Cobra Kai Season 6 Part 3 Trailer is a Weak Workout
The leg sweeps are coming to an end, as Netflix has released a teaser for Cobra Kai season 6 part 3, the final run of episodes for the Karate Kid revival series. Originating on YouTube Red, Cobra Kai moved to Netflix for its third season, and it’s been a hit for the streaming king ever since. This final season has been split into three parts, each with five episodes; part 1 aired last July, while part 2 arrived in November. Part 3 will premiere on Netflix on February 13, two weeks from today, marking the last time we’ll see any of these characters… until Karate Kid: Legends brings Ralph Macchio’s Daniel LaRusso to the big screen once again, teaming him with Jackie Chan to merge the original Karate Kid universe with what I guess is no longer a remake/reboot/whatever. (Turns out Rambo was right; nothing is over.) Macchio, William Zabka, Mary Mouser, Xolo Maridueña, Tanner Buchanan, Peyton List, Jacob Bertrand, Martin Kove, Yuji Okumoto, and Thomas Ian Griffith return from earlier seasons. You can see the Cobra Kai season 6 part 3 teaser below:
I find myself in a place I never thought I’d be with Cobra Kai: indifference. I love this show more than almost anything being made today, but season 6 hasn’t done as much for me as the previous ones, especially part 2. It’s not bad by any means, but it does feel like the producers are stretching this season out as much as they can, so there’s a lot of filler, and it moves slower than usual. I was also disappointed to see them bring back Thomas Ian Griffith’s Terry Silver at the end of part 2; not only is this entirely unnecessary, but it undermines Daniel and John Kreese’s arcs. Daniel defeated Silver at the end of season 5, and it was a terrific moment, one in which Daniel had conquered the demons of his childhood and stopped the devil who tempted him from taking the next generation of karate kids. It was all wrapped up perfectly. Meanwhile, Kreese spent part 1 of season 6 on a spiritual journey – albeit a dark one – to extinguish the humanity in him and become the show’s ultimate villain. Kreese is to Johnny what Silver was to Daniel, and now, it was time for the other showdown. But in one moment, Cobra Kai undid all that great work by making Silver the final villain.
It’s not just the bad guys, either. The teen drama in Cobra Kai season 6 part 2 wasn’t as interesting as it had been in the older seasons, either. The romantic relationships seem solid enough now that there isn’t much tension there, so it’s mostly just silly bickering. There’s also some weird subplot about Mr. Miyagi’s past that feels tacked on and seems aimless, like they want to invoke the character but don’t know how. (This is something Cobra Kai used to excel at doing.) I think a lot of that stuff could have been cut to bring season 6 to just ten episodes, like usual, and it would’ve been stronger for it. This new teaser, spare though it is, highlights some of these problems. The Sekai Taikai is now being moved to the Valley, for example, and that’s fine – it’s thematically relevant to have the big, worldwide tournament take place in the heroes’ home town, merging where they came from with where they are now in terms of karate – but again, it feels like this tournament is being stretched out. And what are they even going to do after that massive riot that ended part 2? I guess this final leg will be more personal, which isn’t a bad thing, but at this point, it feels like a plot that just won’t end. I hate to be this negative because of how special I think Cobra Kai is, but this last season has been a lesson in being careful what you wish for.
Let us know what you thought of the Cobrak Kai Season 6 Part 3 teaser in the comments!
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