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S06.E15: Ex-Degenerate

paulvdb

By paulvdb
in Cobra Kai

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dwmarch

dwmarch

I was surprised we didn't get any followup on Kreese and Silver getting blown up.

Nice to see Devon again, if only for a second. I think the story in part 3 benefits from narrowing the focus down to the core characters but Devon is still a favorite of mine.

Loved the moment with Daniel and the whole Miyagi-do crew coming out in Cobra Kai uniforms.

Having said that, these tournament rules seem pretty flexible with the dojo soap opera which has contestants changing teams and dojos changing owners between almost every match. Apparently Miyagi-verse karate inherited some of its rules from WWE.

The one thing that took me out of the episode more than anything else was Miguel deciding he wanted to go with Sam and somehow managing to get a ticket on the same flight. Maybe I'm just unlucky but I have ended up on a different flight several times when I was the only one on the ticket! Alas, karate privileges probably suffice to hold a plane and we already know karate privileges suffice to have someone forcibly ejected from a flight!

  • Like 1
Raja

Raja

(edited)
On 2/14/2025 at 9:37 PM, dwmarch said:

I was surprised we didn't get any followup on Kreese and Silver getting blown up.

Nice to see Devon again, if only for a second. I think the story in part 3 benefits from narrowing the focus down to the core characters but Devon is still a favorite of mine.

Loved the moment with Daniel and the whole Miyagi-do crew coming out in Cobra Kai uniforms.

Having said that, these tournament rules seem pretty flexible with the dojo soap opera which has contestants changing teams and dojos changing owners between almost every match. Apparently Miyagi-verse karate inherited some of its rules from WWE.

The one thing that took me out of the episode more than anything else was Miguel deciding he wanted to go with Sam and somehow managing to get a ticket on the same flight. Maybe I'm just unlucky but I have ended up on a different flight several times when I was the only one on the ticket! Alas, karate privileges probably suffice to hold a plane and we already know karate privileges suffice to have someone forcibly ejected from a flight!

After the Binaries decided to stay together at Caltech, in the 11th or 12th episode I had enough of them (does Dimitri have some dirt on the show runners?) and wanted more Devon and Kenny as we looked towards the future of Cobra Kai.

Long before the Sekai Taikai we had the WWE inspired Fatal 3-way with a double retirement stipulation match between Cobra Kai, Eagle Fang and Miyagi-Do. At least they set up a dojo championship format from the start. Even if they dropped the skills competition from the last All-Valley for the simulated brawls, before a real one broke out, on platforms in the part 2 matches.

In my 16 cross Pacific flights, none during COVID, on one flight a last minute aircraft replacement saw the airline go through the steps of who was staying behind on a now over booked plane. But three time have gotten an upgrade offer to buy the entire row. And once before the buy the upgrade became a thing got a row for the two of us by chance. How does Danial-san remember Jersey and his Valley upbringing, would Sam go coach or does LaRusso Auto buy her 1st/Business class?

Edited by Raja
baldryanr

baldryanr

7 hours ago, dwmarch said:

Alas, karate privileges probably suffice to hold a plane and we already know karate privileges suffice to have someone forcibly ejected from a flight!

In the Cobra Kai universe being karate champion probably entitles you to a complimentary upgrade to first class in addition to the usual consequence-free ass kicking privileges if there's someone being a pain on the flight.

  • LOL 1
Chaos Theory

Chaos Theory

(edited)

And everyone lives happily ever after......

I continue to appreciate the fact that Tory gets her happy  ending because she really was my favorite character.   I know that Miguel has always been billed as the new gen "karate Kid" but for me Tory's story has always been far more entertaining.  

I also like that Johhny's storyline comes full circle and he is able to finally get the win he was denied in the movies showcasing that this is ultimately his story.   

I am likely in the minority and never liked Sam so having one of the big central conflicts between Robby and Miguel be about Sam never rang true for me.   And having Miguel push off his own future just to spend time with Sam is just weird.  

Yeah the contest stipulations were flexible as hell but I hand wave that as something devised to make everything more interesting.  Doing the same thing over and over would be boring after awhile but having every contest be just a little different made things entertaining.  

 

My favorite non romantic pairing was the Binary Bros so I am glad they stayed together and both went to Caltech.  

Johnny finally got the future he always wanted.  A family that loves him and a dojo that runs the way HE want it to run.  He will always teach offense but he understands that maybe Daniel's defense strategy has its place.

And they all lived happily ever after. 

 

 

Edited by Chaos Theory
  • Like 7
twoods

twoods

What a fitting ending to this series. It was always about Johnny’s redemption path and Cobra Kai, and glad that the writers didn’t forget about that. Everyone got the ending they deserved.
 

I also wondered why nobody mentioned the boat explosion, but I guess they thought of the villains as an afterthought that nobody seemed to care about in the end. 

  • Like 1
Raja

Raja

24 minutes ago, twoods said:

What a fitting ending to this series. It was always about Johnny’s redemption path and Cobra Kai, and glad that the writers didn’t forget about that. Everyone got the ending they deserved.
 

I also wondered why nobody mentioned the boat explosion, but I guess they thought of the villains as an afterthought that nobody seemed to care about in the end. 

It took until the last 5 episodes to this getting back to Johnny's story. Forgiving Kreese was the cap.

Silver was a Karate Kid antagonist. Johnny never heard of him when the All Valley's recertification of Cobra Kai. 

  • Like 1
Raja

Raja

7 minutes ago, Quilt Fairy said:

I really, really, REALLY thought that Johnnie was going to finish off Wolf with a Crane kick. 

With Wolf's preparations for the final rush, I was reminded of how Daniel took down Mike Barnes with the kata. I think he was trying to get Johnny to jump like a football quarterback trying to draw the defense offside.

After Chozen and Daniel told us that Johnny was afraid, and Miyagi's must not give into fear I was expecting them to go harder with "fear is not known in this dojo"

Raja

Raja

(edited)
13 hours ago, marinw said:

We never saw Hilary Swank! 
 

I bet they held out a lot of the Miyagi back story some of which was given to Daniel's mom but Hilary Swank was around 50 years old and pregnant in real life. It doesn't seem she holds love for one of her first roles like Ralph Macchio would hold the series for making him a legend. That they left explanations out like the name, unless I missed it. It might be conflicted by Mr. Han if Cobra Kai got a warned off the dialog.

13 hours ago, marinw said:

What happened to the small guy with the glasses? 

Nate and Bert the two peewees from Miyagi-do and Cobra Kai that squared off against each other in the many brawls while the bigger kids took on their level and the stars? I guess they last showed up to comment on the lethal brawl in episode 10.  When all of the black gi'd kids backed up Johnny for the final match there seemed to be unrecognized faces. Maybe production assistants making a cameo and all the speaking kids from the series not getting much besides Penis Breathe during the moment of silence for Kwon.

Edited by Raja
  • Like 1
Kel Varnsen

Kel Varnsen

Winning with a "sweep the leg" was pretty cool. Although I totally thought at one point that Johnny was going to headbutt Wolf.

Only thing I thought was missing was Robby working next to his dad at Cobra Kai. I mean I doubt that karate equipment spokesmodel is a full time job.

Also was there some sort of significance to showing the exact date that drunk Johnny went to see his mom's grave at the beginning. That was a good scene though and I like how the talk about second chances kind of worked with William Zabka's career. 

I liked Dimitri and Hawk patching things up. Plus it's undergrad. I doubt that MIT is teaching things that you can't learn anywhere else. 

Raja

Raja

(edited)
On 2/15/2025 at 8:56 PM, Kel Varnsen said:

Only thing I thought was missing was Robby working next to his dad at Cobra Kai. I mean I doubt that karate equipment spokesmodel is a full time job.

Also was there some sort of significance to showing the exact date that drunk Johnny went to see his mom's grave at the beginning. That was a good scene though and I like how the talk about second chances kind of worked with William Zabka's career. 

I liked Dimitri and Hawk patching things up. Plus it's undergrad. I doubt that MIT is teaching things that you can't learn anywhere else. 

Tory and Robby are not just spokesmodels, the representative said they are expected to fight. Robby being a prize fighter was set up with the guidance counselor telling him that like football players he wasn't going to make it to the pros. So they are like Olympic champions going into prize fighting.  Maybe in a karate promotion with a rule set closer to kickboxing than full on UFC MMA to start. While the pay might not start as  LaRusso Valley comfortable and if they never even get there if they don't make it to the top of the biggest promotions like UFC they should be able to match a Johnny being mostly able to take care of himself with his fighting days championships being a boost to his career as a sensei and trainer.

I would have preferred the bros to patch things up and then keeping their individual dreams in a LDR. It is not like they would be missing the opportunity for benefits like Sam and Miguel when they finally drop their high school fling after an Okinawan honeymoon.. But now Dimitri has Yasmine to take care of that drive to go with his dream of hanging with Eli for a few more years.

Edited by Raja
wrong girlfriend
Kel Varnsen

Kel Varnsen

1 hour ago, Raja said:

Tory and Robby are not just spokesmodels, the representative said they are expected to fight. Robby being a prize fighter was set up with the guidance counselor telling him that like football players he wasn't going to make it to the pros.

But even if he is a pro fighter it's not like a pro basketball player or something where you are doing 80+ fights a year. Not to mention you he would have to train somewhere. Mostly I would have liked a scene where Robby is also working alongside his dad in some capacity. Or even maybe a sign or a poster or something at Cobra Kai that it is the home dojo of pro fighters Robby and Tory 

marinw

marinw

(edited)
2 hours ago, Raja said:

Maybe in a karate promotion with a rule set closer to kickboxing than full on UFC MMA to start.

Yes, the Karate Industrial Complex is not that powerful, LOL. In fact Karate is a little niche, at least in North America. It was only in one recent Summer Olympics (Tokyo). Tory and Robby must be fighting and promoting some sort of Kickboxing or Mixed Martial Arts. Then again, this show takes place in a parallel universe, as all shows do.

I love the the Eli-Dimitri Bromance. Hope those two find a university dojo where they can continue to train, even in a slightly different style of Karate or something else. 

Edited by marinw
  • Like 1
Raja

Raja

15 minutes ago, marinw said:

Yes, the Karate Industrial Complex is not that powerful, LOL. In fact Karate is a little niche, at least in North America. It was only in one recent Summer Olympics (Tokyo). Tory and Robby must be fighting and promoting some sort og Kickboxing or Mixed Martial Arts. Then again, this show takes place in a parallel universe, as all shows do.

I got it they are Cobra Kai, thus the same base style as Chuck Norris. I know he had occasionally sponsored promotions with the rules set up to discourage the wrestlers and Jiu Jitsu folks before younger MMA fighters adapted to make the grapplers, like Kyler started out before he went to Silver/Kreese Cobra Kai, less dominate. Along with Muy Thai and "kickboxing, the sport of the future" and other than UFC MMA promotions they like the Karate Combat League provide filler content for sports TV networks.

I'm not saying Robby and Tory could be set for life like a 19 year old NBA lottery pick but that I think they can live and train as professional athletes until they age out or are beaten out of the ring by the next kid with the eye of the tiger.

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marinw

marinw

16 minutes ago, Raja said:

think they can live and train as professional athletes until they age out or are beaten out of the ring by the next kid with the eye of the tiger.

Please, please, PLEASE get them a good financial advisor! I would like to see a sequel/flash forward where the now adult kids are still training while pursuing other careers and/or opening their own dojos.

Kel Varnsen

Kel Varnsen

5 hours ago, marinw said:

Please, please, PLEASE get them a good financial advisor! I would like to see a sequel/flash forward where the now adult kids are still training while pursuing other careers and/or opening their own dojos.

Some more follow up to Tory and Robby's story would have been interesting. Since it could have been really messy. I mean their pro deals seem to have been based on the "I love you" moment and them being the karate couple. Which would be a ton of pressure, especially for two people that started dating when they were maybe 16. Especially when you throw in that they are travelling the world and have a bunch of their own money. Especially since the whole endorsement package might not be as good if they were to break up. And in Robby's case if they did break up, the endorsement companies might be more likely to stick with the pretty blonde girl with the nickname and the championship over him.

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bettername2come

bettername2come

Aw, Johnny got a "You're the Best Around" montage. After discussing how Rocky III and IV  are Johnny's favorite, when it was originally written for Rocky III. Which makes it even better. And he tackled Daniel into the ocean, which was just adorable.

Good to see Grandma LaRusso one last time. Oh my God, I did not see the robbery being him stealing back a family heirloom from a Manzanar guard. 

Aw, Blue Mat Guy gets to MC again, good for him. Aw, all the Cobra Kais are back supporting Johnny. Even Anthony and Sam are wearing Cobra Kai. I even see some who defected to Silver/Kreese Cobra Kai. Though I wish Nate and Bert were there too. And Amanda likes Daniel in the black gi. Pawn Shop Guy and Convenience Store Guy watching the tournament at the bar was a nice touch. And they even end up supporting Johnny and hugging over his victory! Aw, triple hug with Chozen, Johnny and Daniel. I knew the "You're all right, Lawrence" moment was coming but it was still a nice moment. 

I like that Miguel kind of pulled a Daniel at the end. "College can wait, I'm coming to Okinawa with you!"

I like that they're running separate but coordinating dojos. And he's letting Stingray work there? That would've been the perfect moment to have Bert co-teaching with him.

And I assume those are some of the real producers discussing a Back to the Future series at the end?

 

  • Like 1
Raja

Raja

4 hours ago, marinw said:

The whole thing was framed as happy ending, but seems rather sketchy upon closer examination.

I will just like to think their post amateur world champion careers turn out to be more like Muhammad Ali than the thousands of other hopefuls.

2 hours ago, bettername2come said:

And I assume those are some of the real producers discussing a Back to the Future series at the end?

They had talked about during the years of Cobra Kai production and promotions.

  • Like 1
kickedinthehead

kickedinthehead

(edited)

While I thought Zabka did a great job in the flashback at the beginning of the episode, I noticed that scene contains a pretty significant goof.
 

Back in 2x3, Johnny specifically tells Miguel when they're talking in the diner that Robby was born on February 4th, 2002 -- and that his mom had just died. Johnny also implies his grief over her death is a major reason he didn't visit Robby in the hospital at the time of Robby's birth.

Yet here's the date on her gravestone in the finale. Oops.
(Aside from this flub, I enjoyed the finale!)
 

Screenshot_16-2-2025_23918_www.facebook.com.jpeg

Edited by kickedinthehead
Chaos Theory

Chaos Theory

On 2/16/2025 at 8:23 AM, Kel Varnsen said:

But even if he is a pro fighter it's not like a pro basketball player or something where you are doing 80+ fights a year. Not to mention you he would have to train somewhere. Mostly I would have liked a scene where Robby is also working alongside his dad in some capacity. Or even maybe a sign or a poster or something at Cobra Kai that it is the home dojo of pro fighters Robby and Tory 

When the promoter handed them their contracts they said something along the lines of it being a "career" and "life changing".     In other words its not going to be part time gig work.    Maybe entry level but something if they are careful they expand into a career.   Once they age up a little use the money to get better educations or become the person who hands out the contracts.   

Raja

Raja

9 minutes ago, Chaos Theory said:

When the promoter handed them their contracts they said something along the lines of it being a "career" and "life changing".     In other words its not going to be part time gig work.    Maybe entry level but something if they are careful they expand into a career.   Once they age up a little use the money to get better educations or become the person who hands out the contracts.   

I just take it back to amateur boxing. You come out with the gold medal and the big contract but then you have to keep winning to be Sugar Ray Leonard remembered beyond the initial Olympic glory.

We have the template with Rayna Vallandingham an "influencer" taekwondo champion who didn't even speak on her demonstration videos getting cast as   Zara Malik. She might never win another championship or get cast in another show, but the opportunity is there. She could go on to greatness, just do direct to streaming movies like a 21st century Cynthia Rothrock, or just be remembered by whatever name the Miyagi-verse fans are known by.

  • Like 1
Kel Varnsen

Kel Varnsen

(edited)
5 hours ago, Chaos Theory said:

When the promoter handed them their contracts they said something along the lines of it being a "career" and "life changing".     In other words its not going to be part time gig work.    Maybe entry level but something if they are careful they expand into a career.   Once they age up a little use the money to get better educations or become the person who hands out the contracts.   

But if he is doing bare knuckle, no padding fighting competitions would it even be possible to do matches say every weekend? Even in the course of the show, over all 6 seasons there were only 3 tournaments (4 official competitions if you count the S-T tryouts). Plus Robby has to train somewhere so why not at his dad's dojo?

Edited by Kel Varnsen
Raja

Raja

(edited)
3 hours ago, Kel Varnsen said:

But if he is doing bare knuckle, no padding fighting competitions would it even be possible to do matches say every weekend? Even in the course of the show, over all 6 seasons there were only 3 tournaments (4 official competitions if you count the S-T tryouts). Plus Robby has to train somewhere so why not at his dad's dojo?

Most pro combat sports fighters have under 10 fights a year. The higher you go in the ranks the less often you actually fight. On the other hand, the crazy Muy Thai who seem to fight every week to month as children on up to retirement, and champions have an even greater schedule as they must defend their belts sometimes daily.  Maybe the club boxers like Rocky before Appollo Creed called him up to substitute for the ranked challenger fought at most every other week. The state athletic commissions will stop more legal fights where the Thai's do not

The appearance fees and prizes from those fights every few months would be how Tory and Robby support themselves so they can train. Tory and Robby would probably start off with perhaps a larger appearance fee than other karate fighters without a world title and they are getting spokesmodel pay in addition to any prizes gained from winning. Rocky being on the lowest level of boxing before Rocky II resorted to being a collector for a loan shark before his second big break on the rematch.

Edited by Raja
  • Useful 1
Chicago Redshirt

Chicago Redshirt

Pleased overall with the series finale/second half of the final season but a few things that i would have liked:

1. We got a name drop of Aisha but I would have enjoyed a shot with her, or a text message/one-sided phone conversation or something like that if they couldn't/wouldn't get the actress back. Aisha and Sam were super-close at one point and I want to know what happened to her.

2. I would have wanted more of a tie-up with Kenny and Devon too. Like at least they were present, but did they actually have lines?

3. It was weird not having Anthony present until the airport scene.

4. In addition to wanting Johnny to win via crane kick (yes, cheesy as hell, but I would have loved it), I wanted Daniel (or Amanda or someone) to yell, "Give him a body bag!" That's one of the things that has stuck with me over the decades about the OG movie, and they played a clip from it here, but it begged IMO for a callback.

5. The other callback I wanted: "Best karate inside, Johnny-san. Now time to let it out."

  • Like 1
Raja

Raja

16 hours ago, Chicago Redshirt said:

1. We got a name drop of Aisha but I would have enjoyed a shot with her, or a text message/one-sided phone conversation or something like that if they couldn't/wouldn't get the actress back. Aisha and Sam were super-close at one point and I want to know what happened to her.

I think the name drop was that she was heading to UC Santa Cruz. Given the story that her parents more than tapped out after the high school brawl makes them about the only real people reactions the show had. 

16 hours ago, Chicago Redshirt said:

2. I would have wanted more of a tie-up with Kenny and Devon too. Like at least they were present, but did they actually have lines?

3. It was weird not having Anthony present until the airport scene.

The Valley's karate next generation were just background faces until saying goodbye to Sam.  Any time they could have gotten went to the Binary Bros. It's part of the reason besides my personal dislike of Dimitri, that I wish after the MIT line was done some of their role should have gone to others.

On a second look during a reaction video I noticed Hawk did pack his Cobra Kai gear for his 30 minute drive to Caltech.

16 hours ago, Chicago Redshirt said:

5. The other callback I wanted: "Best karate inside, Johnny-san. Now time to let it out."

I think we got it, only Sensei Johnny gave it to Miguel in the previous episode.

Virtual

Virtual

I'm thinking about taking that flashback scene at the beginning and somehow editing it to put the correct date of Laura's death on her tombstone (I think one of the fan pages said it was January 31, 2002 which lines up with Johnny's conversation with Miguel in 2x03). That really bothered me more than it should, to be honest.

Daniel and Johnny have officially come full circle with the "You're alright, Lawrence." Their alliance while still being separate dojos works out best for both of them, since they have so many disagreements when they try to teach in one dojo together.

I was glad to see things work out for Tory and Robby as well, getting that HUGE opportunity to showcase their skills to the world and get paid awesome money to do so.

  • Like 2
Quilt Fairy

Quilt Fairy

4 hours ago, Virtual said:

was glad to see things work out for Tory and Robby as well, getting that HUGE opportunity to showcase their skills to the world and get paid awesome money to do so.

Yes, this.  I have no knowledge of what the reality would be for them in the martial arts world, but come on, just let them have their HEA without over-analyzing it.   Because while I think Robby probably could have made it into college, Tory was looking at a long career as a Walmart cashier.  Anything better than that, no matter for how long, is gravy. 

  • Like 2
Raja

Raja

2 minutes ago, Quilt Fairy said:

Yes, this.  I have no knowledge of what the reality would be for them in the martial arts world, but come on, just let them have their HEA without over-analyzing it.

I always go back to Ali with an I in 1984. Karate in the Valley is like high school football in Texas. If you go with that as a fact of the Miyagi-verse the best football players in Texas are going to have college (since they are still growing) and many will have pro careers. Even if the odds are against any individual a world champion and a final four participate injured in his final match have as good if not a better shot as Olympian Rhonda Rousey or child prodigy Rayna did 

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