Cobra Kai was disappointing at the beginning of season 6. But the finale now delivers a rousing series finale that reflects on old strengths in a twisty way.
Cobra Kai, a sequel to the Karate Kid films, has been an absolute success story. The light-hearted action, full of martial arts, first conquered fan hearts on YouTube Premium in 2018 and then as a Netflix original series from season 3.
Now the story has come to an end with the last 5 episodes of season 6. After Cobra Kai had lost its own bite, the Netflix series now turns the tide again in an unexpectedly successful finale.
Cobra Kai is heading for disaster in season 6… but then comes this great finale
I was frustrated by Cobra Kai recently. Netflix didn’t do itself any favors by splitting the final season 6 into three parts. Not only was the ending unpleasantly stretched, but a failed season 6 opener last summer revealed the series’ increasing weaknesses:
How many times could someone switch sides in Cobra Kai before it got boring? Where was the friction when former rivals Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) and Daniel Russo (Ralph Macchio) reconciled with a shared karate dojo? How long could Miguel (Xolo Maridueña, 23), Robbie (Tanner Buchanan, 26), Tory (Peyton List, 26) and Samantha (Mary Mouser, 28) still pass as teenagers of legal school age?
Cobra Kai recently lost its way in repetitive patterns and added nothing new to the main characters. In part 1, this resulted in a tiresome exchange of blows. Part 2 of season 6 brought a breath of fresh air with its focus on the “Sekai Taikai” tournament, but it wasn’t until the last five episodes of the series finale were released that a definitive course correction was made.
Spoiler alert for part 3 of season 6 of Cobra Kai.
The Cobra Kai ending in a nutshell: Despite the death of a participant, the karate tournament continues. But Miyagi-Do champion Robby succumbs to the unfair methods of Iron Dragons fighting machine Axel Kovacevic (Patrick Luwis), so that in the final of the Sekai Takai the villainous Iron Dragons face the Cobra Kai team led by villain John Kreese (Martin Kove). But Kreese apologizes and Johnny Lawrence leads his old fighting team again. Tory and the defector Miguel win at the last second. Because of a tie, Johnny also defeats the Dragon trainer Sensei Wolf (Lewis Tan) in a fight and can thus rectify the reputation of the fallen dojo. So in the end, Cobra Kai wins.
Cobra Kai reflects on its strong beginnings in the series finale
Cobra Kai’s series finale may sound almost absurd on paper, but it ties in with the strengths that made the series so seductive seven years ago: no mercy and no fear of grand gestures, even if that sometimes seems (gloriously) exaggerated. Is it realistic that the special rule of a teenage tournament allows two adult senseis to compete against each other in the event of a tie? Probably not, but it’s a lot of fun.
Even the radical twist that Kreese finally asks his old student Johnny for forgiveness, but then still blows himself up in a huge explosion in the fight with Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith) on his boat, fits in with this. Not all villains need to be reformed. Although the question of what makes a villain resonates in Cobra Kai to the very end. So Johnny Lawrence may end up barking at new students in his Cobra Kai dojo, but we still see how far the former Karate Kid antagonist has come in 6 seasons.
Fortunately, Cobra Kai remembers that Johnny Lawrence was actually the main character at the beginning and Daniel LaRusso was only supposed to play second fiddle (since he’ll get his own movie this year anyway). Fortunately, the fact that Mr. Miyagi’s honor is restored and that his “murder” was of course only a misunderstanding does not take up an excessive amount of space in the series finale. Even Robbie’s surprising defeat ensures that Johnny’s very first student Miguel is finally allowed to smile again. And Tory’s competition win reflects the story of purification at the center of the series once again in the younger generation.
In the end, Cobra Kai earns its title on Netflix all over again
When Daniel suddenly uses Johnny’s own gruff manner against him in a final speech to encourage the dejected man to fight one last fight with words that are not typical of Russo, no one will be able to stop themselves from smiling. In a series that once used karate moves to dismantle toxic masculinity, there are many ways to achieve the goal. Nobody has a monopoly on the right one, as long as the result is right.
This happens in the final five episodes with plenty of action on the mat (including rehashed crane kick trauma from Karate Kid 1), characters with convincing inner lives and future decisions with which the series finds a satisfying conclusion for all involved. Whether college, sports career or their own dojo: I can let the characters go their way with peace of mind.
After seasons 5 and 6 had placed the Cobra Kai dojo in the hands of the antagonists, I was certainly not the only one wondering how the Netflix series would still justify its title if the Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang dojos were actually the focus. But the final twist of the dojo handover back to Johnny Lawrence brings the story full circle to the beginning, and after the unexpected comeback, I just want to cheer: Cobra Kai never dies!
