‘Cobra Kai’ Season 6 Part 1 Recap (Episodes 1-5) Explained: Who All Qualified For Sekai Taikai?

The much-loved martial arts drama series Cobra Kai, the continuation of the cult classic The Karate Kid franchise, has returned with its sixth and final season, and the first of three scheduled parts of the concluding arc has been released on Netflix. Over the course of five seasons, key members and mentors of rival factions of Miyagi-Do and Cobra Kai dojo have gone through a topsy-turvy ride, and even though the fifth season saw the presumed end of Cobra Kai, viewers already knew that wasn’t going to be permanent in the long run with Kreese out of prison. The threat of Terry Silver might have been dealt with as Daniel, Johnny, Chozen, and Mike fought together against their common enemy, but new troubles are already cropping up, even among friends. 

As the prestigious Sekai Taikai karate tournament nears its initiation, Johnny and Daniel’s students find themselves engaged in a fierce competition to get qualified. On the other hand, Cobra Kai is rebuilt in Kreese and Kim Sun-Yung’s shadow is back for retribution. Interestingly enough, the final chapter sheds light on an unknown side of Mr. Nariyoshi Miyagi, which will eventually bring his overarching arc to a full circle by the end, and all the interesting developments mentioned are just some of the highlights of part one of the sixth season of Cobra Kai.

Into the Lives of The Three Sensei and Mr. Miyagi’s Past

With Terry Silver gone and Cobra Kai closed down for good, it’s peacetime in the valley, and everybody is getting along just fine. The kids are preparing for college; Miguel is aiming for Stanford, while best friends Hawk and Demetri are set to fulfill their childhood goal of joining MIT. Tory and Samantha have decided to reconcile with each other by letting bygones be bygones, and in the course of the first three episodes, they manage to bond with each other by letting their inner frustrations out as well. The kids even manage to bring Kenny, who was disillusioned and remorseful following the events of the previous season, into the Miyagi-Do as a student. Johnny and Carmen are expecting a baby girl, and to provide for his extended family consisting of Carmen, her mother, Miguel, and Robby, Johnny decides to step up and find a proper financial foothold, dropping the random gigs he used to work. It is revealed that the former Eagle Fang dojo site at an old warehouse, has been taken down by the authorities, prompting Johnny and the students to return to Miyagi-Do dojo. With the majority of the Cobra Kai students joining in, Johnny and Daniel decide to merge their dojos into a single one, which leads to a bit of tension between Chozen and Johnny, but in the end, they reconcile as both see errors in their ways of forcing their opinions on others. Johnny accepts his role to train the students under Miyagi-Do dojo, and despite having provocation to rebuild the Cobra Kai once again, he decides to sever any ties he had with his past. 

Chozen assists Johnny in embracing a more holistic approach to life by advising him to inculcate the teachings of Miyagi-Do into his life, and later, Johnny lands a job in Daniel’s dealership by showcasing his natural salesman skills. On the other hand, content with his present life, Daniel wonders whether there is even a necessity to compete in Sekai Taikai now that Cobra Kai is no more. However, seeing the students motivated to prove their worth on the world’s biggest stage of karate, he realizes that Mr. Miyagi’s teachings can help the global youth and decides to participate to honor his late sensei’s legacy. Daniel also promises Amanda that after the tournament, he will hand over the responsibilities of the dojo to Johnny and retire for good. Chozen is revealed to have decided to stay in the valley for the time being after presumably being rejected by Kumiko, who hadn’t responded to his acknowledgement of Chozen’s feelings for her. The three sensei help the fighters to bring out their best potential, prompting even a rookie like Anthony LaRusso to excel in combat. 

After living at the LaRusso residence for three months, Chozen decides to settle in Miyagi-Do, and while moving Mr. Miyagi’s stuff, Daniel, Amanda, and Chozen find a box secretly hidden inside the floorboards. The box belongs to Mr. Miyagi, and from the newspaper clippings inside it, Daniel is shocked to learn that Mr. Miyagi had a fake passport, a fake address in the valley, and apparently a connection with a local boxing gym. As the trio go on to follow the lead through the boxing gym connection, the present owner/grandson of Mr. Miyagi’s acquaintance reveals that apparently he had been involved in theft and assault. Daniel is unable to find more answers, and barely knowing the details about what the truth of this part of his life is, which Mr. Miyagi kept hidden from him, starts irking him constantly. Amanda tries to comfort him, stating that they need to celebrate the present with their loved ones while they can, and her words motivate Chozen to find a new purpose in life by returning to Okinawa. 

Cobra Kai never dies

On the other hand, Kreese, who had escaped from prison in the previous season, goes to meet Kim Da-Eun, who had allied with Terry Silver to bring Cobra Kai to Sekai Taikai in order to honor her grandfather Kim Sun-Yung’s (Kreese’s Korean mentor) legacy of the vicious Tang Soo Do martial arts. It is revealed that Kim Sun-Yung was even more ruthless and unhinged than the likes of Kreese, and in Kim Da-Eun’s childhood, Kreese had put his neck on the line to save the little kid from her grandfather’s torturous training regimen. This led to both having a good elder brother/sister relationship, and at present, Kim Da-Eun is rejoicing at Kreese’s return. Kreese proposes to her that she rebuild Cobra Kai anew with the students of her dojo. However, he is shocked out of his wits to find his mentor, Kim Sun-Yung to be still alive (so are we), who shares his unwillingness to entertain Kreese’s idea. Sun-Yung asks Kreese to eliminate his adversaries before eying the prize and makes him go through a fearsome test of will to prove his worth. 

During his younger days, Sun-Yung fled from the Japanese invaders and killed a horde of them with his family knife, which he had lost in a cave. He instructs Kreese to recover the knife, and while undertaking the mission, Kreese encounters an albino snake, whose venom induces a trippy psychological state. In his mind, Kreese sees his weakness—his best student, Johnny Lawrence, the only person with whom he had some emotional attachment—standing against him in opposition. As a means of conquering his weakness, Kreese defeats and kills Johnny in his mind, and in reality, he kills the snake while bringing the knife back to his mentor to prove his worth. This act of bravery earns him permission from Kim Sun-Yung to rebuild Cobra Kai and participate in Sekai Taikai. Later on, Kreese helps Kim Da-Eun to bring out the strongest fighter in their dojo by instigating animosity among them, and his extreme methods prove effective. 

Mike Barnes Returns, This Time As a Judge

The venue of the biennial Sekai Taikai karate tournament is announced to be Barcelona, and it is also revealed that six fighters from each selected dojo will be allowed to participate in the competition. There is no shortage of talent. To have a fair selection, Daniel decides to bring in Mike Barnes as a neutral judge, his old rival turned friend who assisted the team in taking down Silver in the previous season, and with his help, four finalists—Miguel, Robby, Samantha, and Tory—are shortlisted. Johnny and Barnes have a fight over Devon’s selection, who had been overeager to prove herself, and Johnny gets guided a bit by his emotions to push for her selection. For the remaining two positions, Hawk, Demetri, Kenny, and Devon compete in a tiebreaker round. Knowing that Kenny has a better chance than him, Devon takes a nasty approach by eliminating him from the competition through the good old laxative method, which earns her a spot in the tournament, but she starts feeling remorseful later on. On the other hand, Hawk’s sudden unwillingness to join MIT causes a mild rift between him and Demetri, and despite being one of the dojo’s best fighters, Hawk fails to win the tiebreaker round due to being distracted, resulting in Demetri securing the final spot. 

With the fighters chosen, this is the time to select a male and a female captain of the dojo, who will participate in the final championship event of Sekai Taikai and lead their teams as well. With four competent fighters in the team who have a real shot at being the captains, Daniel and Johnny decide to organize a three-round fight by pitting Samantha against Tory and Robby against Miguel. However, a clash ensues between Johnny and Daniel after the latter continues to disapprove of his methods of training, which turns out to be a projection of his inner frustration with Mr. Miyagi’s secret. Miguel wants to win Sekai Taikai to get bonus points in extracurriculars, which can help him get admission to Stanford, while for Robby it’s a matter of pride, given how, despite having full potential to become the best, he has always found himself in the second spot due to terse situations affecting his mind more often than not. For Samantha, a win in Sekai Taikai will help her get closure, given how turbulent her journey in Miyagi-Do was, and for Tory, who has shouldered the responsibility of her family since a young age, a win in the prestigious tournament will mean the world to her. All the top fighters have differing motivations, which are strong enough to let them guide them, even if it means hitting the turf with their friends. Tory and Robby decide to train separately, as they are dreaming of standing on the podium together, prompting Sam and Miguel to train on their own as well. On one occasion, Kreese secretively returns to the valley and urges his former student, Tory, to join Cobra Kai. Given the bond the duo formerly had, due to Kreese saving the struggling teenager from her lecherous landlord, Kreese had hoped to bring her back under his wings. However, Tory outright rejects his proposal and warns her former sensei of the consequences if he repeats the same mistake ever again.

Tory’s tragic fate

Johnny causes a scene in the LaRusso car dealership after getting upset with Daniel’s recent behavior and learning about Daniel’s inner turmoil after having a chat with Samantha. On the other hand, Tory gets dealt a cruel hand by fate after her ailing mother, who was on the road to recovery, collapses and eventually passes away. Tory revisits her memories of her mother, who was a victim of abuse and who had taught Tory to fight for herself and to honor the strong bond they had. An emotionally wrecked Tory decides to fight no matter what. On the day of captain selection at Miyagi-Do, Robby motivates himself to get a hard-earned victory against Miguel and becomes the male captain. A distraught Tory competes in her fight with Samantha, and in her troubled state of mind, she becomes gradually violent over the course of the battle. Amanda, who was present in the audience, suddenly gets a phone call and gets informed of Tory’s mother’s death. Learning this, Daniel immediately intervenes and stops the fight before something terrible happens. Tory is enraged, broken, and crestfallen; she lashes out at others for not allowing her to honor the memory of her mother and leaves in tears. Daniel and Johnny get into a heated argument as Johnny opposes Daniel’s decision to stop the fight, holding the opinion that Tory should have been given the chance to process her grief by fighting, completely ignoring the fact that in her emotionally charged state, could have brutally injured Samantha or worse. As their argument gets intense, Johnny eventually calls Daniel out about the Miyagi situation, leading Daniel to lash out in anger and strike Johnny in the face. Johnny refrains from retaliating but states that their partnership is over after the Sekai Taikai tournament, and the only reason he will be participating as a mentor there is for the sake of the teenagers, not for Miyagi-Do. 

Who Are the Final Participants of Sekai Taikai From Miyagi-Do Dojo?

As Tory leaves the dojo for good, Hawk gets her spot and is selected among the fighters who will take part in Sekai Taikai. While helping Samantha with her captain bandana, Daniel is awestruck after finding out Mr. Miyagi had taken part in Sekai Taikai as well, as his bloodied bandana inside the secret box bears proof as well. 

As the selected individuals of Miyagi-Do reach Barcelona with their mentors, the participating candidates from the dojos of the world appear, and surprisingly, Tory is seen to be present at the side of Kreese and Kim Da-Eun as a member of the rebuilt Cobra Kai. In her anguish, she has turned to the dark side once again, and it remains to be seen whether she remains conflicted after her contrasting experiences or chooses Cobra Kai for good. As the first part of the sixth season ends, we feel there is another surprise yet to be revealed in the form of Kenny joining Cobra Kai as well. Irrespective of who emerges on top, there is a chance to approach for great characterization and focus on individual fights, in the style of classic fighting animes like Kengan Ashura or Baki Hanma, which will result in a memorable end to the beloved series. Also, Mr. Miyagi’s secrets will be a focal point as well, as we as viewers suspect it has to do something with Kreese’s mentor, Kim Sun-Yung’s past.