After six seasons, Netflix's Cobra Kai finally came to a close, wrapping up storylines that were up to 40 years in the making. Although the show had been running for some time throughout the past few years, some still wondered why it ended.
Cobra Kai Season 6 made Netflix history as it was released in three five-episode parts, making the final installment the biggest of the entire series.
The first two parts were released in 2024, with Part 3 coming out on Thursday, February 13. The final episodes included tons of shocking moments, including a major team-up between two former enemies.
Why Cobra Kai Ended With Season 6
Although many agree that Cobra Kai came to a fairly satisfying conclusion (the final two episodes each sport a 9.6 rating on IMDb), some fans are still questioning why the series came to an end in Season 6 since it was still performing well.
In short, it seems as though the show's creators and main cast members always had a fairly solid plan for the direction they wanted the series to go in, including where and when they had wanted it to end.
For example, in an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Cobra Kai co-creator Josh Heald talked about how he and the other creators (Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg) "always [knew] how the show was going to end to a degree," indicating that they had reached that point for a lot of characters by Season 6:
"We did always know how the show was going to end to a degree. For the bigger characters, we did know how it was going to end. We never could have predicted just how many characters we would acquire along the way who deserve their own bombastic endings as well."
Daniel LaRusso star and the original karate kid himself, Ralph Macchio (fans can learn some interesting facts about Macchio's real-life daughter here as she had a cameo appearance in the show's final episodes), also discussed the decision to end the show with Season 6.
While appearing on The View in July 2024 to promote Cobra Kai Season 6, Macchio admitted that Season 6 was "time to land the plane" and that "it isn't always the best move" to "overstay your welcome:"
"I feel that it is time to land the plane. When you overstay your welcome it isn't always the best move. For me it's not goodbye, it's see ya next time. The fans will never let it go away."
Macchio makes a good point. Many shows that find success stay on television a lot longer than they were originally supposed to, causing them to grow stale with viewers which ultimately leaves a bad taste in many fans' mouths after it ends.
However, while it seems as though everyone agreed that the show needed to come to an end, they originally didn't think they could do it with Season 6.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Heald talked about how they didn't want to drag the show out and dilute the content by stretching it across a Season 7, but still needed more than 10 episodes in Season 6 to do the story justice.
The creators got their wish when Netflix granted them permission to make a 15-episode Season 6, giving them the perfect amount of episodes to finish up the story:
"We wanted to bring it in for a landing, but we needed more than one season and probably less than two seasons [to do so]. We ended up with a nice round number of 15."
Overall, it seems as though the cast, crew, and fans are all satisfied with the way Cobra Kai was brought to a close. Hawk actor Jacob Bertrand (who is one of the show's original Season 1 stars) specifically let his opinion be known about the final episodes in a sitdown with GamesRadar.
Bertrand revealed that "[he] was happy with the ending" along with everyone else from the cast and crew. At the time, he theorized that Cobra Kai and Karate Kid diehards would also be "stoked" about the finale, and it seems as though he is right:
"You can't make everybody happy, but I was happy with the ending and so is [the cast and crew]. I think everyone's gonna be stoked about where all the characters end up."
What's Next For the Karate Kid Franchise?
Now that Cobra Kai is over, many want to know where the franchise will go next (especially since so many characters died in the final episodes). After all, Cobra Kai never dies, so this can't be the end.
Luckily for fans, there is another project on the horizon that will be released fairly soon, but it will be a little bittersweet since it likely won't include nearly any of the characters viewers have grown to love from Cobra Kai.
On May 25, a feature film titled Karate Kid: Legends will hit theaters. For the first time ever, it will bridge the gap between the original Karate Kid franchise and the reboot that starred Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith.
In Legends, Macchio will reprise his role as Daniel LaRusso when he travels to New York City to meet Li Fong, a new protagonist played by Ben Wang. Jackie Chan will also reprise his role as Mr. Han, marking the first time Chan and Macchio share the screen in the Karate Kid franchise.
It is possible that some familiar faces could make cameo appearances in Karate Kid: Legends, but it seems as though the majority of the film will focus on Daniel, Mr. Han, and new characters.
Instead of being a full legacy sequel, Legends will more likely usher in a new era within the franchise now that Cobra Kai is over.
All six seasons of Cobra Kai are streaming on Netflix.
