fandom is everyone’s always saying so-and-so is related to so-and-so,” co-creator Jon Hurwitz tells Tudum. “And more often than not we find that kind of thing cheesy. It wouldn’t feel grounded.” But with The Karate Kid Part III’s big bad, Silver, reemerging to take on Daniel (Ralph Macchio) and Johnny (William Zabka) for karate domination of the Valley, it’s the perfect moment for Amanda to seek out some family advice as her husband spirals.
“It gets to the point where Terry has sort of driven [Daniel] crazy enough to make him look like a crazy person in front of Amanda,” says Hurwitz. “Amanda is just like, ‘I need a break from this’ and leaves town. And we thought, ‘What better character to give Amanda some perspective on what Daniel actually went through back in the day than the woman who was there with Daniel?’ ”
Enter Jessica Andrews, the pottery store employee who Daniel befriends in The Karate Kid Part III, when he first faces down Silver and Barnes. Jessica gives Amanda a much-needed explanation about Daniel’s history with Terry (and helps her out in a bar fight, of course). “[Jessica]'s the voice of reason. She's reminding Amanda what a good egg she has in Daniel. I just think it was such a full circle moment and so satisfying,” Lively adds. But, as Hurwitz reminds us, that’s not the only way she’s helped Amanda out.
“[Amanda] moved out to LA and didn’t know anybody. And Jessica’s like, ‘Hey, there’s this nice guy that I know,’ ” Hurwitz says. “She’s just like, ‘Hey, I’m gonna introduce Amanda, my cousin, Amanda, to this really nice guy.’ And the rest is history.”
So, as it turns out, the long-absent Jessica Andrews is actually crucial to the Cobra Kai canon — and to Daniel’s love life. And bringing Lively back for the role is just as much of a joy to the creators as it is to fans. “She has this great energy about her that is very similar to Courtney Henggeler’s energy,” Hurwitz says. “So to bring those two actresses together, it felt like they were sisters, it felt like they were cousins. It just felt right.”
Lively describes her first day on the Cobra Kai set as “a ton of screaming and dancing and lots of just joy.” Not only was she reuniting with the franchise, but also with former co-stars and life-long friends. “I hadn't seen Ralph since I was in my early twenties. And Billy — we’ve been friends for more years than I can count. It was just an absolute epic reunion.” Zabka even gave Lively a full tour of the set so she could record it for her kids, who are big fans of the show. “It's nostalgic. The Karate Kid was such a fiber of our beings growing up and it's just so legendary. Hats off to the creators, Jon, Josh [Heald], Hayden [Schlossberg], for being able to bring it back in such a fun way,” she adds.
Lively describes her first day on the Cobra Kai set as “a ton of screaming and dancing and lots of just joy.” Not only was she reuniting with the franchise, but also with former co-stars and life-long friends. “I hadn't seen Ralph since I was in my early twenties. And Billy — we’ve been friends for more years than I can count. It was just an absolute epic reunion.” Zabka even gave Lively a full tour of the set so she could record it for her kids, who are big fans of the show. “It's nostalgic. The Karate Kid was such a fiber of our beings growing up and it's just so legendary. Hats off to the creators, Jon, Josh [Heald], Hayden [Schlossberg], for being able to bring it back in such a fun way,” she adds.
Cobra Kai Season 5 is currently streaming on Netflix. Why not see how Jessica Andrews is doing?
