The greatest karate saga.
Cobra Kai is a 2018-2025 martial arts comedy drama television series created by Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg, produced by Counterbalance Entertainment, Westbrook Studios, and Sony Pictures Television, and distributed by Netflix. The series stars William Zabka and Ralph Macchio. This series is the sixth installment in the Karate Kid franchise. It acts as a sequel to The Karate Kid and will be followed by Karate Kid: Legends.
"You're all right, Lawrence." - Daniel LaRusso
Plot
After tragedy strikes at the Sekai Taikai, Johnny Lawrence and Daniel LaRusso are ready to give up the fight for good...until the tournament resumes in the Valley. As students and senseis alike prepare, Miyagi-do goes back to where it all began for the final fight.
The Sweet
If you have been following Cobra Kai season six, I think you know that it has been a frustrating ride. Season five was some of the best we've ever gotten when it comes to this show, but season six feels like it is stretching out the ending and these characters. It feels like the natural endpoint has already passed and the show has jumped the shark.
At least that's how I felt when the first two parts of this season were released. I am happy to report that the final five episodes of Cobra Kai are nothing short of fantastic.
The first two parts of this final season felt like they had gone away from the identity that Cobra Kai had established for itself. It was no longer about mentors and students. It was now about a world tournament with a ton of schools and fighters, and the show was moving away from the things that made it so compelling and awesome; the characters. These final episodes are focused entirely on the characters and getting them all to a satisfying ending.
And every character, I mean every character, gets a satisfying ending. Johnny's is the best, but Daniel, Robby, Sam, Miguel, Tory, Kreese, Silver...even Hawk, Demetri or Chozen...all of them get these great exclamation points on their character arcs. These final episodes are filled with great payoff and awesome character interactions that just make you want to stand up and cheer. There are moments of emotional payoff that they've been building to for the last few seasons. There are some surprises that you will not see coming. It was basically everything you want in the final section of a show.
One of the best things about this batch of episodes was actually the acting. These episodes have, bar none, the best acting we've seen throughout the entire show. William Zabka is the standout. He's always been great, but he gets a chance to really shine in some emotional moments this go around, and it is really powerful stuff. But the biggest surprises for me were Martin Kove and Tanner Buchanan. Both of them have always been good actors for the roles they had, but they never did anything that made them stick out. In this batch, however, both get moments to also flex some emotional muscles that I did not know they had. Both of their best moments of acting come, funnily enough, with Zabka. It was some really incredible stuff that I did not expect...at all.
Basically every problem that I've had with season six is gone in these final few episodes. Not every single problem is fixed, but they do a really good job of grounding the characters and bringing them back to who they were. There's no manufactured conflict here. It feels like every character is acting naturally and the things they do match the lessons they've taken away from their journeys on this show. Each fight feels like it packs a punch (no pun intended) and you actually feel something when someone wins or loses. A win or a loss actually means something more to each character and informs the way they act in the rest of the show.
Cobra Kai's strength has always been the characters and I have repeated that and praised that a lot thus far in this review, but I really want to focus on our two leads. Johnny Lawrence has evolved into one of my favorite TV characters of all time. He has always been the heart and soul of this show, and they do a really great job of wrapping things up with him in a beautiful, incredibly satisfying way. It felt like season six had been meandering with his character because he's already matured and found a family, but this final batch of episodes finds a way to add a great cherry on the top of his already fantastic arc.
But arguably more impressive than Johnny was Daniel's final steps in Cobra Kai. Daniel is obviously the original karate kid and will therefore always have a special place in my heart, but I was actively disliking what they were doing with him in season six. They had him obsessed with Mr. Miyagi's past and had him focused on winning the Sekai Taikai...but they kind of reel him back in and fix those aspects that I was not a fan of in these final episodes. They do an amazing job of balancing the Miyagi-do in him with the Cobra Kai side that Johnny has brought out, and I really, really love that. I am so happy that they were able to resolve my problems with Daniel, because he went out on a high note.
The final character I want to shout out as well is Kreese. They've been building towards this arc for Kreese for the past few seasons, and they cap it off beautifully here. As I've said before, he has some very emotional moments with Johnny in this final section, but he also gets some really awesome moments. They land his plane in another very satisfying way, and I think it solidified his character as the best villain on the show.
I think it can be incredibly difficult to land the plane with any show, and I really didn't expect Cobra Kai to do it because season six had been pretty mixed.
The Sour
These criticisms are really not that big of a deal, because I absolutely adored the final few episodes. They are either nitpicks or complaints that speak to the quality of the sixth season as a whole.
My main negative on this batch is, sadly, Terry Silver. Silver had been my favorite antagonist on the show, and, while I still love him in seasons four and five, I think he gets too cartoonish in season six. I was already a bit iffy on him returning in the previous batch of episodes, and this batch did nothing to ease my reservations about his coming back. He's always been a manipulative, evil guy who cheats his way to victory, but he goes too far in these final episodes. There are lines he crosses that feel out of character even for him. They also introduced a small piece of information that was supposed to make you understand him and feel sympathetic for him...but nothing really happens with it. They just kind of brush it off and don't bring it back. I did enjoy the ending that they gave him, but I don't think his return in this season felt earned or good overall.
I also think that these final episodes definitely bend logic to make moments more satisfying at times. There are things that make absolutely no sense in here, but you really just need to suspend some disbelief to make them enjoyable. And they are enjoyable. Johnny's moments in the finale are awesome, but they are set up by something that makes no sense. For me, I was able to suspend some disbelief, but I also knew in the back of my mind that these were not realistic or sensical routes to take.
Episodes one and two also feel a bit more like the first two batches of season six than the final three episodes. The final three are where all the big moments of payoff and fan service happen. Episodes one and two meander a bit more. Episode two does have some great moments, but both of them still feel a bit stretched out and weaker than most Cobra Kai episodes. Episode three also has a really specific moment that I hated. I won't spoil anything, but it involves the titular skeletons of that episode.
Final Thoughts and Score
I absolutely loved this final stretch, and I think Cobra Kai went out with a loud, awesome bang. That said...I am writing my score as the entirety of season six, because I cannot just consider five episodes within a given season as a separate entity.
So, for season six as a whole, I'm going Savory. Age range is 8+.
SWEET N' SOUR SCALE
Sweet (Great) Savory (Good) Sour (Bad)
Moldy (Terrible)
"Cobra Kai"
Fun Factor: 8.5/10
Acting: 8/10
Story: 6/10
Characters: 8.5/10
Quality: 6.5/10
Created by Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg
Rated TV-14 for moderate violence and action, language, disturbing themes and images, thematic elements
Released on February 13, 2025
Episode runtime: 45 minutes
William Zabka as Johnny Lawrence
Ralph Macchio as Daniel LaRusso
Xolo Maridueña as Miguel Diaz
Mary Mouser as Samantha LaRusso
Tanner Buchanan as Robby Keene
Martin Kove as John Kreese
Thomas Ian Griffith as Terry Silver
Peyton List as Tory Nichols
Courtney Henggeler as Amanda LaRusso
Jacob Bertrand as Eli "Hawk" Moskowitz
Gianni DeCenzo as Demetri Alexopoulos
Vanessa Rubio as Carmen Diaz
Yuji Okumoto as Chozen Toguchi
Lewis Tan as Sensei Wolf
Patrick Luwis as Axel Kovačević
Rayna Valladingham as Zara Malik
Carsten Norgaard as Gunther Braun
Rose Bianco as Rosa Diaz
Dallas Dupree Young as Kenny Payne
Oona O'Brien as Devon Lee
Alicia Hannah-Kim as Kim Da-Eun
Paul Walter Hauser as Raymond "Stingray" Porter
Hannah Kepple as Moon Taylor
Annalisa Cochrane as Yasmine
Bret Ernst as Louie LaRusso Jr.
Dan Ahdoot as Anoush Norouzi
Julia Macchio as Vanessa LaRusso
Randee Heller as Lucille LaRusso
C.S. Lee as Kim Sun-Yung
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