Cobra Kai: Season 6, Part 1 - Review: Repetitive, but damn-good fun (By Shayen Unadkat )

Despite being over the top and a little corny at times, ‘Cobra Kai’ has always remained a feel-good, fun watch. Its amalgamation of 80s nostalgia with teen-drama tropes in such a fitting fashion for the show’s premise allows those seemingly negative aspects of the series to be justified purely because of how easy this show is to binge and its superb catering for all age demographics. The sixth season, surprisingly, has a whole new set of major pros and cons that will add to your experience of the front part—though, if you see this season as the beginning of something big and not as good in itself (which is what it ultimately is), you’ll have so much fun with the new instalment of this kick-ass series.

Ralph Macchio, William Zabka and Yuji Okomoto in 'Cobra Kai' Season 6: Part 1

We’ve got to a stage now where, if you’ve been following since season 1, you genuinely care about these characters, OG or not. The creators of this show have done a good job of allowing us to continue to do this in this first part of season 6, focusing on smaller stakes such as college and the future, but also letting the youngsters rekindle relationships with each other to focus on the Sekkai Taikai tournament. In this sense, Cobra Kai has matured in a way. Characters are fighting each other on the mat with respect, instead of getting angry at each other over silly things. The writers know, though, that if they continued recycling plot points like this, the show would become very repetitive, and I’m glad they saw this and are finally steering out of that direction. Though, there are some characters who haven’t grown up much, and there is an imbalance in this quality of writing. For these same characters, the arcs being introduced are very repetitive and almost feel like they exist to drag the show on. We’ve seen it all before. The set-ups might be organic, but you’ll question why these characters still haven’t moved on after all this time. Since this is also the final season, it’s easy to know how these arcs might wrap up too.

Despite this, the majority of the show’s characters have seemed to move on from their rivalries, allowing greater stakes to come into play with the All-Valley and the reintroduction of an infamous villain and dojo, whose fights are thankfully saved until the global Sekkai Taikai tournament that is hyped up in full fashion.

Larusso & Lawrence's newly formed 'Miyagi-Fang' preparing for the Sekkai Taikai 

The karate has levelled up too (bar some of the slow-mo editing, which can get annoying), and that is why many watch this show. Sensei Kim’s students showcase flair, and their fights and training in the third episode is a true thrill to watch. Ralph Macchio has a killer directorial debut in episode 3 with insanely well-choreographed fights. The nostalgia doesn’t stop also—with one brawl in particular that will feel like a match made in heaven for long-time fans of both the show and the movies. There are the occasional holes here and there though, and it’s clear some scenes are dramatized and exaggerated just so this season can stretch on (which I don’t mind at all, because even if this makes the show dumb, it’s still damn good fun).

Johnny (William Zabka) continues to remain the MVP, sticking to his character well to provide some laughs, but also cause some of the issues that I have touched upon earlier, which may irritate viewers but shows how much of a good job the writers have done allowing this character to stick to his tropes. Kwon, a new addition played by Brandon H. Lee, is also a stake-raiser in the show, and by tuning in to this first part, you’ll see what I mean.

Brandon H. Lee brings a whole new level of Karate to 'Cobra Kai'

Ultimately, Cobra Kai continues to be a fantastic example of how to successfully revive an old franchise to a modern audience. It might naturally get a little repetitive this season, but the stakes are raised for the final 10 episodes to come. Whilst it might not be the ‘best’ television I’ve seen, as per the previous seasons, it’s still one of the most fun and entertaining experiences I’ve had watching shows in a hot minute.

SCORE: 7.7/10 - RECOMMEND