'Cobra Kai' Season 6 Ending: Series Finale, Explained
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Warning: Major spoilers ahead for Season Six of "Cobra Kai"...
At its core, "Cobra Kai" follows the redemption of Johnny Lawrence, the recipient of Daniel LaRusso's infamous crane kick at the end of 1984's "The Karate Kid."
Often maligned as one of the core villains of the '80s franchise, "Cobra Kai" explores what happens to a bully decades after he's beaten. Over the show's six seasons, Johnny, the series' "hero," Daniel LaRusso, and the next generation — including their children — have sparred, forged reluctant alliances and even become friends.
But "Cobra Kai" is Johnny's story. And the final season, which dropped on Netflix Feb. 13, drives that point home.
The show, which premiered in 2018 on YouTube Red before later moving to Netflix, opened with Johnny on the heels of losing his handyman job, dealing with alcoholism and estranged from his teenage son. By the series finale, he's a proud husband, father and stepdad and a business owner, and he left the All Valley Sports Arena — the setting of the All Valley Karate Tournament way back in 1984 — again a champion.
Ralph Macchio — who plays Daniel, Johnny's rival turned friend — has said that the "Cobra Kai" finale embraces the "big '80s movie ending."
"It has that element of all the feels, the tears and the cheers of an '80s film," Macchio tells TODAY.com. "It's sort of going back to the roots of overcoming obstacles, wish fulfillment, aspiration, victory ... all that stuff that you used to go to the theater and get your popcorn and jump out of your chair and high-five the person next to you. It really ends in that way."
But Part Three starts in a dark place. For a refresher, the worldwide karate tournament, the Sekai Taikai, ends in tragedy at the end of Part Two, with one young competitor dying on the mat.
Macchio says the sacrifice was necessary to revisit Cobra Kai in a "positive light."
"Earning that was the challenge, in a show that's kind of a karate soap opera, as I call it," Macchio says. "It raised the stakes. You had to hit rock bottom for it to come back and bring it back to all those elements that you want to see, that is the essence of 'The Karate Kid' lore."
Here's how it all went down.
Who dies in ‘Cobra Kai’ Season 6?
Season Six proves to be “Cobra Kai’s” bloodiest — and deadliest — season yet.
The Part Two finale, Episode 10, saw the Sekai Taikai, at the time set in Barcelona, interrupted after a massive fight on the mat.
Throughout the season, the Iron Dragons, a Hong Kong-based dojo led by Sensei Wolf (Lewis Tan) and, for a time, Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith), dominate the Sekai Taikai. Cobra Kai, led by John Kreese (Martin Kove) and fighters Kwon (Brandon Lee) and Tory (Peyton List), are in second. Miyagi-Do just barely makes it to the semifinals, at which Sam (Mary Mouser) and Robby (Tanner Buchanan) are set to compete.
In the middle of Robby’s semifinal match against the Iron Dragons' Axel, an eliminated team attacks the tournament’s organizer, starting a brawl between all of the dojos. Amid the chaos, Kreese tries to go after Silver with a eunjangdo, a small knife, but drops it.
Kwon finds the knife and tries to use it against Axel. But Kwon has his leg swept in midair, and he falls on the blade. Daniel rolls Kwon over, the blade sticking out of his chest.
The Sekai Taikai is seemingly canceled, and Part Three opens with a monthlong time jump. But a desperate (and dying) Silver convinces organizers to resume the tournament in California.
Reeling from the death of Kwon, Kreese backs out of the fight. Silver and Wolf, however, seek victory by any means possible.
In Episode 14, with Johnny and his team still in contention, Silver concocts a contingency plan to threaten Johnny's new wife, Carmen (Vanessa Rubio), and their infant daughter. But his plans are foiled by Kreese, and the former friends again face off, this time on Silver's yacht.
Silver, fighting with a broken bottle, gets the upper hand and almost chokes Kreese. But the scuffle knocks over a tank of gasoline, and Kreese, always armed with a cigar, throws the smoldering stick into the spill, causing a giant explosion.
The episode ends with the boat going up in flames, and Kreese and Silver, presumably killed in the blast, aren't seen again.
Who wins the Sekai Taikai in ‘Cobra Kai’?
The outcome of the Sekai Taikai is revealed in Episode 15, titled “Ex-Degenerate.” And in hindsight, "Cobra Kai" only could have ended like this — Johnny getting a chance to re-do the fight that he credits with ruining his life.
"Ever since '84, I always wanted a do-over," Johnny says in the series finale. "And now that it's here, I feel like it's some giant setup to label me a loser for the rest of my life."
But this time, instead of facing Daniel, Johnny's being trained by him.
After the tournament resumes after Kwon's accidental death, Robby from Miyagi-Do leaves the competition with a serious leg injury at the hands of Axel. Sam chooses not to fight after realizing it's impossible to make up the overall point deficit, leaving Daniel and Miyagi-Do to gracefully bow out of the competition.
So, the only hope to defeat the Iron Dragons becomes Cobra Kai. With Kreese gone, Tory is left without a sensei and without a male counterpoint to fight in the men's final. Enter: the original duo that restarted Cobra Kai, Johnny and Miguel (Xolo Maridueña).
In the penultimate episode, Tory and Miguel beat the Iron Dragons' Zara and Axel to become Sekai Taikai individual champions. But in the overall competition, the dojos' cumulative points stand tied. Requiring a slight suspension of disbelief, the rules of the tournament state that a tie can only be broken by a fight between senseis, meaning Johnny has to face Wolf.
To prepare, Johnny asks Daniel to be his sensei, and the former rivals train on a California beach in an elaborate montage set to, of course, "You’re The Best." As the match starts, Danieldons Cobra Kai's signature black gi.
The fight starts roughly for Johnny after Wolf threatens him in the locker room, and illegal moves abound. Wolf takes a quick and early lead, bringing the score to 2-0. But before the championship point, Daniel calls for a timeout and gives Johnny a pep talk, the likes of which viewers have never seen from Daniel before.
"Stop acting like a little p---- and get out there and kick the living s--- out of this a------," Daniel says, after reminding Johnny of the tenets of Cobra Kai.
The score becomes even at 2-2, and Daniel calls another timeout to remind Johnny of what he learned at Miyagi-Do — balance. As the final round starts, the episode flashes back to Johnny and Daniel's fight at the end of "The Karate Kid."
Back in the present, Johnny and Daniel exchange a wordless nod, and Johnny takes Kreese's advice from so long ago — he sweeps the leg. Johnny wins the final point, and the team hoists him onto their shoulders as the crowd screams his name.
Cobra Kai is named the winner of the Sekai Taikai, and Johnny and Daniel hold up the trophy together.
What's next?
The rest of the characters all seemingly get their happily ever after. Tory and Robby are offered a sponsorship deal to continue to compete in karate tournaments. Sam chooses to study abroad in Okinawa, and Miguel gets into Stanford.
It briefly seems like Daniel might be hanging up his gi, telling his wife, Amanda (Courtney Henggeler), that the Sekai Taikai's "not a bad way to go out."
"Who the hell are you kidding? You’re always going to be a sensei," Amanda responds.
Johnny reopens Cobra Kai — but teams up with Daniel to also teach the practices of Mr. Miyagi.
In the final scene, Johnny and Daniel sit down for a meal at a restaurant to discuss the upcoming All Valley tournament. When a fly starts buzzing overhead, Daniel, recalling a lesson from Mr. Miyagi, tries to catch it with his chopsticks. But Johnny smacks his hands over the bug, killing it.
"No mercy," he says, the final line of the show.
Macchio tells TODAY.com that the series ends with Daniel and Johnny "still opposites."
"But somehow they found a way, and each will enhance their lives," he says. "Johnny and Daniel enhance each other's life."
Daniel's story will continue in "Karate Kid: Legends," which hits theaters May 30. Starring Macchio as well as Jackie Chan — the mentor figure of the 2010 remake of "The Karate Kid" — the film will see the two team up to train a new fighting prodigy.
Macchio confirms that "Karate Kid: Legends" will pick up "a few years" after the events of "Cobra Kai."
"We land Daniel LaRusso in 'Cobra Kai' in a way that when we see him in 'Karate Kid: Legends,' it makes sense that that's where he is," he says. "And then we through line little things he says that make sense from what we saw on 'Cobra Kai,' without it being a continuation of 'Cobra Kai.'"