Multiple theories offer possible explanations as to what will become of Terry Silver’s dojo in Cobra Kai season 6. The status of the dojo was left in flux with Cobra Kai season 5’s ending, resulting in much speculation over its fate in the show’s final season. Cobra Kai, as a dojo, looks to be finished, but the entire premise of the show casts doubt on that happening before its last season.
Terry Silver’s downfall brought Johnny and Daniel the victory they’ve sought since their “war” with Kreese began. Exposing Silver’s cheating scheme in season 4’s All-Valley Karate Tournament spoiled the trust his students had in him, causing all of his students – even Kyler and Kenny – to turn their backs on him, seemingly for good. That, combined with Silver’s arrest, certainly implied that Johnny and Daniel are done fighting Cobra Kai. But given the nature of the series, it’s hard to imagine there no longer being a dojo named Cobra Kai in the series. As for how the show will resolve this, there’s all sorts of theories that help explain what might happen next.
6 Cobra Kai Closes Down After Terry Silver’s Defeat
One possibility is that Cobra Kai meets the same fate that season 5 already implied; with Silver beaten and most of the show’s rivalries settled, Johnny and Daniel can start focusing on the Sekai Taikai tournament without all the in-fighting between the kids. This route would be drastically different from previous seasons, as it would see most of Cobra Kai characters driven by the same objective, winning the Sekai Taikai. Based on season 5’s ending, this scenario does sound plausible, but it remains to be seen if Cobra Kai would really go as far as to go a full season without the Cobra Kai dojo being a factor in the story.
5 Johnny Takes Back Cobra Kai
Because Cobra Kai belonged to Johnny for the first two seasons, it’s not impossible that Johnny will have an interest in regaining ownership of the Cobra Kai dojo name. With Kreese off the board and Silver defeated, Johnny could try to reestablish Cobra Kai and once again separate himself from Daniel once more. That would make sense to some degree, in spite of the fact that Johnny and Daniel have overcome their differences. They teamed up to stop Silver and Kreese, after all, meaning that they could go back to leading their respective dojos without there being any real rilvalry between their students.
Heading in this direction would allow Cobra Kai to remain in the equation, but it’s not a path that would come without complications. It’s important to note that Johnny and Daniel’s combined dojo is what earned them a spot in the Sekai Taikai. Johnny would be losing that if he took his students and set up a new version of Cobra Kai. Plus, Johnny may be past any interest he had in the Cobra Kai brand. In his mind, its reputation could have been permanently soured. It would be more difficult now to redeem Cobra Kai than it was in season 1 when Cobra Kai was a thing of the past.
4 Kim Dae-Eun Reopens Cobra Kai With Her Own Students
Johnny is only one of multiple possible owners of the Cobra Kai dojo for season 6. A considerably more feasible option is Kim Dae-Eun, the granddaughter of Kim Sun-Yung and Terry Silver’s chief ally in season 5. When she originally partnered with Silver, Kim was promised half of Cobra Kai. That arrangement gives Cobra Kai season 6 a way to keep the dojo from closing its doors for good at the start of season 6. If Kreese is on the run and Silver is sent to prison, she could be the only person left who’s capable of leading Cobra Kai.
If that happens, Kim Dae-Eun could restock Cobra Kai’s roster with new students and begin preparing them for the Sekai Taikai. Alongside Silver, she did help Cobra Kai secure a position in the tournament, so his arrest shouldn’t change her goals. She wanted to win the Sekai Taikai to further her grandfather’s legacy and should be able to continue pursuing that goal with or without Silver.
3 Kreese Is Acquitted And Takes Back Control Of Cobra Kai
With Cobra Kai coming to an end, there’s a chance it’ll give the role of the show’s final antagonist to the franchise’s most important villain. Silver put Cobra Kai in a position to compete in an international martial arts tournament, which could be perceived by Kreese as an ideal situation for him to step into in season 6. Had he not escaped from prison, this would have been the most obvious route for the series to take. Theoretically, it could still happen, but perhaps not without a sizable time skip that jumps to a point where Kreese has already faced legal consequences for his actions.
Doing so, though, would effectively undo Kreese’s Cobra Kai season 5 ending, hence why it may not be what season 6 has in store for him. On account of Kreese’s fugitive status, the show may struggle to put Martin Kove’s character back in the driver’s seat of Cobra Kai. Even so, a scenario where Kreese finds a way to worm his way back into the picture shouldn’t be ruled out altogether.
2 Mike Barnes Gets His Own Dojo, Claims The Cobra Kai Name
Though far from the most plausible outcome, there is a possibility that the show uses the uncertainty surrounding Cobra Kai to give Sean Kanan’s Mike Barnes a long-term place in the wider narrative. It’s been theorized that Barnes, using the money gained from the painting he stole from Silver, reopens Cobra Kai. As the only Karate Kid legacy character with national championship experience, Barnes would be well-qualified to lead a dojo for the Sekai Taikai. But as a comparably minor character next to Daniel, Johnny, Kreese, and Silver, it’s still a bit hard to imagine Barnes getting such a significant role in Cobra Kai’s final season.
1 Cobra Kai Goes International With Kreese & Kim Dae-Eun At The Helm
It’s been speculated that the Netflix series will use the stakes of the Sekai Taikai to elevate the conflict with Cobra Kai into one that transcends national borders. Since she lives in South Korea, it’s possible Kim Dae-Eun will reinvent Cobra Kai overseas. Since Cobra Kai strongly hinted at there being an existing bond between Kreese and Kim Dae-Eun, he could sneak out of the country with her, giving him a way to avoid imprisonment. This would create a divide between the hero and villain storylines that would likely last until both sides converge at the Sekai Taikai.
Letting Cobra Kai be co-run by the two characters would help even the odds a bit, especially since the other side will most assuredly have at least two senseis (Johnny and Daniel). Having Kim’s help may be the best way for Kreese to get back into a position of power before the Sekai Taikai starts. And if her apparent admiration for him when she was a child was any indication, she should be open to such an alliance in Cobra Kai season 6.
