How long can we really go without any heel turns?
Can I start by complaining that we get only the first five installments of Cobra Kai’s 15-episode final season this week? What’s up with that, Netflix? How come, Chief Sarandos? People will have Christmas lights up when the next five drop. I guess we’ll have to savor these as much as possible.
The last finale ended many of the ongoing story lines we’ve been following for years, leaving us with a surprisingly happy ending. So when season six begins, everyone is still in a good place. Daniel LaRusso, Johnny Lawrence, and Chozen Toguchi happily share a dojo; Miguel and Sam apply to colleges while Anthony starts high school; Terry Silver is locked up, and Cobra Kai is no more. Really, the only significant loose end is John Kreese, this franchise’s oldest villain, who escaped prison and clearly intends to restore Cobra Kai to its former glory with Kim Da-Eun’s help. (Been there, done that, but good luck, babe.)
This early on, it’s somewhat hard to tell where most of the conflict will come from. Yes, Kreese is still out there, and, yes, these 15 episodes are clearly building toward the Sekai Taikai world karate tournament, which will require a lot of training. But so much of Cobra Kai has centered on shifting allegiances with most of the young characters spending at least one season indulging their worst instincts at Cobra Kai before learning peace and balance at Miyagi-Do. Seasons four and five did a pretty great job of balancing the scales, especially by introducing new characters like Kenny; now, pretty much all the kids we know are on the same side at Miyagi-Do, and the same is true of the adults.
Still, it’s been gratifying to watch everyone slowly get over their squabbles and become friends, and I wouldn’t want another unnecessary regression with, say, Daniel and Johnny splitting up. If this ends up not being the most dramatic or shocking season of Cobra Kai, I’m content with a victory lap. Besides, this premiere shows there’s still plenty of room for low-stakes character drama.
The main conflict in this episode revolves around naming the combined dojo, which has been using “Miyagi-Fang” as a placeholder. Now that Daniel has resolved to retire from full-time sensei duties after spreading the gospel of Miyagi-Do around the world via the big tournament, he’s thinking about legacy. Johnny, smarting from the demolished Eagle Fang dojo, is equally defensive about keeping his influence alive, especially with his unpleasant memories of Kreese stealing Cobra Kai. And Chozen, still hiding from his problems after Kumiko’s apparent rejection, thinks protecting the name of Miyagi-Do is all he has. He and Johnny decide to battle it out for naming privileges with Daniel struggling to convince either of them to back down.
Here’s where I started to get worried, because Stingray tricks Johnny into a meeting and tries to convince him to take back Cobra Kai. It would’ve been the most boring direction this story could go in for season six, but it feels like something Johnny might do if he were in a bad headspace; after all, Johnny really doesn’t like being called a pussy. That insult, combined with Stingray’s more earnest appeal — telling Johnny how much he helped him learn to like and respect himself — could really get Johnny second-guessing his alliance with Daniel, especially with the carrot of international glory dangling over his head.
But Johnny really is ready to move on from Cobra Kai, and that means he’s even ready to move on from Eagle Fang, a name tied to Kreese because it was always a substitute for Cobra Kai. As it happens, Daniel and Chozen were already planning to surrender to keep the peace, but Johnny insists on keeping Miyagi-Do as the name. In a sweet moment, he tells his two co-teachers that they’ve made him and his students better.
“Peacetime in the Valley” also features a lot of progress for the two pairings with possibly the most unresolved baggage in the show (outside Johnny and Kreese, of course). Sam and Tory were finally able to team up in the last finale, squashing their beef with the power of karate, but now it’s just awkward between them. It’s kind of funny and nice to see Miguel and Robby discussing the tension, comparing the relationship between their respective girlfriends to the relationship between themselves. They certainly took a long time to figure their own shit out; Sam and Tory just need more time and maybe a little push.
A double date to the arcade isn’t exactly the push they need, though; the girls just don’t have all that much in common outside karate. Sam makes a slightly oblivious comment about struggling to pick a college, and Tory notes that her year on probation will probably make it hard to get into any college. Great work to all involved.
However, Robby’s side quest provides an unusual setting for Sam and Tory to finally begin the process of bonding. Robby has felt guilty for a while now about how he left things with Kenny, abandoning him to a brutal education at Cobra Kai. He wants to make amends and maybe help Kenny out by welcoming him to Miyagi-Do. But Kenny’s brother, Shawn, who’s out of juvie now, doesn’t want his brother around the mentor who disappointed him. He tells Robby off at the arcade, then gets physical when Robby confronts him again at the batting cages. Miguel, Sam, and Tory all step in for backup, leading to the main fight of this first episode — a scuffle that ends with the girls assuring Kenny he has a place at Miyagi-Do.
Fighting together helped finally solve Sam and Tory’s issues, and it might be what Kenny needs to pull himself out of his spiral. Shawn and Robby may have been on opposite sides of the fight, but both are just looking out for Kenny, and even Shawn can see Silver’s toxic influence now. He recognizes that Miyagi-Do might have something to offer. There, Kenny can learn balance and think more about the man he wants to grow into.
Maybe “Peacetime in the Valley” rushes a little toward these happy endings, uniting two pairs of people who have felt distant from each other for a long time (since they first met, really, in Sam and Tory’s case). But I always appreciate seeing how much these characters have grown, and that growth is apparent in every story line here. I may be a tad skeptical of Mitch’s claim that there will be “no more heel turns,” but it’s true that everyone is getting along better than ever. Can Cobra Kai really be Cobra Kai without any heel turns? I’d like to see the show try. After all, there’s a tournament to win.
Mr. Miyagi’s Little Trees
• Love the fake-out with the anonymous text from Stingray reading “COBRA KAI NEVER DIES!”
• “When did Johnny Lawrence become such a pussy? Sorry. Swear jar, I know. I owe these kids, like, 40 bucks.”
• No sign of Mike Barnes yet, but I assume he’ll show up before long.
