Tamal Kundu
At the end of season 3, John Kreese doesn’t have many options left. After Daniel (Ralph Macchio) defeats him, a desperate Kreese makes a bet with him and Johnny — whoever loses in the next All-Valley Karate Tournament will shut down his dojo. As his enemies merge their dojos, Kreese reaches out to an old friend, Terry Silver, to ask him for his help with Cobra Kai. Here is everything you need to know about the character and the actor behind him. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Who Is Terry Silver in Cobra Kai?
Silver and Kreese were in Vietnam together. At the time, Terry had the nickname “Twig.” They were recruited into the special forces along with their friend Ponytail. During a mission, Kreese didn’t detonate an explosive device as Ponytail was within the blast radius, leading to the capture of the entire unit by the Vietnamese rebels. They forced the captives to fight each other to death over a snake pit. One evening, Twig was chosen to fight the unit’s captain, but Kreese volunteered in his stead. After they were rescued, Twig promised to be there for Kreese for the rest of their lives.
Season 4 reveals that after they came back to the US, Kreese and Silver established Cobra Kai together. However, Silver was forced to leave the dojo and join the family business after his father threatened to disinherit him. The events of ‘The Karate Kid Part III’ (1989) come after this in chronological order. After losing everything, Kreese approached Silver, who ran a successful toxic waste management business, presumably inherited from his father. Silver promised him vengeance on his enemies and the resurgence of Cobra Kai.
Ultimately, Silver and Kreese’s plans failed, and Daniel defeated their selected fighter Mike Barnes to win the All-Valley Karate Tournament for a second consecutive year. It seems that Silver and Kreese stopped speaking to each other after that. In season 4, Silver initially refuses to help Kreese, asserting that he is not the cocaine-using rage-filled individual that the other man used to know. But Kreese’s visit has its intended effect. Silver recalls the man he used to be and visits Cobra Kai dojo to tell Kreese that he will help him. When Daniel first sees him after all these years, the memories of trauma and pain come rushing back.
Towards the end of the fourth season, Silver bribes the referee to ensure Cobra Kai wins the grand championship at the 51st All-Valley Karate Tournament. Later, he tells Kreese that the latter is his weakness. Since Kreese saved his life, no matter what Silver has done was enough to repay the debts. But now, things evidently have changed. He has Kreese arrested on false charges of assaulting Stingray, effectively taking complete control of Cobra Kai.
Who Plays Terry Silver in Cobra Kai Season 4?
American actor Thomas Ian Griffith portrays Terry Silver in ‘Cobra Kai’ season 4 and in ‘The Karate Kid Part III.’ Interestingly, Griffith (born in March 1962) is actually a few months younger than Macchio (November 1961), but Silver is significantly older than Daniel in the series. Griffith made his acting debut in the TV series ‘Another World’ in 1984. He appears in and wrote the screenplay of the 1988 film ‘A Place to Hide,’ Besides ‘The Karate Kid Part III,’ he has worked in projects like ‘Vampires’ (1998), ‘XXX,’ and ‘Grimm.’
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