When you have managed to churn out five out of a six-Season series, each one building off of the previous one-especially in terms of story and character development-what do you do with the sixth and final one?
Simple: Go all out and make sure it’s with a bang!
But rather than drop everything all at once, it looks like the creators have broken the final season down to three parts, with the first one already available to see.
Without giving away too much, Cobra Kai has been seemingly defeated, and most importantly the students are on the same page as well as Johnny, Daniel and Chozen. But even with that there's still a few challenges to face, and not just with the tournament. While Carmen's pregnancy is definitely a welcome surprise, not so much with what Daniel and Chozen discover regarding Mr. Miyagi's past. Not only that but there's also the future the students are facing with graduation looming on the horizon. While some of the kids are set with where they want to go and do post-high school, others are still on the fence.
Plus there is a bit of tension between Kenny and Anthony given their dynamic from the previous season, along with Tory and Sam. As such there is still an uncertainty of whether or not those differences can be bridged.
With the Sekai Taikai there is also the question of who will be able to go, for it seems that this global tournament will be focussing more on the quality of the dojos, not quantity. So as such Daniel and Johnny have to assemble a small team as well as choose two captains to lead said team in the tournament events.
But just when you think those challenges are the only obstacles, we also find out that Cobra Kai is very much alive, for Kreese managed to evade the authorities and travel across the Pacific to where Sensei Kim is and he gets a chance to overlook the students she has, chief among them a fighter named Kwon.
So how does this part of the final Season feel? Well, to me it's a good way to start the Season off, though I am curious why they decided to reveal another part of Miyagi's past so close to the end, especially if it turns out not to be a pleasant one.
The tension among some characters is a little bit strange, specifically with Daniel and Johnny. But I suppose you can't make things too easy for them, even when it looks like their story arc is about to conclude on a high note. But I know they will be able to be at balance within themselves and each other fully by the end of the Season.
With the new characters this season-well, if there could be an example of a breakout character this season, it is Kwon. What Brandon H. Lee brings to the character is something that the students haven't had to face before - someone who not only has something to prove, but can back it up in ways far more than what Miguel, Sam, Robby and the others would expect. Not only that but it emphasizes what Mike Barnes said to the students-that people have gotten hurt in the Sekai Taikai, and worse.
I mean, all you have to do is look at these scenes and realize this character is not messing around, and whoever fights him is going to be in a lot of trouble.
Along with Kwon's character introduction, the score is simply amazing for this part of the season. Leo Birenberg and Zack Robinson have always done a great job with their score for the past seasons but once again they have taken it to a whole new level this time around. In listening to it you definitely get that same Karate Kid/Cobra Kai vibe, but you also get that same feel that the score for Rocky IV was, from the familiar themes like Johnny's theme and the Miyagi-Do themes to the new ones like Robby and Tory's theme. And given Kwon's own theme, you definitely get that Ivan Drago-level of a theme that lets you know the students are going to have a hard time trying to take him down.
While this is only Part 1 of a 3-part finale to the series, I feel it's a great way to pick up where we left off from the last season, though I do wonder why the creators decided to have the tournament be in Part 2 instead of Part 3. But I'm sure we'll find out when Part 2 drops later on this year.
So if you have Netflix and haven't checked this out yet, do so. True, it's not the whole Season, but I suppose it makes sense given just how much there is left before the story can truly conclude - the tournament as well as graduation. For the past six seasons we have seen Johnny and Daniel, as well as their respective families develop, along with the students they have taken under their wing. Now that the kids are growing up, it is time for them to take everything they have learned, and put it into play on a global scale.
Can Miyagi-Fang win this?
Guess we'll find out in a few months.
Until then...
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