What is the true purpose of gaining strength? Is it to improve our worldview and way of life by inculcating the disciplines and virtues associated with them, or is it to become a better version of ourselves by facing the challenges of life head-on? Or perhaps it is the good old call to survival in this dog-eat-dog world, where the ends justifies the means. The cult classic “The Karate Kid” trilogy taught us the first one, through the journey of teenage protagonist Daniel LaRusso under the guidance of martial art sensei Nariyoshi Miyagi, who helped inculcate the noble lessons of karate in his young protégé to get through the tribulations of life. Over three decades later, as “The Karate Kid” returned to find its legacy through the series “Cobra Kai,” viewers got to assess other perspectives as well through the lives of some of the old characters and new ones as well. Throughout five seasons, “Cobra Kai” has gathered a massive fan following and rejuvenated an appreciation of martial arts, and it is returning with its much anticipated sixth season, which will be divided into three parts. Let us guide readers through a brief five-season recap to better understand the characters and stakes so we can get into the mix pretty easily.
Season 1: From Favorites to Underdogs
In 1984, the scrawny outsider, Daniel LaRusso, had won the All Valley Karate Tournament under the tutelage of Nariyoshi Miyagi after defeating the hot favorite former champion Johnny Lawrence, top fighter of John Kreese’s Cobra Kai dojo. The win made Daniel an overnight star of the San Fernando Valley and freed him from the clutches of his former bullies, Lawrence and his gang of spoiled brats. Eventually, with the newfound confidence and under Mr. Miyagi’s mentorship, Daniel worked his way through to become the owner of the town’s most successful car dealership. He raised a loving family with his wife Amanda and their two children, Samantha and Anthony. Mr. Miyagi has passed away, but his teachings and memories have helped Daniel make it big in life in every sense of the term. However, “Cobra Kai” focuses on the other side of the story, and it reveals that life became much, much tougher for Johnny after that loss all those years ago. Unlike Daniel, Johnny had no father figure to guide him, and with his devil-may-care/tough-as-nails attitude, he couldn’t adapt himself to changing times. He failed as a husband to his wife Shannon and also to his son Robby, and as the series begins, he is a miserable, middle-aged loner with no purpose or direction in his life. In a way, that one crane kick from Daniel, which handed Johnny defeat, also sent him into a downward spiral of life. To top it all off, Daniel’s successful life stings a guilt-ridden, distraught Johnny like a thorn, which he has no option but to bear with.
As the first season highlights, things start to change for Johnny after he saves a neighborhood kid, Miguel Diaz, from a bunch of bullies, and motivated by the little kid’s willingness to learn karate (and partially for his own ego), he decides to re-open Cobra Kai, which shut its doors after being banned by the Karate Committee. Cobra Kai’s stringent no mercy, strike first, strike hard discipline had shaped Johnny’s life, and reopening Cobra Kai allowed Johnny to start a new page in his life as well. More and more bullied, persecuted teenagers join the dojo, and Johnny’s unconventional, tough yet effective methods of teaching karate instill a strong sense of confidence in their lives. This is most noticeable with two bullied kids, Samantha’s friend Aish and Miguel’s best friend Eli, who adopts a new, bold, confident persona, Hawk, thanks to Johnny’s teachings. Daniel, who is really prejudiced against his former rival, is alarmed at Cobra Kai’s revival and tries to bury the dojo using his influence, only to realize his mistake later on and begin practicing Miyagi-Do karate once again. However, Robby, who despises his father, Johnny, for years of neglect, decides to get close to Daniel simply to spite Johnny, and a series of coincidences lead Daniel to take him under his wing as he teaches him the Miyagi-Do discipline of karate. On the other hand, Samantha gets into a relationship with Miguel, which remains shaky due to the LaRusso-Lawrence rivalry.
However, the aggression and violence of Cobra Kai start affecting the minds of the students, and Johnny becomes troubled after learning that his son, Robby, has found a father figure in Daniel. Cobra Kai’s best student, the mild-mannered kid Miguel, becomes a bit affected by the combative principles of Cobra Kai, which leads to his breakup with Samantha. In the 50th All Valley Karate Tournament, Miguel defeats Robby in the finals, but Johnny is distraught after realizing that aggression is gradually taking hold of his students, and they are forgetting the importance of honor. Daniel decides to officially reopen Miyagi-Do and finds Robby and Samantha as his new students. In the final moments of the first season, Johnny faces a ghost from his past as his brutal, sadistic mentor, John Kreese, who was presumed dead, returns to meet him in the Cobra Kai dojo.
Season 2: Facing Your Demons (Johnny’s Version)
As seen in “The Karate Kid Part II,” John Kreese’s violent outburst at Johnny’s loss, where he didn’t even hesitate to hurt a teenager, was testament enough to convey what a psychotic person he was. With Cobra Kai reopening and re-establishing itself in the valley, Kreese sees an opportunity to return, but Johnny, who has suffered enough for a lifetime because of his mentor’s problematic teachings, decides to lash out, and the duo initially get into a fight. Eventually, Johnny feels sympathetic for Kreese after learning that, in the aftermath of the Cobra Kai shutdown, Kreese hit rock bottom in life and had to survive with the bare minimum. After all, Kreese was the only father figure Johnny had, and considering that he might change as well, Johnny decides to give his former mentor a second chance.
On the other hand, Daniel teaches Samantha and Robby the noble principles of Miyagi-Do discipline, and while training, the duo gets close. Miyagi-Do gets new students, and the rivalry of the past with Cobra Kai gets reignited. Meanwhile, Tory Nichols, a feisty teenager who had to claw her way up to provide for her family, gets off on the wrong foot with Samantha, and their animosity gradually increases throughout the season as Tory joins Cobra Kai and gets close to Miguel. Kreese slowly makes his mark inside Cobra Kai by indoctrinating teenagers with his violent, merciless methods, and it is revealed that during his young age, Kreese himself was subjected to problematic teachings by his military captain during the Vietnam War, which led to his complete emotional suppression from that point onwards. Despite being a victim of bullying earlier in his life, Hawk himself becomes a bully after taking Kreese’s teachings by heart, and Johnny continues his effort to turn Cobra Kai into a better institution by instilling honor among his students. Eventually, as Kreese’s negative influence grows, which leads to Miyagi-Do getting vandalized, Johnny has no other option than to excommunicate his mentor from Cobra Kai. Johnny starts dating Miguel’s mother, Carmen, and feels a paternal responsibility for Miguel while also trying to reconcile with his own son, Robby. In the final episode of the second season of “Cobra Kai,” an all-out school brawl breaks out between the Miyagi-Do and Cobra Kai’s students, which leads to Samantha getting brutalized by Tory. Miguel beats Robby in a fight and, adhering to Johnny’s teachings, decides to show mercy, however an enraged Robby kicks him off from the second floor, which results in a terrible fall, which puts Miguel in a coma. A devastated Johnny leaves Cobra Kai, and Kreese takes over the dojo with his loyalist students. Miyagi-Do shuts down, Daniel reflects on his teachings, and Robby flees from the authorities.
Season 3: Road to Redemption and Recovery
In the third season of “Cobra Kai,” Johnny and Daniel decide to put their differences aside to find Robby, and Daniel decides to hand him over to the authorities for his own good, which lands Robby in a juvenile correctional facility. On the other hand, Johnny’s dogged determination and emotional support help Miguel recover from a near-paralyzed situation, allowing him to practice karate once again. Daniel travels to Japan for business-related affairs and rekindles his fond memories of Mr. Miyagi’s birthplace, Tomi village in Okinawa, as he reunites with his old flame, Kumiko. Chozen, once a fierce rival of Daniel and also a practitioner of Miyagi-Do discipline, meets Daniel and is revealed to have turned a new page in life, leaving his violent, aggressive past behind. As Miyagi-Do and Cobra Kai’s rivalry continues to heat up, Hawk continues his violent streak, which culminates in a brawl in an amusement park where he breaks his former best friend Demetri’s arm. Having been cornered in school and not getting much emotional support at home, Samantha is suffering from recurrent panic attacks after her violent fight with Tory, and Daniel helps his daughter conquer her fears through Mr. Miyagi’s lessons. Miguel decides to quit Cobra Kai after learning of their recent dishonorable, violent tendencies. Motivated by Miguel’s words, Johnny decides to open Eagle Fang Dojo to honor his students’ trust in him.
Aside from supporting her financially, Kreese helps Tory deal with her pervy landlord and occasionally gets involved in clashes with the LaRusso family, especially with Amanda. Kreese also tries to manipulate Robby’s mind to bring him to Cobra Kai, as he is especially hurt after feeling abandoned by both Johnny and Daniel. After getting involved in continuous brutal encounters with a fellow juvie inmate, Shawn, Robby shows his strength and character, which leads to the duo being friends. Due to the school brawl, the All Valley Karate Tournament is on the verge of cancellation, and Daniel, Kreese, and Johnny fail to appeal in favor of the continuation of the tournament due to their own bickering. However, an impassioned plea by Samantha and Miguel, who exemplify how karate has helped them to improve their lives for the better, convinces the city legislature to support the continuation of the tournament. As Robby later gets released, he is aghast after seeing Miguel and Tory together, and being unable to trust anyone, he turns to Kreese for assistance. Johnny briefly gets in touch with his high school love, Ali, and the duo spends Christmas Eve reminiscing about the good old days. As Samantha and Miguel decide to combine the strength of Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang to take on Cobra Kai, a brawl ensues in the season finale at the LaRusso residence, where Samantha beats Tory, Miguel finds his strength once again, and a remorseful Hawk decides to turn on Cobra Kai while saving his best friend, Demetri. This altercation is followed by Johnny and Daniel battling with Kreese at Cobra Kai dojo, which ends with Kreese promising that he will leave the valley if he loses the upcoming All Valley Tournament, on the condition that if Johnny and Daniel lose, they will shut their dojos down. Robby chooses to become a Cobra Kai, while Eagle Fang and Miyagi-Do form an alliance, prompting Kreese to call in his old friend, Terry Silver.
Season 4: Friendships and Betrayals
To counter the alliance of Johnny and Daniel, Kreese seeks help from his warbuddy Terry Silver, a hedge fund billionaire and co-founder of Cobra Kai Dojo, who had made Daniel’s life a living hell in “The Karate Kid Part Three.” During the Vietnam War, Kreese saved Silver’s life while the duo were held captive by Vietcong soldiers, and using this excuse, Kreese tried to coerce Silver to rejoin Cobra Kai. Silver initially seems reluctant to leave his luxurious lifestyle for another pursuit, but as Kreese’s words ignite a sense of self-recognition in him, he decides to return to Cobra Kai as sensei. Shawn’s brother, Kenny, seeks Robby’s help after being constantly bullied by Anthony LaRusso (Daniel’s son) and his friends. Kenny is molded into a violent kid after being brainwashed by Kreese and Silver’s words, and he uses his strength to terrorize Anthony. The combined training of Johnny and Daniel goes through initial hiccups, and Miguel finds himself leaning towards Miyagi-Do training while Sam manages to conquer her inner fears with Johnny’s unconventional methods of Eagle Fang training. Meanwhile, Amanda goes to threaten Tory over her rivalry with Sam, only to realize she doesn’t come from as privileged a background as her own daughter, and she tries to reconcile with Tory, much to Samantha’s dismay.
On the other hand, Johnny and Daniel engage in a stupid rivalry after feeling their best students, Miguel and Sam, respectively, are being swayed by their new mentors, and organize a fight between themselves, which ends in a tie. Johnny and Carmen decide to share the news of their relationship with Miguel, who handles the news quite well but later becomes disgruntled after feeling Johnny treating him differently during training sessions. However, Miguel is even more devastated after realizing that Johnny is yet to accept him as his own son after, in his drunken state, Johnny calls out Robby’s name. Kreese feels Silver trying to one-up him on certain occasions, leading to him threatening him. In his enraged, unstable state of mind, Silver later beats a former Cobra Kai student, Stingray, to a bloody pulp. Hawk, who had reformed his ways and joined Miyagi-Do, gets his comeuppance for past actions after Cobra Kai, led by Robby, humiliates him by shaving off his mohawk.
In the 51st All Valley Karate Tournament, Miguel pulls a muscle during the semi-final, leading him to feel pressurized and flee from the tournament. Later, it is revealed that, troubled by recent developments, Miguel has decided to go to Mexico to find his biological father, from whom Carmen was separated before Miguel’s birth and who she tried to keep out of their lives. Hawk defeats Robby, winning the men’s division of the title, while Sam loses to Tory, who later learns the fight was influenced by Silver, who bought the referee to manipulate the outcome of the match. According to the new rules, the overall point aggregate allows Cobra Kai to win the All Valley Karate Tournament, prompting Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang to shut their dojos down as per their agreement with Kreese. However, much to Kreese’s dismay, Silver betrays him to take over Cobra Kai, throwing Kreese under the bus for his own crime of the violent beatdown of Stingray and ensuring falsification by threatening/ bribing the victim in question. Seeing how violent Robby has become under the influence of Cobra Kai, Robby feels dejected being his mentor and reconciles with Johnny out of a shared feeling of failure. In the final moments of the fourth season, Chozen arrives in the Valley to help Daniel take down Silver and Cobra Kai once and for all.
Season 5: Facing Your Demons (Daniel’s Version)
After taking over Cobra Kai, the shrewd businessman Silver turns it into a brand, pumping up merchandising and advertising efforts in full scale while aggressively taking over other dojos. Even though Miyagi-Do has shut down, Daniel and Chozen are more eager than ever to destabilize Cobra Kai to save the Valley’s youth from going astray under the negative influence of the dojo. Chozen infiltrates Cobra Kai by applying as a sensei, but after a while, his ruse gets discovered by Silver.
Daniel and Chozen go to Mike Barnes, a former associate of Silver and former rival of Daniel, who has abandoned his old ways and is trying to make an honest living. However, as Daniel seeks his help to dig up dirt on Silver, Barnes’ life comes crashing down as Silver destroys his business. Silver starts plaguing Daniel’s life by playing mind games with him, which eventually leads to a rift between him and his wife, Amanda. Daniel and Chozen try to pry information out of Stingray, whom they suspect to have lied against Kreese to put him in jail (thanks to Tory secretly supplying information on Kreese’s behalf). On the other hand, Johnny decides to bring Miguel back to the Valley and, all the while, tries to mend his relationship with Robby as well. Miguel is heartbroken after finding his biological father to be as bad a person as his mother had described, and he returns with Johnny and Robby. Johnny gets even more engaged in family-related affairs as Carmen becomes pregnant with their child, prompting Johnny to make an effort to become a good father figure, as he had failed to be for Robby. Thanks to Johnny’s efforts, Robby and Miguel manage to mend their relationship as well by putting aside their differences. On the other hand, Tory grows disillusioned due to the knowledge of her win in the tournament being staged and tries to reconcile with Sam to no avail. Daniel decides to put the rivalry to rest and reconcile with his family, only to get brutally attacked and severely injured by Silver.
From Daniel’s old flame, Jessica, Amanda gets to know how severely Daniel was psychologically ruined by Silver back in the day and returns to the Valley with their kids to find Daniel in a miserable state. As Daniel has become way too crestfallen to even continue the good fight, Amanda calls Johnny, the students of their dojo, and with Chozen’s help, they are able to motivate Johnny to continue to take a stand against Silver. By tricking Kreese, Daniel and Johnny learn that Silver aims to take Cobra Kai to the global stage, and to do so, he aims to participate in the prestigious Sekai Taikai Tournament. Meanwhile, Silver brings in the granddaughter and other disciples of his former mentor, Sensei Kim Sun-Yung, whose unpredictable and fierce discipline of martial art had led to the foundation of Cobra Kai in the first place.
Chozen trains all the students of Daniel and Johnny, helping them to unite against the common threat, and the entire team crashes Cobra Kai HQ during the Sekai Taikai official inspection to get a shot at joining the tournament. The officials agree to determine the most eligible dojo by organizing two matches, and both sides winning each leads to both factions—Cobra Kai and Daniel, Johnny, and Chozen—getting a seat at the tournament. Haunted by her guilt, Tory decides to come clean and reveal the truth of their championship fight to Samantha, and the kids decide to go to Stingray to once again try to extract the truth from him. This time, Stingray confesses the truth in a roundabout way, and the kids plan to pull up surveillance footage, which can ensure Silver’s downfall. In the finale of the fifth season, a drunk Chozen, Johnny, and Mike Barnes decide to make a desperate attempt to take Silver down by beating him up, while the kids enact their surveillance footage-stealing plan. Chozen defeats Silver but makes the mistake of showing him mercy, and as a result, his distraction causes him to get grievously injured. Johnny gets subdued by the Kim Sun-Yung disciples, while Silver rushes to Cobra Kai HQ after unleashing his students on Johnny/Daniel’s students. Even though the teenagers find that the footage of Stingray’s beatdown to be deleted, Tory manages to find her conversation with Silver regarding the staged match, which is enough to expose Silver. Stingray rescues Daniel, Amanda, and Carmen and brings them to Cobra Kai HQ, where Daniel proceeds to deliver a much-needed beatdown to Silver, humiliating him in front of his students.
Johnny and Mike manage to overpower the disciples and rescue Chozen, and Silver gets taken into custody after being exposed, with students of his dojo renouncing him as well. In the final moments of the fifth season, it is revealed that Kreese has managed to escape from prison, which means Cobra Kai will continue to torment them for a while longer.
