Cobra Kai | |
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Season 6 | |
Starring | |
No. of episodes | 10 |
Release | |
Original network | Netflix |
Original release | July 18, 2024 present | –
Season chronology | |
The sixth and final season of Cobra Kai, also known as Cobra Kai VI, consists of 15 episodes and is releasing on Netflix. Unlike previous seasons, the sixth season will be released in three parts of five episodes each. The first of these was released on July 18, 2024. A second part was released on November 15, 2024, followed by the final part set to release on February 13, 2025. The series is a direct sequel to the original four films in The Karate Kid franchise, focusing on the characters of Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence over 30 years after the titular film.[1] The season was originally set to be released in 2023, but experienced delays as a result of the 2023 Hollywood labor disputes. The second part, however, got an early release date after originally receiving a November 28, 2024 release window. The season features 13 starring roles, all of which returned from previous seasons, including Gianni DeCenzo who was a series regular in seasons 2–4, but was demoted to a recurring cast member in the previous season.
No. overall | No. in season | Title [2] | Directed by | Written by [3] | Original release date [4][5] | |||||||
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Part 1 | ||||||||||||
51 | 1 | "Peacetime in the Valley" | Joel Novoa | Bob Dearden | July 18, 2024 | |||||||
Following the demise of Cobra Kai, the students of both Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang prepare for the Sekai Taikai. After disagreements over their training styles, Johnny and Chozen challenge each other to a fight. Daniel learns that Chozen's pride was wounded when Silver stabbed him in the back and Kumiko did not reply to his voice messages. Miguel tries to ease the tension between Sam and Tory while Robby attempts to make amends with Kenny, but he encounters Shawn, who tells him to leave Kenny alone. Robby and Miguel take on Shawn while Sam and Tory try to reason with Kenny into joining their dojo, but to no avail. After receiving a text message, Johnny goes to Coyote Creek, where Stingray tells him to retake the Cobra Kai brand with Kreese and Silver gone. The next morning, Johnny concedes and tells Daniel that Miyagi-Do has the right to represent the students in the Sekai Taikai, but he and Chozen still have their fight. After a talk with Shawn about how Terry Silver's teachings are corrupting him, Kenny joins Miyagi-Do. Elsewhere, Kreese enters Kim Da-eun's dojo, telling the students that Cobra Kai is back. | ||||||||||||
52 | 2 | "The Prize" | Joel Novoa | Joe Piarulli & Luan Thomas | July 18, 2024 | |||||||
Kreese proposes to Master Kim Sun-Yung to have his dojo represent Cobra Kai in the Sekai Taikai, only to be turned down after Da-eun's previous partnership with Silver ended in failure. Master Kim then agrees to the proposal if Kreese ventures to a remote island and recovers his ancient family knife, the eunjangdo, deep within a cave. Kreese finds the eunjangdo, but is bitten by an albino cobra, causing him to see hallucinations of Silver and Johnny. Meanwhile, Miguel discovers that Kyler is the subject of hazing by a fraternity that has no plans of letting him in. With the help of Miguel, Demetri, Hawk, and Brucks, Kyler takes down the fraternity at their party and gets accepted into another fraternity. After the Diaz apartment experiences a leaky ceiling due to clogged sewage pipes, Johnny gets a sales job at LaRusso Auto Group to save up for a new home. Upon conquering his inner demons and vanquishing his sole weakness, Kreese beheads the cobra and returns to Master Kim with the eunjangdo and the dead cobra's head, determined to not allow anyone to stop him from his goal - not even Johnny. | ||||||||||||
53 | 3 | "Sleeper" | Ralph Macchio | Mattea Greene | July 18, 2024 | |||||||
Kreese takes control of the Kim dojo training, focusing on the delinquent Kwon Jae-Sung and molding him. That night, after some prodding by Kreese to use his anger for a purpose, Kwon defeats Yoon Do-Jin, the dojo's top student, in a fight and rips off the King Cobra badge as a personal souvenir, affirming his role as the leader. At the Miyagi house, Daniel, Chozen, and Amanda discover a chest hidden under the floor. Upon opening the chest, they discover Mr. Miyagi co-owned a boxing gym and reportedly fled the country to China after he was wanted for assault and robbery in 1947. After noticing the friendship between Sam and Tory making them weak in their training, Johnny invites them to Devon's home for a slumber party. Despite Johnny's plan failing, Sam and Tory suddenly get into an argument before they apologize to each other for their wrongdoings. The next day, the Miyagi-Do dojo learns that the Sekai Taikai will be hosted in Barcelona, and that only six fighters will be allowed to represent each dojo. | ||||||||||||
54 | 4 | "Underdogs" | Sherwin Shilati | Chris Rafferty | July 18, 2024 | |||||||
In order to determine the six fighters who will represent Miyagi-Do in the Sekai Taikai, Daniel and Johnny bring in Barnes to make the selection process a level playing field. Hawk, Robby, Miguel, Sam, Tory, Mitch, Kenny, Nate, Chris, Demetri, Devon, and Anthony are chosen by Barnes for the second round of eliminations. The next day, the top 12 engage in a battle royale, where each student must rid another of their flags. Tory, Robby, Sam, and Miguel immediately advance. Anthony doubts himself after being eliminated when he receives a bloody nose from Kenny during the battle royale. Johnny confronts Barnes upon learning Devon did not make the cut. The next morning, Barnes has Hawk, Demetri, Devon, and Kenny run through the forest and capture two flags to determine the final lineup. Devon captures the first flag after Kenny suddenly experiences diarrhea while Demetri defeats Hawk to make the team. Kenny accuses Anthony of spiking his water with Mitch's laxative, when in reality it was Devon, while Daniel suspects Johnny had a part in getting Devon in the lineup. | ||||||||||||
55 | 5 | "Best of the Best" | Sherwin Shilati | Michael Jonathan Smith | July 18, 2024 | |||||||
Tory encounters Kreese while returning from the Medical Center, who warns her not to trust Miyagi-Do. Daniel and Johnny decide to have Sam, Tory, Miguel, and Robby fight each other to secure their spots as team captains. Tory returns home, only to discover her mother has died due to an undetected blood clot. On the day of the contest, Robby defeats Miguel to become male captain when Tory's arrival helps him become more focused and make a comeback from Miguel scoring the first two points. During the girls' fight, Tory displays aggression and is about to score, equaling the score of 2-2 against Sam when Daniel intervenes before she reveals to everyone of her mother's death and leaves the team, forfeiting the female captain position to Sam. This incident causes an argument between Daniel and Johnny over how they should have handled the situation, ending with Johnny furiously planning to never speak to Daniel again after the tournament when Daniel punches Johnny in retaliation for Johnny insulting Mr. Miyagi over the chest of secrets. Hawk is selected to take over Tory's spot on the team, with Demetri being slightly displeased at the turn of events. As Robby and Sam are given their captain headbands, Daniel suddenly recognizes a similar headband from Mr. Miyagi's chest and realizes his sensei fought in the Sekai Taikai too as a team captain and that his headband was actually bloodied at the ends, making Daniel question his beliefs. The Miyagi-Do team arrives in Barcelona for the tournament, where they encounter Kreese and Da-eun's new Cobra Kai representing South Korea, led by Kwon and Tory. | ||||||||||||
Part 2 | ||||||||||||
56 | 6 | "Benvinguts a Barcelona" | Joel Novoa | Joe Piarulli & Luan Thomas | November 15, 2024 | |||||||
The teams are welcomed in Barcelona, letting them enjoy the city on their first day while the competition starts the next day. Robby tries to talk to Tory about her decision to rejoin Cobra Kai but has no luck doing so. The Miyagi-Do boys lose their hotel rooms to Kwon and Cobra Kai after losing a bet and are forced to split rooms with the girls. The Miyagi-Do members get upset when they find out that Robby knew Kreese spoke to Tory before her mom died and didn't tell them. Tory asks Robby for a break; she feels it is for the best since they both need to focus on the competition. Daniel and Johnny try to get along with the other senseis and sponsors, but things get hard when Johnny almost gets into an argument with another guest, Wolf, who turns out to be the sensei of Hong Kong dojo Iron Dragons. Chozen arrives drunk, disappointed after going to Japan to look for Kumiko, as he thinks she is romantically involved with another man and his behavior results in the three of them being thrown out. On the tournament's first day, four teams are placed on the mat and must protect their captains or else the whole team gets eliminated. Robby gets distracted, causing him to lose to Kwon and Miyagi-Do loses the round. Yoon, Tory, and Kwon face off against the other standing team: the Iron Dragons who have all their six members standing. The two captains Zara and Axel go against the Cobra Kai trio alone and beat them, showing that they are a team that will be feared. Note: The episode is dedicated to actor Chad McQueen, who played Dutch in The Karate Kid (1984) and died in 2024. | ||||||||||||
57 | 7 | "Dog in the Fight" | Joel Novoa | Ashley Darnall | November 15, 2024 | |||||||
Johnny and Daniel are having issues on how to motivate the team as Miyagi-Do doesn't do very well in the second event of the tournament, and they need to earn more points to avoid elimination. Daniel gets a message from Serrano, a former Sekai Taikai contestant who claims to know Miyagi, and decides to meet him for answers at the given address; however, he gets captured by some thugs and a former student of Cobra Kai, Dennis de Guzman, forcing him to miss the next event of the tournament, resulting in Johnny having to step up. Tension between Miguel and Robby arise when Miguel tells him he is wasting his opportunity to be captain since his issues with Tory have clearly affected his fights. He tells Robby he should either step up or hand over the captain position. Devon admits to Johnny that she cheated, but he encourages to do her best and promises not to say anything. Miyagi-Do advances to the next round thanks to Miguel's victory against two fighters from an Irish dojo. However, he and Johnny have to return home when Rosa calls and tells them that Carmen is having complications with her pregnancy and is at the hospital. | ||||||||||||
58 | 8 | "Snakes on a Plane" | Jennifer Celotta | Ashley Darnall & Emily Abbott | November 15, 2024 | |||||||
After Miguel's departure, Johnny asks Amanda to contact Kenny and convince him to replace Miguel. However, Kenny explains to Amanda that he has no interest in being part of the team because he still thinks that Anthony was the one who used the laxatives on him. Miguel and Johnny argue on the plane as he tells Johnny that he didn't support him in the tournament. Zara gets jealous of the attention that Tory receives from the other contestants and sleeps with Robby after he gets drunk at a bar while Tory witnesses a kiss between them. Amanda has Anthony apologize to Kenny, but it ends in a fight between them. Johnny apologizes to Miguel, and they make amends after the latter hits an annoying passenger. Axel and Sam encounter each other on the beach, and he tries kissing her after an encounter with Yoon and Kwon but leaves disappointed after learning she has a boyfriend. Yasmine dumps Demetri after Hawk calls Moon and inadvertently shows Demetri dancing with a Spanish girl at the bar. To get rid of her guilt, Devon calls Kenny and confesses that she was the one who spiked his drink with laxatives recently. Kenny reconciles with Anthony and accepts the trip to Barcelona. After her steady recovery, Carmen tells Johnny and Miguel to return to Barcelona and win. Chozen and Da-eun have a sexual encounter and, along with Daniel and Kreese, find out that Terry Silver was working with Wolf and Dennis to abduct Daniel. | ||||||||||||
59 | 9 | "Blood In Blood Out" | Sherwin Shilati | Chris Rafferty | November 15, 2024 | |||||||
Three months prior, Silver is freed of all his charges and meets Wolf in Thailand, promising to pay his debts in exchange for buying Iron Dragons and humiliating Miyagi-Do during the Sekai Taikai. Johnny returns to Barcelona with Miguel and Kenny, who is replacing Devon. She apologizes to Kenny, and they make amends. The other team members distrust Kenny, thinking he is secretly working with Silver, so they don't tag him in the next group challenge. Silver offers Kenny a spot in his dojo, but he refuses and shows him a middle finger after he helps Miyagi-Do win following Robby tagging him. The team celebrates. In order to mess with Silver, Johnny & Chozen decided to exploit Kreese by putting a spa ticket on his locker at the place of the eunjangdo which has gone missing, causing Kreese to punch Silver. Da-eun accuses Chozen for stealing the eunjangdo, and warns him to give it back or it will complicate everything with Kreese turning against him. Miyagi-Do goes against Cobra Kai on the elimination round, and Tory confronts Robby on his hookup with Zara. He learns Kwon messed with him, making him believe there was something between him and Tory. Robby defeats Kwon, making Miyagi-Do advance to the tournament of champions, while Cobra Kai is eliminated. Silver hands Daniel an envelope, showing that Mr. Miyagi killed his opponent during the Sekai Taikai. After Kreese finds his eunjangdo back in the locker, he states it's not over until he says so. | ||||||||||||
60 | 10 | "Eunjangdo" | Sherwin Shilati | Bob Dearden & Olga Lexell | November 15, 2024 | |||||||
Tournament director Gunther Braun confirms to Daniel that Silver's information about Miyagi is correct. Tensions run high as Cobra Kai prepares to return home after being eliminated, only to receive a second chance when it is revealed Russian dojo and semifinalist Tiger Strike has been disqualified due to four of its students failing a drug test. The Sekai Taikai tournament of champions, consisting of duels between only the captains of the top four teams (Cobra Kai, Iron Dragons, Miyagi-Do and Furia de Pantera), begins with Axel pitted against Robby and Sam and Tory facing each other. Kwon and Zara win their respective matches against their opponents with Kwon's decisive knockout earning Cobra Kai special points. However, in the match between Axel and Robby, Robby is pushed by Axel into the Cobra Kai students, and Kwon elbows him in the ribs with a cheap shot. As Miguel tries to come to his aid, he is knocked down by Axel, who envies him for being Sam's boyfriend. Gunther warns all the competitors to get off the mats, only to be knocked unconscious by an enraged Sensei Ivanov of Tiger Strike. This ignites a brawl with all the tournament competitors, where Johnny and Daniel face off against Wolf. Robby faces off against the entirety of the Cobra Kai except for Tory, who fights Zara. Miguel and Axel duel, and Sam, after beating the Irish girl captain, helps Robby and Tory dispose of Cobra Kai and Zara, respectively. Meanwhile, Kreese goes after Silver with his eunjangdo, intending to kill him, but it slips out of his belt during the chaos. Upon discovering this, he fights Silver hand-to-hand. Silver beats Kreese to exhaustion and is ready to kill him until Johnny saves his former sensei. When Kwon attacks Sam, Axel stops his fight with Miguel and attacks Kwon, throwing him into a camera. Kwon then notices the fallen eunjangdo and grabs it, intending to kill Axel. However, Axel counters his attacks and kicks him in mid-air, causing Kwon to fall on the knife and fatally impale himself in the chest. As everyone stares in shock, Gunther yells for the feed to be cut. | ||||||||||||
Part 3 | ||||||||||||
61 | 11 | TBA | TBA | Joe Piarulli & Luan Thomas | February 13, 2025 | |||||||
62 | 12 | TBA | TBA | Ashley Darnall & Kyle Civale | February 13, 2025 | |||||||
63 | 13 | TBA | TBA | Chris Rafferty | February 13, 2025 | |||||||
64 | 14 | TBA | TBA | Bob Dearden | February 13, 2025 | |||||||
65 | 15 | "Ex Degenerate" | TBA | Josh Heald & Jon Hurwitz & Hayden Schlossberg | February 13, 2025 |
On January 20, 2023, Netflix renewed Cobra Kai for a sixth and final season.[6][7] At the time of the announcement, series creators Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg stated that they wished to end the series on their terms.[8] Heald, Hurwitz, and Schlossberg returned to executive produce the series through their production company Counterbalance Entertainment.[9] Series stars Ralph Macchio and William Zabka also serve as executive producers[10] alongside Will Smith, James Lassiter and Caleeb Pinkett for Westbrook Entertainment and Susan Ekins for Sony Pictures Television.[11] Production on the season was slated to begin in mid-2023.[12] Hurwitz confirmed that writing was underway by April 2023.[13] The following month however, production was halted by the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike[14] but writing resumed in late 2023.[15]
Sean Kanan once again reprised his role as Mike Barnes. Barnes initially starred in The Karate Kid Part III (1989) and first returned to the franchise in season 5 of Cobra Kai. Kanan stated that after appearing in the previous season, he remained in contact with Hurwitz, Heald, and Sclossberg, who expressed interest in Barnes returning again. Kanan also said it was his idea for Barnes to take on a sensei role within the series.[16] C.S. Lee was cast to portray Master Kim Sun-Yung, a character first referenced by Terry Silver in Part III.[17]
Following the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, filming on the season began in Atlanta, Georgia in February 2024,[18][19][20] and wrapped on June 10, 2024.[21]
Leo Birenberg and Zach Robinson returned to compose the series' soundtrack once more. The first part of the soundtrack was released on July 19, 2024, with a single releasing in the week prior.[22] A single to accompany the second part of the season was released on November 8, with the full soundtrack set to release on November 16.[23]
The season was originally slated for a December 2023 release on Netflix but was delayed by the strikes.[15] Later details reported that it would release in late 2024.[4] On May 2, 2024, Netflix announced that the season would consist of 15 episodes, split into three parts of five episodes each.[24] It is the first case of Netflix splitting an original series into thirds.[25] The announcement also revealed that the first part would be released on July 18, 2024, followed by the second on November 28.[26][25] A final release set for 2025 is being titled "The Finale Event".[27] A teaser trailer accompanied the announcement.[28] On July 1, an official trailer for Season 6 Part 1 was released, accompanied by "Shout It Out Loud" by Kiss.[29] The day of the season premiere, it was announced that part two would be released on November 15 instead.[30] The release date for part three was later revealed to be February 13, 2025.[5]
Part 1 | |
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Aggregate scores | |
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 67/100[31] |
Rotten Tomatoes | 81%[32] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
Collider | 9/10[33] |
Empire | [34] |
/Film | 8/10[35] |
GamesRadar+ | [36] |
IGN | 7/10[37] |
Paste | 7.8/10[38] |
The first part ranked in the top spot on Netlfix's most viewed shows chart for the week of July 15–21, 2024. It received 14.8 million views within its first four days after release.[39] During this time, 1.1 billion minutes of the season was streamed.[40] Deadline Hollywood theorized that a three-part release caused lower viewership in its first release, but expected higher numbers after the release of the final part due to viewers who wish to binge watch the entire season at one time.[41] In the period of July 22–28, Cobra Kai continued to hold its spot as the most-viewed Netflix series, and received an additional 9.5 million views.[42]
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 81% of 32 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.8/10. The website's consensus reads: "Having achieved mastery over its formula, Cobra Kai's sixth and final season doesn't hit as hard but still maintains excellent form."[32] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 67 out of 100, based on 11 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[31]