Cobra Kai showrunners Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg, and Josh Heald addressed the deaths of John Kreese and Terry Silver in Season 6 and how it was planned from the beginning.
The penultimate episode of The Karate Kid spin-off's final season on Netflix showcased the much-anticipated rematch between Kreese and Silver (perhaps two of the most iconic villains of the franchise), and it ended with one man coming out on top but with a heavy price for both.
Cobra Kai Showrunners on John Kreese & Terry Silver’s Deaths
In Cobra Kai Season 6, Episode 14, a final confrontation ensued between John Kreese and Terry Silver, culminating with the pair's tragic death after a massive explosion of a yacht in the middle of the sea (read a detailed breakdown of what happened to Kreese and Silver in Cobra Kai Season 6).
Kreese's sacrifice was meant to protect Johnny after he learned that Silver was planning to abduct his family to act as leverage before the final Sekai Taikai fight against Sensei Wolf.
Cobra Kai showrunners Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg, and Josh Heald spoke with The Direct's Russ Milheim on the red carpet at Paleyfest to address the theory that Kreese or Silver is still alive.
"It was always the intent for them to die together..."
- The Direct: Cobra Kai Season 6, Episode 14 had an explosive ending, we know, with both John Kreese and Terry Silver dying. Two questions related to that: Was it always the plan for them to die together on that yacht? Were there alternate death scenes that you guys had in mind for them?
Josh Heald: "It was always the intent for them to die together. It was always the intent for [John] Kreese to sacrifice himself to save Johnny from peril. And as we got into the second half of the series, that peril, you know, took on Silver's face more and more, and even after we finished Season 5, and it was kind of the end of Silver, we knew that there would be one more death rattle that would have to be quelled. And that was the perfect moment for Kreese to really show his true colors. And it was just a push from the three of us to fight the battles, to get onto that yacht and actually bring cameras out to sea and do that. And it was a proud day at sea."
- The Direct: We didn't see any bodies, and many fans have noticed this. What can you say about those theories, like people thinking that maybe one or both of them are alive?
Jon Hurwitz: "You can watch the episode, see that explosion, see how close they were to where the explosion started, and determine for yourself if you think it's possible for human beings to survive that."
Josh Heald: "I'll say MythBusters should try to recreate it and just let us know. Get a couple of pig carcasses, put them really close to a bunch of gasoline, throw a cigar at a lit cigar, and just see what happens. See if the pigs are in one piece."
Hayden Schlossberg: "The one thing is, there is a lot of water nearby. So if, for whatever reason, they caught on fire and fell into the water, it's possible. They're very athletic men..."
Josh Heald: "I would imagine that the body pieces, which are in a million pieces each, get extinguished when they hit the water. I think he thinks it's kind of like a, like, a boom, and they magically fly back, and they're a little bit on fire, as opposed to what actually happens if you're in the middle it."
Hayden Schlossberg: "I do actually know a lot about explosions. There are different types of explosions, and I don't think now's the time to go into all the different ones. Some are more implosion. It depends on what the detonation is."
Josh Heald: "Well, we showed the explosion. It was kind of like, it was like a nuclear explosion."
Hayden Schlossberg: "Something that's igniting. It's not necessarily like tearing the body apart."
Josh Heald: "We saw the boat explode. The boat exploded to a million pieces."
Jon Hurwitz: "Here's what I would expect: I would expect Kreese and Silver did explode into a million pieces. It's possible that their bodies reformed, or they reformed as one, and they're at one giant Kreese-Silver monster."
Josh Heald: "Silver's head could be on an octopus now, and that, it's symbiotically become part of his brain, and it's Octo silver."
Jon Hurwitz: "By the way, that's the spin-off that's coming. You heard it here first. Octo-Silver."
Cobra Kai Showrunners Explain Daniel LaRusso & Johnny Lawrence's Final Scene
Cobra Kai Season 6's final scene highlighted a touching moment between Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence. They sit in a restaurant to talk about sharing students in the upcoming All-Valley tournament.
Daniel then tried to catch a fly with his chopsticks (a throwback sequence to what Mr. Miyagi taught him in the original The Karate Kid movie) before Johnny smacked the bug with his hand.
"It felt right..."
- The Direct: Cobra Kai Season 6 had a powerful ending, and it was adored by fans. Was that final scene between Daniel and Johnny always the plan? Or were there alternate scenes that you had in mind for those last moments?
Hayden Schlossberg: "The very last scene between Daniel and Johnny and the fly with the chopsticks wasn't figured out until we started working on the final season. But everything else in that episode, all the big moments, where the characters land, we knew where that was going. It was just, you know, the idea of playing with the fly and chopstick scene from 'Karate Kid' was something that we've talked about every season, trying to find the right place. And we were ready to let it go if it wasn't organic. And it just so happened to end the show with, it felt right."
Ralph Macchio: "The final scene... It was nice because they held that little fly-catching homage for the end. And what was so nice about that scene was it was so behavioral. It was just like two guys having a conversation about property taxes, or whatever it was, and students, and, you know, just sitting gazing at a menu where so much of this show is like, you know, not on my watch. What are you doing, man? So it's so nice to just be natural and real and yet still play the reminiscence and the nostalgia of yesterday when they flashed or played back to the scene with Pat Morita from the original film. We really got to sit there, and you felt the magic of where it all began. And then it ends with a little Cobra Kai spice."
The full interviews between The Direct and the Cobra Kai cast and filmmakers at Paleyfest can be viewed here:
All seasons of Cobra Kai are now streaming on Netflix.
