Who is Cobra Kai newcomer Devon Lee and who plays her? The sequel series Cobra Kai is set some thirty years after the original Karate Kid saga and reunites old rivals Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) and Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) after the latter decides to reopen the dojo he attended as a teen back in the 1980s. Since the first season of Cobra Kai premiered in 2018, the series has gone from YouTube sleeper hit to one of Netflix’s most-watched shows and earned itself rave reviews along the way.
Cobra Kai may be a hit, but the series isn’t without its critics. One issue raised by a few TV pundits is the relative lack of female representation among Cobra Kai’s dojo students. The first few seasons introduced some female karateka – including Daniel’s daughter Samantha LaRusso (Mary Mouser) and her rival Tory Nichols (Peyton List) – but they’re distinctly outnumbered by male dojo members. However, Cobra Kai season 4 took steps to address the issue with the introduction of new character Devon Lee.
Towards the end of Cobra Kai season 4, Johnny scrambled to find a female student for his new dojo Eagle Fang Karate after learning the upcoming All-Valley Tournament was set to introduce a girl’s division. He found the perfect candidate in Devon Lee – a feisty classmate of one of his students who impressed Johnny with her knowledge of martial arts movies. Devon proved to be a fast learner and a talented enough fighter to compete against the much more experienced Tory in the All-Valley Tournament. Though Devon was defeated during the quarterfinal round, her natural flair for karate was impressive nonetheless.
Devon was a welcome addition to Cobra Kai’s character roster and that’s thanks in large part to the spirited performance of Oona O’Brien – the upcoming actress who plays her. Cobra Kai is O’Brien’s first big acting gig according to her IMDb page, but she previously appeared in a 2020 short titled Sky High playing a character called Mia Savage. It’s yet to be confirmed whether O’Brien will reprise her role as Devon in Cobra Kai’s upcoming fifth season, but there are plenty of ways her character could figure into the plot.
After being defeated by Tory at the All-Valley Tournament, Devon was unfazed and vowed to come back stronger at the next competition. That, combined with how much she learned about martial arts in so little time, suggests Devon could become an important member of the Eagle Fang Karate dojo. Devon Lee becoming a more permanent Cobra Kai character would also help address the show’s relative lack of female karate enthusiasts, so here’s hoping Oona O’Brien does end up reprising her role.
