Cobra Kai will go down in history as the standard for reviving a franchise and breathing new light into it while staying true to the original story.
The final episodes of the series dropped last month. It concluded a 7-year journey that first began on YouTube before moving to Netflix from season three on.
Warning: This review will contain spoilers from the show. Continue reading only if you’ve seen all the episodes.
Part three of season six picks up after the shocking finale of part two. The series left off with the death of Kwon (Brandon H. Lee), John Kreese’s (Martin Kove) newest student, who was probably the most violent.
Kwon’s death led to the cancelation of the Sekai Taikai tournament, and left all of the characters reeling in the aftermath. However, Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith), who is facing his own mortality, wants the tournament to continue. Gunter Braun (Carsten Norgaard) agrees to resume the tournament if all Senseis participating agree.
Johnny (William Zabka) is quick to agree, eager to let the kids have a chance to prove themselves. Daniel (Ralph Macchio), however, is more resistant; Kwon’s death has clearly affected him negatively. Daniel seems ready to call it quits with karate. Eventually, though, Daniel agrees, and the tournament is back on.
From there, all of the characters prepare for the final fights in the tournament. Miguel (Xolo Mariduena) and Robby (Tanner Buchanan) train together to prepare for a final fight. Meanwhile, Tory (Peyton List) has a change of heart about the tournament. She doesn’t want to fight under the Cobra Kai dojo, having concluded that being part of that dojo has brought nothing but trouble. After some convincing by Sam (Mary Mouser), however, Tory eventually decides to reenter the tournament.
The fighting in the final episodes is some of the series’ strongest. All of the fights are much more personal than in the past. Fans will find themselves cheering for all of the characters as if attending the tournament in person.
Perhaps most surprising in this final batch of episodes is the journey of John Kreese. Throughout the entire Karate Kid Saga, Kreese has been the primary antagonist. He’s always been about his “No Mercy” mantra and willing to fight to the death to preserve that line of thought.
However, Kwon’s death results in a change for Kreese. He realizes how his worldview contributed to not only Kwon’s death, but negatively affected many people around him, including Johnny and Tory.
Kreese has a surprising change of heart and spends the final episodes trying to make amends to those he’s wronged. Although he does not have a moment with Daniel, it serves the story well, as it’s unlikely Daniel would be receptive to anything Kreese had to say. He has poignant scenes with both Tory and Johnny; his final scene with Johnny is easily the most heart-wrenching part of not just the series, but the saga.
The series concludes all of the stories it introduced over the years. Every new character and even the legacy characters all have endings to their chapters in this show. Kreese and Silver’s final moments on the show are probably the most memorable and epic. Every character’s arc has a conclusion in this show. Although the final episode is a bit rushed in showing these conclusions, there is plenty of heart in each of the scenes.
And of course, the story of the Miyagiverse does not end with the conclusion of the series. Macchio is returning to the big screen in May in a new Karate Kid film, Karate Kid: Legends. This new film co-stars Jackie Chan as Mr. Han from the 2010 Karate Kid, merging the two storylines in a shared universe. The new film is set for release in theatres on May 30.
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