Has “Cobra Kai” (Netflix) lost its fighting edge in the five-episode Season 6, Part 1? Episode one is quite flat, episode two is spicier, but also rote because we’re following Kreese’s (Martin Kove) resurrection, and while he’s a villain second only to Silver (last season’s Thomas Ian Griffith), we’re uber-familiar with him now.
Episode three recovers nicely with the girls-night sleepover where Johnny (William Zabka) tries to get Tory (Peyton List) and Sam (Mary Mouser) to hate each other’s guts again to regain their edge on the karate mat. “Cobra Kai,” in a way, just gives us what we want: Simple-minded (though not street-stupid) Johnny flailingly using his gut instincts.
It’s a good thing there are six main students
On the other hand, the show has so many characters that you can’t say “This is for sure the direction the writers will take.” Season 6 feels short on fresh villainy out of the gates, but episode four rebounds by adding sharp edge to friend-rivalries as Miyagi-do determines which six of its couple dozen students will attend the worldwide tournament in Barcelona.
“Cobra Kai” Season 6, Part 1 (2024)
Netflix, five episodes
Writers: Bob Dearden, Joe Piarulli, Luan Thomas, Mattea Greene, Chris Rafferty, Michael Jonathan Smith
Stars: Ralph Macchio, William Zabka, Courtney Henggeler
My friend Shaune joked “It’s a good thing there are six main characters,” and his joke is well taken. But after some decent drama to pare the group down to 12, then eight, then six, the threads come out juicier. Demitri (Gianni DeCenzo) wins capture-the-flag dishonestly against Hawk (Jacob Bertrand). And Devin (Oona O’Brien) puts laxatives in the drink of Kenny (Dallas Dupree Young) in order to void him.
As Kenny voids his bowels, Johnny notes “Looks like he got his brown belt.” This example is a little blunt, but “Cobra Kai” still balances comedy and drama pretty well. Poop humor lands with me, so I’ll take it, but I’m even more interested in the drama that will follow.
Both Devon and Demitri are in the final six (as is Hawk, after another twist, and of course Robby, Miguel and Sam), and I’m looking forward to seeing how Kenny will expose and get revenge on Devon.
Tory’s tragedy
While these are sitcom-level Gen-Z actors (although some have landed starring movie roles, like Robby actor Tanner Buchanan in “He’s All That” and Miguel actor Xolo Mariduena in “The Blue Beetle”), occasionally we get bursts of great performances.
So a shout-out must go to List, who takes us through Tory’s tragic loss of her mother, and – as she sees it in her understandably devastated state – everything good in her life. It’s a monumental failure of the adults in her life, plus boyfriend Robby, to not be there for her.
But also, “Cobra Kai” – the pacing of which is, shall we say, flexible — often asks us to fill in off-screen gaps. I guess Tory effectively evaded those who care about her. So now she’s back with Kreese. He’s evil, for sure, but in relation to Tory’s story, is he all that bad? I think perhaps she can take what she needs from Kreese’s reformed Korean Cobra Kai and come out a better person.
It’s a fun question among viewers: Who will win the Sekai Taikai in Barcelona (which will presumably cap the series in Season 6, Part 3, in 2025)? My votes are for Sam (girls) and Kenny (boys). But the actual point of “Cobra Kai” is “How will these youngsters find their right path, and what will that path be?” Another early guess: For some, it will not be about karate.
Paint-by-numbers plus Mad Libs
The narrative and character arcs provide several possibilities, allowing “Cobra Kai” to simultaneously be two contrasting child’s games: paint-by-numbers and Mad Libs. This keeps us on our toes, and three other elements have kept us tuning in. One is Johnny’s absurd behavior, as in episode three when he tries to make the Ouija board spell out “Bitch” and when he steals the phone of Miguel (Sam’s boyfriend) and pretends to have him text “Hola, mamacita” to Tory (Robby’s girlfriend).
The second is the return of characters from the films. The original trilogy is tapped out, but I think there are still possibilities from “The Next Karate Kid” (1994) and “Karate Kid” 2010. So far in Season 6, we’ve merely seen callbacks within “Cobra Kai.” Not a bad move (it’s right that the series no longer be overshadowed by the movies), but these returns of old characters don’t have the same kick. But I do acknowledge the arc of Kyler (Joe Seo) in episode two allows for a fun sequence of vengeance against evil frat bros at the College of the Valley.
The third element is fight choreography (and the attendant camera work). Way back in the days of YouTube Red, friends said “You gotta watch ‘Cobra Kai’ for the school hallway brawl at the end of the season.” They were right, and it was followed by more epic showdowns, such as the Christmastime Cobra-Kai-vs.-Miyagi-do Armageddon at the La Russo house to cap Season 3.
Simply put, the fights are not as good in Season 6. I don’t know if the choreography/stunt team was changed, or if the same old team is in a slump. We still get respectable individual shots, like slow-mo high sweeping kicks in one-on-one fights. But the lavishly choreographed brawls are missing. Check out the missed opportunity of the “flag karate” (similar to flag football) challenge in the Miyagi-do yard in episode four. It’s confusing chaos rather than delicious chaos.
“Cobra Kai” needs to step up its game in this arena to live up to the hype of the Sekai Taikai. The characters and possible story twists are on the mat – as is occasional elevated acting, like List in episode five. But without fights at a black-belt level, the writers’ and actors’ work doesn’t pack as much punch.