Cobra Kai Bosses On Tory's Defection, Miyagi-Do 'Dysfunction' In Part 2 Premiere: 'It's The Wrong Kind Of Conflict At The Absolute Worst Time'
Miyagi-Do is preparing for the fight of their lives, but the timing of the Sekai Taikai couldn't be any worse.
In the Season 6, Part 2 premiere of Cobra Kai (all five episodes are now available on Netflix), the dojo is an absolute mess. Sensei LaRusso is completely thrown by the many lingering mysteries of his mentor, Mr. Miyagi, while Sensei Lawrence seems equally on the outs, trying but struggling to fully accept the teachings of his former foes.
"There's a lot of dysfunction in this group and it comes from the top down," co-creator and executive producer Josh Heald tells TVLine. "Daniel's not in the greatest headspace, [as he's] starting to pick at the scab of the Miyagi box of mysteries, and Johnny is obviously feeling less and less able to fully lean into Miyagi-Do."
If the bumps in its leadership weren't enough, Tory's decision to rejoin Cobra Kai has left her Miyagi-Do friends (and relationship with Robby) in shambles merely hours ahead of the most important karate tournament the students will ever face.
"[Tory] has all sorts of emotions going through her head," says co-creator and executive producer Jon Hurwitz. "It wasn't a decision made with a clear head. It was a decision made with massive emotion in the wake of her mother passing, feeling that she owed it to her mom to see this thing through while also having that little bird of Kreese in her ear sowing seeds of doubt about whether or not she could have a fair shot with Miyagi-Do. And as she's in that fight and at the end of [Episode] 605, she's feeling like Kreese's words may have been true.
"So now she finds herself on team Cobra Kai yet again and she's conflicted. She is on an opposite side of her boyfriend who, just a week or so earlier, they were talking about being on that podium together, and [she] has become friends with the Miyagi-Dos. But she's looking for victory. She's certainly torn, but feels like that this may be her best and only choice at this time."
Tory's decision sends a ripple effect throughout the dojo she left behind, including her captain boyfriend Robby, who's entirely distracted at the start of the Sekai Taikai. His ability to lead eventually comes into question by members of his team, as the group suffers some pretty tough losses at the start of the tournament.
"He's not holding up well," says Robby's portrayer Tanner Buchanan. "He's had a lot of people leave in his life and with another person kind of leaving, that causes him a lot of trauma because he doesn't know how to handle it. I think he made a mistake by not going and trying to talk to Tory at the end of Season 5, to see if he could kind of figure everything out. I think he was in his feels and was only thinking about himself and should have handled the situation better, especially being captain now."
Adds Heald: "You see this scenario playing out where Robby is having a crisis of leadership. Tory's defection has shined a major light on the dysfunction within their own group. There inevitably will be questions as to Robby's relationship with Tori and what he knew about her plans to leave the group. It's not an optimal situation for a team that you'd want just to be getting good rest and good training and going in to have the karate battle of the century. So while it's understandable that they're going through this, it's the wrong kind of conflict at the absolute worst time."
Thoughts on Miyagi-Do's current status, and what did you think of Part 2's first episode? Grade it below, then light up the comments section.