Cobra Kai keeps its dojo mojo in season 6

The Miyagi-verse has always had an ending problem. Even the original Karate Kid film—which set up the franchise and its main players Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio), Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka), and Mr. Miyagi (the late Pat Morita) forty years ago—couldn’t crane-kick its way to a fully satisfying conclusion, opting for a feel-good victory against a bad-boy adversary instead of a knottier but more realistic defeat of its young hero. (The “legality” of Daniel’s final kick to Johnny’s face at the 1984 All Valley Karate Tournament has been contested by both fans and the actors themselves for decades.)

So Cobra Kai, Netflix’s sequel series that re-examines the Karate Kid narrative from Johnny’s point of view, has extra pressure going into its sixth and final season. (Part one premieres July 18 with five episodes, while parts two and three will drop in October and in 2025, respectively.) The martial arts dramedy has to rewardingly close this chapter of this universe and wrap years-stretching storylines for Johnny, Chozen Toguchi (Yuji Okumoto), John Kreese (Martin Kove), and their high-kicking students, all while throwing in adrenaline-pumping action sequences and nostalgia-inducing movie references throughout. (Side note: It’s not the end of Daniel LaRusso. Macchio is set to reprise his role opposite Jackie Chan’s Mr. Han in 2025’s The Karate Kid revival film, which is reportedly not connected to the Cobra Kai canon.)

The good news, fellow dojo diehards, is that Cobra Kai season six starts that denouement off strong. The show is back with its loveable blend of cheeky self-awareness, teen-drama soapiness, and genuinely impressive athletic displays. Despite the stylish slow-mos and energetic quick-cuts during fight scenes, it’s still very evident who has IRL karate experience, especially among the show’s younger actors. After the hurricane that was Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith) last season, the storm has seemingly settled in the Valley: The karate wars are officially over, and both the students and senseis of Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang are now coexisting peacefully as one dojo—well, sort of.

There’s still residual weirdness between Sam LaRusso (Mary Mouser) and Tory Nichols (Peyton List), which Miguel Diaz (Xolo Maridueña) and Robby Keene (Tanner Buchanan) have been unsuccessfully trying to alleviate with awkward double dates. (It doesn’t help that Johnny wants to amp up the animosity between the ladies to give their fighting a fiery boost, even resorting to hosting a hilarious—if optically creepy— sleepover for the gals.) It simply wouldn’t be Cobra Kai without healthy rivalry between Daniel and Johnny who, though they’re learning to balance competition with compromise, are still butting heads over their respective teaching styles. (Johnny’s methods curiously involve lighter fluid and frying pans, so we have to side with Daniel on this one.)

That “kumbaya” harmony is definitely in need ahead of the Sekai Taikai, a global tournament that will send six of the dojo athletes to Barcelona to compete against the world’s best fighters. For Daniel, the championships will be his “karate swan song,” he assures his wife Amanda (Courtney Henggeler), and also a means of sharing Mr. Miyagi’s wisdom with the world. But both the unity of the Miyagi-Fang crew and the memory of Mr. Miyagi himself—following a grieving discovery Daniel makes about his old sensei—become cloudy in the first five episodes, darkened by worries of the future (for the kids, the looming stress of college decisions; for the adults, the weighty concern of providing for one’s family) and ghosts from the past. (As is Cobra Kai tradition, several familiar faces from The Karate Kid franchise appear this season.)

On the surface, Cobra Kai is powered by nostalgia, all returning villains and fan-service throwbacks. But Daniel’s struggles to reconcile with the Miyagi-san he knew back when and the Miyagi-san he “meets” in season six shows the danger of living too much in the past. The Sekai Taikai may resurrect old rivalries among the Miyagi-Fang fighters both old and young—and given that big cliffhanger in episode five, that will definitely be the case in part two—but the Netflix series has thus far been smart in both honoring what’s passed while making space for what’s to come.

Against Macchio’s warm earnestness, Zabka’s wry humor, and their natural, decades-spanning chemistry, the teen portion of the program has always been a melodramatic weak link. And sure, there are still frat parties and feces-related incidents (don’t ask) for the students to absurdly contend with this season, but as the younger contingent inches closer to adulthood onscreen, their actors are allowed to dig into deeper stuff, especially List, who acutely portrays the rage and sorrow of Tory’s loss.

Here’s hoping that, going into the final episodes of the series, Cobra Kai will continue that balancing act: letting old franchise favorites like Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence take a well-deserved bow while leaving room on the mat for the next generation to shine.

Cobra Kai season six, part one premieres July 18 on Netflix