Warning: Spoilers for Cobra Kai season 6 part 1
Summary
The Sekai Taikai seemingly about to start really upended my expectations forCobra Kai’sfinal season. In the final scene of the new season’s fifth episode,Daniel and Johnny’s Miyagi-do teamstrode into the Sekai Taikai, thus strongly suggesting that winning the competition and beating Kreese (again) will be the focus ofCobra Kaiseason 6 part 2. This is completely contrary to what I originally thought the second batch of episodes would be about.
InCobra Kai, martial arts tournaments typically don’t take long, even if the preparation for it goes through a lot of buildup. The show’s first All Valley Karate Tournament wrapped up in just one episode, and season 4’s competition only required a two-part story. Obviously, the Sekai Taikai is much more involved and bigger than anything that theCobra Kaicharactershave ever faced. However, I don’t imagine it taking up the show’s remaining ten episodes. Based on that, it looks like the series may still have another five-episode chapter left whenthe Sekai Taikai tournamentconcludes.
The Sekai Taikai May Not Start Right Away (Despite Cobra Kai Season 6 Part 1’s Ending)
Cobra Kai Season 6, Episode 5’s Ending Indicates A Massive Time Jump
It’s possible that in spite ofCobra Kaiindicating that the Sekai Taikai is underway, it’s still a few episodes away from kicking off. The team already being outside the tournament in Barcelona right after picking team captains felt like too sudden of a shift for me, hence why I thinkCobra Kaihas some gaps it wants to fill in before it starts the competition.I think the main point of that tease was to show the consequences of the disagreement over Tory, but I don’t think that means the show will pick up there when it returns. I suspect there’s still much more to see before the tournament officially starts.
For instance,I thinkCobra Kaiseason 6 part 2 will spend some time in South Korea as it builds toward Tory fighting alongside her new allies. This will enable her to develop dynamics with Kwon and Kreese’s other students. This makes sense, considering that “team events” are confirmed to play a role in the Sekai Taikai. Plus, there’s obviously a lot more to explore in regards tohow Tory arrived at her decision to join forces with Kreeseone more time.
There’s also the matter of Miyagi-do’s preparations for the Sekai Taikai tournament, which feel incomplete. There was no scene in which Johnny and Daniel acknowledged that Chozen won’t see the tournament through with them, so I think he’ll return in-between episode 5 and the actual start of the tournament. Not only that, but they’ve only gone as far as to select a final roster. Now, they need to dedicate the majority of their time to getting these six fighters to work as a team, which is a storylineCobra Kaihas yet to feature.
The Sekai Taikai Still Makes The Most Sense For Cobra Kai Season 6’s Ending
The Sekai Taikai Is The Perfect Ending For The Series
Because of the storiesCobra Kaineeds to tell before Miyagi-do fightsthe other Sekai Taikai teams, it’s not unfeasible for the show to offer a few episodes set before episode 5’s final scene, and then segue into the meat of the competition. This could allow at least some of the Sekai Taikai to be saved forCobra Kaiseason 6 part 3. Taking this course felt like the most likely option ahead ofCobra Kaiseason 6 part 1, mostly due to the very nature of the Sekai Taikai. As an international karate tournament, it came across to me as the ultimate ending for the series and perhaps the biggest obstacle they could be challenged with.
What happened in episode 5 certainly complicated my idea of what formulaCobra Kaiwould follow for its final episodes. It certainly indicated that the Sekai Taikai would happen now and something else would be the focus of the last segment, but I’m not sold on that yet.Cobra Kai’sheroes and villains battling it out on the world stage is still the ideal route for the show to take, and it’s difficult to imagine an ending with higher or more intense stakes than that.
What Cobra Kai Season 6 Part 3 Could Be About (If Not The Sekai Taikai)
Beating Kim Sun-Yung Or Terry Silver Could Be The Focus Of The Ending
Supposing thatCobra Kaiseason 6 really does begin and end the Sekai Taikai within the next five episodes, the door would be open for an all-new narrative to close out the series. As for what that could be,Cobra Kaihas a few loose ends it could work with, but that could all depend on how things play out in the second segment. As for what those stories could be, the first two options that come to mind involve Terry Silver and Kim Sun-Yung.
Similar to how season 4’s tournament didn’t resolve theCobra Kai vs. Miyagi-do conflictas promised by the senseis,the Sekai Taikai could provoke further fighting between the main characters and the new version of Cobra Kai. This could result in a deep dive intoKarate Kidlore, which could yield more reveals about Kim Sun-Yung and possible connections between him and Mr. Miyagi. After all, it’s important to note thatCobra Kaihas revealed that Mr. Miyagi fought in the Sekai Taikai. This could be setup for a twist that links him to Kim, who could be an old rival of his before he even met Daniel LaRusso.
Alternatively, the final story could revolve aroundTerry Silver’s return. Thomas Ian Griffith’s character had no part to play in the first five episodes, but the characters made clear in their conversations at the beginning of the season that Silver coming back isn’t impossible. If he gets the charges dropped, he could return with a fury. As someone who is arguably even more ruthless than Kreese, he would be a strong candidate forCobra Kai’sfinal villain, with both Kreese and Mike Barnes being potential allies to Johnny and Daniel.
My thinking is thatCobra Kai’sending will wind up incorporating Terry Silver and Kim Sun-Yung, streamlining those narratives into one. The two of them (plus Kreese) are intertwined by their backstories, so a present-day story that sees them settle their differences (or get over them) seems likely to be. I’m still of the opinion that will happen with the Sekai Taikai acting as a backdrop to all that, but after all that’s already happened inCobra Kaiseason 6, the season’s remaining episodes have a great sense of unpredictability to them, which makes what’s ahead all the more exciting.
