After almost six years, “Cobra Kai” finished their six-season series with a bang.
The sitcom’s last season was a three-part special, with the third and final part being released on Feb. 13, 2025.
Cobra Kai’s first season takes place about 33 years after “Karate Kid,” where Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) was defeated by Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) at the 1984 All-Valley Tournament.
The story follows its protagonist, Johnny Lawrence, through his ups and downs after his defeat while facing conflict with LaRusso and returning characters John Kreese (Martin Kove) and Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith). The production’s ending solves all problems and welcomes a non-corrupt Cobra Kai dojo led by Lawrence.
The show’s last couple of episodes included allusions to “Rocky IV.” This is seen by Robby Keene’s (Tanner Buchanan) defeat through injury in the Sekkai Tekai international karate tournament by a Russian named Axel Kovačević (Patrick Luwis), and Miguel Diaz (Xolo Maridueña) returning to the limelight, as the plot should have been, to defeat Kovačević.
In addition, the show ended by highlighting its main character returning to his original dojo for one last battle.
A major strength seen in the series is character development. Lawrence began the series as a failed father who couldn’t care less about anything, and ended the show as a married husband who resolved his conflict with his son whom he abandoned for 16 years.
Not only is the show’s plot well-organized, but William Zabka was able to portray his character’s development extremely well by becoming a kind-hearted human being at the end of the show.
Another actor who performed excellently was Johnny’s first student Xolo Maridueña. Throughout the show, Diaz followed his sensei. By developing a massive bond between the show’s main characters, Maridueña demonstrated his character’s development amazingly throughout the show’s duration by showing that Miguel is slowly developing confidence for himself, and getting stronger as the show progresses.
Although their acting was superb, it is hard to ignore its flaws.
One of the cons of having a young cast is its inexperience, as seen through Tanner Buchanan. Throughout “Cobra Kai,” Buchanan’s emotional range is really lacking. Instead of Keene being a high schooler who went through plenty as a kid and wants to live a normal life, Buchanan portrays his character as a bad-tempered child.
Another problem was the overwhelming amount of cheesy one-liners and scenes. For example, instead of Miguel deciding to dodge a baseball coming out of a baseball machine, he punches it during a fight.
Although there are some noticeable flaws seen throughout Cobra Kai, overall, this Netflix show is an amazing watch for fans of comedy and action.
