After six seasons of striking first, showing no mercy, and switching sides numerous times, Cobra Kai is taking its final bow. The Karate Kid sequel series brings us back to what made that trilogy a worldwide phenomenon. Each season has been filled with high-stakes drama and intense rivalries and did a terrific job of honoring the past while embracing the next generation. We fell in love with the series not because of blind nostalgia but because it could do something entirely new with the franchise and embraced the good and bad of previous installments. Cobra Kai Season 6, Part 2 primarily focuses on Miyagi-Do’s adventures in Barcelona, Spain. It continues where Part 1 left off, as Tory (Peyton List) joins Cobra Kai as they fight for the world title. Part 2 also sets up where the series will go in the third and final part of the season.

‘Cobra Kai’s Massive Cast Has Finally Caught Up To the Show

One of Cobra Kai’s biggest strengths has always been its cast. From William Zabka’s endearing and occasionally problematic portrayal of Johnny Lawrence to Xolo Maridueña’s rising karate star, Miguel Diaz, the show not only has the legacy characters from the original trilogy to remind us why we adore the franchise, but the next generation to complete a well-rounded ensemble cast. As the show heads to the Sekai Taikai, it’s forced into splitting attention between Miyagi-Do, Cobra Kai, the new rival dojo, the Iron Dragons, and, of course, the individual rivalries within those groups, while also checking back in with the characters who are still home in the Valley.

Part 2 of Cobra Kai Season 6 feels overstuffed with ideas, and, ultimately, some of the story beats fall a bit flat compared to others. The main event of this season is none other than the Sekai Taikai. Once the dojos make the trip to Barcelona, things splinter. Of course, the big event is the tournament, and the series goes all out, with various fights and scenarios on a much grander scale than the All Valleys. There’s still a ton of internal conflict throughout, and that’s when Cobra Kai is at its strongest. Campiness and drama are reason enough to keep coming back, even more than the high-flying kicks. However, this batch of episodes is a bit rocky simply because the drama is turned up to 11, to the point where things get a bit too bleak for a series with a generally light-hearted tone.

Unsurprisingly, Kreese (Martin Kove) and Cobra Kai serve as the main foils, but the story also offers the emergence of a new rival, with the Iron Dragons stepping up to challenge Miyagi-Do. On top of the traditional foils, the team is also suffering from drama within. Dimitri and Hawk have their own personal struggles, Miguel and Robby are still beefing over their fight for the captain, Tory has left Sam and the rest for Cobra Kai, and Daniel is still trying to uncover the truth about Mr. Miyagi. Individually, all of these subplots can be pretty engaging, but together, along with details we can’t spoil in this review, it makes the season feel bloated.

10:05 Related ‘Cobra Kai’ Showrunners: The Sekai Taikai Is “The All Valley but on Steroids” “You’re basically fighting for the dojo.”

Too Many Storylines Exist in This Dojo

Arguably, the strongest story in this batch of episodes is Daniel’s quest to learn more about his idol, Mr. Miyagi. Throughout the series, Mr. Miyagi has been treated almost like a god or the Dalai Lama. Daniel constantly asks himself, “What would Miyagi do?” to the point where it gets a bit unsettling. However, the series finally challenges Daniel’s worldview and breaks him down in a way that will hopefully, finally push him forward so he can stop dwelling on the past. It’s very similar to Johnny’s arc over the course of the series; he’s slowly softened up and started to embrace Miyagi-Do, and hopefully, both characters will realize that true karate (and life) is about balance.

The theme of holding on to the past is exactly what drives John Kreese as well, and he’s trying to move forward in his own way. Cobra Kai as a villain has grown somewhat stale, but thankfully, Sensei Kim (Alicia Hannah-Kim) and her students make the rivalry feel fresh. Kwon is the ultimate bad boy, and that makes him the perfect foil for Miguel and Robby. Unfortunately, he doesn’t get a ton of screen time. The same can be said of the Iron Dragons. Sensei Wolf (Lewis Tan) leads the fierce fighters, and while they serve as strong opponents on the mat, the new characters serve very little purpose throughout the story. Wolf’s only purpose is to piss Johnny off, and as entertaining as that is, Daniel usually has that covered. As far as the students go, Axel Kovacevic (Patrick Luwis) and Zara Malik (Rayna Vallandingham) provide the occasional teenage drama, but it doesn’t go much further than that. These could’ve been great characters if they were given full attention instead of playing third fiddle to the other two dojos.

Cobra Kai Season 6 Part 2 still has great moments between the characters, heartfelt scenes between the families, intense battles at the tournament, and a cliffhanger that will have you yelling at your television in agony. Unfortunately, many of these great moments just don’t get the time to breathe and are often cut short due to far too many things going on. It’s easy to get invested in all of it, but none of the storylines have a satisfying conclusion. There’s still Part 3 to come, and while that might clean some of these issues up in the future, this new batch of episodes is mostly unsatisfying.

Cobra Kai Season 6 Part 2 premieres on Netflix on November 15.

Cobra Kai Season 6 Part 2 takes Miyagi-Do to Barcelona, Spain, but this part of the story is a bit messy as the show nears its end.ProsThe series finally gives Daniel a meaningful character arc and challenges his worldview.The Sekai Taikai is by far the best tournament in the entire series. ConsThe series is finally suffering from too many characters and storylines.Things get a bit too dark considering the usual tone of the show.

Thirty-four years after events of the 1984 All Valley Karate Tournament, a down-and-out Johnny Lawrence seeks redemption by reopening the infamous Cobra Kai dojo, reigniting his rivalry with a now successful Daniel LaRusso.Release Date Creator Rating Seasons 6 Story By josh heald Writers Josh Heald , Jon Hurwitz , Hayden Schlossberg , Michael Jonathan , Mattea Greene , Bill Posley , Stacey Harman , Joe Piarulli , Bob Dearden Directors Jon Hurwitz Showrunner Jon Hurwitz Expand

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