Cobra Kai has finally returned with Part 1 of its sixth and final season. While the fans have to still wait to see the conclusion of the saga, that started with The Karate Kid (1984), Season 6 Part 1 has answered some significant questions from the franchise. Interestingly, this season has suggested that Johnny Lawrence may be a greater fighter than Daniel LaRusso.
The entire saga started when Ralph Macchio’s Daniel LaRusso went against Johnny Lawrence in The Karate Kid. The latter was defeated by LaRusso by the end of the film. Later, when we got to see them going against each other again in Cobra Kai Season 4, it ended in a tie. However, Johnny Lawrence’s fight against Mike Barnes may put an end to the long-running Johnny Lawrence vs Daniel LaRusso debate.
How does Cobra Kai Season 6 prove Johnny Lawrence’s superiority?
It is undeniable that Ralph Macchio‘s Daniel LaRusso has boasted some incredible fighting skills over the years. Nevertheless, Cobra Kai Season 6 threw a prominent surprise when we saw William Zabka‘s Johnny going against the mighty Mike Barnes, the antagonist from The Karate Kid Part III. Barnes was a major threat to LaRusso in the third movie in his franchise. If it was not for some of his own mistakes, Mike Barnes could have easily secured a victory against Daniel LaRusso.
Season 5 already gave us a good insight into the skills of Mike Barnes by showing him go against Chozen. The latter did not have much trouble before when he went against LaRusso but got a superb fight from Barnes. To make things more interesting Season 6 Part 1 Episode 4 also gave us an impressive fight sequence between Johnny Lawrence and Mike Barnes.
The surprise worked beautifully as we witnessed some brilliant moves from the two. While it started slow, a commendable kick from Johnny on Barnes’ face changed the course of it and showed how much Johnny has improved over the years. Considering that Barnes had experience against skilled international fighters, Johnny Lawrence deserves more praise for giving such a challenge to the character.
On the other hand, Season 5’s finale also gave us a look into how the William Zabka character defeated five of the highly trained Kim Da-Eun’s thugs. Defeating the thugs, who were trained by Kim Sun-Yung, with very little help from Barnes speaks volumes about Johnny Lawrence’s fighting skills. It may be instrumental in a potential fight against his old opponent from the 1984 superhit.
Will Johnny Lawrence go against Daniel LaRusso again before the show ends?
It will be undoubtedly an eye-pleasing moment for the Miyagiverse enthusiasts if we get a full-fledged fair fight between William Zabka and Ralph Macchio’s characters. It may portray a very different look into both the characters than how we got to see them in the 1984 film. With Season 6 Part 1’s conclusion showing an end of friendship between the two central characters, it can be a possibility for the makers to establish a rematch.
Given, that Ralph Macchio has a widespread fandom who love Daniel LaRusso, some fans may be unhappy to know that the power dynamics have changed a lot. Johnny Lawrence’s commendable fights against Mike Barnes and the five trained thugs have already established that he has acquired more endurance skills and better techniques.
Now it will be exciting to watch if we get any no-nonsense fight against the two primary characters in the second or third part of the sixth season. On top of that, it must be noted that this time, a tie would not be very effective. The fans will love to see if we can finally get an answer on the Johnny Lawrence vs. Daniel LaRusso debate.
Cobra Kai Season 6 Part 1 can be streamed on Netflix, while Part 2 is slated for a release on November 15, 2024.
