How DidCobra KaiEnd? Unpacking the Emotional Series Finale — and What's Next forThe Karate KidUniverse

Mar. 15, 2025

William Zabka as Johnny Lawrence, Tanner Buchanan as Robby Keene, Ralph Macchio as Daniel LaRusso, Mary Mouser as Samantha LaRusso, Yuji Okumoto as Chozen in Cobra Kai

Curtis Bonds Baker/Netflix

Cobra Kaihas gone out in a blaze of glory, leaving alegacy that will live forever.

In part 3 of season 6, which was released on Netflix on Feb. 13, Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) and Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) got their happy ending over 40 years after their journey began in 1984’sThe Karate Kid. They started as rivals, often butting heads, but the two came together to help Johnny complete his hard-earned redemption arc in theseries finale.

After Miguel wins his epic battle against Axel, the Cobra Kai and Iron Dragons dojos remain tied, which means that each dojo’s respective sensei must battle to crown a winner.

The match takes place at the All-Valley Sports arena, where Johnny lost to Daniel during the All-Valley Tournament Finals in 1984, but now Johnny recruits his former rival to be his sensei for the match — which he wins.

“The goal in the final episodes is to land this mothership. To land Johnny and Daniel’s stories. And the stories of these kids,” series co-creator Jon Hurwitz toldThe Hollywood Reporterin July 2024. “For the kids, it’s their senior year of high school and we wanted to take them through that year and have the Johnny and Daniel story that started in 1984 come to a fulfilling and exciting conclusion.”

Of course, with over 40 years of history in the franchise, the finale features plenty of callbacks toThe Karate Kidand earlier seasons ofCobra Kaiwhile tying together other loose ends like Mr. Miyagi’s (Pat Morita) past.

So how did it all end up for Johnny, Daniel and theCobra Kaikids? Read on to find out everything to know about the exciting conclusion ofCobra Kaiand the future of the franchise.

Warning:Cobra Kaiseason 3 spoilers ahead!

What led up to the end of Cobra Kai?

Tanner Buchanan as Robby Keene and Brandon H. Lee as Kwon in ‘Cobra Kai’.

Cobra Kaitook many unexpected twists and turns to reach its scintillating conclusion. After Kwon’s shocking death at the Sekai Taikai, no one from Cobra Kai returns to the tournament except for Tory.

Miguel has an epic battle with Axel, featuring flashbacks of Johnny teaching Miguel karate in the past to show how he is using those techniques now to win the most important fight of his life. Miguel wins the fight, but Cobra Kai is tied with Axel’s Iron Dragons dojo, leading to a rare tiebreaker match between the dojo’s senseis — Johnny and Wolf — to determine which is the best in the world.

How didCobra Kaiend?

Patrick Luwis as Axel in ‘Cobra Kai’.

Over 40 years after losing to Daniel in the All-Valley Tournament, leading to many years of misery, Johnny learns from his mistakes in the most important fight of his life against the menacing Sensei Wolf, with the help of his former rival.

In a full circle moment, Johnny recruited Daniel to be his sensei, which he fully bought into, even wearing a black Cobra Kai gi. Before the start of the match, however, the odds were stacked against Johnny as Wolf physically intimidated him in the locker room to shake his confidence.

The Iron Dragons sensei took the first two points in the best-of-three matchup as Daniel’s usual pep talks didn’t work on Johnny. After Chozen —The Karate Kid IIenemy-turned-friend — reminds Daniel that he knows what makes Johnny tick, Daniel gives Johnny an uncharacteristically brash pep talk reminiscent of Johnny’s former sensei John Kreese about how neither pain, fear nor defeat exist in his dojo.

Johnny steps back onto the mat with much more confidence and secures his first point with a spinning sidekick to his opponent’s chest. For his second point, he utilized the aggressive Cobra Kai flying tornado kick — which he taught his students in season 4 — to kick Wolf in the face.

Wolf gets back up and knocks Johnny down, but after Johnny blocks one of Wolf’s punches, Johnny has an opening for a spinning backfist and wins the Sekai Taikai for himself and Cobra Kai with the world watching. Johnny finally gets his moment of redemption at the All-Valley Sports Arena where he lost decades ago.

What happened to Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence at the end ofCobra Kai?

illiam Zabka as Johnny Lawrence and Ralph Macchio as Daniel LaRusso in Cobra Kai.

Daniel and Johnny finally get their happy ending. They both come to a place of acceptance, knowing that they’ll always love karate and they’ll always have different styles, but they can use that to coexist, thrive and help others.

The pair end up on the cover ofSports Illustratedwith Johnny holding the trophy as the headline reads “Former Rivals Pull Off Miraculous Win.”

Johnny goes on to open his own Cobra Kai dojo with plenty of new students, confidently telling them he will make champions out of them. However, he also admits that there is no one way to do karate and that his shortcomings are defense and patience, which is why they will also train with Daniel at Miyagi-Do.

Despite Daniel constantly promising his wife Amanda (Courtney Henggeler) that he will give up karate, she comes to accept that it’s a huge part of who Daniel is, telling him he’ll always be a sensei. Daniel also gives his daughter Samantha an emotional send-off to Okinawa telling her how proud he is of the person she’s become.

Johnny and Daniel are also training Daniel’s son Anthony. For the sake of neutrality, they agree that Johnny will be his sensei in the next upcoming All-Valley Tournament instead of Daniel.

How did the finale ofCobra Kaicall back to iconicKarate Kidmoments?

Ralph Macchio as Daniel LaRusso and William Zabka as Johnny Lawrence in ‘Cobra Kai’.

Cobra Kaididn’t disappoint when it came to making callbacks to the original series.

After Johnny wins the tournament, he’s carried just like Daniel was, and then Daniel says, “You’re alright, Lawrence,” as Johnny invites him to come hold the trophy, too. InThe Karate Kid, Johnny approached Daniel and said, “You’re alright LaRusso,” after Daniel won against him and was holding the trophy.

In the final scene, Daniel attempts to catch a fly with chopsticks like Mr. Miyagi challenged him to do inThe Karate Kid. Johnny comes and squishes the fly with his hands while they are out for lunch, once again illustrating that their friendship is based on differences.

What happened to the Cobra Kai and Miyagi-Do students at the end ofCobra Kai?

Tanner Buchanan as Robby Keene, Peyton List as Tory Nichols, Xolo Maridueña as Miguel Diaz, and Mary Mouser as Samantha LaRusso in ‘Cobra Kai’.

Miguel wins the Sekai Taikai and gets into Stanford, while Sam gets into the one-year Okinawa program she’s always dreamed of attending. Though they will be in different countries come September, Miguel chooses to go to Okinawa to spend time with Sam over the summer and give their relationship more time.

Demetri ultimately decides to go to CalTech with Hawk and study robotics. Hawk is still with his girlfriend Moon, and Demetri is back together with Yasmine as the series ends.

What did Daniel find out about Mr. Miyagi’s past at the end ofCobra Kai?

Pat Morita and Ralph Macchio in a scene from the film ‘The Karate Kid’ (1984).Columbia Pictures/Getty

Pat Morita and Ralph Macchio in a scene from the film ‘The Karate Kid’, 1984

Columbia Pictures/Getty

In the finale, Daniel’s mother pulls out a necklace Mr. Miyagi gave her that belonged to his mother and, later, his wife, who died in a Japanese internment camp. She reveals that a guard had stolen it after her death and Mr. Miyagi took the necklace back before he was attacked first.

“We’vealways wanted to lace Miyagi through the show, and this is a way of uncovering the past of a man and layer in some intrigue about who he was,” Macchio told PEOPLE in July 2024. “It begins as this personal disappointment but it turns into something very positive for Daniel. It’s another teaching moment; Miyagi’s teaching him from the grave.”

Will there be more ofThe Karate Kidfranchise after the end ofCobra Kai?

Jackie Chan, Ben Wang and Ralph Macchio in Columbia Pictures ‘Karate Kid: Legends’ (2025).

The Karate KidandDaniel will returninKarate Kid: Legendsalongside Mr. Han (Jackie Chan) from the 2010Karate Kidreboot and newcomer Li Fong (Ben Wang). The movie is said to take place three years afterCobra Kaiends as Fong enters a karate tournament after moving to New York, and takes guidance from Daniel and Mr. Han.

“To me, this was just about carrying the honesty and truth of Daniel LaRusso and what Miyagi his mentor meant to him and paying it forward,” Macchio told PEOPLE of the new film.

As forCobra Kai, the creators have said this is the end of Johnny’s character arc, but there could potentially be moreKarate KidandCobra Kaispinoffs in the future.

“When we watched the final episode ofCobra Kai, we see so many potential spinoffs, some intentionally and other unintentionally laid throughout the course of this six-season story,” series co-creator Hayden Schlossberg toldThe Hollywood Reporterin November 2024. “So, the show will end our love forThe Karate Kid, but our desire to play inThe Karate Kidsandbox doesn’t end.”

source: people.com