As much as I’ve enjoyed the wild ride that Cobra Kai has offered over the years, the final two seasons Season 5 and Season 6 left me somewhat underwhelmed. While the series has always done well with nostalgia, humor, and drama, these last chapters seem to lose the spark that initially made the show so interesting.
In Season 5, the expansion of Terry Silver’s Cobra Kai empire promised to raise the stakes, but the execution felt formulaic and predictable. The tension that once drove the series now feels forced, with the rivalry between dojos lacking the depth and freshness that earlier seasons captured so well. The team-up of Daniel LaRusso, Johnny Lawrence, and Chozen, while amusing at times, seemed more like fan service than a natural progression of the story. The character arcs, particularly for Johnny and Miguel, felt repetitive, as they tread the same emotional ground without much new to say.
The darker tone of Season 5, intended to elevate the drama, often felt weird since the series’ has a lighter, more humorous roots. The show’s attempt to juggle multiple storylines like Miguel’s search for his father and Robby’s struggles resulted in uneven pacing and a lack of focus. By the time the season finale arrived, the big showdown felt like it was about past conflicts rather than an exciting new twist.
Season 6, being the final season, should have been an opportunity to tie everything together in a good way, but it struggled to deliver a memorable ending. The overarching themes of legacy was certainly present, but the execution felt rushed. The show tried to bring closure to its many characters, but in doing so, it spread itself too thin, leaving several storylines feeling unresolved or hastily wrapped up.
The final showdown, while technically impressive, lacked the emotional punch that earlier confrontations had. The younger characters, who had been so central to the show’s success, seemed to take a backseat to the older generation, leaving their arcs feeling underdeveloped.
Overall, while there are still moments of entertainment and nostalgia in Seasons 5 and 6, they fall short of the high bar set by earlier seasons. The final chapters of Cobra Kai feel like a missed opportunity to truly capitalize on the momentum built over the years, leaving the series to end on a bad note.
