Ralph Macchio‘s Daniel LaRusso in the original Karate Kid reminds us of*** Cobra Kai***’s success story. It feels like a classic underdog tale. Hayden Schlossberg, Jon Hurwitz, and Josh Heald had the advantage of continuing a well-known IP when they created it. But when they first announced it many people, including me, felt unsure. The idea of Macchio and William Zabka coming back as Daniel-san and Johnny Lawrence got us interested. Still, at first, it sounded like another typical legacy sequel, which we see a lot these days.
But when I watched the first season, the show surprised me. Sure, Cobra Kai is pretty cheesy, but it had so much energy and love for the material that you couldn’t help but get caught up in how fun it was. Still, since it started on YouTube Red, which doesn’t exist anymore, I didn’t have many friends to talk about how much I liked it. Even after that crazy ending to Season 2, not many people knew about the show even though it was good. It wasn’t until Netflix bought Cobra Kai in 2020 that it took off and became one of their most-watched shows. The motto “Strike First. Strike Hard. No Mercy.” was popular again, and I was thrilled about it.
Now, Cobra Kai is wrapping up with its super-long sixth season, and it’s a mixed bag. While you wouldn’t want the show to drag on forever, and its young stars are getting too old for their parts, it’s kinda weird that Sony is making their own sequel movie without Schlossberg, Hurwitz, and Heald. The fact that Cobra Kai‘s last season will come out in three parts helps make it easier to deal with, and from what we’ve seen in the first five episodes, Season 6 looks like it’s gonna end things on a high note.
Cobra Kai’ Season 6 Part 1 Packs a Punch Despite Its Length
In earlier seasons, Cobra Kai dropped all 10 episodes at the same time, but **these first five episodes zoom by too ** since it’s been almost two years since we last saw the characters. They’re also packed with stuff. These new episodes still have time for some fun and funny side stories — like Chozen going with Johnny to find a new house, Johnny throwing a girls’ sleepover for Samantha, Tory, and Devon (Oona O’Brien), and Miguel, Dimitri, and Hawk meeting up with their old bully Kyler (Joe Seo) at a college party. But when these lighter stories aren’t on screen, a big part of these five episodes is spent getting ready for the last ten.
Time flies faster than you’d like, but these fresh episodes keep the series’ fun vibe of being a “karate soap opera.” The humor still works — when will Johnny Lawrence trying to be cool with Gen Z stop being funny? — and the heart is still there. Cobra Kai hasn’t slipped up yet, and fans of the first five seasons will enjoy these new shows just as much as the others.
There’s a lot to like in the first part of Season 6, but it wraps up a bit too fast. Without giving away any surprises – you’ll want to go in knowing nothing – Episode 5 ends in a way that makes you wonder why we have to wait over four months to see what happens next. It’d make sense if the cliffhanger was more of a mini-season finale or if there wasn’t such a long break between the first two parts. Instead, it builds up so much excitement that you think the next episode will be ready to watch right away. We’ll have to wait and see if Cobra Kai can keep people interested during the long gap between episodes, since Part 2 will pick up right where the cliffhanger left off.
In ‘Cobra Kai’ Season 6 Part 1, All Characters Have Their Moment
Just like Daniel-san and Johnny try to find a middle ground between Miyagi-do and Eagle Fang teachings, Cobra Kai has always managed to keep a good mix of grown-up characters and karate-loving teenagers. The first part of Season 6 sticks to this pattern. Zabka still shines among the older characters, but he’s extra funny when he’s with Okumoto’s Chozen. These two have great comic timing together. Macchio shows us a more open side of Daniel than before. At the start of the show, Daniel was a bit of a smug wealthy car dealer, but he’s changed as the story went on. We’ve seen him have tough times before, but this time Season 6 of Cobra Kai seems to focus more on Daniel’s mental well-being, and Macchio pulls it off well. Without giving too much away, Kove’s Kreese is back in full force after being locked up for most of Season 5. Kove gets to play Kreese as a total bad guy again, and watching him train his new students adds even more danger to what’s at stake this season.
Maridueña, Buchanan Mouser, and Bertrand still shine in their roles, but List’s Tory has the most compelling story in Part 1. The five episodes show off her karate skills and dig into her personal life, including how she’s adjusting to being on the same side as Mouser’s Sam. Tory has always been an interesting character who seems to mirror the teenage Johnny from the original movie more than anyone else, and List shows her acting skills in some key scenes. DeCenzo’s Demetri also gets an unexpected but cool storyline, as he keeps getting better at karate. Young’s Kenny has been one of the show’s most intriguing and unpredictable characters since he first showed up in Season 4, and he again has lots of chances to stand out — and he’s at the heart of one of Part 1’s best fights in the first episode.
Saying goodbye to Cobra Kai will be tough, but Part 1 of Season 6 hints that long-time fans of the show and the whole franchise will get the ending they’ve been hoping for. It’s pretty amazing that Schlossberg Hurwitz, and Heald managed to make this show so good. The fact that they’ve kept it just as awesome as it’s wrapping up just proves that Cobra Kai never dies.
