Cobra Kai finale review – an emotional farewell to the Karate Kid gang
Yes, the TV reboot of the 80s martial arts classic is shot like a daytime soap and features dramatic moments that are often downright hilarious – but there’s a raw courage to this finale
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obra Kai is an underdog story. It has been since 1984, when the movie The Karate Kid introduced Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio), a weedy teenager in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles County, who took up karate to combat bullies and ended up defeating his nemesis Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) in the district under-18 final.
Then the franchise and its actors became the victorious underdogs. Macchio and Zabka had gappy CVs in the three decades after The Karate Kid and its so-so sequels, only to become stars again from nowhere in 2018 with a TV revival. Even that succeeded against the odds, starting as a YouTube original before transferring to Netflix on the back of a growing cult following.
That unusual backstory has created an extremely unusual show. It’s shot like a daytime soap and is often acted like one, having chosen not to recast any of the original characters: as well as Macchio and Zabka, numerous journeymen who failed to land any big gigs after The Karate Kid have been faithfully retained in the supporting cast, and whatever performance level they have managed is what the series has gone with.
The result is a drama that is hard to read. Is it earnest or camp? The serious dramatic moments often come off as unintentionally funny, but then there are comic sequences that are definitely funny on purpose. The premise, meanwhile, has grown ever more absurd. At first, it was all about teens taking local karate competitions weirdly seriously, to the point where rival dojos regularly engaged in bone-crunching violence that jarred with the general vibe of ordinary Americans dealing with minor travails at school, home and work.
Six-and-a-half seasons in – these five new episodes bring Cobra Kai to an end – the stakes have escalated to the point where, despite none of the cast being at all convincing as martial artists, the San Fernando Valley has become the epicentre of global under-18s karate. Last time we saw them, the gang was in Barcelona, competing in a world championship that was abandoned when a competitor was accidentally knifed to death during a brawl. So now everyone’s disillusioned and ready to hang up their black belts – until, of course, they reconsider and the tournament is rescheduled to take place right here in the All Valley Sports Arena.
As well as Daniel and Johnny – once rival senseis, now friends collaborating to turn their own kids into champions – we are still in the presence of the films’ antagonists. John Kreese (Martin Kove), the scarred Vietnam vet who was Johnny’s evil sensei in the original Karate Kid, is now remorseful and no longer evil; Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith), the even more evil sensei from The Karate Kid Part III, is still very evil, as indicated by his ponytail, luxury yacht and monochrome business-casual outfits. Silver is the man behind the Iron Dragons, a dodgy dojo whose highly trained fighters are willing to break the rules and their opponents’ legs.
We are set up for a festival of David v Goliath encounters, in which a California teen who looks like they took up karate yesterday faces a chiselled killing machine who has been ordered to not just beat them, but physically break them – à la Johnny in 1984 against a hobbling Daniel, being told by a growling Kreese to “sweep the leg”. With slo-mo montages and a hair-rock soundtrack, the LA lads and lasses either win the bout implausibly, or lose but then decide that they won really because they tried, and because they’re better people who love their friends and family.
They all also really love “the Valley”, despite its strip malls, high schools, family cars and generously proportioned living rooms appearing to outsiders as unremarkable suburbia. Get over your British embarrassment at the idea of being intensely proud of where you come from, to the point where you believe that maladroit local sixth-formers can kick the ass of world-class karate experts, and the appeal of Cobra Kai is less of a mystery.
The other key to it is one you’ll have come to quicker if you’ve ever spent wet Sunday mornings on the touchline of a youth football match: really, this is a show about dads with unresolved issues living through their kids’ hobby, and the closing episodes are all about Daniel, Johnny, Kreese and Silver ironing out their mid- or late-life crises, one way or another.
Over time, Johnny has become the show’s main character, despite the likable Zabka’s technical limitations: the unambiguously serious scene where Johnny confronts his former father figure Kreese about the damage he did is, objectively, not brilliantly written or acted, but is delivered with a raw emotional courage that makes it suddenly devastating. In unlikely fashion, Cobra Kai wins again.
Cobra Kai is on Netflix now.
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Cobra Kai Season 6, Part 3 Review
Cobra Kai Season 6, Part 3 arrives Thursday, February 13 on Netflix. This is a spoiler-free review for all five final episodes.
Cobra Kai closes up shop with a final run of five episodes that made me cheer, cry and howl with (sometimes unintended) laughter. I found myself powerless against both its thrilling tournament action and its heart-tugging resolutions.
This farewell run focuses a bit more on the senseis than it does on the youthful next gen, honing in on what Daniel and Johnny both need from each other and what they want to represent as karate mentors. The main kids do have some big, rousing moments, spanning both defeat and victory, but it’s really the grown ups who shine here at the finish line. William Zabka, in particular, is phenomenal in a handful of heartbreaking scenes that work to key us in on just how miserable and lonely his life was following his epic All-Valley loss in 1984.
And Ralph Macchio’s Daniel, in turn, is able to really honor and heed Miyagi-Do’s teachings and prove why it’s a crucial, critical cog in The Valley’s karate scene. The Karate Kid, and Mr. Miyagi’s belief that karate was for defense only, was kind of revolutionary at the height of 1980s America’s appetite for martial-arts movies. This is what Daniel finds himself ruminating on in the aftermath of Barcelona, along with the overall need, or lack thereof, for tournament glory.
Does some of Daniel’s soul-searching come, once again, with a weird CGI Mr. Miyagi, plunging Cobra Kai in to the uncanny valley? Absolutely. But it’s easy to forgive the de-aging weirdness when you consider where this particular vision takes Daniel emotionally. Remember, Miyagi was humble. Almost to a fault. He didn’t care about titles, belts, levels, rumors, lies, or even Medals of Honor. All of his validation came from within. And this is also a big part of Cobra Kai’s overall impact.
What we said about Cobra Kai Season 6, Part 2
The second part of Cobra Kai’s final season is an exciting, action-filled romp featuring the most karate (and characters) to date. Centered on the Sekai Taikai, these five episodes are filled with failures and victories, revenge and redemption. Miyagi-Do is surrounded by enemies on all sides (and at risk of being torn apart internally) so it makes for the series’ best underdog story in years. Daniel’s obsession with Miyagi’s past bogs some of this down, but those who know Cobra Kai know that setbacks are temporary and catharsis can be beautiful. – Matt Fowler
Read the complete Cobra Kai Season 6, Part 2 review.
Following the accidental death of Kwon in Part 2’s finale, the characters, and the show, have to regroup and figure out just how lethal the stakes will be heading into the finish. Franchise-wise, this isn’t unprecedented. The movies themselves, between The Karate Kid and The Karate Kid Part II, went from high school bully antics and tournament wins to fights to the death in Okinawa. And Cobra Kai has to wrestle with this in its endgame. Right at the point when it seems like the villainous machinations of Terry Silver are going to take things into (too) dark territory, the show does a hard fix in a rather magnificent way.
For the most part, every character’s story gets wrapped up in fun and fitting fashion, though there are some stragglers in this final act whose best moments, you’ll find, are behind them. Ultimately, Cobra Kai shifts its entire focus back to what brought it to the dance. It almost feels like, in this last stretch, the series remembers what its title is. Post-Barcelona, everything returns to its point of origin: The San Fernando Valley. The region that, between Cobra Kai and the films of Paul Thomas Anderson, feels like something out of myth. An elsewhere. Like Doctor Doom’s Battleworld, but with karate teens ruling the landscape.
It could feel cheap or uninspired, like when sitcoms throw a wedding on their main set. (“We could just get married in Cheers!”) But The Valley is the weird, beating heart of Cobra Kai: Where Johnny needs to better himself, Daniel needs to balance himself, Tory and Robby need to find their path, and much much more. Now the world of international karate comes to them – with all the villains, like Silver and the Iron Dragons, still in play.
I’ve written before about how Cobra Kai is a fantastic blend of tones, mixing sitcom-style comedy with stark, effective drama. Sometimes characters are cartoonishly stubborn and obtuse, but that always usually leads to a brilliant bit of catharsis. These final episodes take from the same playbook, of course. Some elements play out with all the bells, whistles, and sitcom antics intact (botched proposals, baby-delivery zaniness), almost eliciting eye rolls. But others – hoo, boy – they zig instead of zag and I was thrown for a loop. In a great way. It all works.
Very few of the “bad guys” on Cobra Kai escape redemption. And if they don’t get to come full circle, we at least gain insight into their tragic motivation or witness a pivotal moment that feels like a seed planted for future absolution. Now that Cobra Kai actually has a surplus of adversaries, there’s room for one final act of apology and clarity. I won’t give away who it is, but it’s a doozy and it fuels the final two episodes in a magnificent manner.
Here at the end of all-things Cobra Kai, it’s phenomenal how the show’s collected characters: It scooped up strays and made them lovable. It started with the main characters, but over the course of seven years, it’s amassed a small army of beguiling misfits and lost souls in search of purpose. Some of them may not have had the final moments I fully wanted for them but the tapestry of the world is so detailed that you can easily imagine their lives and fates moving forward. And yes, the show still knows how to create exciting tournament showdowns, filled with nail-biting suspense. There’s even a final high-stakes fight that pretty much tips its headband at the entire Karate Kid franchise. Cobra Kai goes out on a very satisfying note, filled with hope and rejuvenation.
Cobra Kai dazzles and delights with these fun and surprising final episodes. Though bringing everything back to The Valley was expected, most of the predictable story elements end there – the series takes some big swings, and they pay off well. It feels like everyone winds up where they should be. It’s a solid ending that also feels ready to continue on, which is a good thing if one’s looking out for potential spinoffs (while we also head into Karate Kid: Legends in May, set three years after Cobra Kai). Out of every legacy sequel project that’s come about in the past 20 years, this just might be the most rewarding.
When Cobra Kai’s done right, no can defense.
After Cobra Kai, what’s the best legacy sequel?
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Cobra Kai Final Episodes Review
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What time is Cobra Kai season 6 part 3 out on Netflix?
Will it be a happy ending for Daniel, Johnny and their students?
Cobra Kai will never die, but its self-titled Netflix series is pumping the brakes with its sixth season, which is set to conclude this week with its final five episodes.
The Karate Kid spin-off has breathed new life into the quintessentially ’80s franchise, leaning into its more eccentric properties with knowing humour and loving references to what came before.
Fans are gearing up for an emotional farewell to the show’s beloved characters, including feuding step-brothers Robbie (Tanner Buchanan) and Miguel (Xolo Maridueña), whose journey has been a focal point for the series to date.
So too has been the long-held rivalry between Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) and Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka), which fans hope to be settled by the time the finale credits roll – barring any more unforeseen bumps in the road.
If you’re excited to find out how the final season ends, read on for exactly what time to watch Cobra Kai season 6 part 3 on Netflix.
Cobra Kai season 6 part 3 will be available to stream on Netflix from 8am (GMT) on Thursday 13th February 2025.
Of course, that time will vary depending on where you are in the world, with diehard fans across the pond having the option to pull an all-nighter if they wish, as episodes drop in the US at 12am (PT) or 3am (ET).
Cobra Kai season 6 part 3 will consist of five episodes in total, matching the previous two ‘parts’ of this concluding season.
In total, Cobra Kai season 6 boasts a plus-sized 15 episodes, with co-creator Hayden Schlossberg explaining the expanded runtime and staggered release schedule in an interview with RadioTimes.com.
“When we talked to Netflix, we felt like one season – 10 episodes – is not going to be enough to finish this up,” he began.
“[But] it’s a lot to make 20 episodes, and we didn’t want to wait too long in terms of how they get released and how they all go out.
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“And so 15 became a good number, like a supersize season, to pay off all these characters that we’ve set up.”
Schlossberg added: “As soon as we decided on 15, the five-five-five split-up made sense to us because we do write in five-episode arcs… And we liked the idea for fans, also, because five episodes for this show is about three hours, so it’s a good binge.”
Yes, Cobra Kai season 6 part 3 is the final chapter of the Karate Kid spin-off, but the franchise will live on with a brand new film arriving in cinemas in just a few months.
Karate Kid: Legends unites original star and Cobra Kai co-lead Ralph Macchio with martial arts legend Jackie Chan, who appeared in the 2010 reboot opposite Jaden Smith.
They’ll be using their shared expertise to coach a brand new student, Li Fong (played by American Born Chinese star Ben Wang), to merge the fighting styles of kung fu and karate in a high-stakes competition.
Yes! Check out the trailer for Cobra Kai season 6 part 3 below:
Cobra Kai season 6 is available to stream on Netflix.
Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what’s on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
David Craig is the Senior Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering the latest and greatest scripted drama and comedy across television and streaming. Previously, he worked at Starburst Magazine, presented The Winter King Podcast for ITVX and studied Journalism at the University of Sheffield.
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