Cobra Kai season 5 wrapped up many storylines, and it set up Johnny Lawrence’s perfect ending. Apart from the Sekai Taikai and Kreese’s return, there are not many plotlines left for a yet-to-be-announced Cobra Kai season 6 to cover. If Cobra Kai season 6 turns out to be the final one, then the show already has all the tools it needs to give Johnny Lawrence an ending that honors his entire Cobra Kai arc.
Cobra Kai season 5 saw Johnny and Carmen finding out they will have a baby, which brought the theme of fatherhood back to Johnny’s story. Considering that the only reason why Johnny became a sensei in Cobra Kai was to help Miguel in a way that he never helped Robby, Johnny’s most logical ending in Cobra Kai is to become a good father as much as he is a good sensei. Johnny has been given a second chance, not only with Robby and Miguel but also with his new child. Cobra Kai has followed Johnny Lawrence through ups and downs, but now that he has a family and is about to be a father again, Johnny will have to become the best version of himself both as a sensei and as a father.
Cobra Kai Is About Johnny Trying To Fix His Mistakes
With Cobra Kai now dealing with worldwide tournaments, potentially deadly battles, and characters from the first three Karate Kid movies, it may be easy to forget that the show started as Johnny Lawrence’s story. Cobra Kai’s original selling point was simple yet intriguing – “what if the story was now told from Johnny’s point of view instead of Daniel’s?” More than 30 years later, the bully who had lost the All Valley to Daniel was now living alone despite having a family, financially struggling, and with no prospects in life. Cobra Kai season 1 plays with the idea that losing the All Valley to Daniel’s Crane Kick is what set Johnny’s bad luck in motion, but the show quickly reveals that there was more to Lawrence’s struggles than just a karate loss 30 years ago.
By introducing Johnny’s son Robby Keene, Cobra Kai revealed that Johnny had become a father at a young age – and that he had failed both his son and Robby’s mother. Cobra Kai also added another layer to Johnny’s character by establishing that he spent most of his childhood living with a stepfather who did not care about him, meaning that John Kreese and Cobra Kai were the closest things to a family Johnny had for years. With such a twisted influence guiding his life until the fight against Daniel in The Karate Kid, Johnny was far from ready to become a father. Still, not being there for his family was Johnny’s biggest mistake – one he subconsciously tried to make up for by being both a sensei and a father figure to Miguel.
Cobra Kai Season 5 Proved How Much Johnny Has Evolved
While Johnny did succeed in being a good sensei to a lot of students, plus a father figure to Miguel, the character still had a number of flaws. Johnny’s relationship with Robby was full of highs and lows, with more bad than good moments throughout Cobra Kai’s first four seasons. After Cobra Kai’s iconic school fight, in which Robby ended up putting Miguel in a coma, Johnny had both the opportunity and the responsibility to be there for Robby, yet he could still not get bond with his son. The result was Robby falling into Kreese’s hands and joining Cobra Kai, which further distanced Johnny from his son. Life had given Johnny a second chance with Robby, but the now Eagle Fang sensei was still wasting it.
Johnny’s flaws were not restricted to his relationship with Robby. The never-ending rivalry between Daniel and Johnny allowed Kreese and later Terry Silver to step up, and it negatively affected all Cobra Kai students. Johnny and Daniel had several opportunities to make amends and work together for the sake of their students, yet it took five seasons for it to happen.
Fortunately, Cobra Kai season 5 saw Johnny overcome a lot of his issues. Johnny has now fixed his relationship with his son, which started after Robby realized he had been used by Kreese and Silver all this time. The trip to Mexico and the mission to find Miguel also made this new bond between Johnny and Robby stronger, and it set up Robby to become closer to Miguel. Johnny’s insistence on making Robby and Miguel get along also spoke of how much the character had evolved, as in early seasons Johnny Lawrence would never serve as a good example of how to settle a rivalry. As if that was not enough, Cobra Kai season 5 also saw Johnny and Daniel being friends for the first time, with Johnny even serving as an inspiration for Daniel.
Johnny Lawrence Is Closer Than Ever To His Perfect Ending
Considering how Cobra Kai season 5 has tackled all sides of Johnny’s story, there is not much room left for the character to grow. Johnny has either fixed or improved on almost every flaw he had, from crucial mistakes of the past to recent misjudgments. After giving up being a sensei to focus on his personal life, Johnny found a balance in Cobra Kai season 5 that not even Daniel was being able to find. At the end of Cobra Kai season 5, Johnny was back to being a sensei – plus a responsible father who was able to be there for Robby and Miguel any time they needed him. Johnny also overcame his constant fear of messing things up when it comes to family, and he is now ready to be a father one more time. The Cobra Kai season 5 finale made clear how obstinate Johnny is to be a good father and to protect his family, as he was able to fight several sensei by himself out of willpower only.
Johnny’s Story Proves Cobra Kai Season 6 Has To Be The Last
The fact that Johnny Lawrence, who is technically Cobra Kai’s main character, is now so close to his perfect ending indicates that Cobra Kai season 6 has to be the last. Not much else is required to give Johnny a satisfying end, and with the Sekai Taikai happening and Johnny and Carmen’s baby about to be born, Cobra Kai season 6 has everything it needs to wrap up Johnny’s story. Continuing Cobra Kai past season 6 would mean creating new conflicts for Johnny, which would risk reverting Johnny’s character development. Having Johnny struggle with being a father or somehow failing Robby and Miguel again would sure give Cobra Kai additional storylines, but it would ruin everything Cobra Kai season 5 did to the character.
The same applies to most of the show’s characters, as Cobra Kai season 5 ended all rivalries and fixed all relationships. The Sekai Taikai has yet to be fought and Kreese has yet to be defeated, but other than that, Cobra Kai is close to giving Johnny and all the other characters a solid sendoff. Johnny’s ending in Cobra Kai might be obvious, but that does not mean it is not the most suitable conclusion for his journey.
