Cobra Kai star Ralph Macchio gave his honest thoughts about the impactful Mr. Miyagi scene in Season 6, Episode 13.
One of the major storylines in Cobra Kai's final season on Netflix revolves around Daniel LaRusso's quest to discover the truth about the past of his mentor from The Karate Kid movies, Mr. Miyagi.
In Cobra Kai Season 6, Part 2, it was revealed that Mr. Miyagi participated in the prestigious Sekai Taikai tournament as captain of one of the dojos in the 1940s.
What Daniel found out was more disturbing since Mr. Miyagi accidentally killed one of his opponents (Claramunt) during one of his fights in the said tournament.
Cobra Kai's Ralph Macchio on Controversial Mr. Miyagi Season 6 Scene
Cobra Kai Season 6, Episode 13 saw Daniel still hounded by the concerning revelation about Mr. Miyagi, and it led him to reflect on their time together.
All of this led to a dream sequence where Daniel was saved by Mr. Miyagi himself from fighting off skeletons, and this reminded him that his mentor is not perfect yet he is willing to protect him and fight by side.
Given that Mr. Miyagi actor Pat Morita had already passed away in 2005, Cobra Kai showrunners used CGI to bring the character to life (with the blessing of Morita's estate).
Cobra Kai actor Ralph Macchio spoke with The Direct's Russ Milheim on the red carpet at Paleyfest to reveal his thoughts about Mr. Miyagi's inclusion in the final season.
"I have a little pushback on it..."
- The Direct: "Was there ever any worry, like pushback against, like, the CGI [for the Mr. Miyagi scene]?"
Ralph Macchio: "I mean, listen, I have a little pushback on it. I don't think, you know, we didn't have the budget to—my main concern is, I mean, my main thing is I wanted Daniel to be fighting side-by-side with Mr. Miyagi. As far as a dialog scene, for me, it was more about them together and more about the thing that releases it, is it's all in Daniel's mind. It's not really happening. It's in his mind. So you have a little leeway in. So I think it's all in the message, if not perfect."
- The Direct: "There's also that cool dream sequence, you know, with Mr. Miyagi. What was that like? You know, that was a pretty cool, unexpected little addition to the show."
Ralph Macchio: "Yeah, we did. You know, we were talking all season about Daniel going down this sort of dark path of mystery, of, you know, what was, what he didn't know about his mentor, and that took him down a rabbit hole, and how, in essence, in his own mind, he had to suss this out and gain wisdom, even without the ability to have him there. So it was fun to do, we were on an insane, tight schedule. We had about an hour and a half to shoot that whole scene with the skeletons and it was emotional, but it was nice to have."
The full interviews between The Direct and the Cobra Kai cast and filmmakers at Paleyfest can be viewed here:
All episodes of Cobra Kai are now streaming on Netflix.
