Peyton List’s character is going through a lot when Cobra Kai Season 6 Part 1 winds up after five episodes. Tory Nichols has the most emotionally challenging arc in the new episodes that rolled out on Netflix on July 18. In a shocking twist, Tory’s sick mom passes away in the fifth episode of the season, right around the time when she was getting ready for the Sekai Taikai tournament.
She tries to channel her grief through fighting, but Daniel doesn’t let her fight. An angry and emotionally low Tory then goes to the only person who would understand her and let her fight—John Kreese. List opened up about her character’s shocking decision in her recent interview.
Peyton List Explains Why Her Character Took One Shocking Decision In Cobra Kai Season 6 Part 1
In the last episode of Cobra Kai Season 6 Part 1, Peyton List‘s Tory Nichols appears to fight Sam to decide the captain of the Miyagi-Do dojo, hiding her mother’s death and her grief. She turns her grief into anger and lets it out in the fight against Sam, only to be stopped by Ralph Macchio‘s Daniel LaRusso.
Despite Johnny Lawrence’s insistence, Daniel doesn’t allow her to fight, leading to her getting upset and leaving. Tory decides to leave Miyagi-Do to become John Kreese’s champion in his new version of Cobra Kai. The decision shocked many fans of the show. List opened up about her character’s decision in her latest interview with Collider.
When List appeared alongside Tanner Buchanan, Xolo Maridueña, Jacob Bertrand, Mary Mouser, and Gianni DeCenzo, Collider’s Perri Nemiroff first turned to her to ask her about the twist in the fifth episode. The host asked her what Tory thought she could get from Kreese that she couldn’t get from the people who love her.
List replied that her character went to Kreese of all people because she thought she could only be his number and not anyone else’s. List shared with Collider:
That’s a really good question. I think what she can get from him is being his number one, and she can’t be anyone else’s number one.
Buchanan joked that her last few words were a dig at the character Robby, to which List clarified that she was talking about authority figures. Nemiroff also went on to comment that The Friendship Game actress was phenomenal in the fifth episode.
Cobra Kai Showrunners Opened Up About Tory’s Mother Dying In Season 6
Cobra Kai showrunner Josh Heald spoke to ScreenRant after the first part of Season 6 was released on Netflix. He explained the reason why Tory’s mother had to die at such a crucial point in the storyline. Heald shared that the writer’s room always knew Tory’s mom would pass at some point in the storyline and they didn’t know exactly when.
However, they decided that it would happen at a crucial moment for Tory. Heald shared that more than tapping into the traditional melodrama, they wanted it to happen at the worst possible time that would ignite some Cobra Kai drama in the storyline. Heald shared with ScreenRant:
But we always knew that [her] mom would go, we didn’t know exactly when, but we knew we wanted it to be at a crucial moment for her character. It wasn’t just something that’s happening and we’re cutting to that and seeing a more traditional melodrama about a kid going through something. We wanted it to have the Cobra Kai gasoline and the sparks that come with that.
This was the worst possible time that this could have happened, which made it the best possible time to do it. And it it just becomes the alchemy of putting together the recipe in the writers room about when and why and how, and the pieces of the puzzle have to fit together.
However, Tory’s decision may not be the wisest at this point, since the grief and rage would only make her less focused. With two more parts left for the finale season, fans sincerely hope that Peyton List’s character ends up back on Daniel and Johnny’s side. Tory’s journey is definitely one to watch out for in the upcoming parts of the series.
Cobra Kai Season 6 Part 1 is currently streaming on Netflix.
