This article contains major character and plot details.
Cobra Kai Season 6 kicks off with the Valley in harmony, but by the end of Episode 5, Miyagi-Do is in disarray, its disciples stumbling to the monumental Sekai Taikai tournament. The stakes couldn’t be higher, nor could the cliff we’ll be hanging from until the show returns on Nov. 24. But if you’re already missing your favorite students and sensei, dip into our breakdown of the final season’s first five episodes for some hints at what you can expect the rest of the way.
As Kreese (Martin Kove) menacingly says at the conclusion of Episode 5, “Let the games begin.” Of course, the “games” are the Sekai Taikai, a massive event that will remain a prominent part of the final season.
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What is the Sekai Taikai?
It’s “the most prestigious karate tournament in modern martial arts history,” Demetri (Gianni DeCenzo) explains in Season 6, Episode 1. “For over a century, fighters from across the globe have gathered every two years to compete for title of world’s best.”
In comparison to other tournaments, Hawk (Jacob Bertrand) equates the All Valley we’ve seen in previous seasons to “March Madness” and the Sekai Taikai to “the Olympics.”
Jon Hurwitz, who co-created Cobra Kai with Josh Heald and Hayden Schlossberg, tells Tudum how the decision to utilize the global tournament in Barcelona came together in the writers’ room. “We established their united dojo is going to the Sekai Taikai, but for us it was setting up a limit so only six students could go. We wanted there to be conflict among the people who would more obviously be going to the tournament, so we created male and female captain roles which gave us plenty of opportunity for there to be conflict within the team.”
“It was [about] balancing the stories we’ve been telling and going through the honest paces of who would actually qualify for this,” Hurwitz adds. Their day-to-day lives as high school students experiencing various phases of life were also factored in. “Whether it’s putting too much pressure on yourself, having something that you need to fight for, a tragedy in your life that’s impacting you on the mat, feeling jealousy or fear and cheating — those were all very realistic things teenagers go through.”
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Who were the six chosen for the Sekai Taikai?
Trials judged by Mike Barnes (Sean Kanan) were won by some you might expect, like Miguel (Xolo Maridueña), Samantha (Mary Mouser), Tory (Peyton List), and Robby (Tanner Buchanan), but there were also surprises.
The first shocker comes when Devon (Oona O’Brien) spikes Kenny’s (Dallas Dupree Young) water with laxatives to force him out of contention and into a porta-potty, allowing her to punch her ticket to Barcelona. Though she did a crappy thing, causing Kenny to have a humiliating accident, Devon’s connection with Johnny (William Zabka) is one of the season’s most endearing. “I’m so proud of you,” Johnny tells Devon, who seems too guilt-ridden to celebrate.
“That was the one person he was really fighting for and passionate about being” in the Sekai Taikai, Zabka says. “The fact that she’s there and she pulled a little trick to do it, Johnny doesn’t know about that yet.” When discussing candidates who didn’t make it but were worthy of the tournament, Zabka points to “other actors and characters — Kenny’s turned into a great martial artist. He would’ve been great for the team. And even Anthony [Griffin Santopietro] has come a long way.”
A second surprise competitor comes when Demetri takes advantage of Hawk’s kindness and knocks him down to swipe the final Sekai Taikai spot. Bertrand was both surprised and disappointed that Hawk, a former All Valley winner, hadn’t made it to the grand stage. “There was definitely a moment where I was like, ‘Oh, what? I don’t get to go?’ ” Bertrand recalls. “I was like, ‘Oh, man. I’m going to be on the sidelines with Bert [Owen Morgan] and Nate [Nathaniel Oh].’ ”
At the end of Episode 4, Daniel (Ralph Macchio) isn’t thrilled with the dojo’s final Sekai Taikai selections, straight-up telling Johnny, “You and I both know Hawk should be going,” and grilling him with one big question: “Do you honestly believe we have our strongest team?”
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However, the roster is revised in Episode 5, when Tory’s mother, Grace (Bethany DeZelle), dies. Daniel calls off Tory’s fight with Samantha, which would’ve decided who would be the team’s woman captain. In the midst of grief, Tory storms off, freeing up a spot that’s given to Hawk. While Bertrand thought his character would miss out on the tournament, his co-star, List, never doubted it. “There’s no way that you’re not going,” she recalls telling him.
For List, portraying Tory during the moment she finds her mother dead presented a massive test. “That scene was probably my most difficult, because it is such a light-hearted environment on set,” she says. “So having to do that in front of everyone was weird. I really didn’t want to go there in front of everyone. It was such a challenge to stay in it and to keep that energy, and I felt weird not joking around with everyone all the time.”
With Tory gone, the final Miyagi-Do six going to the Sekai Taikai are Miguel, Devon, Demetri, Eli, and captains Samantha and Robby.
While that’s how it wound up, Heald says the scenario was just one of countless that were considered. “There were a zillion permutations that we were running through in the writers’ room — lots of heated debates, lots of heated discussion — and it resulted in something that we’re really, really happy with.”
And while it appears Tory is excluded from the tournament, Episode 5’s final, twisty moments reveal otherwise.
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What happened to Kreese?
After escaping prison in the Season 5 finale, Kreese took refuge in Korea and began training fighters alongside Kim Da-Eun (Alicia Hannah-Kim). Cobra Kai, led by Kreese and Kim, arrive at the Sekai Taikai, where it’s revealed that Tory has joined them, returning to the side that once steered her down a dark path.
Tory’s former Miyagi-Do teammates appear stunned (and betrayed), but Schlossberg explains that Tory’s decision is about self-interest. “I think it clearly stems from what happened to her mother,” he says. “It’s one of those moments where she’s not necessarily turning bad, but all the progress that she’s made is kind of thrown out the window. She’s focusing on herself, because if she doesn’t, she can’t handle it. Anybody who’s going through that is going to be vulnerable and is going to be angry. The best way for her to channel that anger is at Cobra Kai. She’s in it for herself right now.”
And that’s where we leave off, with goosebump-inducing tension, on the precipice of the biggest tournament of the series. Heald says the next installment will only get more intense. “The first five are our most traditionally Cobra Kai–esque episodes of the final season, because it ramps up and up. It gets better and better as we get into the second part.”
“The middle five [episodes], you get to see martial arts at a level higher than you’ve ever seen before,” Hurwitz adds. “You get to meet new, exciting characters and take all of our combustible characters, and you get to see karate outside of the Valley. How are they going to handle the pressure? How are they going to handle being in the most intense karate fight of their lives while it’s not harmonious between them? Hawk and Demetri are at odds, Robby and Miguel are not at their best, Tory and Sam are not at their best, and Johnny and Daniel certainly are not as well. Mix in Sensei Kreese, and the middle five has some of the most combustible episodes we’ve had.”
So take a breath and prepare for what Miyagi-Do will endure in the Sekai Taikai. Maridueña sums up what you can expect: “No mercy, that’s for sure. They’re going to be thrown into the deep end and sink or swim.”
Cobra Kai returns with Part 2, the “middle five” episodes, on Nov. 15, and the third and final part arrives in 2025. Check back with Tudum for updates.