Now going into its sixth and final season, Cobra Kai has pulled off a hat trick that few franchises can even dream about. It took the Karate Kid films and not only expanded and updated them for die-hard fans and the next generation, but it managed to outdo itself every season.
As the fighters of Miyagi-Do prepare for the biggest and last tournament, the question is who will come out on top? After all, there are plenty of impressive fighters on the roster to choose from. Robby started off as a delinquent, but is now fully on board to become a big brother and wants more than just to be second best. He proved himself by beating Miguel for the male captain position. Sam is also the female captain of the team and, after perhaps being under utilized for seasons, she could get not just closure, but victory as the champion of the Sekai Takai. However, when it comes to who would be most narratively satisfying as the winner, only one name comes out on top.
If anyone should win Sekai Takai, it’s Tory Nichols. Miguel, Robby, and even Sam have resolved their issues again and again, but Tory has always been the character left out in the cold. When she was first introduced in Season 2, it was clear that Tory had a lot to be mad about. Unlike her peers, she had a substantial amount of pressure on her shoulders. She had a lot of pent-up anger and karate seemed the best outlet for it. However, time and time again, Tory is the character who gets the short end of the stick. Out of all the characters, she is the one due for her big hero win and here’s why.
Tory’s Never Really Got Her All-Valley Win
In Season 4, Tory explains to Robby as they dance at their Junior Prom why winning the All-Valley means so much to her. Her peers are more financially stable, and they will most likely go off to have better lives after high school. Tory doesn’t have that privilege and wants to win so she can look at the trophy and know she was the best at something. At the end of Season 4, Tory beats Sam in the All-Valley and finally wins her trophy, but it quickly becomes tainted when she sees Silver bribe a referee. Although she didn’t cheat, she did not win fair and square after all. This realization is crushing and Tory spends all of Season 5 spying on Silver for Kreese, trying to get her revenge. Eventually, Tory confesses what happened and that her win was a sham. While this arc does allow Tory to slowly befriend Sam and join Miyagi-Do, Tory never got the validation she craved.
Tory is the New Johnny Lawrence
Although other Cobra Kai characters have cared for her, none has made as big of an impression on Tory as John Kreese. Like Tory, Kreese had a mother who died when he was young. Both of them had to be tough and look after themselves as teenagers. Because of this, Kreese saw that Tory needed help. He stood up to Rodney, her creepy landlord, and in return, Tory gave Kreese her loyalty. Kreese understood and appreciated her anger and she became his champion, his “Queen Cobra”. In this way, Tory has become the new Johnny Lawrence. When Johnny first joined Cobra Kai as Kreese’s student, he was still an emotional child, suffering from a difficult home life. Instead of showing sympathy, Kreese forced Johnny to turn his grief into anger and then to harness that anger into karate. Johnny himself even points this out at the end of Season 6, Part 1. He argues to Daniel that Tory should be allowed to fight to work out her anger the same way he did when his mother died. Although Kreese’s methods might have helped Johnny in the short-term in dealing with grief, they also scarred him well into adulthood and only over the course of the series has he been able to put those past lessons behind him and grow.
Although Kreese has tried to learn from his past mistakes, such as when he told Tory to fight how she wanted rather than force her to fight dirty the way he did with Johnny in 1984, it’s clear he hasn’t been able to shake all of his bad habits. Kreese’s confrontation with the cobra in the cave this season revealed that he sees Johnny as his weakness, and although he cares for Tory, he most likely will not let his guard down for her. Tory needs the chance to break away from Kreese and move on, just as Johnny has and the Sekai T akai is the perfect place to do it.
It’s Time for Tory to Find Peace
Tory has gone through the ringer during the show’s short timeline. Her mother has been sick and bedridden since Season 2. She was expelled and propositioned by a grown man in Season 3. Season 4 showed her working at her multiple jobs to try and fight her aunt for custody of her younger brother, Brandon, eventually leading her to finally ask Amanda for help. Just when she got her big win, it turned out to be a lie. Then in Season 5, she had to fight to correct her mistakes with the other characters. It finally seemed like Tory was getting her life together, and it was the happiest the audience had ever seen her. That all came crashing down with what could be the climax of her character arc, her mother dying. With this traumatic event, and the smallest seed of doubt from Kreese, she pushed away everyone that cared about her, from her senseis, to her mentor Amanda, her fellow students, and even her boyfriend. If any character has worked hard to earn her happy ending, it’s Tory.
Nearly every other Cobra Kai character is in such a better place than they have been. Miguel might have been deferred to Stanford, but he’s relatively happy, having worked through the physical trauma of Season 2’s school-wide karate brawl and the emotional trauma of being abandoned by his father. Robby might want to prove himself, but he’s become one of the series’ most well-adjusted characters. Sam may have been looking for closure, but she is, too, in a better place. Even the Demetri, the dark horse Sekai Takai entry, has grown as a fighter and will surely bury the hatchet with Eli later on in the season. However, Tory winning the Sekai Takai would not just finally give her a moment to prove herself, but it could provide a chance for her to become an international karate star and, perhaps, financial security. Crucially, the tournament could also provide an opportunity for the other characters to show up for Tory and show the prodigal daughter of Miyagi-Do that they care for her. Despite what Kreese says, Tory has always belonged. She just needs to see it for herself.
