When Cobra Kai began, fans were intrigued to see a new generation of teenagers embracing martial arts. It continued the trend of the past Karate Kid movies. However, Season 2 threw a wildcard into play in the form of Paul Walter Hauser’s Raymond. Or, as he rebranded himself, Stingray.
Stingray wanted to be an alpha after years of being an outcast when he was younger. Interestingly, while it felt like Cobra Kai Season 6, Part 1 had no place for him, Stingray ends up making a comical return. However, it could lead to dark consequences.
Cobra Kai’s Stingray, Explained
Stingray felt that karate would make him a cool apex fighter who girls would like. Season 2 saw him joining the Cobra Kai gang. He was obsessed with John Kreese’s style of fighting. He loved that strike first, strike hard and no mercy mindset. While he didn’t look the part, he became a lethal fighter. Kreese refined him, to the point he won the Coyote Creek challenge by showing fighting wasn’t just physical, it was mental. As funny as he was, Stingray did come off creepy.
Stingray was an adult male living at home with his mother, but yearning to be near teenagers. He lived vicariously, attended their parties, and even tried to work at their school as a guard. He later got involved in the fight that injured Miguel. It got Stingray into trouble with law, which got him probation and being banned from campus. His whimsical nature soon turned into something much darker. When Kreese banned him from the dojo, he sided with Terry Silver.
Silver assaulted him, allowing them to frame Kreese. Silver had Kreese jailed, all while turning Cobra Kai into an even scarier unit. Stingray benefited by getting gifts. Luckily, Miguel and others got him to confess the lie. They didn’t like Kreese, but fair was fair. He shouldn’t serve time for a crime he didn’t do. Stingray was afraid at first, but he made amends. He helped fight off some Cobra Kai thugs, while paving the way for Daniel LaRusso to help Mike Barnes, Johnny, and Chozen take Silver down at the end of Season 5.
This redemption reminded fans how tragic Stingray was. While he displayed toxic masculinity and an unhealthy clinging to karate, his intentions were sympathetic. All he ever wanted was friends. He paid the price, but at least, he cleared Kreese’s name. Not that Kreese needed it, as he escaped prison to go meet Eun-Da and Master Kim in Korea.
Cobra Kai Season 6 Gives Stingray His Own Dojo
Cobra Kai Season 6 begins Part 1 with five episodes. The other 10 will be released in blocks of five. This first block begins with “Peacetime in the Valley.” It finds Johnny merging dojos with Daniel. They operate on Miyagi-Do territory. That is, Daniel’s backyard. However, with news that Kreese is on the run, Johnny is on edge. He considers the man a deadbeat father. But part of him loves Kreese, and hopes he’ll do right someday. In time, Johnny starts getting messages and calls, and thinks it’s Kreese. One message beckons him to Coyote Creek. He thinks it’s Kreese, because the villain loved that spot.
Johnny arms himself with an ax and heads over, but he finds Stingray training kids. As expected, it’s a very dark comedy. Stingray is a terrible coach and still has an arrogance to him. But he wants to rectify it by having the king of Cobra Kai take his dojo over. Johnny is annoyed seeing Stingray brand his area with Cobra Kai elements. Stingray admits that they could do wonders together. This is Johnny’s legacy, but Johnny lambasts him for being weird and departs. He knows Stingray is the last person who should be mentoring the next generation.
While Johnny comes off hot-headed and arrogant, he isn’t just frustrated over Kreese. He and Daniel aren’t getting along as they collude on how to prepare their students for the Sekai Taikai tournament. They haven’t agreed on a dojo name either. As such, Johnny doesn’t have time to waste on trivial matters; he wants his unified team to be called Eagle Fang. He storms off, deeming this meeting as futile and frivolous as can be. Notably, Sensei Stingray isn’t seen again for the next four episodes of Part 1. But if history tracks, this may not augur well.
Cobra Kai’s Stingray Could Join John Kreese’s Korean Dojang
Kreese pulled a fast one over Daniel and Johnny in the competition. The Sekai Taikai Barcelona lineup reveals Tory has defected from Eagle Fang to Kreese’s new Korean Cobra Kai. She is angry over her mother’s death and how Daniel didn’t want her fighting. That betrayal could open the door for Stingray to do the same. The tournament doesn’t seem to be for teens alone. Some squads have adults outside the trainers. Stingray could be a surprise addition, as Kreese has spots available. He knows Stingray well. He can use Stingray’s talents. He can also unlock new skills with Eun-Da and her captain, Kwon. Other fighters like Yoon are quicker, stronger and more ferocious than the Americans as well.
This gives Stingray the clan he has always dreamed of, as he yearns for that sense of belonging. His mother kicked him out of their home for being immature. Now, Johnny dredges up demons of old, deeming him a juvenile, as well as mentally unfit to be a warrior. Kreese can use that , work a forgiveness arc, and push Stingray to inflict damage on Eagle Fang’s fighters. Stingray has shown in the past he wouldn’t mind getting disqualified from a tournament, once he enacts collateral damage. This is the kind of combatant Kreese can work loopholes for, just to bring him in as an enforcer and the first line of offense in Cobra Kai Season 6, Part 2.
Once Stingray does the dirty work and illegally softens up the heroes, Kreese’s top students — Tory and Kwon — can finish off the rest. It’s a tactic Silver would endorse: monstrous but effective. All Kreese has to do is manipulate Stingray’s loneliness. It would be a harrowing way of making Stingray a serious character rather than the butt of people’s jokes. Proving his worth in California’s All-Valley Tournament is one thing, but doing so on the international stage is another. He’ll welcome any notoriety once it moves them closer to trophies and gold medals.
Stingray will look like a stud to his charges in America once he wins. At least, that’s how the superficial Stingray will rationalize it. Ultimately, Stingray as a sacrificial lamb would be a major bombshell. But his unpredictable character has always been in swerves in the narratives. He oscillates from quirky hero to selfish villain at the drop of a hat. In the end, this would teach Johnny to mind his manners, too. By acting out and insulting people, he is causing ripple effects and making enemies. If there’s one thing Cobra Kai has proven, it’s that the goofy Stingray cannot be underestimated, especially with fanfare and fame at stake.
