While Cobra Kai may have given Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) a second chance, producers Josh Heald and Jon Hurwitz claim that The Karate Kid The villain will not be redeemed and will be at his worst in the sixth and final season. The Netflix series is set thirty-four years after the events of the 1984 sports film, as Johnny and Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) deal with aging and training a new generation of young fighters. The first season saw former mentor Kreese (Martin Kove) approach Johnny seeking forgiveness, only to manipulate his way to control once again.
Before returning from Cobra Kai Season 6 on November 15, Heald and Hurwitz opened for Screen speech about whether a character could be given a new perspective that could explain their actions. Although the series redefines what many know about the cast of The Karate Kid, both producers agreed that Kreese was too far gone to be redeemedwith neither Johnny nor Daniel wanting to give him a second chance and he decided to destroy their lives.
Josh Heald: I think he murdered them all. But no, he broke out of a prison and walked into the night dressed like a maniac doctor. And then we track him down, he’s landing in Korea, so he’s resourceful. He is someone who has one goal now, and that is to destroy his enemies. Daniel and Johnny have informed him, in no uncertain terms, that they expect him to rot in prison for the rest of his life and that they have no love for him, so any hope of redemption is out the window.
Kreese is determined to take them down and show them that they won’t get a happy ending. They won’t be able to have a conflict-free Sekai Taikai, he’ll show up and ruin everything for them. We just thought it would be a good stopping point for the final season to have that moment at the end of part one.
While Kreese may have a strong team of fighters and the continued trust of Tory (Peyton List), Hurwitz stated that it’s the effect on the two original rivals that will show just how much of an antagonist Kreese is. The showrunner stated that not only will Kreese’s past with Johnny leave his former student unbalanced, but Daniel’s current struggle will leave both mentors distraught. as he emerges from the shadows in the penultimate batch of episodes.
Jon Hurwitz: Well, we saw in the first five how Kreese has this new Cobra Kai, and he’s teamed up with Kim Da-Eun, who he has a long history with, and he’s got some formidable fighters from Korea. So, he is excited to bring next level fighters to face the Valley fighters.
As for Tory, he’s always had this kind of pure relationship with her, for the most part. It’s almost like a grandfatherly relationship, even in season 5 when she was acting like a mole for him, staying inside Cobra Kai, and then he apparently abandoned her, he was doing it to protect her. He wanted to make sure she stayed away from his plans to break free. So bringing her back to the fold, he was taking care of her. In his opinion, he thinks it’s best for her to stay with Cobra Kai. And at the same time, he needed a captain that he felt was the best in the world, and he had that level of faith in Tory.
As for Johnny, he thought Kreese was a thing of the past. He was in prison, he escaped, but if he comes back, he will be thrown back there. So, there is no thought for Kreese. But by the time he shows up, at the end of the top five, Johnny is now coming in unbalanced in the middle five, because that sensei/father figure he has is now there ready to mess with him. And Daniel isn’t in his best place either. Then our senseis and our kids get that big punch in the gut when they see Tory, who they thought was their friend, now on the other side, and Sensei Kreese returning in full force.
What Heald & Hurwitz’s statement means for Kreese’s story
Even Cobra Kai’s Abusive Original Mentor Didn’t Start Out Cruel
Kreese may be irredeemable in both their eyes Cobra Kai’s showrunners, but the series took time to explain what events turned him into an abusive mentor. Orphaned at a young age and abandoned to his own devices, Kreese is initially shown to have a good heartsomething he would lose from his traumatic experience in Vietnam, when he is forced to fight and kill his abusive captain. Although his cruel streak took time to manifest after the war when he founded Cobra Kai, he would eventually become the character seen throughout the film. Karate Kid series.
Despite this tragic fate and entering the series in search of redemption, Kreese spent many of the chances offered to him throughout the series, even resorting to more brutal and violent attacks as time went on. Although he has had his own demons to conquer throughout the series and has tried to make amends and been given a story that explains what went wrong in his life, showrunner’s responses suggest Kreese can’t avoid his ultimate punishment forever.
Our Thoughts on Kreese’s Cobra Kai Season 6 Fate
Kreese is a looming shadow over the cast
Kind of like Cobra Kai Challenging how audiences view not only Johnny and Daniel, but also Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita), the series also offers a new perspective on Kreese. While he may have started out as another boy looking for guidance, the series illustrated how his poor mentor in Vietnam created a cycle of violence and misery that his former student is trying to break for good. As such, Kreese’s role as a villain throughout the series earned him a warning about what could happen if Johnny or Daniel were unable to free themselves from the past.
AND while Daniel’s journey can continue in Karate Kid: Legends, Heald and Hurwitz’s response indicates that Kreese’s story will come to a well-deserved end. Although the journey of Cobra Kai may be coming to an end, the former sensei will be the perfect final foil to his more heroic mentors.