I’ll be the first one to say after season 5 of Cobra Kai I thought the series was over. It seemed like it ended in a good place. The popularity of the show based on the 80s film, The Karate Kid, dictated another outcome. The producers decided to do one final season to wrap up residual plot threads that were still lingering in the ethos. That is why fans have now gotten Season 6 of Cobra Kai. Does it live up to the previous seasons? Let’s see.

At this point in the show, after Terry Silver has been taken away in handcuffs Johnny (William Zapka) and Daniel (Ralph Machio) have come to a truce and have combined Eagle Fang and Miyagi Do into one Doe Jo.  All the kids aren’t necessarily getting along, but as kids will do they will eventually get over their differences for the betterment of the group. Or so it would seem. The Doe Jo is trying for the Sekai Taikai Karate Tournament in Spain. Only six members of Miyagi Do can go. This causes some contentious encounters between some of the Eagle Fang members and the Miyagi Do members. This is the crux of Cobra Kai Season 6 Pt 1.

Some bickering between Zapka’s Johnny and Chozen (Yuji Okamoto) as well as Macchio’s Daniel kept the tension at a high level.  A subplot involving Peyton List’s Tory Nichols is a high point of Season 6 that ends up in a cliffhanger for Part 2 of Season 6. As well as the return of John Kreese (Martin Kove.  At the end of Season 5 viewers saw he had escaped from prison and once again was on the loose. He ended up in Japan working with his old master and his daughter to train students there for the Sekai Taikai Karate Tournament. 

One of the things about Cobra Kai was that it had a nostalgic feel to it and a relatability factor. As the seasons have gone on that has worn off a bit for me. I grew up watching The Karate Kid as a ten-year-old with my brothers. my brothers. At first, the repetitive Karate Tournaments were okay and the constant bickering and back and forth between the kids and Macchio and Zapka’s characters was fine, but eventually, that wore thin. Even for me who is a massive fan of the series. This does a few things differently which makes it not the same old Cobra Kai we’ve gotten the last 5 Seasons.

A plus for me throughout the show has been the story arc of William Zapka’s character Johnny Lawrence. He was a successful high school Karate star and ended up being this middle-aged guy struggling to make ends meet. He met this Kid in his apartment building Miguel Diaz (Xolo Maridena)  and his mother which gave him a new lease on life. Zapka is the star of the show for me. His ability to be a sympathetic character has always drawn me to him. This season he has issues most people can relate to regarding his family, home, and job situation. Once again the writers give him another good story arc separate from all the Karate stuff that has become way too repetitive for my liking.

Ralph Macchio has parlayed his role of Daniel Larusso into a career role. He looks like he hasn’t aged a bit since the original film back in 1984. This makes this season of Cobra Kai the 40th Anniversary of The Karate Kid. That’s a lot of years of playing the same character. As Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Bruce Willis can attest you can make a career out of playing the same character over and over again. The writers though have turned this once sympathetic character into a cliche and one-note character.  He’s now a business owner and father, but I feel there isn’t any real depth to this character like there is to the Johnny Lawrence character. Hopefully, in the second half of Season 6, he’ll have more important things to do.

Like previous seasons of Cobra Kai, there are a few cameos this season.  Paul Walter Houser, Sean Kanan, and Alicia Hannah Kim are all back for the penultimate conclusion to this fantastic series, thus far. I don’t know what’s going to happen in Season 6 Part 2, but I felt the producers and Netflix missed a great opportunity to have Hillary Swank back. That being said a lot of the cameos and actors coming back from the film franchise have been a nice touch in the show. They bring a whole new level to what is already a very good series.

Cobra Kai Season 6 Part 1 is a good start to Season 6. There are some very good plot threads involving List’s, and Zapka’s characters. The overall theme of the season so far is fine. It’s pretty much par for the course of the previous seasons. This is what people are expecting from Cobra Kai, and that’s what they’re getting.  I just there was more depth and better character development for some of the other cast members. Time will tell though. For now Season 6 Part 1 was fine, nothing to write home about. I am looking forward to Season 6 Part 2 though to see how the writers and producers finally wrap up this show.

3 ½

Dan Skip Allen