Cobra Kai season 6 has the chance of doing something like one of the original Karate Kid movies starring Ralph Macchio as Daniel LaRusso managed to do. After months of waiting, Netflix has confirmed Cobra Kai season 6’s release date. The show’s final season will have 15 episodes opposite to the usual 10 and will be released as a three-part event. Between the higher number of episodes and the different release models, the anticipation for Cobra Kai season 6 could not be higher. Apart from the Sekai Taikai, not much has been revealed about season 6’s story so far.
Following five great seasons, Cobra Kai now has the difficult mission of sticking the landing. Even the greatest shows can have disappointing or underwhelming finales, which is why Cobra Kai’s final season needs to be more than just the Sekai Taikai tournament. Even though most things in Cobra Kai are solved with fights, some of the show’s greatest moments didn’t happen on the mat. This is actually one of the flaws with the original Karate Kid movies, particularly regarding their endings.
None Of Daniel LaRusso’s Karate Kid Movies Had A Satisfying Ending
The Karate Kid, The Karate Kid Part II, and The Karate Kid Part III all end the same way. Daniel LaRusso wins the final fight against his main adversary, either in a tournament like the first and third films or in a real-life fight like in Part II. While all three Daniel LaRusso-led Karate Kid films end on a happy note, none of them has a truly satisfying ending. Daniel winning the fights is important, but the endings do not offer anything else beyond that. As soon as the fights end, the film freezes the frame and cuts to black.
Since none of the original Karate Kid movies got a proper ending, it’s even more important for Cobra Kai to deliver a complete finale.
The first three Karate Kid movies all end with a sense that something is missing, almost as if the story was abruptly interrupted. For example, in The Karate Kid, audiences do not get to see much of Johnny Lawrence after the fight ends. The relationship between Daniel and Ali also does not play too big of a role at the end of the movie, which is even worse when considering that Ali would be written out of the story in Part II. Funnily enough, the beginning of Karate Kid2 feels more like an ending to The Karate Kid.
Despite trying to make up for the incomplete ending of the first movie, The Karate Kid Part II repeated the same error from its predecessor. Daniel defeats Chozen and saves Kimiko, yet the movie ends right after. There are no moments between Daniel and Kimiko following the end of their fight, nor does Mr. Miyagi get to say goodbye to those in Okinawa on screen. The Karate Kid Part III, widely considered the worst entry in the original trilogy, also ends as soon as Daniel wins the fight, this time against Mike Barness at the All-Valley.
Cobra Kai Season 6 Can Have The Satisfying Finale The Movies Were Missing
Cobra Kai season 6 is being referred to as the “end of a saga,” a fitting description for the final season of a perfect legacy series. Cobra Kai brought back everything that made the original Karate Kid movies so special while also fixing a lot of problems they had. The show is self-aware enough about the flaws and nostalgia associated with Karate Kid, which is why it works much better than other recent reboots and revivals. It can be argued that Cobra Kai is better than Karate Kid ever was, and it needs a satisfying conclusion.
Finding out who is going to win the Sekai Taikai is exciting, but Cobra Kai is more than just karate competitions.
Since none of the original Karate Kid movies got a proper ending, it’s even more important for Cobra Kai to deliver a complete finale. In other words, the show should not have an abrupt ending similar to that of the movies but rather a meaningful, well-planned finale that concludes all storylines and character arcs. Finding out who is going to win the Sekai Taikai is exciting, but Cobra Kai is more than just karate competitions. How the stories of characters like Johnny and Miguel will end is far more important.
What Cobra Kai Season 6’s Perfect Finale Looks Like
The perfect Cobra Kai finale would honor both the Karate Kid franchise and the show’s own legacy. It’s safe to say Cobra Kai’s final season will be full of references and callbacks to the original movies in what became known as the “Miyagi-verse.” The fact that Cobra Kai season 6 will be the show’s biggest with 15 episodes also sets the bar high for how the series will end. Cobra Kai has had great finales so far, none of which tried to repeat what the previous one had done. Therefore, season 6’s ending should be unique and surprising.
For example, Cobra Kai season 1 ended with Miguel’s bittersweet victory at the tournament, whereas season 5 ended with a nostalgic-filled fight between Daniel’s former rivals and Terry Silver. Cobra Kai’s final episodes are expected to deliver the show’s biggest, best fights yet, but the finale should be more than just an action-packed experience. The Karate Kid movies all had a lot of heart, which is something that Cobra Kai has managed to replicate. Daniel and Johnny should be better people at the end of the show compared to season 1, and the same applies to the kids.
Cobra Kai Season 6 Won’t Be The End Of The Karate Kid Franchise
Cobra Kai season 6 may be the end of the show, but it will not be the end of the Karate Kid franchise. Considering how popular the legacy series became, plus the Karate Kid resurgence it sparked, it was easy to predict that there would be more Karate Kid projects after Cobra Kai. Ralph Macchio will reprise his role as Daniel LaRusso in the new Karate Kid movie, which will also see the return of Jackie Chan as Mr. Han from 2010’s The Karate Kid. As such, season 6 won’t be the end of Daniel’s story.
Even when considering that there will be another Karate Kid after Cobra Kai, the show is expected to have a satisfying, definitive ending. After six seasons following Johnny Lawrence, Daniel LaRusso, and their students, viewers deserve to bid farewell to them in the best way possible. Cobra Kai never failed to stick the landing in each season, so it’s difficult to believe it would not deliver a great series finale. Hopefully, it will be much better than the original Karate Kid movies’ endings.
