Following a successful season 5, Cobra Kai will return on Netflix with season 6. Here is what we hope to see!
Following the tear-jerking, garment-rending, edge-of-your-seat thrills and unprecedented success of Cobra Kai season 5, fans are excited to hear what show-runners and executive producers Jon Hurwitz, Josh Heald, and Hayden Schlossberg have in store for Season 6. Although the plan has been kept secret for now, fans eagerly await any news there may be, from plot points to the release date. At the moment, the expected date has been pushed back due to the Hollywood strikes, so it is uncertain exactly when fans will see the new season.
The show picks up the adventures of former All-Valley karate tournament champions Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) and Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) more than three decades after their defining match. It has dominated Netflix since the streaming giant first acquired the series in the summer of 2020. Since then, Cobra Kai has triumphantly delivered laughs and heart and has consistently kicked expectations. Season 5 of the show, snagged a rare 100 score on Rotten Tomatoes. This has only made the anticipation for the series finale more intense.
The show knows how to balance giving audiences what they want to see from the seminal characters of Daniel and Johnny and the recent addition of Chozen Toguchi (Yuji Okumoto), the antagonist from The Karate Kid Part II, and the equally engaging and meaningful development of the next generation. Against all odds, the series, initially conceived by Hurwitz, Heald, and Schlossberg and later with the additions of Ralph Macchio and William Zabka as executive producers, always gives us the moments we want to see but could never dream of asking for. This includes longtime rivals Daniel and Johnny singing REO Speedwagon in the car together and Chozen Toguchi “honking” Daniel’s nose comedically in a rematch.
With the show seemingly getting better and better with every season, it’s safe to say fans can look for an even more exhilarating sixth season. There’s a lot Cobra Kai can do on every front, from character development to international intrigue, especially after the shocking events of season 5’s conclusion. What can we expect to see next year from this jubilant series that shows us how to do buddy comedy, nostalgia, and new beginnings?
Updated on September 9th, 2023, by Nikole Finger: This article has been updated with additional content to keep the discussion fresh and relevant with even more information.
More of Kim Da-Eun
Now that the new generation of Miyagi-Do has united to officially include Johnny’s son Robby (Tanner Buchanan) and soon-to-be stepson Miguel (Xolo Maridueña), Tory (Peyton List), and Daniel’s kids Sam (Mary Mouser) and Anthony (Griffin Santopietro), it’s time for the Miyagi-Do/Eagle Fang students to prepare for the hard-won international championship. It’s exciting to imagine these characters taking their skills and legacy global after their surprise take-over of Terry Silver’s (Thomas Ian Griffith) originally sinister idea.
Speaking of, now that Silver is apparently in the hands of the authorities, the function of the main karate antagonist could shift back to John Kreese (Martin Kove), now that he has taken his fate into his own hands once again and broken out of prison. However, Cobra Kai season 5’s real star, Alicia Hannah, who played Terry Silver’s main collaborator Kim Da-Eun, is a formidable foe herself.
Da-Eun is a wealthy karate instructor from Japan who comes to tie her legacy to Silver’s by training American students to win spots in the coveted international competition. Her brutal, intense, and indefatigable performance quickly stands out from the first few moments of her introduction. Fans are excited to hopefully see this character more in season 6, as she is a strong enemy and a deep character with lots of potential. Perhaps she will even take the role of main antagonist, but with enemies everywhere, it’s hard to know exactly who Miyagi-Do will face off with this season.
Redemption
Cobra Kai may be the “bad guys,” but that doesn’t mean the dojo isn’t full of sympathetic characters. Tory ended the fifth season by finally putting her feud with Sam to the side, at least for the moment, to take down Silver. It was a relief for many fans to see her redeem herself, but there are many characters fans are still waiting on.
Kenny (Dallas Dupree Young) started his journey on the show as Anthony’s prime target for bullying. Much like Daniel, Kenny turned to karate as a way to defend himself, but unfortunately, he ended up in Cobra Kai. While Anthony already faced his mistakes, Kenny ended Season 5 as one of the biggest threats in the dojo. The show took the time to let viewers get to know Kenny as a troubled kid, so his fall to Cobra Kai was a heartbreaking one. However, that makes his potential redemption at the end of the series all the more important for fans to see. Hopefully, Daniel and Johnny’s hard-learned lessons about unresolved and festering rivalries can save some of the kids in Cobra Kai before it is too late.
A Focus on Family
Some of the biggest, heart-felt developments in the show involve Johnny Lawrence’s budding family. He successfully brought Miguel and Robby together as brothers after the horrifying events of season 2 and managed to father another child with the lovely Carmen (Vanessa Rubio). Hopefully, season 6 will give us some time just to enjoy these characters existing in love and harmony with each other, navigating these new waters as a solid family unit.
But speaking of family, the biggest question mark has to be Miguel’s birth father, Hector (Luis Roberto Guzmán), whom fans briefly met when Miguel went to Mexico to seek him out. There’s no way Hector isn’t going to figure out who Miguel is and come looking for him at some point. As Johnny Lawrence would say, Pandora has opened her box in that respect, and Miguel can’t get away from seeing more of Hector, whether he is ready or not. The real question is how all of that could play into the larger story, but unfortunately, it seems like fans may have to wait for the release of season 6 to find out.
A Relationship Between Chozen and Kumiko
Season 5 also settled all the show’s longest-running romantic relationships, such as between Sam and Miguel and Robby and Tory, although the final season may present them with more challenges. The door was even opened for a relationship between the beloved Chozen and Kumiko (Tamlyn Tomita), the lead actress in The Karate Kid Part II who had a cameo in season 3 of Cobra Kai. This beloved fan favorite, Tamlyn Tomita, should return to the series, as she is a complex and less-explored character that fans would love to explore further.
Chozen has genuinely redeemed himself with Karate Kid fans and taken up a special place in viewers’ hearts, despite his character’s horrendous actions in the second Karate Kid sequel. We would love to see him explore a relationship with his longtime friend and supporter, Kumiko. In many ways, Cobra Kai as a franchise addresses the brutal dualism of the ’80s, with all characters either good or bad. Chozen’s character redemption best illustrates the nuanced need for understanding and openness.
The Return of Hilary Swank
While the show has brought back many of the characters from the past, there is one prominent actor from the Karate Kid franchise that fans haven’t seen anything from yet, an actor whose appearance would probably make some fans faint from her sheer star power: Hilary Swank. Will Swank return to the Karate Kid-verse in season 6, at long last? We hope so!
The End
As bittersweet as it may be, the sixth season of Cobra Kai is set to be the last. However, the creative team behind it promises to make it just as big and compelling as any other season, letting the show go out on a high note. While some fans look forward to seeing Johnny’s baby being born, Tory and Sam fighting on the same side, and Daniel and Johnny being, well, the frienemies they always are, Season 6 isn’t likely to be smooth sailing. Each season seems to have at least one defining and shocking plot twist, and there is no reason to think the finale will be any different.
With all the close calls in the series previously, like with Miguel’s back and Kreese’s various injuries, it is evident that the show isn’t going to pull any punches. If the final season is going to top everything in the show previously, then the stakes are going to be high. There is no saying who will make it through unscathed, and whose journey will end with the series. Will Kreese complete his redemption arc, making things up to Johnny no matter the cost? Only time will tell how the story wraps up, and fans are anxious to see how this legendary rivalry will end.
