Diksha Sundriyal
The final season of Netflix’s ‘Cobra Kai’ focuses on the Sekai Taikai tournament, winning which would make a person and their dojo the world champions in karate. For dojos and players all around the world, this is the one and only chance to prove themselves and get their names written in the history books of the sport, which is why the stakes are higher than ever. With Kreese taking over Cobra Kai and Terry Silver emerging with his Iron Dragons, Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence join forces to present their challengers under the banner of Miyagi-do. However, several twists and turns take place before the finale, leading to an entirely unexpected set of winners. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Cobra Kai Dojo Comes Front and Center in the Finals of Sekai Taikai
At the beginning of ‘Cobra Kai,’ Johnny Lawrence restarts the eponymous dojo, hoping that it would be the fresh start he desperately needs. However, over time, he loses control of the dojo to John Kreese, who then loses it to Terry Silver. At the beginning of the sixth season, Cobra Kai is under the command of John Kreese, who is fresh out of prison (having fled it previously) and is backed by the Kim family and their dojo from South Korea. By this time, Johnny has made peace with Miyagi-do and he even agrees that this is the name that they should fight under. Still, his heart and philosophy remain with the one dojo he trained under.
While Miyagi-do and Daniel LaRusso are the good guys of the show, it is still the story of Cobra Kai and Johnny Lawrence. Despite their shady past, they are the protagonists of the story, which is why, in the end, Johnny finds himself back in the black gi. This doesn’t mean he has abandoned Miyagi-do or changed sides. In fact, this development is a direct result of Kreese experiencing a change of heart where he finally sees himself as the bad guy and decides to right his wrongs.
When Cobra Kai dojo is asked to re-enter the Sekai Taikai, Kreese agrees to it because he knows that this is the only chance Tory will have to win the tournament and change her life. However, he refuses to hand over the reins to Master Kim, who meets an unexpected but completely deserving end of his own. Instead, Kreese gives the dojo back to Johnny Lawrence, giving him the opportunity to make a name for himself by winning the Sekai Taikai. After all, no matter how much he respects and accepts Miyagi-do now, he will always remain a Cobra Kai at heart.
Cobra Kai’s Wild Card Entry Changes the Game in Sekai Taikai Finale
The rules of Sekai Taikai dictate that the winning dojo will be decided by the points they accumulate over the course of the tournament. Miyagi-do, despite being an underdog, succeeds in accumulating enough points to get themselves into the semifinals with Cobra Kai and the Iron Dragons. With Kwon dead and Kim Da-eun stepping back from the tournament, there is no male fighter for the team. This leaves the fight between Robby of Miyagi-do and Axel of Iron Dragons. In the semifinals, Axel breaks Robby’s leg, though he feels pretty bad about it, and wins the game. With no Cobra Kai contestant against him, he would become the default winner, but that’s where the twist arrives.
When Robby loses to Axel, Miguel is angered by the cheating of the opposing team, but he cannot do anything about it. That is unless he fights for another team. When Johnny goes back to Cobra Kai, he also takes Miguel with him. This way, Miguel replaces Kwon, who had already qualified for the semi-finals and was bound to fight in the finale. It is a shocking and, frankly, unfair twist for the Iron Dragons, but it is allowed because both Johnny and Miguel were ex-Cobra Kai, so due to some weird rule, they are allowed to change sides in a critical moment. With Miguel and Tory fighting for Cobra Kai, the chance to defeat the Iron Dragons, and hence, Terry Silver, increases exponentially. As expected, Tory defeats Zara, literally breaking her teeth in the process, while Miguel defeats Axel against all odds.
Johnny Lawrence Finally Gets The Chance to Redeem Himself in Cobra Kai Finale
In the end, the points reveal that Cobra Kai and Iron Dragons are tied up, which leaves only one way to resolve the conflict and reveal a winner. The senseis of the opposing teams have to fight each other and the winner would take home the trophy, establishing them as the world champions. This is a tricky one because it would pit an older Johnny Lawrence against the younger and stronger Wolf. Like Silver, Wolf doesn’t care for the rules and is prone to cheating. He is also a much better fighter, which is a cause for concern for Johnny, who thinks he might lose the fight. To deepen his fears, Wolf visits him in the locker room before the fight and gives him a glimpse of what’s about to happen to him.
This fear cripples Johnny, and for a moment, it looks like he will lose after all. But then, Daniel reminds him what he is fighting for and how he cannot give up so easily. The sight of his loved ones rooting for him leads Johnny to give it all to the fight. As Daniel previously told him, he couldn’t win it with brute force, so he has to have the patience and balance it requires to upend his opponent. In the end, he takes Daniel’s advice and lets Wolf come to him, which is when he leaps at the opportunity and lands the crushing blow on Wolf, who is caught completely off guard. His overconfidence costs him, and he is knocked out by Johnny, who is declared the winner.
This win means the world to Johnny because it removes the stain of being a loser from him, something he had carried since he lost the All-Valley Championship to Daniel about four decades ago. It is the redemption that he had been moving towards since the beginning of the show and with his own win, he finally has the confidence to completely believe in himself. From here, things only go forward and upwards for him. Above all, the win builds a worldwide reputation for Cobra Kai, which is what Johnny had dreamed of when he started the dojo again. All in all, Cobra Kai’s win in the Sekai Taikai is exactly the ending that Johnny Lawrence has earned and rightfully deserves.
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