This review pertains to all episodes of Cobra Kai Season 6, Part 1.
I’ve been onboard with Cobra Kai since the very beginning. I remember subscribing to YouTube Red specifically so that I could watch the series when it initially released on that platform back in 2018. I kept that subscription through the second season before the sequel series eventually moved to its new home on Netflix where it garnered a much wider audience. As a child who’d grown up watching the Karate Kid films repeatedly on VHS, this was a series geared specifically towards me. I found myself instantaneously pulled back into the world of martial arts rivalries and the All Valley Karate Championship; however, as the series lunges into its sixth and final season, it feels like an appropriate time to close the doors on the Cobra Kai dojo once and for all.
Cobra Kai Plot
Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) and Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) have teamed up to combine their skills and different styles into a singular dojo. As many of the karate students are about to graduate high school and begin planning their futures, the realization that this could be their last chance to prove themselves on the mat is becoming clearer. However, in the world of karate nothing is ever as easy as it appears, and there is always a worthy opponent standing in their path to victory.
The Critique
Part of what makes Cobra Kai work so well is its shift in perspective and narrative. While Johnny Lawrence is the undeniable villain of the original film, we see a different side of him in Cobra Kai. He’s a simple man. His priorities are questionable, his social skills are subpar and his maturity level maxed out in high school. Yet, despite all of this, he maintains a lovability and kindness that makes him likable against our better judgement. Barney Stinson from How I Met Your Mother always championed Johnny Lawrence as the hero and true “karate kid,” and this series allows all of us to understand that perspective better.
As the series has continued through an impressive six seasons, that perspective has slowly shifted. As the focus on Daniel and returning characters increased, Johnny has fallen further into the background and this may be to the series’ detriment. I have no complaints about Ralph Macchio, and I’ve loved seeing his return to the role that made him an 80’s sensation. The buildup to Johnny and Daniel’s reignited rivalry and then to their eventual team-up was the primary driving force for the series’ tension. That element of the story seems to have concluded, leaving a void and some confusion about where to go from here.
I question who the audience for Cobra Kai’s sixth season truly is. I’m within the target demographic, I would assume. I’m a thirty-eight-year-old male who grew up on the original trilogy; however, the series continues to lean into a cheesy and childish delivery of its melodramatic plots while simultaneously delivering f-bombs and flirting with more mature themes. It’s a confusing blend that shouldn’t work, yet meets the nostalgic desires of the over-the-top originals while adding a sprinkle of spice to the updated story.
In Conclusion
Despite its flaws, Cobra Kai remains an unequivocal crowd-pleaser and one of Netflix’s most enjoyable series. It has re-ignited an excitement for a franchise that had been considered outdated and forgotten by younger audiences. Despite the series coming to an end, the Karate Kid universe will continue to expand with a new film expected to release next year. It’s been an enjoyable six years, and I cannot wait to see what the second part of the season kicks up.
Part one of the sixth and final season of Cobra Kai is now streaming on Netflix.
7/10
