Cobra Kai is known as a light-hearted, fun, even corny show. Set 30 years after the events in The Karate Kid, the series centers around the ongoing rivalry between Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) and Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka). Along with re-introducing many characters from the original trilogy of movies, there’s also a new set of kids who become the focus. They’re studying karate and facing some of the same challenges and drama that Daniel and Johnny faces decades before. In the summer, I reviewed the first part of the three-part final season. The second part of season six is now streaming, with five episodes in total. It sets things up for the third and final part, scheduled for release some time in 2025. Compared to part one, it’s even more frantic, emotional, and includes one of the darkest moments yet for the show.
What Is Cobra Kai Season 6, Part 2 About?
Cobra Kai’s season 6, part 2 centers around the Sekai Taikai tournament, a worldwide karate competition that brings together the best of the martial art from dojos around the world. Daniel and Johnny’s Miyagi-do dojo managed to qualify, as did their rival, Cobra Kai. Unbeknownst to them, John Kreese (Martin Kove) escaped from prison, faked his death, and traveled to Korea where he has taken back up with Cobra Kai and convinced Master Kim Sun-Yung (C.S. Lee) to allow him to enter the dojo into the competition.
The stakes are high, but everyone is in their own head about something. So much so that Kreese is the least of their problems. Other rival dojos present themselves as well, including one with a brutal and menacing sensei and two fighters who prove to be the most formidable competition.
All five episodes cover events that occur through the tournament, which is being held in Barcelona, along with situations occurring back home that relate to them. The teams compete in fierce battles both on and off the mat. Situations, at times, become so heated that they’re downright dangerous.
Cobra Kai Season 6, Part 2 Review
As the kids today would say, everyone is “in their feelings” through these episodes. It’s frustrating to watch as you wish you could jump through the screen and tell several of them to snap out of it and focus. They worked so hard for this moment and by all intents and purposes, they’re absolutely blowing it.
The stakes raise higher and higher as Daniel struggles to split his attention between actually coaching the kids and trying to reconcile the details he learned about Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita) in part one. He’s distracted and it shows.
New rivalries are born, as suspected, between both adults and kids, while old ones are squashed, at least for now. Old villains also return to suggest that stories we thought had come to an end are far from over.
There’s a level of intensity this season that wasn’t reflected in previous ones. The kids are graduating high school. They’re about to step into the next phase of their lives. Some of them know what they’re going to do, others still haven’t figured it out. this tournament is a swan song for many of them, Daniel included. It’s not just about defeating enemies anymore, it’s about proving something to oneself. And as the kids realize upon fighting other dojos, they got in their heads so much about Cobra Kai, they aren’t as good right now as they could be.
The episodes go in directions fans won’t see coming, some unbelievable and a few particularly dark and ominous. One such story is where the show has taken the history of the iconic character of Mr. Miyagi. It’s a backstory that came out of left field, and while that resolution is still up in the air, a stark revelation at the end shakes Daniel to his core.
The major moment comes at the end of the fifth episode. It will leave fans shocked and disturbed. The tournament is about much more than which team the best and which one is winning. And it has never become more evident than during those final few minutes.
How these episodes end suggest that the final five episodes might not look at all like what fans had expected. There are a lot of loose ends and storylines to tie up in a short five hours. The tonal shift suggests it will either get even darker or flip back to the light-hearted fun that had initially characterized the series. But getting there will be a challenge.
Whatever way the story resolves, part two is slow-going, sometimes even non-sensical at times. But you’ll get what you expect. Epic fight scenes, emotional arguments, villains, heroes, and self-discovery. And yes, lots of Johnny Lawrence comic relief moments, too. Based on how the season ends, it will be needed more than ever.