The rivalries between the kids of Cobra Kai come and go, but one thing remains forever true — Robby Keene (Tanner Buchanan) is a terrible boyfriend. Sure, the guy has a lot of his own issues to deal with, but, the way he treats his girlfriend Tory Nichols (Peyton List) in Season 6 is pretty unforgivable. The guy is clearly not the teen heartthrob the showrunners of Cobra Kai often frame him as. Robby has always struggled, whether it be with forging a healthy relationship with his father, Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka), or with controlling his own emotions. A troubled personal history continues into troubled relationships, as he’s never been the reliably decent boyfriend that his girlfriends deserve. Whether it be with Tory or his ex-girlfriend Samantha LaRusso (Mary Mouser), Robby always puts himself first, repeatedly proving himself unworthy of a committed romantic relationship.
Karate Cannot Solve Robby Keene’s Issues
Raised by an alcoholic mother and mostly estranged from his father, Robby had always been a troubled youth. He often found himself on the wrong side of the law, sometimes as a fugitive. Looking for a path to better himself, Robby joins Daniel LaRusso’s (Ralph Macchio) Miyagi-Do Karate to help find an outlet for his anger. Even though the ways of Miyagi-Do teach a more honorable way of fighting than Cobra Kai, Robby cannot not keep his rage under control and finds himself back in juvenile detention.
Feeling abandoned by Daniel and his own father Johnny, Robby then turns to the ways of Cobra Kai, to study a much more venomous form of fighting. Here he gets to know his former enemy, Tory, and the pair bond over their troubled home lives, and eventually become a couple. Nothing says “perfect couple” like two toxic people with anger management issues.
Robby’s time in Cobra Kai is spent doing malicious antics, bullying, and starting vicious fights. Not exactly a sensible way to turn one’s life around after juvie. And of course, this is all encouraged by Cobra Kai sensei John Kreese (Martin Kove), Tory, and the rest of Robby’s Cobra Kai teammates. At least Robby is later able to show Tory that the way of Cobra Kai is wrong, and brings her into Miyagi-Do, pushing her to resolve her rivalry with Sam. The only positive thing to come out of their relationship so far is this tiny bit of temporary good.
Robby’s Relationship With Sam Was Just as Bad as His One With Tory
Robby began a relationship with Samantha LaRusso during his early run in Miyagi-Do. At first, it looked like a bad-boy-turned-good storyline, where Robby was a sweet boyfriend, but with a shady past. This outlook was extremely short-lived for the pair. An early sign that Robby had some trust issues is when Miguel did something nice by bringing back the Medal of Honor to Miyagi-Do, after Cobra Kai had stolen it from their dojo. Not wanting Sam to know that her ex-boyfriend Miguel was capable of being nice, Robby hides the fact that Miguel was the one who returned it. This was petty and pointless, and a total red flag that Robby isn’t capable of an honest and mutually respectful relationship right now.
Later, in a fit of jealousy in the middle of a school-wide karate brawl, Robby kicks Miguel off a balcony. Firstly, there is zero consideration for Miguel’s outcome. The poor kid could have died, and for what? A petty romantic rivalry? There is more to the animosity between Robby and Miguel, but still, none that warrants a kick off the balcony. He seems to be targeting all of his anger into the relationship woes between him and Sam, using Miguel as a scapegoat. Robby could have just talked with Sam about his feelings and trusted her in their relationship rather than throw her ex-boyfriend off of a balcony, nearly killing him. Even if he did hear the rumor that Sam and Miguel had shared a fleeting kiss at a party, that’s no excuse for this beyond toxic behavior, and luckily Robby is eventually locked up in juvenile detention for it. Even for a town that bursts into fits of karate at any slight disagreement, Robby went too far with Miguel.
Even from juvenile detention, Robby continues being an awful boyfriend to Sam, not replying to her correspondence, and assuming she is dating Miguel again without actually speaking to her about it. After being released, he, for some reason, thinks it’s okay to see Sam about reconciling without much self-reflection on the matter, and when he sees Sam sparring with Miguel (as you do in karate), he accuses her of cheating. No actual proof or calm rational discussion emerges, just more jealousy and rage.
Tory Is Done Dirty by an Oblivious Robby in ‘Cobra Kai’ Season 6
Robby and Tory begin Cobra Kai Season 6 as a happy couple, with things finally going well in their lives. The evil days of the Cobra Kai mentality are behind them, and they’re finding calm and perspective through their study of Miyagi-Do. They’ve laid their grudges to rest, made some meaningful friendships, and are growing emotionally as people. Their relationship is kind of sweet on the surface at this point, and they even steal some tender kisses during karate practice.
In a tragic twist, Tory’s mother passes away, and in her grief, Tory is spinning out. First, she doesn’t show up to the park practice her and Robby had planned. He tries calling her, but she doesn’t answer. And he leaves it at that — he doesn’t try and find her, or even worry that something might actually be wrong. He merely casually asks Miguel and Sam if they’ve seen her, and then doesn’t follow up on it. We all know Tory is fierce and can take care of herself, but when she doesn’t show up when she’s supposed to and isn’t answering her phone, why doesn’t Robby actually go check if his girlfriend is okay? Especially since John Kreese is on the loose, someone who had a particular interest in her.
After she didn’t show up or contact him the night before, Robby remarks that Tory is late for the day’s karate session. Still, he doesn’t think too much about it and focuses on his own match. Tory shows up, with a look on her face implying that something is terribly wrong, and he just doesn’t notice. When he finally finds out that her mother passed away, we never see him comforting her. It’s a bizarre move not to show Robby at least show some concern. Strangers would have more compassion.
The only thing Robby thinks about when Tory shows up to his match with Miguel — after missing the night before and arriving late today — is that she is there to cheer him on. And when she arrives, he gets that second wind he needs to beat Miguel — a bit of machismo to show off to his girlfriend. He seems like he couldn’t care less about where she was or what’s going on with her, and is just high on the win between him and his foe-turned-friend Miguel. Meanwhile, Tory is devastated over the loss of her mother and can’t see straight through her anguish.
Fast-forward to the Sekai Taikai tournament in Barcelona, and Tory has re-joined the Cobra Kai clan alongside escaped prisoner John Kreese — and it takes Robby by surprise. It’s clear that he didn’t even know about her rejoining Kreese. Was he not in touch with her at all after her mother passed away? Did he even try to be a supportive boyfriend? Not from what we’ve seen. Time and time again, Robby Keene shows that he only cares about himself and his own trajectory in the world of karate. Though he might appear the heartthrob bad boy, it’s clear that Robby is not ready to be in a relationship and has been a terrible boyfriend to both Tory and Sam. They both deserve so much better!
