It’s been a while since we’ve hit the mat, dojo diehards! After dropping its first five episodes on Netflix back in July, Cobra Kai season 6 is back with part two, with the next five installments now steaming. So let's start with Cobra Kai season 6 episode 6.
Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio), Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) and the rest of the Miyagi-Do team head to the big Sekai Taikai karate tournament in Barcelona, where they're dealing with both competitive intimidation and interpersonal drama, especially after the part one finale saw Tory Nichols (Peyton List) defect from the dojo and join baddie John Kreese (Martin Kove) on Team Cobra Kai. That shocking move would have reverberating effects on both dojos, as shown in episode 6.
Here’s everything that went down in the Cobra Kai part 2 premiere.
Old sensei habits die hard
We might be in a new country — heck, a new continent — but the same old bickering is happening between rivals-turned-partners Daniel and Johnny. Johnny blames Daniel for Tory leaving Miyagi-Do and teaming up with Kreese; Daniel is worried about Johnny’s headspace and his ruthlessness to win. "If you pull your typical crap here, we're going to get kicked out,” LaRusso warns him. But Johnny is quick with a reminder: “We're here next to each other, not together.”
The difference in their tournament approaches can be seen at a mixer with sponsors. While Johnny is busy stoking old tensions with Kreese over nunchaku and sparking new ones with a fellow sensei (Lewis Tan) over the last pieces of Spanish steak, Daniel is trying to be proactive, telling sponsors about how he wants to spread Mr. Miyagi’s teachings to the world. After showing some merchandise reps the old Sekai Taikai headband he found amongst Miyagi’s possessions, one rep confirms that the piece dates back to the 1940s. Another suggests that Daniel seek out a Master Serrano, a legendary Sekai Taikai champion who lives in Barcelona and might have answers for him about Mr. Miyagi.
Their time at the mixer is unexpectedly cut short due to the loud and drunken arrival of Chozen Toguchi (Yuji Okumoto), who is grieving his break-up from Kumiko. He had jetted off to Okinawa to reunite with her, flowers in hand, only to be greeted by a shirtless hunk dubbed "Towel Man." All off the boozed-up commotion results in Chozen, Daniel and Johnny being asked to leave the mixer early. Not a smooth start for our sensei!
New kids on the block
Things aren't entirely peachy for the students either. The Miyagi-Do kids are still reeling from the revelation of Tory joining Cobra Kai — especially Robby Keene (Tanner Buchanan), who is having a hard time juggling being there for his girlfriend and being the dojo's male captain — and also having to deal with the fact they're not exactly the cream of the crop when it comes to the Sekai Taikai.
Along with Kwon Jae-Sung (Brandon H. Lee) and the rest of the Cobra Kai crew, they have major competition in the form of the Iron Dragons, who prove to be early dominators on the mat. The rivalries extend beyond the official tournament: in one scene, Kwon and Robby have a literal kick-off to prove who has the most skills, with Kwon winning not only bragging rights but also Robby's hotel room.
Robby gets another kick in the gut (albeit of the metaphorical sort) during a tense conversation with Tory: "I think we should just focus on karate while we're here... what's best for us is what's best for our teams, and vice versa. I need to own my decision to be here," she tells him. It's not a break-up, just a pause, Tory assures him — consider it the karate version of the Ross and Rachel's "We were on a break!" But Robby is still upset, saying she doesn't trust him, the team or the sensei; she only trusts herself.
The tournament toughens up
The next day, the mats get laid out and the competition officially starts. The first event is a four-way fight between the teams Falchi Della Noche, Iron Dragons, Cobra Kai and Miyagi-Do. The rule: If the captain hits the mat, the whole team gets knocked out of the round.
It seems like Tory was right when she said that Robby should be focusing on the fight and not their relationship: he gets distracted looking at her during the match and gets easily flipped onto his back by Kwon.
But things aren't easygoing for the Cobra Kai crew either, as Tory and Kwon get fully laid out by the formidable Iron Dragons. "Welcome to Barcelona, bitch!" announces Zara Malik (Rayna Vallandingham), the Iron Dragons' lead female fighter. It looks like all of our main players will really have to go big in the next episodes, or else they're going home.
All episodes Cobra Kai season 6 part 2 are now available to stream on Netflix.
