Although Johnny Lawrence’s story reaches a satisfying closure inCobra Kai’s ending moments, the Netflix show seemingly missed the opportunity to make his redemption even better. BeforeCobra Kaiseason 6’s last few arcs shifted their focus to Johnny Lawrence again, it seemed like the series had forgotten what it was supposed to be about. In its opening seasons,Cobra Kaihad established Johnny Lawrence as its main character by emphasizing his journey toward redemption and reforming the karate style John Kreese had once taught him.
However, as the seasons progressed, Cobra Kai became less about Johnny’s rite of passage and more about Daniel’s struggles with finding balance. Even in season 6’s earlier arcs, Daniel’s desire to find the truth aboutMr. Miyagi’s dark pastseemed far more intriguing than Johnny’s redundant struggles with finding stability. Fortunately, the show returned to its roots in its final arc by focusing more on giving Johnny the redemption he always deserved. Despite this, though, it is hard not to see howCobra Kai’s endingwould have been even better if it had featured one long-awaited moment.
Johnny Never Got To Train Robby On His Own In Cobra Kai
Johnny’s One-on-One Guidance Would Have Meant The World To Robby
InCobra Kai’s season 1, Robby became Daniel’s first official Miyagi Do student. Although Daniel had previously trained Sam, his relationship with Robby seemed reminiscent of what he had withMr. Miyagi in the firstKarate Kidmovie. Considering how Robby initially trained under Daniel only to make his father jealous,it was hard not to hope that Johnny would eventually fix his relationship with his son and train him someday. Since resolving his issues with Robby was a crucial milestone in Johnny’s road to redemption, it would have been great to see a training session between the father-son duo.
Given how Johnny trained Miguel as his sole student almost throughoutCobra Kai’s opening arcs, it seems unfair that Robby never got to experience that same level of personal mentorship even after being abandoned by him.
Unfortunately,Cobra Kai’s final installment barely features any montages that solely feature Robby training under Johnny. There is a brief sequence where Johnny guides Robby and helps him train with a punching bag. However, even in this fleeing scene, they train at the Miyagi Do dojo instead of having a series of official one-on-one sessions. Given how Johnny trained Miguel as his sole student almost throughout Cobra Kai’s opening arcs, it seems unfair that Robby never got to experience that same level of personal mentorship even after being abandoned by him.
I Still Loved How Robby And Johnny’s Stories Ended In Cobra Kai Season 6
Johnny Avoided Repeating Kreese' Biggest Mistake
Fortunately, even though Johnny does not get to directly trainRobby inCobra Kaiseason 6, he makes up for the lost time and redeems himself by offering some incredible words of encouragement to his son. Robby puts up an incredible fight against Axel inCobra Kaiseason 6’s final part. However, to his dismay, he loses the fight after Axel snaps his arm, making him incapable of continuing the fight. Instead of doing what John Kreese did to him after he lost to Daniel in the 1984 All-Valley tournament,Johnny uplifts Robby by assuring him that he is proud of him.
When Robby accepts his loss and embraces how karate has helped him achieve a lot more in life than he could have imagined, Johnny tells him that he is being far more mature than he was at his age.Johnny’s empowering words of approval prove that he has finally become the healthy father figure that Kreese struggled to bewhen he lost his fight against Daniel. With this, Johnny ends the cycles of trauma and abandonment that held him back for several years, which brings a heartwarming closure to his and Robby’s stories inCobra Kai.
Cobra Kai
Cobra Kai is a sequel series continuing the narrative of the Karate Kid saga, set 30 years after the 1984 All Valley Karate Tournament. It focuses on Johnny Lawrence seeking redemption by reopening the Cobra Kai dojo, reigniting his rivalry with Daniel LaRusso, who strives to maintain balance in his life.
