After Kwon’s tragic death, Kreese finally realizes where he went wrong and vows to step back from karate for good. To make up for his mistakes, he even visits Johnny and apologizes for being a toxic father figure. Kreese even ensures Johnny and his students’ safety by having a final one-on-one showdown with Terry Silver, where both Kreese and Silver seemingly fight to the death. Although Cobra Kai never explicitly reveals Kreese’s fate, it is hard not to assume he dies. Interestingly, however, Cobra Kai almost went with a different ending for John Kreese.
Cobra Kai’s Finale Almost Included A Scene Revealing John Kreese Was Alive
The Alternate Ending Flipped Kreese’s Fate
Since John Kreese sacrifices himself to protect Johnny from Silver and does not show up again in Cobra Kai’s finale after his deadly showdown with Silver, it is hard not to assume that he and Silver died off-screen. The show may not have confirmed his demise, but his final sacrifice effectively redeems him and brings a well-rounded closure to his story in the Netflix series. Cobra Kai‘s creators, however, initially had a different plan for Martin Kove’s character.
Why Kreese Surviving Would Have Ruined Cobra Kai’s Ending
Kreese’s Implied Death Was Essential For His Narrative
In Cobra Kai‘s final arc, John Kreese managed to flip his script by making it up to Johnny and apologizing for how he had treated him. However, before he walked down the redemptive path, he inflicted way too much harm on Johnny and several other characters. Owing to this, complete redemption was never an option for his character. His implied death in the show’s finale serves as a stark reminder of how, despite showing immense potential for change, Kreese could not merely walk away from his dark past without facing some dire consequences.
The final moments of his arc highlight that to be able to achieve even a semblance of redemption, he would have put his life on the line to ensure Johnny’s safety. His return would have been another repetition of Cobra Kai season 5’s ending, where he fakes his death and returns with a “gotcha” moment. Even in Cobra Kai‘s early moments, Johnny had assumed he was dead before he returned to torment him again. Recreating a similar twist in Cobra Kai season 6 would not only have made the finale seem redundant but also ruined Kreese’s shot at full redemption.
Cobra Kai Could Still Have Handled Kreese’s Death Better
Kreese’s Arc Feels Rushed And Incomplete
Cobra Kai saves itself from having a disappointing ending by ensuring that Kreese’s final fate remains ambiguous. However, Kreese’s narrative still feels a little unresolved and incomplete when the finale’s credits start rolling. The fact that Kreese seemingly dies to protect Johnny, but Johnny never even learns about his sacrifice, leaves a massive emotional gap in the overarching story. Johnny Lawrence makes up for the lost time in season 6’s finale by telling Robby how proud he is of him, even after he loses his fight with Axel.
The Netflix show had the opportunity to draw a perfect parallel between John Kreese and Johnny Lawrence by showing how both became the healthy father figures they were always meant to be. Unfortunately, with Johnny Lawrence never learning about Kreese’s sacrifice, it almost feels like Kreese’s death went to waste. If only Johnny Lawrence had known what Kreese was willing to do for him in Cobra Kai‘s ending, Kreese’s story would have felt more earned, and his death would have had a more emotional heft.
