Cobra Kai Series-Finale Recap: Once Upon a Time in the Valley

Of course, in the end, it would all come back to Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence, the original karate kid and his nemesis. Maybe I shouldn’t list them in that order, though. It’s not respectful to Johnny, the true protagonist of this show from episode one onward. Okay, he hasn’t always been the show’s single biggest focus; Daniel was more central to the plot in season five, for example, while Johnny mostly handled family drama. But he’s the whole series distilled into one character: a classic teenage bully yanked from the ’80s into a new world that won’t tolerate his shit, a Goliath transformed into a David by time, self-loathing, and thousands of Coors Banquets.

“Ex-Degenerate” begins with a flashback to 2017, shortly before Johnny met Miguel at the beginning of the series. He’s the mess we remember, stuck in a rut with no visible path to a stable and happy life. It’s no wonder the stakes are so high for Johnny in the present day, training to fight a man he knows is younger and stronger than him. He’s typically a confident guy, even when he’s wrong, but this time, he can’t make himself focus, fixated on his past failures and worried that tomorrow will cement him as an internationally recognized loser.

But because Daniel knows this guy so well at this point, he knows what he needs to hear. For one, as tempting as it might be to take out Sensei Wolf with one flashy kick, he should wait for his opponent to come to him first. Daniel’s own famous crane kick wouldn’t have worked if he’d struck first. He also references the ending of Rocky to remind Johnny that winning isn’t everything.

After one last obligatory training montage set to “You’re the Best,” we’re back at the All Valley arena for the fight. It turns out Johnny hasn’t totally shaken off his anxieties, and Wolf manages to score some easy points — in addition to landing some illegal moves, which don’t count for points but do wear Johnny down. Daniel can only get him to lock in by calling a time-out and adopting the words of Cobra Kai, telling him that fear and pain aren’t part of his dojo and ordering him to “kick the living shit out of this asshole.” As in previous seasons and especially these last few episodes, it feels so right to see Daniel and Johnny borrow each other’s ideologies, moving on from the good/evil binary for a more interdisciplinary approach.

From here, Johnny has his inevitable comeback, pulling back and showing some restraint once Daniel reminds him not to go too hard. By waiting for Wolf to strike first, Johnny is totally going against his core belief, and that’s what makes it such a necessary (if predictable) final beat to clinch the tournament and complete his redemption.

Outside the Johnny and Daniel stories — and I’ll come back to them later — most of the characters get unambiguously happy endings. Again, I could’ve done with a bit of a lighter touch here: I didn’t need all four of the teen couples to stay together after high school graduation, especially Demetri and Yasmine, who reunite in this episode. And while it’s cool that Tory gets a job offer for the same type of branding deals as Zara, I’m not sure I needed Robby to tag along. Earlier this season, I actually thought the show was setting him up to let go of his own competitive ambitions after the Sekai Taikai and become a karate teacher himself, which would’ve fit with his experience training Kenny. It’s nice he and Tory will still get to compete, though, and make some money while they’re doing it. I guess he proved his guidance counselor wrong!

It’s probably no use looking for bittersweet endings and realism when this is the show it is. Miguel and Sam could’ve easily gone their separate ways now that there’s a whole ocean between them, but it’s sweet that they still get a happy ending together while pursuing their own paths: Miguel at Stanford and Sam in Okinawa, though he’ll join her for her first couple weeks abroad. The airport scene provides an emotional good-bye, especially with Daniel struggling through tears as he tells his daughter how proud he is of the person she’s become.

I’m also very happy for Chozen, who shows up in Korea to join Kim Da-Eun and the dojang she’s rebuilding. I only wish we had seen them interact more in these last episodes; Chozen brought out a light, funny side of her personality (and Alicia Hannah-Kim’s performance). I would’ve traded some of his scenes moping around about Kumiko for more time with the woman who actually reciprocates his feelings.

But what of Mr. Miyagi, the most significant unseen character in the show? Throughout this season, Daniel has dealt with a lot of internal conflicts after learning about his legendary sensei’s dark past — first, the discovery that he robbed and assaulted someone many decades ago, then the discovery that he accidentally killed an opponent while competing in the Sekai Taikai. When Sam’s grandmother gives her an old necklace as a graduation gift in the finale, though, we learn the real reason for the former incident: After Miyagi’s late wife died in the internment camps, a guard stole the family necklace he’d given her, so he found the man to get it back. When the guard attacked Miyagi, he knocked him out.

My first reaction to this reveal was irritation; I’ve actually appreciated the way this season subverted the legend of Miyagi by reminding Daniel that even his sensei wasn’t perfect, that even this angelic man once hurt people. Softening the extent of his errors reframes the takeaway as “I guess there’s always more to the story,” as Amanda articulates, and I don’t think that’s quite as interesting. Then again, Miyagi did still kill someone in the tournament, so I guess the message still mostly remains intact.

Either way, Daniel has the confidence and inner peace now to accept that he’ll always be a sensei, as Amanda tells him. In the final scenes, we get a glimpse of the new normal: He and Johnny are still running their own respective dojos but trading students back and forth as they see fit, teaching both disciplines. Johnny is softer but still himself, calling one new student “four-eyes” and generally sticking with his “strike first” stance.

The last we see of Johnny and Daniel is the two pals out for sushi dinner, discussing which students to shuffle around for the next All Valley. It’s relaxed and pleasant, the type of scene that lets you imagine many more years of friendship and co-teaching to come. A fly appears, triggering a final flashback to the movie that started it all when Mr. Miyagi tried to catch a fly with chopsticks, and Daniel pulled it off on his first try. For a moment, as Daniel zeroes in on his target now, it seems like he’ll do it again. Then Johnny’s hands appear from nowhere to smash the fly first. “No mercy,” he says. It’s their frenemyship in a nutshell, evoked with a nostalgic callback to a movie from 40 years ago. Luckily, nostalgia is never a bad thing in this series. What is it they’re always saying? Oh, that’s right: Cobra Kai never dies.

Mr. Miyagi’s Little Trees

• The last two episodes’ names directly parallel the first two of the show: “Ace Degenerate” and “Strike First.”

• One last appearance from Stingray, who’s teaching a weekend beginners class for Cobra Kai.

• I would’ve liked to see one more Mike Barnes appearance, but I’m glad we got him earlier in the season. And we never did get that Hilary Swank cameo (from The Next Karate Kid), did we? Oh well.

• Miguel actually got his Stanford acceptance during his fight, not afterward, meaning he got in on his own academic merits. It deflates the stakes slightly in retrospect, but good for him.

• Did Rosa smoke a joint before Miguel’s fight, as she did before both previous All Valleys?

• Johnny gets a house for the family like he wanted! But he still doesn’t understand property taxes, so he’ll need Daniel’s help with that.

• I would’ve liked to see a little more of West Valley High School in these last episodes, if only to check in with Kenny and Devon. But like Anthony, they’re both still fighting for Miyagi-Do (and Cobra Kai)!

• Of course, Ralph Macchio will return in Karate Kid: Legends this May, which will create a new shared universe from the Miyagi-verse continuity and the 2010 Jackie Chan remake. I don’t expect much overlap with Cobra Kai, especially since the show creators aren’t involved, but maybe we’ll get some references (subtle or otherwise) to what Daniel has been up to.

• Thanks so much for reading my recaps these last few seasons! I’ll miss this crazy show.