[Editor’s note: The following containsspoilersthrough the Season 3 finale of Cobra Kai.]
The only downside to closing outCobra KaiSeason 2 with such an epic fight sequence? It set the bar mighty high for the big finish in Season 3. Yes, that Season 2 finale oner had some next level fight choreography, but the big brawl at the LaRusso’s house that closed out Season 3 managed to find an especially impressive balance between stellar action and strong emotional beats. A standout in that respect? Sam (Mary Mouser) finally facing Tory (Peyton List).
Duringour Season 3 interviewwith Mouser and List, we saved the last few minutes to dig into some spoilers and, of course, that final fight was a hot topic of conversation. What’s the most challenging part of filming such a complicated set piece? Here’s what Mouser had to say:
“Fake hyperventilating for a while takes a toll on your lungs. [Laughs] Hyperventilating in slow motion also takes a toll on your lungs. But honestly? The part in the home dojo was the most challenging. Obviously there’s all this stuff in the house which was a lot of chaos and a lot of different moving parts so you’re constantly thinking through all that, but once we got into the part where it’s just me and Tory in the home dojo, that was a lot. I had to be playing a lot of emotional high stakes at the same time as playing physical high stakes as we were the first two to take on some weapons.”
Mouser also added a bit about her earliest days on set with the bo staff:
“I basically got handed a bo staff midway through the season and they were like, ‘By the way, you’re gonna use this at some point.’ I was like, ‘Oh! Am I? Cool, cool!’ And as soon as I was holding it in my hand, everybody on set became a baton twirler! Everybody’s like, ‘Oh my god, in high school I did flag! In high school I was a baton twirler!’ So everybody’s grabbing the bo staff, doing all this cool stuff [and] I was like, ‘Great. I need to learn how to wield that thing.’”
While both Mouser and List managed to master their respective weapons for that final fight, Tory’s the one who walks away in defeat. Yes, she still has Kreese (Martin Kove) and Cobra Kai, but what kind of toll does losing Aisha (Nichole Brown), Miguel (Xolo Maridueña) and now Hawk (Jacob Bertrand) take on her? Here’s what List had to say about Tory’s headspace at the end of the season:
“I think the closer she goes to Kreese and Cobra Kai, the further she gets away from her friends and everything now. I think it’s more lonely. And that was where she started to lose me. Because I always understood and that was where I started to go, ‘Okay, now I don’t know where we’re going but this is a worse place than ever.’ I feel bad now. I’m going more towards villain territory every episode I think.”
Mary Mouser and Peyton List:
