“He got what he wished for”: Cobra Kai co-creator opens up about Johnny Lawrence's redemption arc in Season 6 Part 3

Cobra Kai has reached its conclusion with the release of Season 6, Part 3 on Netflix. One of the highlights of the series finale is Johnny Lawrence's fight against Sensei Wolf at the Sekai Taikai tournament.

Series co-creator Hayden Schlossberg has now revealed how the match is a callback to the 1984 film The Karate Kid, where Johnny faced off against Daniel LaRusso and lost the fight. Over 40 years later, he finally gets a chance at redemption by winning against Sensei Wolf. Schlossberg said in an interview with TheWrap:

“Now he got what he wished for but there’s more cameras, more attention to this thing than ever and the person that he’s competing against is in the prime of his career, ready to embarrass him on the world stage.”

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Hayden Schlossberg explains how Johnny Lawrence's Cobra Kai series finale fight refers to The Karate Kid

In his interview, Hayden Schlossberg explained how Johnny Lawrence found himself in the same position in Cobra Kai Season 6 Part 3 finale as he did in The Karate Kid climax.

The only change is that the stakes and expectations are higher this time, and Johnny seems like an underdog, just like Daniel LaRusso in the original film. Schlossberg said:

“I think that fight is really within the shadow of the 1984 fight. You’re on that mat. It’s Johnny back there. So this is his second chance … we wanted to put him in the underdog position – put him in the Daniel position – where there’s all this weight on his shoulders of expectation.”

In the end, Johnny emerges victorious and redeems himself over four decades after losing at the 1984 All-Valley Karate Tournament. His win also leads to the Cobra Kai’s win in the Sekai Taikai tournament.

The television series marked the return of William Zabka as Johnny Lawrence after 1986’s The Karate Kid Part II. He was once again joined by Ralph Macchio as Daniel LaRusso, Martin Kove as John Kreese, and Thomas Ian Griffith as Terry Silver from the original film series.

Cobra Kai Season 6 Part 3 also culminates Johnny’s emotional journey as he is finally able to overcome his childhood trauma that was caused by abuse at the hands of his mentor, John Kreese. Talking about how the arc concludes in the finale, Schlossberg said:

“It was the culmination of the series. In the very first episode, we see flashbacks to Johnny’s childhood trauma — which was not just the kick to the face — but more importantly, being abandoned and abused by his sensei. Over the course of the series, Johnny’s been trying to work through those issues.”

Created by Schlossberg along with Josh Heald and Jon Hurwitz, Cobra Kai premiered in 2018 on YouTube Red and later moved to Netflix, where it became a global success. The martial arts drama also stars Courtney Henggeler, Tanner Buchanan, Jacob Bertrand, Xolo Maridueña, and Mary Mouser in pivotal roles.

Cobra Kai Seasons 1 to 6 are now streaming on Netflix.