Cobra Kai is all about villain redemption, but I’m slightly annoyed with the story setup for the rest of season 6. Part 1 of this Netflix series dropped in the summer of 2024, with part 2 expected on November 15, 2024, and part 3 near the beginning of 2025. The first five episodes of Cobra Kai season 6 were used predominantly to establish the final chapter of the overarching story, with the final conflicts set up to carry these characters to their ending. Of course, this means honing in on the series’ final villain and a handful of last-minute redemptions.
So far, all the teenage villains of the original Karate Kid movie trilogy have been redeemed, with Johnny Lawrence, Chozen Toguchi, and Mike Barnes taking the side of the good guys in Cobra Kai. The adult villains have been a little more complicated, however. Terry Silver is basically irredeemable, and while John Kreese looked like he might have earned redemption in Cobra Kai season 5, it fell through. Still, the Netflix series needs at least one more big character turnaround before the end. While I’m not unhappy with who appears to be chosen, I don’t love how Cobra Kai has gone about it.
Cobra Kai Season 6 Part 1 Planted The Seeds For A Kim Da-Eun Redemption
Kim Da-Eun, the granddaughter of Master Kim Sun-Yung (founder of the Way of the Fist), joined up with Terry Silver earlier in Cobra Kai. She was bad to the bone—the perfect accomplice to Silver’s villainy. Kim Da-Eun was heartless when it came to her students, pushing Tory to the point of broken and bloody knuckles without any remorse. She seemed to believe wholeheartedly in the violence and mercilessness of Cobra Kai and was ready to see the dojo succeed. However, when Silver was arrested, Kim Da-Eun had no choice but to return to her grandfather in South Korea.
In Cobra Kai season 6, part 1, it’s revealed that Da-Eun had been a young girl when Kreese trained under Master Kim back in the day. There was a flashback showing her as a young, vulnerable child, and it was at this moment I realized Cobra Kai was going to make Da-Eun a more sympathetic character. Lo and behold, we see the adult version of her character giving Kreese some hesitant, concerned glances as he demonstrates cruelty against her students. All the signs are there for a slow-burn change of heart and an eventual redemption when she finally stands in to stop Kreese.
Sensei Kim’s Moral Dilemma Came Out Of Nowhere
Kim Da-Eun was an almost cartoon-like villain in Cobra Kai season 5, with virtually no personal qualities aside from sternness and cruelty. She had not a qualm or care when students at Terry Silver’s dojo were treated cruelly and even seemed to enjoy it. Now, Da-Eun is suddenly showing signs of concern and hesitation in Cobra Kai season 6. This really came out of nowhere. Paired with the flashbacks of her childhood, it really seems that Cobra Kai is trying to make a one-note villain more dynamic and sympathetic, but it is doing so without any motive.
Paired with the flashbacks of her childhood, it really seems that Cobra Kai is trying to make a one-note villain more dynamic and sympathetic.
I wouldn’t mind that Cobra Kai has changed gears with Kim Da-Eun’s character if she had a good reason. Rather than flashbacks to her childhood that show her background with Kreese, it would have been nice to see Da-Eun’s experience after Silver’s arrest. Perhaps she saw something that made her doubt the cruelty of her teachings. Or, maybe there was a conversation with Tory that planted the seed of redemption. Instead, Cobra Kai has just made her begin to change for no reason at all, and this is surprisingly sloppy for the series.
Cobra Kai Typically Does Better With Its Villain Redemptions
Cobra Kai doesn’t have to work too hard to justify itself. That’s all part of the beauty of this somewhat outrageous series. There is a lot that happens that doesn’t make much sense, but we all accept it and move along. Still, villain redemption is what this series does best. Johnny being the protagonist places redemption at the foundation of Cobra Kai’s formula, and past seasons have managed a rather poetic process for leading villains toward turning things around. So far, it seems that Da-Eun’s story is skipping over the heart that has made me love Cobra Kai’s redemptions, and that’s frustrating.
The problem is that Cobra Kai didn’t have time to ease this character into a more sympathetic position.
Tory Nichols will likely be key in the remaining chapters of Kim Da-Eun’s story since she is the student that the sensei most wronged back in Cobra Kai season 5. Now that Tory has returned to Cobra Kai dojo for the Sekai Taikai, the ball is effectively rolling. If this is the direction that season 6 goes, it wouldn’t be a bad story. In fact, I don’t mind the idea of Kim Da-Eun being redeemed in general. The problem is that Cobra Kai didn’t have time to ease this character into a more sympathetic position. The whiplash is just a little much. Perhaps the coming episodes will be able to change my mind.
