Netflix’s 6-Part Action Series Will Leave You 100% Satisfied After The Final Episode

Although Netflix’s Karate Kid spinoff Cobra Kai didn’t seem like the greatest idea ever before the series debuted, the martial arts drama has one of the most satisfying endings in the streaming service’s history. It’s hard to nail the ending of a TV show. Game of Thrones was one of HBO’s biggest hits ever, and the genre-defining series still had an ending that frequently ends up on lists of TV’s most disappointing finales.

Similarly, Netflix’s Stranger Things franchise soured many viewers with a conclusion that divided the fan base and left a lot of longtime audience members furious online. Even a great, critically acclaimed show can often struggle to find a perfect ending to its story, which makes it all the more impressive that Netflix’s unlikely Karate Kid spinoff, Cobra Kai, has a flawless finale that makes its six-season journey into an entirely satisfying narrative arc.

Co-created by Hot Tub Time Machine co-screenwriter Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg of the Harold & Kumar franchise, Cobra Kai boasted a premise that sounded like it could barely sustain a sketch in a comedy series. The series centered on the original movie’s meathead villain Johnny Lawrence, played to gormless perfection by William Zabka. While Zabka’s original performance made Johnny look like nothing more than a standard ‘80s movie jock, Cobra Kai opened on a regretful, self-sabotaging alcoholic whose history of rivalry with Ralph Macchio’s Daniel LaRusso profoundly shaped his life.

Despite Cobra Kai’s Great Ending, There’s Still Room For Spinoffs

This central gag, that The Karate Kid’s villain inadvertently had his life ruined by losing to Daniel, would be a funny throwaway joke in most other Karate Kid reboots. However, Cobra Kai subverted the martial arts genre’s traditional tropes by taking the story in an entirely new direction. When John intervened to help a group of local outcasts who were being attacked by bullies, he was inspired to set up a dojo to train these kids.

As Cobra Kai’s complex, morally ambiguous story continued across six seasons, the show dug deep into the psychology of both Johnny and Daniel, as well as illustrating the troubles that their respective students faced. Without revealing any major spoilers, suffice it to say that Cobra Kai’s series finale offered the most creative, satisfying, and original ending in the Karate Kid franchise while still leaving the door open for potential follow-ups.

As hard as it is to end a show perfectly, it can be even harder to manage this while still keeping avenues for spinoffs on the table. However, Cobra Kai’s story did exactly that, as Daniel and Johnny’s relationship reached a conclusion that proved both characters had been through a profound, transformative journey since the start of the series. The many students that the show introduced, meanwhile, could be the subject of spinoffs and follow-ups.

Although 2025’s theatrical movie reboot The Karate Kid: Legends was dispiritingly simplistic in comparison to the more complex plot of Cobra Kai, this doesn’t mean that the franchise has run out of steam. Cobra Kai ended Johnny and Daniel’s plot perfectly, but this just proves that it is time for the show to move on and explore other characters instead of continuing with this original pair of enemies.

There is nothing more frustrating than a franchise that can’t let go of its original stars, whether it is the Jurassic World movies failing to kill off or any major characters, or Star Trek: Starfleet Academy constantly bringing its intriguing new storylines to a halt to reference earlier shows in the franchise. As such, Cobra Kai’s perfect ending marks an ideal opportunity for the Karate Kid franchise to move on from the Netflix show’s stars and build a bigger world for its characters.

Release Date

2018 – 2025-00-00

Network

Netflix, YouTube Premium

Showrunner

Jon Hurwitz

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