The Cobra Kai Kids Reflect on the Series Finale and Where Their Characters Are Headed

[Warning: The following contains spoilers for Cobra Kai's series finale - Season 6, Episode 15, "Ex Degenerate"]

After the conclusion of the big Sekai Taikai tournament, Cobra Kai's series finale featured an extended epilogue hinting at what life was going to be like after high school for the primary teen characters we've followed throughout the series. So what did the cast make of where we left off with their characters? TV Guide asked some of Cobra Kai's mainstays for their thoughts. 

Even as some characters left still solidly paired together, one big separation that seemed imminent was for Miguel (Xolo Maridueña) and Sam (Mary Mouser), as Sam decided to join an overseas program in Okinawa, which had the couple thinking it wasn't realistic to continue their relationship. However, the last time we see them, Miguel had joined Sam on her flight to Okinawa, offering to help her settle in before he goes to Stanford, even while he mentions "I know we're heading our own separate ways soon."

So will spending those two weeks together in Okinawa really mark the conclusion of their romance or might it signify they're not actually willing to end things, even if they have to work out the complicated logistics of a long distance romance? Said Maridueña, "Who knows? I think that's the fun of leaving it open ended. That is saying it could be anything. We'll see, but what we know is that they're gonna have fun." 

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When it came to Miguel and Sam, Mouser observed, "They've both grown so much and I love that they're entering into this next step of their lives, being proud and excited for each other and knowing that, no matter what, they'll champion each other. And I think that's a really special lesson to take away from that whole experience. I'm grateful for where they're at, regardless of what might come next for them - which is up to interpretation."

Robby (Tanner Buchanan) meanwhile ends up signing a deal alongside his girlfriend Tory (Peyton List) with a marketing and branding company, allowing them to travel to tournaments to compete and put on demonstrations. While it's certainly possible Robby could win one of those offscreen tournaments, he notably never was able to win one over the course of the series, even though he came oh-so-close multiple times. In the lead up to the finale, Robby has a good chance against his Sekai Taikai opponent, Axel (Patrick Luwis), only for Axel's sensei, Wolf (Lewis Tan), to go full Karate Kid Part 1 Kreese and have Axel purposely injure him. Except unlike Daniel LaRusso in 1984, this injury is too severe for Robby to continue the fight. In the aftermath, in a highly emotional scene, Robby tells his father, Johnny (William Zabka), that as disappointed as he is in this outcome, he's still thankful for all karate has given him, including finally bringing him and Johnny together. Johnny in return tells Robby how much better Robby is at handling this than he would have been and how proud he is of him, letting his son know how much he loves him. 

So how did Buchanan feel about this turn of events and does he wish Robby had finally gotten the big win? Buchanan told TV Guide, with a grin, "Tanner, personally, really wanted to win a tournament after eight years of doing the show," lamenting that this time, Robby actually came in third place, not second as he had before, since both Axel and Miguel placed higher in the tournament. 

However, he added, "I'm happy, because the scene that I got to have with Billy [Zabka] is a scene that I've wanted since I've started the show. Like that was the scene that I knew I wanted since Episode 1. So to get that payoff and have that nice moment with Billy, in that space, it was just so much fun to have that payoff and get that gratification after doing that scene and now getting to see it. That scene was way better than winning any tournament."

As for Hawk (Jacob Bertrand) and Demetri (Gianni DeCenzo), after some friction between them about Hawk's change of heart regarding their long term plans, the "Binary Brothers" ended up going to college together after all — though at Caltech, rather than MIT as they had always talked about.

Clearly, these two will have plenty of studying ahead, but Bertrand and DeCenzo both felt confident they'd still end up showing off their karate too, one way or the other, with Bertand joking about the possibilities for how and why, including "The college bars… [or] you want the teacher to grade a test…" and DeCenzo continuing, "The Dean tries to kick you out, you fight him."

DeCenzo also added, "I mean, Hawk is just a ticking time bomb. You step on his shoe, he'll break your face. It's kind of what he does." After Maridueña replied, "Hawk is like the 'You spilled my drink!' guy to the max," Bertrand took the bit even further, channeling Hawk as he exclaimed, "'You breathe on me!? You took my air!'"

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Bertrand did note that Hawk and Demetri probably wouldn't need to use karate as much as they did in the Valley, which DeCenzo agreed with, deadpanning that the Valley seen in Cobra Kai was "a magnet for karate violence."

As we wrapped up, TV Guide asked the Cobra Kai cast if there were any fights or rematches their characters never got that they wished had occurred. Buchanan said he would have liked Robby and Hawk to square off again, with Bertrand agreeing, "It would have been really fun to get to fight again."

Mouser had an interesting answer to the question, remarking, "I would have enjoyed, I think, for Sam and Miguel to have [a karate fight] in one of the phases where they were kind of apart." She explained, "I don't know how this would have happened — it didn't need to be a knock down, drag out, actual fight, but like a sparring where they were really trying to tag each other, [in] kind of the friendly fire way that Sam and Tory have this season."

We'll have to see if one day we get a sequel series to perhaps answer what a Sam vs. Miguel karate showdown would look like.

All episodes of Cobra Kai are now streaming on Netflix.