Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for Cobra Kai Season 6, Part 3.What has always madeCobra Kaisuch an interesting show in comparison to the originalKarate Kidmovies is that, unlike that trilogy, there are so many character arcs that have a chance to truly develop. InThe Karate Kid, Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) was the stereotypical one-dimensional bully figure, butCobra Kaihas developed him into a well-rounded (but flawed) character who is truly worth rooting for. But throughout the entire series run, we have been waiting for one cathartic moment for Johnny that helps us to not only understand the character but sympathize with him in a way we would never have, even at the beginning of the show.Season 6 Part 3finally gave us this moment, pushing Johnny to take responsibility, let it all out, and become a better man.
‘Cobra Kai’ Finally Reconciled Johnny Lawrence and John Kreese
Johnny’s climactic moment near the end of “Skeletons,” as he finally confronts his former mentor John Kreese (Martin Kove), is a game-changer. Here, the now Miyagi-Do sensei admits how much Kreese’s betrayal inThe Karate Kid Part IIhurt him, sending him down a wrong path in life. It’s a moment where Johnny is not skirting his own responsibility (we have seen him own up to his mistakes and wrongdoing as a father and a man previously), but rather he is shedding light on where all those actions stemmed from. It wasn’t Daniel LaRusso’s (Ralph Macchio) fault that Johnny’s life turned out this way, and it’s not fully Kreese’s either. Butthat moment from the beginning ofthe secondKarate Kiddid something to Johnny, it broke something in him that could not be easily fixed. Finally admitting that to both himself and the man he once idolized was a huge step for Sensei Lawrence, who has come to see that there may actually be a time and a place for men to cry.
Not only is this one of the most emotionally engaging moments on the show, but perhaps the most important. Here,Cobra Kaireconciles the Johnny Lawrence we saw at the end of the firstKarate Kidwith the man we met at the beginning of the series decades later. It highlights that, while Johnny was a good loser who was able to at first make amends with Daniel,all of that personal progress was shattered the very moment Kreese’s own issues were thrust upon his best student. It was Kreese who taught Johnny that his best would never be enough, that his attempts to win favor, honor, and acceptance in the eyes of his sensei were all for naught. Being the best one year, only to be second best the next, was not good enough for John Kreese. For him, one was not deserving of a trophy for second place.
It’s true that Johnny says that he was a good loserwhen Daniel first used that crane kickon him in the ring. We tend to forget that, at the very end ofThe Karate Kid, Johnny says, “You’re alright, LaRusso,” upon handing him the trophy.Johnny saw a spirit of fearless determination and the very persistence as a fighter that he had in himself. No matter what the Cobra Kais did to Daniel, he continued to get back up anyway. Johnny saw and respected that, and he and Daniel were good. We even see this as “Skeletons” flashes back to this very moment, reminding us how important it is to be a good loser as it is to be a good winner. It’s easy to see how Johnny, had he continued this train of thought, would have turned out a far better person in life. While he gets there eventually, it takes years of working through his crap before he can fully move on from that moment.
If not for Kreese’s own merciless nature, if not for his unwillingness to accept Johnny’s best as-is,the Johnny Lawrence we know at the end ofCobra Kaiwould likely have been the same man we saw at the beginning of the show. Again, this doesn’t mean that Johnny isn’t responsible for his own actions. He admits, time and again, that he was a failure by choice, not just because of being beaten at the All-Valley. But even so,the voice in the back of his head that always told him he wasn’t enough was that of John Kreese, and so it’s no wonder that he eventually allowed Kreese into his version of Cobra Kaiback in the show’s early seasons. It’s also no wonder that he took it back from Johnny so easily.
This ‘Cobra Kai’ Moment Effectively Redeems the Titular Karate Movement
Yet,Cobra Kai’s beautiful, heartfelt moment of forgiveness between the pair is the straw that breaks the camel’s back. Johnny breaking down overthis emotionally traumatic moment is the crux of what makesCobra Kaiso special as a show. It reminds us not only ofthe series' initial premiseto redeem the complicated character of Johnny Lawrence (which one might argue has been buried below layers of karate madness), but it’s a moment that’s only really possible now at the end of the series. For the sake of his newfound family, Johnny has fought desperately to become emotionally stable, with the final step in his redemption being confronting Kreese. Only by forgiving him is Johnny ableto fully embrace Cobra Kai again, but in an entirely new way.
Cobra Kai is no longer alone in this, but it is now paired with Miyagi-Do,reflecting thatKarate Kidending that Kreese wrecked decades earlier. It turns out that it’s true that “Cobra Kai never dies,” and we see that here as Johnny (and Daniel, to an extent) makes it his own, far away from Kreese’s negative influence. No longer is Cobra Kai all about winning or bullying, but it seeks to help kids like Johnny once to curb their anger and their fear and face it on the mat. As Johnny notes in the series finale, “Ex-Degenerate,” the ways of Cobra Kai can’t work without the teachings of Miyagi-Do, emphasizing that there are moments where we need to fight and others where we need to walk off the mat and forgive. In respect,Johnny’s last moments with Kreese embrace both styles, as he confronts the issue head-on but is willing to let go of the fight and forgive.
WhileCobra Kai’s last batch of episodesdid feel a little rushed at times (particularly when it came to redeeming John Kreese), it was moments like this one that made the whole thing worth it. Giving Johnny the opportunity to confront the root of his life choices head-on, bury them for good, and finally move on with his life is pivotal for the entire series' concept, andwithout it,Cobra Kaiwould feel incomplete. Likewise, it was a parting that pushed Kreese into his final redemption, and while it was not as well-constructed as Johnny’s, it wouldn’t have been possible without him.
All ofCobra Kaiis available to stream on Netflix.
