ONCE THE LITTLE karate show that could, Cobra Kai has become a seasoned veteran. The series, a spin-off of the Karate Kid movies following those (now grown-up) kids and the next generation of karate masters they’re training in Los Angeles’s San Fernando Valley—clearly the karate cinema capital, or at least since that first 1984 film—debuted all the way back in 2018 on YouTube, before breaking out big after moving to Netflix for its third season.
Which means, yes, Daniel-san, the end is near. Or at least the end of this iteration of the much-beloved martial arts franchise is ending. It’s time for season six, or as it’s also being called, Cobra Kai VI. This final batch of 15 episodes will actually be spread out across three parts, the first of which premieres on Netflix on July 18.
Haven’t kept up with every Crane Kick, Silver Bullet, doja win, opening, closing, reopening, breakup, makeup, or other dramatic turn? That’s all right. As you dive into season six, whether you’re simply fuzzy on plot details or skipped whole story arcs, we’re here to be your sensei, at least as far as unpacking plot goes. (We leave the rest of the wisdom to the late Mr. Miyagi’s spiritual presence, felt throughout the show.) From the early days of Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence being drawn back into the world of competitive karate in middle age, to the full blossoming of the powers of the young Miguel Diaz and Robby Keene, here’s everything you need to know about what has happened. Think of it as a monster Cobra Kai recap before the last hurrah.
Season 1
You saw the Karate Kid movies, right? No? That’s fine, too: What you need to know is we’ve moved 34 years into the future since Daniel LaRusso aka Daniel-san (Ralph Macchio in the films and this series) defeated rival Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka, also reprising his role) in the 1984 All-Valley Karate Tournament. Daniel and Johnny are now middle-aged and dealing with various life problems: Namely, Johnny is a sad, broke, Coors-guzzling drunk with an estranged, emo son, Robby (Tanner Buchanan). Daniel, meanwhile, is a successful car dealership owner (ostensibly because the Valley is always in need of more car dealerships), though emotionally dragging the weight of Mr. Miyagi’s death and struggling to find the balance in his family and work lives.
Johnny’s karate passion gets a new kickstart when he uses his skills to defend a teenage Miguel (Xolo Maridueña). He then agrees to teach Miguel in the ways of the Japanese martial art, and reopens the Cobra Kai dojo (otherwise known as an honored place where masters and newbies come together to practice). Johnny and Miguel have the kind of bond he failed to have with his son Robby. And Miguel goes on a date with Samantha, Daniel’s daughter! Rivalry ensues: Daniel is inspired to restart his own karate adventure and trains his rival’s son Robby, who wants revenge on his dad. Miguel and Robby develop their own rivalry. Miguel gets drunk and Samantha breaks up with him. It all leads to the 2018 All-Valley Karate Tournament, which Miguel wins by employing some devious tactics, causing both Johnny and Daniel to reflect on what kind of men they are, and what kind of men they’re turning these boys into. It’s all a bit operatic, but in a fun way that makes you wish you had ever done karate in high school.
Season 2
An old sensei reemerges. Specifically, John Kreese (Martin Kove), the kind of insane baddie and mentor to Johnny in the movies, shows up, and Johnny nervously allows him back into Cobra Kai, the dojo he founded alongside the ponytailed Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith), also insane in a slightly different way—more on him later. We all know this is a bad decision. Meanwhile, Daniel starts his own dojo, Miyagi-Do, in honor of his late, great sensei with the cool bandana and salt-and-pepper facial hair. Robby and Samantha, aka Sam, join. Eventually, Robby and Sam fall in love and start a relationship, which is definitely not going to help ease the whole dojo rivalry. A new Cobra Kai student, Tory, starts dating Miguel, who you’ll remember used to date Sam. It’s messy. Unhinged John Kreese continues asserting his influence over Cobra Kai. Tory is pissed when she catches her guy Miguel and his former flame Sam kissing at a party. A violent brawl breaks out in the kids’s high school, and Robby kicks Miguel off a balcony. Miguel suffers a spinal injury and is in a coma. Seeing that this has gotten way out of hand, Daniel’s wife Amanda convinces him to shut down Miyagi-Do. Kreese controls Cobra Kai with an iron first. But is Miguel going to be okay? Spoiler (the point of this whole recap): Yes, he’ll be fine. Mostly.
Season 3
The school fight and Miguel’s health crisis hit Johnny hard. So he once again hits the bottle. Sad drunk Johnny is back. Robby is a pariah after sending Miguel off a balcony, which begins to hurt Daniel’s car dealership business. Robby disappears. Daniel and Johnny work together to find the kid despite their differences, but it doesn’t last. Robby turns up and enters juvenile detention. Fuming at both his dad and Daniel, he’s tempted by Kreese’s offer to join Cobra Kai. Because what’s one more troubled sensei?
Miguel wakes up from his coma! And instead of going to a licensed physical therapist, trains with Johnny to walk again. He starts walking quickly. Johnny starts another dojo called Eagle Fang Karate. He wants to compete with his former home Cobra Kai. Kreese is none too pleased. (Also, throughout the season, we learn more about Kreese’s trauma, much of it stemming from his time fighting in the Vietnam War.)
In a subplot, feeling his business and personal life start to unravel, Daniel flies to Japan. He reunites with his one-time love interest Kumiko (Tamlyn Tomita) from The Karate Kid Part II. He also makes amends with his old enemy Chozen Toguchi from The Karate Kid Part III, who truly does not fuck around.
Meanwhile, back in California, a battle between Cobra Kai and (now-shuttered) Miyagi-Do disciples leads to Hawk (Jacob Bertrand) breaking Demetri’s (Gianni DeCenzo) arm. And so when Daniel returns home, he reopens Miyagi-Do with permission from his way-too-patient wife Amanda, because if he goes back to being a boring successful car dealer there’s no show! Johnny and Daniel attempt to squash their beef, yet again, after seeing their mutual ex Ali Mills (none other than Oscar nominee and legend Elisabeth Shue!), for some reason. Tory is leading Cobra Kai into more messiness. Its members break into Daniel’s home. Hawk jumps ship to join Daniel and Johnny’s uneasy alliance. Cut to: Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang together handily defeating Cobra Kai. But the love can’t last: Kreese reveals that Robby has joined the Cobra Kai family. They all agree that the next dojo to lose the All-Valley tournament has to close. Johnny and Daniel officially join forces. There’s no way this bromance can be broken up again, right? Oh, just wait. Cobra Kai loves a breakup.
Season 4
More old Karate Kid icons are resurrected in this season. Kreese, who absolutely must beat Daniel and Johnny at the All-Valley at any cost, calls upon his Cobra Kai co-founder Terry Silver, who still has a ponytail (that’s actually silver) and is up to no good. Having quit karate after The Karate Kid Part III, he’s lured back but butts heads with Kreese over tactics. Aghast at the reemergence of Silver, Daniel doubles down and asserts more control over the Miyagi-Fang alliance, which upsets Johnny, who yet again feels like he’s being outshined by his rival. Middle age: It’s still kind of like high school, right? Yet the pair collaborate to defeat Cobra Kai. But, sadly, Cobra Kai is ascendant once again and manages to win the All-Valley tournament. Except, as only Tory finds out with a furtive glance, Silver paid off the referee, ensuring Cobra Kai’s victory. And then Silver goes full slimy. He frames his partner Kreese in a brutal assault on Stingray (Paul Walter Hauser!), a former Cobra Kai student, which lands the innocent Kreese in prison.
But the kids have their own rifts. Enter the international cliffhanger: A dejected Miguel travel to Mexico, not telling anyone, in search of his biological father. And maybe larger meaning in his life?
Season 5
This is what I call the Mexican detour season. As in, Miguel is detouring in Mexico, looking for a familial rekindling. Instead, he gets conned out of cash by assholish Australian tourists. His journey turns out to be a total bummer. He does find his father, Hector (Luis Roberto Guzmán), who seems like a great guy and all until he turns out to be a drug lord. Farewell, Mexico!
Daniel and Johnny are still determined to bring the pain to Cobra Kai, which is quickly expanding under slimy Silver with the ponytail. So Daniel brings out the big guns: his own crazy colleague and former villain, Chozen, straight from Japan. He swims in the house pool in the nude, to Amanda’s horror, and yeah, he tosses around samurai-style three-pronged blades way too casually, but in a fun weird-uncle way.
Silver’s manipulative influence, however, starts to unravel Daniel’s mostly happy life. Amanda briefly leaves him. And Silver pulls out the big bucks in an attempt to make his Cobra Kai a global empire. He greets karate masters from abroad, convincing them to further boost the dojo.
Tory is still at Silver’s Cobra Kai, but as we find out, only on her own undercover mission to help the imprisoned Kreese. Miguel trudges his way back to Los Angeles, not healed, but he does bury the hatchet with Robby after the pair is forced to fight once more by Johnny when it becomes known Carmen (Miguel’s mom) is pregnant.
Amanda is so over Daniel, but a conversation with a cousin reveals the true extent of Silver’s evil. Daniel’s buds Johnny and Chozen reignite his karate fire. The Miyagi-Fang alliance is alive again, and snooping on Silver. They figure out that his ultimate plan is to take Cobra Kai to the top of the worldwide Seikai Taikai tournament, which doesn’t exist in real life, but we’ll pretend for the show. A showdown between the competing dojos, even with Silver’s bribing and meddling, results in a draw that allows them both to enter the coveted Seikai Taikai tournament. They’re on the brink of global glory.
Meanwhile, Carmen is still pregnant (remember?) and in a celebration of her pregnancy, Silver’s old henchman Mike Barnes (again, from Karate Kid Part III) kidnaps the trio that stands in his way: Daniel, Johnny, and Chozen. Why? Because Silver burned down Mike’s furniture store, but Mike puts the blame on Daniel. But they tell Mike he’s got it all wrong, and Silver is the one who ruined his enterprise. All but Daniel insist on avenging this wrongdoing at Silver’s doorstop now. Only Daniel stays behind. But when the new aligned trio of Mike, Johnny, and Chozen get to Silver’s place, they’re confronted with what can only be called an army of karate sensei snakes.
But elsewhere, the kids: Miyagi-Fang students, including a redeemed Tory, do their own invading of Cobra Kai HQ, and stumble upon footage showing that Silver was, in fact, the one who assaulted Stingray. The Cobra Kai kids are there to smack them down. Still, the Miyagi-Fang group ultimately manages to upload another video showing Silver admitting to bribing the referee.
And then a duel out of Karate Kid fans’ dreams: Silver challenges Daniel to a long-brewing karate fight. Daniel summons literal decades of honed knowledge (going back to the 1980s!) and wins the fight with a crucial Crane Kick. Silver’s Cobra Kai family leave him in the dust, naturally. Silver is arrested, rightly.
And great news: The good guys, i.e., Miguel, Robby, Sam, and Tory? They’re as united as they’ve ever been.
Not so great news: Kreese has somehow faked his death using jello (?) in a successful ploy to escape prison, kind of like a PG-rated Hannibal Lecter. What else is ahead? More kicks, conquering, reuniting, spiting, to be sure—all of it with the spiritual glow of our treasured Mr. Miyagi hanging over it.
