Cobra Kai

[StarkRavingMad]

Well...it's over. And much like the last 4 seasons, my general opinion is that this shit basically went off the rails after season 2 and never recovered.

The Kreese and Silver showdown had to be one of the stupidest things I've seen in years and the fact that literally NOBODY fucking cares afterwards and it's just promptly forgotten is by far the single most hilarious thing in these episodes.

Robby gets shafted once again even though they've literally been building up his character to this moment for like 3 seasons at this point. At least the creators remembered that this show is called "Cobra Kai" and dropped the gay Miyagi-Do obsession but cramming it in the last 1/3rd of the final season definitely did not work in their favor. And Miguel and Johnny getting their moment of glory was pretty cool too.

That doesn't really change the fact that it feels like half the show was a waste of time at this point and most of the characters that they introduced and developed just get forgotten about. But hey, it could've been way worse.

Spoiler

The deaths of Terry Silver and John Kreese were the most fitting demises for the both of them, though. I couldn't disagree more, personally.

Terry Silver died with no legacy, no family or children to mourn him ... Nobody cares about him. Johnny and Daniel didn't really give a shit when Silver told them that he was dying of a terminal illness, so why would they give a shit if they never saw him again? It's easy for them to assume that Silver disappearing meant that he was dying in a hospital or something anyway.

"You're playing with fire, Danny Boy."

"And I am gasoline ... Boom!"

The foreshadowing, lol. Silver got his "80s bad guy death" as far as I'm concerned-- an over the top death for an over the top villain.

I've read some complaints that giving Silver a terminal illness adds nothing to the story. I highly disagree. Of course the terminal illness doesn't make him remotely sympathetic ... That's not what the writers were going for anyway. It was to show a miserable, desperate, and evil man with literally nothing left to lose and how dangerous that can be.

And Kreese's final acts as a character were actually selfless. He did what he did knowing that he'd never see Johnny again or that he'd never be granted full forgiveness from Johnny. He ended up saving Carmen and Baby Laura with nobody to sing his praises for it-- he did it because it was the right thing to do. And it was cool to see him get his revenge on Silver on top of that. Since Season 2, the show has given us glimpses (and flat-out flashbacks) of Kreese's backstory and how he has shown signs of redemption not being completely out of his reach. For me, it's fitting for his final act as a character is to do something selfless, with no strings attached after how manipulative he's been throughout the show. Plus, Kreese said his very fitting goodbyes at the end of episode 13 to both Johnny and Tory.

Plus, at the end of the day, it all adds to Johnny's redemption arc throughout the show. Johnny could have easily ended up like Kreese and Silver, but he showed that he was indeed better than that. Johnny became a World Karate Champion after he won at life.

Also, was the ending really missing something when we didn't see an extra scene of Daniel and Johnny reading about a boat explosion on the internet or something? Meh, feels like a scene that's not really necessary and would have cut the flow of the mega happy ending we got. We can all fill in the blanks ourselves just fine.

 

[LORD IMPERATOR]

The fact that Silver is sick goes to show that he's willing to do anything to win, hence why he ordered his man to go after Johnny's family. And as previously stated, he's an over-the-top 80s villain, so him dying like one made perfect sense.

Kreese died like a soldier, protecting what he loved. And in that case, it was Johnny. So him dying like that also made perfect sense.

As for the series' ending, it goes to show that the makers listened to the fans; more than a few recommended that Johnny should retake control of Cobra Kai, that the show is called Cobra Kai, it should be about the Cobra Kai dojo, so having Johnny win as Cobra Kai, taking the championship, made perfect sense. How nice to see that some creators actually give a fuck about what the fans want.

 

[UnKillFill]

I loved that the final episode focused on Johnny fighting for himself, even if people question the "legitimacy" of it in regards to the tournament. It completes the arc of Johnny's redemption and it completes the arc of Daniel no longer being a self-important asshat (seriously, seeing him wearing the Cobra Kai Gi was SO satisfying!). Also, I got a wee bit emotional when Johnny won, and his students hoisted him up on their shoulders.

Perfect. Just ... PERFECT! I love this show so damn much!

I didn't explain myself very well the other night. I blame the booze but. Thats essentially what I meant, looking at the story with real world logic it was kind of odd to settle the finals of a big multi part world teen karate tournament with a simple 3 point fight between the senses, but thematically it gave Johnny exactly what he needed so I approve.

Also I wasn't expecting Kreese to make peace with Johnny and didn't even realize I needed to see it until I did.

I was half hoping they'd pick Barnes to be the ref, as I have watched the first movie within the last month and still couldn't tell you the guy they ended up picking. Of course the case could have been made that Barnes is hella biased against Silver, but Silver did say name any judge, and he was still gonna try to cheat anyway so no mercy, bitches.

 

[Get the rope Macaulay!]

I was half hoping they'd pick Barnes to be the ref, as I have watched the first movie within the last month and still couldn't tell you the guy they ended up picking.

they should have had Hilary Swank be the ref,

 

[LORD IMPERATOR]

they should have had Hilary Swank be the ref,

She'd be too biased in favor of Miyagi-do, given what Miyagi did for her.

 

[Get the rope Macaulay!]

She'd be too biased in favor of Miyagi-do, given what Miyagi did for her.

they don't know that. she hasn't interacted with any of these people

 

[Tasty Tatty]

She'd be too biased in favor of Miyagi-do, given what Miyagi did for her.

Miyagui taught her to be fair, though. She'd be fair.

 

[UnKillFill]

Not bringing Julie back was a huge missed opportunity. Her movie sucked, but I'm picturing the interesting conversations she could have had with Hawk, and especially Tory.

 

[the printer is outo fink]

Finished it last night. I thought the first two parts of season 6 were not just pointless but mostly awful and would have been happy for the series to have finished at the end of season 5. The start of this third part also wasn't great with the stupid VR headset 'plot.' But I did mostly really enjoy the last three episodes. I like Robby just fine, but am glad that Miguel was the one to do the final (youth) fight as he was the inspiration for Johnny to restart Cobra Kai. The sensei fight was obviously ridiculous, but the right kind of ridiculous. I just wish they'd written seven solid episodes leading up the last three, instead of twelve silly ones.

And who was the blond 'girl' in the Cobra Kai gi who was standing behind Danny for all of Johnny's fight? I recognised most of the Cobra kids, even those who'd had smaller parts, but not her. She was placed really prominently and was really hamming up her facial expressions. Was she a minor former student of Cobra Kai or was she someone like Billy Zabka's real life daughter just stuck in there like she was someone all the characters knew, like Ralph Macchio's daughter playing Anoush's girlfriend who was seemingly so close to Sam that she knew she wanted to go abroad for college.

 

[StarkRavingMad]

Not bringing Julie back was a huge missed opportunity. Her movie sucked, but I'm picturing the interesting conversations she could have had with Hawk, and especially Tory.

Considering the silence from the Cobra Kai cast and writers, my guess is that Hillary Swank probably turned the opportunity down.

I wouldn't call it a "missed opportunity" per se, but it would have been cool if the show had taken a stab at redeeming The Next Karate Kid, just like how the show redeemed Part III.

I'm old enough to remember when Karate Kid fans called Part III "the bad movie." Sure, people got a kick out of Terry Silver, but it was a hated movie literally up until Cobra Kai happened. I personally always liked Part III okay except for some dumb conveniences (like Daniel automatically making it to the finals-- bullshit! lol), but I also always knew that it wasn't a good movie. Well, Cobra Kai turned it into a good movie. Watching it again after so many years and after seeing the context that Cobra Kai gave it blew my mind.

The Next Karate Kid is an innocuous movie. It's not very good ... But there's some legitimately cute stuff in it, like Miyagi playing a father role to a teenage girl this time. And hey, Michael Ironside, as underwritten as he was in the movie, still made an impression. He was a perfect actor to play a Karate Kid villain.

 

[Gravityqueen4life]

To think this show started as a YouTube Red series (that crashed and burned LOL) to one of the most popular show on Netflix.

The final episode was Johnny going full circle. From starting off as a total loser since his lost at the karate tournament in 1988, to a somewhat successful family man that finally got his victory at the same tournament 30 years later. I really liked the way he visited his mothers grave. The first time he just whined being a loser. The second time there were no words. Just a smile, some flowers and a photo of his family. Words were no longer necessary. He was content. i was afraid that the show would forget it was about Johnny and cobra kai and just have Daniel steal the show but im glad he and Miyagi-do took a bit of a backseat this time and learned to co-exist with cobra kai.

The show that started out as a nostalgia bait (and maybe took inspiration from one youtube video) became such a successful hit.

Oh, and Krease went out like a badass.

 

[StarkRavingMad]

Cobra Kai's series finale has been the most satisfying series finale for me since Breaking Bad or Six Feet Under. It's THAT good, in my opinion. So good, in fact, that I've spent the past couple of nights re-watching The Karate Kid Trilogy, and will be re-watching Cobra Kai from start to finish.

Last night, during my Karate Kid Part III rewatch, there was a piece of dialogue that stood out to me:

Silver (to Miyagi): "When people say 'karate' around here, all they'll mean is Cobra Kai karate. John Kreese's karate. You won't even be a memory!"

Daniel: "Yes, he will. You won't!"

Damn, did Cobra Kai ever take this piece of dialogue to heart in regards to Terry Silver's character arc. This show, man! So good!

 

[Burt Ryan]

So, just finished it. These last 5 episodes were better than most of the rest of the show, to me atleast.

Thankfully they got rid of Stingray for most of the show, and brought him back only in the end.

I liked Kreese's arc, and its ending with Silver was great. Definitely 80s villain death scene. The only point I think could've been handled better was Miguel's arc of going to Mexico looking for his father, but I guess that could tie in with him identifying Johnny as his new father.

The funniest thing about this last season is how Lewis Tan, the main character from that 2021 Mortal Kombat movie, was a way better character in this show that in that movie, and atleast he got to show off some cool moves in here.

Though the biggest point for me is how in this world, karate is a staple of the community that everything revolves around it. Good show nonetheless.

 

[GeorgeFloydFentanylStash]

I absolutely loved the last five episodes and the writers stuck the landing. Really hard it seems to give a satisfying ending. The show started out as a Johnny redemption story. And the show ended as such.

Spoiler

Johnny got to be the hero at the end of Cobra Kai. He helped his original Dojo win the biggest tournament. He also got Laruso to don the Cobra Kai gee again. And he got his dojo name back. Plus he’s married with a kid. Just a great ending for a character you hated in the original KK movies.

Also loved how Kreese went out. Apparently both him and the guy that plays Silver are black belts IRL

 

[Travoltron]

I absolutely loved the last five episodes and the writers stuck the landing. Really hard it seems to give a satisfying ending.

Finally finished it today and I have to agree with this completely. Screw the Game of Thrones guys, screw Alex Kurtzman, these Cobra Kai writers should be the ones given huge multi-million dollar production deals. Yeah, I would even watch their Biff Tannen series idea that they joked about in the finale. Good writers are as rare as gold in Hollywood.

 

[Rick Nekieta]

The first season was amazing AF. The second season was still really damned good. I enjoyed the following seasons, right up to the end, but at the same taken, I was happy to see it conclude. It stopped just short of jumping the shark by my estimation.

My only gripe is that the precursor condition to make it happen requires something of a retcon. When Johnny told Daniel he earned the trophy in the first karate kid, it seemed that he already HAD his redemption arc and wasn't going to dwell in self-pity for any length of time, let alone 30 years. Kreese's mask off moment in the parking lot should have cemented him on the path of closure and success, not a state of permanent arrested development.

As far as I was concerned before the show started, Johnny ALREADY had his redemption arc. That said, given that they did said ret-con, they played it exactly right from the jump. It helps that William Zabka is a natural comedian by my estimation.

While the show did pay lip service to "getting with the times" and "embracing the woke" they didn't dial it up to 11 or try to make 80's Johnny some supreme villain as if it were written by a blue haired wokie. I thoroughly enjoyed the 80's nostalgia. If only the 20's California even vaguely resembled the fictional landscape of the show.

 

[Tasty Tatty]

As far as I was concerned before the show started, Johnny ALREADY had his redemption arc.

The show explains that what fucked him up wasn't losing the fight, but Kreese abandoning him

 

[Rick Nekieta]

The show explains that what fucked him up wasn't losing the fight, but Kreese abandoning him

Like I said, I still loved what they did with it, but the parking lot choke job should have severed that affection.

 

[Tasty Tatty]

Like I said, I still loved what they did with it, but the parking lot choke job should have severed that affection.

It did. It was the third father that abandoned Johnny and that's why he got fucked up.

 

[Mmemes]

There didn't seem to be a bad season for the most part and I enjoyed the series right up to the end. Can't say that about a lot of shows really either ones with few seasons or ones running for decades so bravo to the producers on that. That said you can tell even in second part of Season 6 everyone looked tired and old as fuck. Not just talking about Kreese and Silver but even Daniel looked worn out. You can tell that when he got back from Barcelona even Daniel looked aged so time in production went longer than in time continuity. Everyone comments the kids even look way older (and fatter) not just the adults. The only one who kind of still looked in shape was Johnny but you can tell his fighting days are up too. So with the whole cast looking worn out it was best for them to end it here. Not sure how they could've carried on another season or two from here. Seeing Miguel in a scene flashbacks he looked so young and slim compared to now. I guess if they did do a spinoff/continuation with maybe Robbie and Tori it could be possible maybe but it was best for them to end it here. I'm not hopeful for the new movies whenever they eventually come out. They did the best they could here so any new Katate Kid media from here on out I'd doubt they will surpass this.

Cobra Kai's series finale has been the most satisfying series finale for me since Breaking Bad or Six Feet Under. It's THAT good, in my opinion. So good, in fact, that I've spent the past couple of nights re-watching The Karate Kid Trilogy, and will be re-watching Cobra Kai from start to finish.

Last night, during my Karate Kid Part III rewatch, there was a piece of dialogue that stood out to me:

Silver (to Miyagi): "When people say 'karate' around here, all they'll mean is Cobra Kai karate. John Kreese's karate. You won't even be a memory!"

Daniel: "Yes, he will. You won't!"

Damn, did Cobra Kai ever take this piece of dialogue to heart in regards to Terry Silver's character arc. This show, man! So good!

I absolutely loved the last five episodes and the writers stuck the landing. Really hard it seems to give a satisfying ending. The show started out as a Johnny redemption story. And the show ended as such.

Spoiler

Johnny got to be the hero at the end of Cobra Kai. He helped his original Dojo win the biggest tournament. He also got Laruso to don the Cobra Kai gee again. And he got his dojo name back. Plus he’s married with a kid. Just a great ending for a character you hated in the original KK movies.

Also loved how Kreese went out. Apparently both him and the guy that plays Silver are black belts IRL

I'm honestly surprised how much a lot of previous plot stuff payed off in Cobra Kai. Not to eversell the series but it should be studied in scriptwriting and television/film production classes on what TO DO in regards to setting up continuity as opposed to all the terrible remakes and sequels we've been getting in the last decade. Like seriously we've seen things like the MCU films now backtracking in continuity plot quality to the point it's obvious Disney is not hiring decent writers whatsoever so it's surprising to see media like Cobra Kai where you can tell the production obviously were fans and respectful of the original Karate Kid movies.