7 Questions Cobra Kai Needs To Answer Before It Ends

Warning: Spoilers for Cobra Kai season 6 part 1

When it comes to characters like Kreese, Kim Sun-Yung, and Mr. Miyagi, Cobra Kai still has a lot of questions to answer before it can end. In the first five episodes of Cobra Kai season 6, The Karate Kid sequel shed a great deal of insight into a number of important subjects, such as the rules of the Sekai Taikai, the fate of John Kreese and Terry Silver’s martial arts mentor, and more. But in the process, the show raised several new mysteries as well.

Surprisingly, Cobra Kai has already approached the start of the highly anticipated Sekai Taikai tournament, but with two more batches of five episodes left in the pipeline, it’s apparent that the show still has plenty of stories left to tell. Obviously, the three competitions promised for the upcoming tournament will make up an important part of the action going forward, but there’s other conflicts and loose ends that also need to be dealt with, not the least of which being the ones related to Mr. Miyagi.

There’s also the matter of the show’s many villains. What happens in the Sekai Taikai may resolve some of these lingering plotlines, but there’s such rich history with these Cobra Kai characters that deeper exploration is sure to be ahead for them as the series races toward the finish line. All things considered, Cobra Kai has more than enough ground to cover as it wraps up the stories of Johnny Lawrence, Daniel LaRusso, Miguel Diaz, and all the others.

7 Why Did Mr. Miyagi Compete In The Sekai Taikai?

The Bloodshed In The Sekai Taikai May Be Why Mr. Miyagi Disliked Tournaments

Easily one of the biggest surprises of the season was the reveal that Mr. Miyagi was a participant in the Sekai Taikai. Recognizing that the pattern on the team captain headbands for Sam and Robby is the same as the one found in Mr. Miyagi’s possessions, Daniel came to the realization that Mr. Miyagi’s mysterious backstory and the tournament are somehow connected. Part of what makes this so confusing is the fact that Mr. Miyagi had an unmistakable dislike for tournaments in The Karate Kid movies.

As Mr. Miyagi never possessed a competitive mindset, he didn’t feel that taking part in tournaments was necessary. But if season 6’s headband tease means what it implies, Mr. Miyagi either didn’t share this opinion in his youth or felt compelled to compete for a different reason. With that in mind, what motivated him to compete is guaranteed to be on Daniel’s mind in season 6, not to mention what transpired in the tournament and why Mr. Miyagi chose to keep it hidden.

6 Why Did Mr. Miyagi Commit Assault In 1947?

Mr. Miyagi Must Have Had A Good Reason For Attacking Jim Watkins (If He Did It At All)

Not only does Daniel need to investigate Mr. Miyagi’s role in the Sekai Taikai, he also has to get to the bottom of the assault and robbery case from the 1940s. Using a slightly different name (a clever detail explained by The Next Karate Kid), Mr. Miyagi supposedly attacked a man named Jim Watkins and stole an expensive necklace in 1947. Brutality and theft goes against the grain of Mr. Miyagi’s character, hence why there’s undoubtedly more to the story here.

One takeaway from all this is that Mr. Miyagi started out on the wrong path before developing the image he became known for in The Karate Kid. An alternative interpretation is that Jim Watkins was the one who really started that fight, and the necklace had belonged to Mr. Miyagi’s deceased wife. Or, it may be that he was simply framed.

5 What Was Sato’s Problem With Kim Sun-Yung?

Chozen’s Family Has A Mysterious Connection To Season 6’s Villain

Another Karate Kid legacy character with an ambiguous link to Cobra Kai’s story is Sato, Chozen’s uncle and sensei in Okinawa. In season 5, Chozen told Daniel that Sato held anger toward Kim Sun-Yung. As for why that would be, Chozen wasn’t aware of the answer. But chances are, it’ll be relevant to Chozen’s inevitable return to Cobra Kai and Kim Sun-Yung’s season 6 role. The lack of details about their relationship, but the confirmation that one did indeed exist, is indicative of that.

Sato and Master Kim being martial arts rivals could be integral to the fights to come, especially since family honor is so important to Chozen. If Chozen finds out that Kim wronged Sato in some way, he could become even more determined to ensure Johnny and Daniel’s students hand Cobra Kai a defeat at the Sekai Taikai.

4 What Really Turned Kreese Into A Villain?

There’s A Huge Gap In Kreese’s Origin Story

Kim Sun-Yung could be the key to multiple mysteries, including Kreese’s origin story. His flashback storyline in season 3 carried the impression that his time in the Vietnam War and association with Captain Turner was to blame for his evolution into a villain, but subsequent reveals in season 5 and season 6 have proven otherwise. Flashbacks of Kreese’s interactions with Terry Silver and a young Kim Da-Eun go to show that Kreese retained his good qualities even after he left Turner die.

Evidently, Cobra Kai hasn’t finished telling Kreese’s origin story, as something else must have occurred between the Vietnam War and The Karate Kid to complete his transformation into a hardened and callous fighter. With Kim Sun-Yung being his second mentor, plus the character being a key figure in season 6, it’s highly likely that he gave Kreese that extra push. But what it was exactly that he did to mold Kreese in his image remains to be seen.

3 Did Kreese Really Kill Tory’s Mom?

True Or Not, The Theory Needs To Be Addressed

A key scene in Cobra Kai season 6 saw the rise of an unsettling theory about Kreese. The timing of the death of Tory’s mom was extremely convenient for Kreese, as it was obviously what paved the way for him to get his “champion” away from Johnny and Daniel back on his side for the Sekai Taikai. Adding credence to this possibility is the fact that certain cobra venom can result in blood clots (the cause of death provided for Tory’s mom.)

Depsite being one of Cobra Kai’s biggest villains, implicating Kreese in murder would feel like a step too far, not just for his character but for the show in general. It’s covered criminal acts before, but one of its senseis murdering a teenager’s parent would be a whole new level of villainy for the show that doesn’t fit with its overall tone. This, and the idea that it would forever taint all of Kreese’s “good” moments in Cobra Kai make it seem a bit far-fetched, but the convenience of it all makes it hard to dismiss the theory entirely.

2 Is Terry Silver Going To Prison?

Cobra Kai Still Hasn’t Explained What Happened To Terry Silver

Cobra Kai season 5’s ending featured Terry Silver’s arrest, but didn’t reveal whether he’d actually experience time in prison for his crimes. Curiously, Cobra Kai season 6 part 1 danced around Terry Silver’s fate, with Amanda musing about the villain potentially getting the charges dropped. For now, it’s hard to say what punishment – if any – Silver will face for what he did. As Amanda pointed out, Silver using his connections to avoid prison and return to the Valley is certainly a viable scenario.

EIther way, it’s important that Cobra Kai provide a proper conclusion to Terry Silver’s story. As the villain of The Karate Kid Part III and the character who set the Sekai Taikai arc in motion in the first place, Silver deserves to have a place in the narrative. Silver showing up does make sense, particularly with Kreese still holding a grudge against him. There’s also the feeling that things were left unsaid between Silver and Kenny, who had a strong bond before the latter discovered Silver’s cheating ways.

1 Is Johnny Lawrence or Daniel LaRusso The Better Fighter?

Cobra Kai Needs To Pick A Winner

Cobra Kai notably demurred when it had an opportunity to resolve the Johnny Lawrence vs. Daniel LaRusso debate in season 4. That fight ended in a tie, but the same may not be the case for a potential rematch; it would be difficult for yet another stalemate to come across as anything but repetitive and a continuation of the show’s unwillingness to commit to a definitive winner.

Had Cobra Kai kept them as friends, there may not have been a need for this debate to be revisited at all in season 6, but recent developments have brought it back into focus. The tension between them worsened as the season progressed, culminating in their friendship reaching a breaking point. A full-fledged fight looks like the next step for the two. Similar to what happened between Mike Barnes and Johnny, it may take a fight to break out for the two to make amends.

When it happens, Cobra Kai can finally reveal which character is really the best fighter between the two. After Johnny’s win over Johnny and his impressive performance against Terry Silver’s henchmen, the odds appear to be in Johnny’s favor. But at the same time, Daniel seemed to find his edge when he gained a near-flawless victory over Terry Silver. Both look to be at the peak of their fighting abilities, which promises a massive showdown in one of the show’s final episodes.