‘Cobra Kai’ Season 6 Episode 10 Recap: Eunjangdo

Cobra Kai

Eunjangdo

Season 6

Section 10

Editor’s assessment

4 stars

****

Photo: CURTIS BONDS BAKER/NETFLIX

I talk a lot about predictability in these recaps, but there’s a reason for that: Any ongoing competition-centric scripted series will eventually run into the challenge of keeping its results fresh, whether it’s a sports drama like Friday night light or something similar Glee. The Dillon Panthers couldn’t win every state championship and the New Directions couldn’t go to nationals every year.

I went into this series of episodes pretty much expecting Miyagi-Do to make it to the finals and most likely win against Cobra Kai at the end, though I figured there would be some new permutations and twists to differentiate the match- oops from previous seasons. That would leave the final five episodes of the season for… I don’t know, the birth of Johnny and Carmen’s child, Terry Silver’s second rise and fall, and a general emotional conclusion to where these kids and their senseis will end up.

After watching “Eunjangdo”, however, it seems that we are in for something completely different. Nothing exactly is “wrapped up” here in the traditional sense, although many of the long-standing rivalries seem to have come to an end. And I think that is the best; this way the season doesn’t feel overly segmented or spread out. It’s a gloriously silly (but also tragic?) final chapter in the story of this group of hooligans, and we’re only two-thirds of the way through.

Early in this midseason finale, the show completely reverses one of the decisions I actually liked last episode: Cobra Kai’s elimination from the competition. Apparently four students in the Russian dojo tested positive for performance enhancing drugs so they are out and Cobra Kai had the second highest number of points. It’s a shame they’re back in the game because Robby’s latest run-in with Kwon did not go well

The day before the semi-final is spent in preparation, but the senseis’ heads are not in the game. Johnny can’t stop holding onto his baggage with Kreese, but Daniel is dealing with something even bigger. He has just learned that the sensei whose teachings shaped his entire worldview was responsible for the death of another fighter, and Mr. Miyagi really lives rent-free in his head. It takes a pep talk from Miguel to get his senseis to focus; he reminds them that in many ways they have carved their own paths and surpassed their own senseis. With that, they are equipped with the energy and focus to deliver their own pep talks again.

The semi-finals, which are televised live around the world (shout out to Terry Silver’s media team?), essentially consist of four matches, two for each gender. The first two matches go as you would expect: the Furia de Pantera captains are completely dominated by Kwon and Zara.

But unfortunately, we may never see the final or even a fourth semi-final match. The fight between Robby and Axel is where everything falls apart. Axel is a beast with seemingly impenetrable defenses and super strong hits. When he throws Robby into Kwon, however, Kwon decides to play dirty and elbows Robby hard in front of everyone (including the cameras, it seems). From there, the conflict escalates: Miguel jumps in to defend Robby and ends up fighting Axel, then Guntherof all people, is slapped hard in the face and knocked to the floor. It’s Ivanov and his friends from the Russian dojo, back to fuck shit.

Look, does it make a lot of sense how quickly the tournament devolves into mass chaos here? Not really. Everyone sort of collectively loses their minds and tries to kill each other, just like the church massacre scene from Kingsman. Entire eliminated teams (the Russian dojo, the Irish dojo) jump back into the match for no reason other than, I think, jealousy and anger. The fights that already took place also continue, with Tory fighting Zara and Robby taking on Kwon again. Fittingly, the senseis also get involved, with Sensei Wolf battling Johnny, a resurrected Dennis battling Daniel, and Chozen teaming up with Kim Da-Eun.

It’s basically just an excuse for a crazy international brawl where entire European nations are scapegoated, and that’s perfectly fine because it’s Cobra Kai. (It feels like an ’80s sports movie that way.) There are some good characters here, though. Robby pulls Zara away from Tory and tells her he’d choose his actual girlfriend over this karate influencer any day of the week. Tory also has a small but lovely moment with Sam. And Johnny has a big growth moment in moving past his hatred for Kreese when he saves him from Silver, who could have easily killed him. (Just as Kreese went after Silver with a knife, intending to murder him in cold blood.)

This is where the fun stuff turns into serious stuff. Seeing Kwon land a deflating chest kick on Sam, Axel abandons his skirmish with Miguel and moves his target. Watching Kwon go up against this big guy is pretty awesome, especially when he gets kicked hard into the camera and captures all of this. (Amanda and Anthony sit horrified and confused as they watch at home.) But then Kwon sees the fallen eunjangdo and grabs it and runs at Axel, intending to really hurt him. Daniel sees it and undoubtedly returns to a memory he did not experience himself: Miyagi killed another young man in the same place over half a century ago. He has to stop this; it cannot happen again. But it will.

Kwon doesn’t hurt Axel, but he lands on the knife himself and lets out a scream loud and real enough to stop everyone else from fighting. As he bleeds to death out there on the floor, everyone stares in shock and horror. “Cut the feed!” Gunther yells, and the episode cuts to credits accordingly.

It’s pretty intense for this show and might be too much for some viewers. But I like the parallel with Mr. Miyagi and the realization that danger has always been a very real part of karate for these characters despite the predominantly silly tone. Moreover, this is a more exciting result than a more traditional tournament, which we have already seen many times. This ending upends the formula, refusing to put us through another Sam-Tory match (“Sam-Tory chapter one billion,” as Demetri puts it) and perhaps throwing away the concept of a legitimate karate world champion altogether.

When Cobra Kai returns for its final episodes in 2025 (booo), will we still be in Barcelona, ​​or will everyone be back in the valley processing the emotional aftermath? Has Sekai Taikai completely ended without a winner? How exactly does karate enter the finals of this karate show, and what would a real “final tournament” look like, if it even exists? Perhaps Cobra Kai is less about the championships than the friends we made along the way.

• I liked the opening scene of Daniel’s Miyagi nightmare … until the “real” Mr. Miyagi appeared in the form of an apparent AI Pat Morita, which made me feel very weird. Was it really necessary?

• Kim Da-Eun gets some more dimension in this episode when Tory asks her if becoming the very best was worth all the sacrifices. Her response? “Absolutely.”