Cobra Kai Season 6 Part 1 Review: The First Part of The Grand Finale Warms The Heart But Something Is Missing

Cast: Ralph Macchio, William Zabka, Xolo Maridueña, Mary Mouser, Tanner Buchanan, Martin Kove, Courtney Henggeler

Created By: Hayden Schlossberg, Jon Hurwitz

Streaming Platform: Netflix

Filmyhype.com Ratings: 3/5 (three stars)

Cobra Kai Season 6 is thinking big given the grand finale: an extra-large final season, composed of three parts, the first of which is finally available on Netflix. But the question has been arising spontaneously for some time now: what else does a series that, over the years, has squeezed itself beyond all measure (we already thought so at the time of the review of Cobra Kai Season 5) have to tell? Perhaps not much, and the answer is precisely these first 5 episodes, in which the underlying spirit of a galvanizing show made up of charismatic characters remains, but in which the substance is starting to be a bit inconsistent. Cobra Kai will say goodbye to everyone with this sixth and final season, the first part of which is now out on Netflix. A long, complex journey that has given its audience so much satisfaction, made up not only of those who fell in love with Karate Kid forty years ago but also of the modern teen audience, who have found new characters to identify with.

For now, we can say that this last season tries to return to its former splendor, even if it fails to reach the heights of the first three seasons, which remain one of the best things ever born from the small screen in the last decade. The fifth season of Cobra Kai was, for many fans of the series, the right conclusion to a choral story that showcased many classic Karate Kid characters and many prominent new entries (and for us it was as we wrote in the review of Cobra Kai Season 5). The defeat of Terry Silver’s dojo and the union of the two long-time rivals Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence, played respectively by the historical Ralph Macchio and William Zabka, together with Chozen (Yuji Okumoto), led to a perfect balance between their karate philosophies and everyone reconciled, even reaching peace throughout the San Fernando Valley. It could have perfectly ended here, instead shortly after a sixth season was announced which arrived, even divided into three parts, on Netflix.

Cobra Kai Season 6 Part 1 Review: The Story Plot

Cobra Kai picks up where the last season ended, which saw the final defeat of the diabolical Terry Silver, at the hands of Daniel LaRusso, Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka), Chozen (Yuji Okumoto), and Mike Barnes (Sean Kanan) who had put aside old rivalries and had joined together to try not only to stop Cobra Kai, but also to give a better alternative to the students of the Valley. The cruel John Kreese (Martin Kove) however has not disappeared from circulation, he has escaped from prison and returned to where it all began for him, in Japan, where he reconnects with his old master, together with Kim Da-Eun (Alicia Hannah-Kim), determined to take revenge on the three sensei. Daniel and the others meanwhile try (with considerable difficulty) to unite their three Dojos into one, which can give Miguel (Xolo Maridueña), Robby (Terry Buchanan), Sam (Mary Mouser), Hawk (Jacob Bertrand), Tory (Peyton List) and all the others the way to compete in the very important Sekai Taikai tournament, which will be held in Barcelona.

However, Daniel will be troubled by a discovery about Master Miyagi’s past, so much so that the relationship between the various senses will become truly unstable. Things are not going any better for the boys, between former rivalries to bury, loves with an uncertain future, and the passing of time, leading many of them to have to face the real possibility of no longer being so close to each other when tomorrow could offer other opportunities elsewhere. All between brawls, twists, laughter, drama and of course the obsession for Karate, which has now become a real reason for living. Cobra Kai continues to have a very particular narrative structure, where the various parallel lines that concern adults, and adolescents, are naturally added to flashbacks.

Various other ramifications are naturally studied so as not to try to fall into the obvious, and not always propose the same plot made of alpha males who look askance at each other, sentimental jealousies, bullying, and friendship. The whole naturally continues to be a perfect mix between a coming-of-age film, a vintage operation to recover the best of 80s narrative, a martial arts film, and of course an expansion of that universe that began in 1984, exactly forty years ago, and which made Daniel LaRusso the hero of an entire generation. Cobra Kai however in this sixth season, the first of three parts that will close this circle, net of the sympathy, the harmony between the cast members, does not demonstrate the same quality of writing and direction as the first seasons. The whole is certainly better than the last, fifth, mediocre season, which had wasted so much potential and had slipped towards avoidable shores, but the final impression is always that of having wanted to drag out a broth that, in reality, would have needed new ideas and perhaps even to trim the cast a bit.

Cobra Kai Season 6 Part 1 Review and Analysis

Cobra Kai in this sixth season shows right from the start that it wants to recover the concept of difference, the one that divides Johnny from Daniel, these two from Chozen and Mike, but above all Sam, Tory, Miguel, Robbie, and the others. They all begin to realize that they have changed, their paths are going in different directions, the University is an important choice and they do not have everything under control as they thought. But above all, the world is much bigger than the Valley and deserves to be known. The theme of change also emerges, which is not so obvious and pleasant, and which is above all inside each of us. For those like Kenny, Demetri, or Tory who want to pursue and embrace it completely, there are those, especially the villains, who don’t want to know about it and prefer that nothing changes. The first two episodes suffer a lot from being static, but then, fortunately, they shift gears, and a deep self-irony also emerges, while tributes to the Rocky Balboa saga are wasted, to the martial arts action sagas of the 80s and 90s that Johnny Lawrence likes so much, the narrative based on self-confidence, on victory and success returns, which of course are then inevitably deconstructed.

The action scenes are not always of the same quality as in previous years, you notice a bit of a lack of inventiveness, but even so the whole holds up adequately. This first part of the sixth season of Cobra Kai can give great moments, it continues to be a pop product like they don’t make anymore, perfect for a transversal audience, and capable of recovering those topoi that today, unfortunately, have been put in the background. The various twists are beautiful, even the most difficult ones for the protagonists, as well as having kept intact all the strengths and weaknesses in the end. This concerns first of all Daniel and Johnny, who when they are together always remain the best thing in the series. Now all that remains is to wait for the last two parts, with the hope that this ending is not only definitive, given that we are now quite tired of the various possible drawn-out broths in every form, but also to be able to find the squaring of a circle that has been exhilarating, beautiful.

Cobra Kai was a colorful product, suitable for a teenage audience but above all for the teenager hidden inside each of the former adults, a hybrid and universal story that would be nice to see more often on the small and big screen with this quality and this heart. Cobra Kai was above all the demonstration that what was created in the 80s and 90s was immensely superior to what we have in the 21st century in terms of quality, heart, originality, and style, it knew how to entertain and make us bond with each character as rarely happens today in the teen world. Unfortunately, it is inevitable, after several seasons even Cobra Kai feels the tiredness of a story that has little or nothing more to say. A feeling that was already felt in the previous edition, if not for the fact that the final confrontation between Daniel and Terry Silver still managed to put an end to the narrative arcs of several characters, placing itself as an ideal and spiritual sequel to Karate Kid 3.

The basic problem is that this time, even though the stakes are extremely high (honor, fame, glory), you have the feeling of being faced with something already seen: the rivalries are always the same, albeit mixed with some different narrative cues, the premises behind the rebirth of the antagonist are identical, with a Kreese who once again comes to terms with his past. The action scenes remain enjoyable, which in a couple of moments recall memorable clashes seen only in the first seasons, and which in some ways anticipate an important showdown. It is also appropriate to say that we are faced with the first of three parts, and that to be able to express an exhaustive judgment on Cobra Kai Season 6 we will have to wait for the next episodes, in the hope that Netflix puts us in front of a memorable conclusion. As we anticipated at the beginning, Cobra Kai is a series with well-defined characteristics, which has achieved enormous success (if you remember, it was bought by Netflix after two seasons on YouTube where it had become a small cult) precisely for these characteristics, namely lightheartedness and quotations.

But for how many seasons can you go on repeating the same formula? How many characters and villains can you fish out of the Karate Kid bin before the viewer stops finding the nine new entries on the scene exciting and everything becomes a bit repetitive? We must admit that, as much as the series remains fun and engaging, in these first five episodes you can perceive a certain tiredness, as if the cartridges in the barrel to play were running out. This “fatigue” is mainly evident in the part of the story set in Korea, whose protagonists are the very evil John Kreese and the even more evil Korean martial arts master: together they give life to a mix that is more caricatural than terrifying and do not reach the heights of sinister perfidy that in the previous seasons characterized Kreese himself and especially the serpentine Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith). The lack of a proper villain is perhaps the worst flaw of this sixth tranche of episodes, because the parts set in the Valley work well, especially those centered on our all-time favorite “enemies to lovers” Daniel and Johnny, but the rest, unfortunately, struggle to get going. We will have to wait until November and then the first months of 2025 to find out if the finale of Cobra Kai – it is the last season – will be able to excite us, closing with a final twist an adventure that lasted seven years.

Despite this, their redundancy and lack of real focus is almost annoying. The climax is in the second episode, which is so slow that it becomes interminable and slows down the narrative so much that you expect at least a bang in the finale, but instead, you find yourself faced with a dead end. Kreese’s exploration to find a lost knife, Johnny’s search for a rental property, and the boys exploring their college careers would all be good subplots if they had been diluted in previous seasons or even in this new one. Instead, they become the fil rouge of an entire episode but squashed to fit into the 38 minutes of duration. This is a way to dilute the story as much as possible before arriving at the Sekai Taikai. To save the situation some familiar faces make their appearance already in this first part, adding a bit of action and fun and an intriguing narrative twist that is quite interesting and divisive regarding a secret, pre- Karate Kid, of master Miyagi.

The first part of the sixth season of Cobra Kai is not entirely to be thrown away because it still has its good moments. There are very interesting gems, including all the classic kitsch fight scenes that allowed Cobra Kai to move from YouTube to Netflix. Or the moments in which some characters, like Hawk (Jacob Bertrand) and Demetri (Gianni Decenzo), spend time together nostalgically remembering the early years of the series. Peyton List also gets the chance to show off her dramatic chops as Tory with more realism and skill, and Xolo Mariduena remains a charismatic and winning figure as Miguel, with an even more evident presence on the screen also thanks to her involvement in more international projects such as Blue Beetle (here is our review of Blue Beetle) of the DCEU. They are also joined by Tanner Buchanan as Robby and Mary Mouser as Samantha who always maintain their unique, convincing, and dynamic style.

Ultimately, the first part of the sixth season of Cobra Kai is like a train running on a circular track. The story is flat, there are no major twists except the one concerning Master Miyagi and if Kreese is needed to give energy, it is clear that something is wrong. The finale features a twist that serves to set up much of the tension of the second part and the main villain that will be seen in the Sekai Taikai, but this is also extremely disappointing and further confirmation of having seen an avoidable first part. Hopefully, the other two parts will regain that verve that made Cobra Kai an incredible success all over the world. Part 1 of Cobra Kai Season 6 highlights the main problem of a series that perhaps should have ended sooner, which feels a bit tired of repeating and repeating itself too much. It remains a pleasant and heartfelt product, especially for those who have tied themselves to charismatic and memorable characters in recent years, but the feeling is that having reached its epilogue, the Netflix series now has very little to say. Let’s just hope that, in the next two parts, the show will be able to give us karate fights worthy of the name.

Cobra Kai Season 6 Part 1 Review: The Last Words

Cobra Kai Season 6 Part 1 is nothing more than a long preparation for the most important tournament in the world, the Sekai Taikai. So far, nothing bad, except that it totally lacks appeal and a solid plot with a growing climax that pushes the viewer to increase their interest and curiosity. The twists are rather predictable, except for the one concerning master Miyagi, and Kreese is needed again to increase the tension and sense of danger. Few gems and a lot of slowness, but surely the best part is yet to come. Cobra Kai is always the same: carefree, rowdy and quoting. The formula is becoming a bit repetitive, however, and it lacks a villain of substance to carry the narrative forward.