Cobra Kai season 6, episode 13 brought one of the best scenes of the whole series. Here’s a look at the events of the entire episode.
Caution: This post contains SPOILERS for Cobra Kai season 6, episode 13.
The Sekai Taikai gets started, bringing the end of dreams for some and a chance for reconciliation for others. This episode also brought us a moment that we all needed, even if it didn’t bring all the answers we needed.
We do get to see the commentators sharing the excitement for the fights to come. This is a great reminder of the events from previous episodes, but it is also a chance to catch up on where Cobra Kai is. Tory returns without her dojang or a sensei. We do quickly learn that Silver is definitely dying, and he only has six months. This is more important than ever for him.
Kreese focuses on making amends in Cobra Kai season 6, episode 13
There are a lot of reminders of the first Karate Kid movie throughout this final season. The series got so focused on the kids that it forgot why Johnny restarted Cobra Kai in the first place. This episode revisits so much.
It all starts with Kreese going to see Tory, making it clear that while she needs to fight, he won’t be there as her sensei. Tory wants him to return. He is still a father figure to her. He can’t do it, though.
Kreese then goes to see Johnny. After all these years, Kreese is finally giving Johnny the apology that he needs. While Johnny lost with grace at the 1984 All Valley competition, Kreese was the one who ended Johnny’s career. He knows how that if he hadn’t have belittled Johnny in the parking lot after the match, Johnny would have stuck with karate. He could have been a Sekai Taikai champion, too.
Robby faces Axel in the Sekai Taikai finals
The first fight to happen is the boy’s final. With Cobra Kai not naming a replacement captain, it’s between Robby and Axel. Of course, Robby is nervous. He loses the first round of the match and allows Axel to get into his head, but Daniel is able to give a pep talk.
Focusing on how much Robby has adapted before, Daniel shares that Robby can do it again. Karate has given Robby so much to overcome, including turning a rival into his best friend and working with two styles of karate. This is nothing, right?
Robby goes in with a boost in his confidence. He manages to get more points on the board, which shakes Axel up a little. Sensei Wolf makes it clear in the second break that Axel needs to do what has to be done to secure victory. He whispers something to Axel, who isn’t happy about what Wolf wants him to do.
In the fight, Axel is able to get Robby into a position to damage his knee. Robby’s cry of pain can be heard everywhere, and a heat rub isn’t going to fix this. Sorry, it’s not quite like the iconic Karate Kid scene when Daniel’s leg was damaged. This is far more serious, and it’s Robby’s time in the Sekai Taikai over with.
There’s a beautiful moment between Robby and Johnny in this. Robby runs through everything that he has gained thanks to karate, and one of those is a good relationship with his dad. This makes him a winner, and even Johnny agrees with this. There is no shame in Robby being defeated at this point.
Daniel faces the skeletons of his past in Cobra Kai
Daniel is dealing with a lot. As he has learned that Mr. Miyagi may not be the man Daniel always thought he was, he has dreamed of his former sensei. The latest dream also involves skeletons of his past.
Those skeletons are from the Halloween dance in the first Karate Kid movie. We see them gather around Daniel in his dojo, as Mr. Miyagi comes out of the shadows. We have a mixture of a reminder of the original fight and a few new moments as Daniel joins in. Cobra Kai did a beautiful job of mixing CGI and AI with the use of another actor when needed.
After the fight, Daniel turns to Miyagi to get answers. What happened back then? Of course, this isn’t the real Miyagi, and he can’t answer. He does remind Daniel to follow his heart.
When Daniel wakes up, he learns that Sam has decided that she doesn’t want to fight in the Sekai Taikai anymore. She isn’t going up against Tory. Daniel stands for Sam’s decision, but it means Miyagi-Do is out of the Sekai Taikai. Tory will go up against Zara.
Johnny Lawrence surprises everyone with his next move
While Johnny respects Daniel’s decision, he doesn’t know how not to fight. This was his dream. Now what does he do?
It’s a conversation with Kreese that helps Johnny figure out the next move. In fact, it’s an emotional conversation that Johnny has needed for years. Kreese may have thought that the chokehold in the parking lot was the big issue for Johnny, but it was Kreese abandoning him afterward that hurt the most. Johnny points out that Kreese threw him away like trash.
Is there a way to make up for that? Kreese has an idea.
We end the episode learning that Cobra Kai has found a replacement captain. Since Miguel was originally Cobra Kai and Johnny Lawrence was the original sensei when it was brought back, the two are allowed to switch teams. Together with Tory, they will go up against Axel and Zara of the Iron Dragons.
Cobra Kai is available to stream on Netflix.