Cobra Kai Season 6 Episode 1 Recap: Peacetime in the Valley

Three men in karate gis

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Episode 1 Peacetime in the Valley

We open on happy times in the Valley all matched with the tune of Roll with the Changes by REO Speedwagon. We see a montage of cheerful images. Johnny holds up an Eagle Fang onesie to Carmen’s belly. We pan out and realize this is happening inside the Diaz household. Yaya is handing Robby and Miguel lovingly prepared lunches as they leave for the day. Johnny and Carmen have combined households.

Across town, Daniel sits down for breakfast with Amanda. Sam and Anthony stop by to fuel up, and Anthony swipes a croissant off Daniel’s plate, using a perfect Miyagi-Do block to stop Daniel’s attempt to get his breakfast back. Amanda and Daniel both feel delighted at this change in their son. Chozen joins them in a bathrobe that barely covers anything. At least he’s not nude anymore. Chozen reads the headlines about the fates of Kreese and Silver.

At the high school, Demetri and Hawk walk inside together, giving high fives to their former rivals at Cobra Kai. Everyone is friends now. Hawk has donned a blue hair color. Robby comes out of the admission center. He has registered for school. He gives Tory a long kiss as Devon watches.

Miguel and Sam enter school together, exchanging a kiss. Anthony gives Kenny a conciliatory nod. Kenny doesn’t really return the glance, but he doesn’t get aggressive against Anthony either. The two have an uneasy truce. I’m also noticing that Sam and Miguel both have shirts with bursts of color on them. The whole scene is beaming with hope, enthusiasm, and good times here at last. Daniel sees some workers throwing the old Cobra Kai emblem in the dumpster.

Three people gather around a breakfast table

As Daniel arrives home, he gives Amanda sweet snuggles and comments on how quiet things are. They comment on how good it is to know that Silver is out of the picture. Amanda wonder if Kreese will rear his ugly head again. Daniel feels pretty satisfied that it’s all over, but Amanda wonders if it’s wise to be thinking about entering a worldwide karate tournament at a time like this. Daniel seems eager to use Silver’s intentions to spread Cobra Kai worldwide for his own purposes. He will use the Sekai Taikai to spread Miyagi's karate worldwide.

Amanda seems reticent at Daniel’s declaration. After all, if they defeated Silver and Kreese, why keep going? Does this mean Daniel intends to do karate for the rest of his life? If this vision comes true, Daniel will probably want to be involved in continuing the legacy. Does this mean that Daniel will no longer be able to help with the dealership? Amanda is smart to ask these questions. Daniel has a tendency to get swept up in the moment. Daniel assures her that after the tournament, his sensei days are over. This is his “karate swan song.”

However, this makes no sense. If he really intends to spread Miyagi-Do’s message worldwide, doesn’t he understand people will be knocking on his door wanting to be taught. Will he turn it over to Johnny? Amanda is right to be skeptical. Since when has Daniel been happy to fade into the background?

Meanwhile Johnny regales Robby and Miguel with his vision of Eagle Fang taking over the valley. Robby and Miguel tape up their knuckles, ready for some Johnny-style training. Johnny still has the little chihuahua dashboard collectible – a happy reminder of his road trip with Robby. Miguel wonders how Mr. LaRusso feels about Johnny’s plans. It sounds like after the tournament, Johnny has his own plans that don’t include Daniel. He muses that people won’t want to learn karate from a car salesman. Before the boys go train at Miyagi-Do, Johnny has some special training with bricks waiting for them at the Eagle Fang warehouse.

Alas, Johnny’s plans run amuck when he arrives to find his “dojo” being demolished just like Cobra Kai’s. Yeah, I guess Johnny wasn’t really paying rent. If Johnny wants a dojo, he’ll need more cash.

At Miyagi-Do, Devon, Chris, Bert, and Nate goof spar. Mitch arrives, also ready to train. The group doesn’t seem excited to see him. His treachery still has them feeling sour. As a token of his commitment to not turn again, he has created 30 shirts that have both Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang logs combined like a 50/50 pizza. Chris asks him if he’s got an XL. He’s open to being friends again.

A man holds a red onesie up to a woman's belly

Robby and Miguel walk in together. How great is it to see these dudes together? They are confiding in each other and seem happy to be future stepbrothers. They are one big karate family. But they worry about Sam and Tory’s situation. Those two are no longer at war, but aren’t exactly karate sisters at this point. They wonder if they should help jumpstart the great reconciliation.

Daniel and Chozen are talking about the game plan for the day when in walks Johnny, carrying a bunch of items he managed to pillage from the old warehouse. He has chains and his old pitching machine. He tells them that his old dojo has been demolished but no worries – he has a new exercise planned today and needs some lighter fluid and a frying pan. However, Daniel and Chozen have changed plans without telling Johnny first. Chozen plans to teach the class today. Daniel and Johnny go back and forth about who is really in charge and who should consult with whom. They are both edging each other out. We saw Johnny try to sneak the boys over for less “soft” training without Daniel. Daniel is obviously wanting to keep Johnny in check. Neither is being a good partner.

Their mental sparring is interrupted by Hawk and Demetri coming in to share that the three senseis are needed for an important announcement. While the adults have been arguing, the teens have been holding their own caucus to come up with a dojo name. They announce the name will be Miyagi-Fang karate and proudly unveil a logo displaying a rabid-looking Mr. Miyagi with fans and flames surrounding him. We also find out the Sekai Taikai apparently happens only every two years.  Everyone claps for the new logo, but Daniel looks shaken.

All the adults convene in the interior of the dojo to talk about this news. Daniel is horrified that the kids have degraded Mr. Miyagi’s image in this way. Johnny suggests they compromise and call it Eagle-Do Fang instead. Obviously, the image doesn’t bother him at all. Chozen shares his true thoughts and tells Johnny that compared to the legacy of Miyagi-Do, Eagle Fang doesn’t hold water.

A verbal spat between Chozen and Johnny ensues that will go down in history. They compare who has been there longer and who had the hardest foes to defeat last season. Chozen challenges Johnny to a showdown at dawn on the sparring deck. Johnny says the kids will never know this time. He must have learned his lesson and will not tweet out his intentions to the students this time. A whimsical version of Chozen’s theme song plays underneath.

Meanwhile at Golf N Stuff, Miguel and Robby attempt to build a bridge between Sam and Tory with an awkward double date, rivalling any that Johnny and Daniel had in the early days of Cobra Kai. Both Sam and Tory show all the enthusiasm of a dental visit, just going with the motions. The group walks towards the batting cages, and the couples separate. The boys are both trying to make peace. But Robby forgets his mission when he sees Kenny. He wants to try and get Kenny back to the Miyagi-Do side. Kenny’s been ignoring his calls and won’t let him apologize.

Back at the pawn shop, Johnny shops for the biggest axe in stock. Daniel finds him there and tries to talk him into calling off the fight. Apparently, Johnny wants to train himself Rocky IV style. Daniel encourages Johnny to not get things off balance by fighting over a name, while still himself unable to relent about the name. Johnny is proud of what he’s accomplished. He denies allegations that Eagle Fang means nothing. The Johnny Ace Degenerate theme plays with a rock n roll tone. It’s odd that Daniel and Johnny are forgetting that they earned their spot by working together.  Johnny walks out without paying enough money for his axe. Daniel pays the bill, not for the first time.

Johnny gets a mystery text to “Meet me at Coyote Creek.” When Johnny asks about the sender’s identity, they reply, “Cobra Kai never dies.” Johnny only knows one person that would namedrop Coyote Creek. He drives off in a hurry.

Back at the arcade, Miguel continues his attempt to bring peace in the valley with Sam and Tory over an ice cream sundae. Robby is still off trying to talk to Kenny. Miguel asks them about college plans, which leaves Tory out once again. This is not going well.

A man stands in front of an arcade game with hands up

We cut to Kenny playing a target game where you aim a gun and shoot. Robby appears in front of the target, a nice callback to Daniel’s attempt to reconcile with Ali in the first Karate Kid movie. Just like Ali, Kenny isn’t impressed. Robby goes after him, really wanting to apologize for letting him down. Kenny isn’t interested in talking yet. I can’t blame Kenny here. He’s still trying to work through his feelings about what happened, and until he does, he’s not really ready to talk to anyone yet, least of all Robby. Robby is taking this personally, but it’s not really about him.

Still, Robby wants Kenny to consider joining Miyagi-Do. As he makes his arguments, a ghost from Robby’s past comes into eyesight. Shawn is out of juvie and is with Kenny. He doesn’t start a fight with Robby, but he does warn him to leave Kenny alone. Shawn thinks Robby had his chance with Kenny. Now he should back off. Again, I can’t blame Shawn here. You can’t force someone to talk to you if they aren’t ready. Shawn is being an excellent brother here, taking Kenny's side. 

Miguel, Tory, and Sam enter stage left as Kenny walks off. They ask who was with Kenny. Robby explains he met Shawn at juvie and that’s he Kenny’s brother. Even though Shawn asked Robby to leave Kenny alone, Tory encourages Robby to not listen. Honestly, I’m not sure why they are so insistent that Kenny join Miyagi-Do. Maybe he wants a break. He’s not in Cobra Kai anymore. Why does he need to join their dojo? Maybe Kenny needs some time to work stuff out. And while he’s not really doing that well. I’m not sure why they are taking a stand about this.

Four people engage in a karate fight

Anyways, this campaign to entice Kenny to the side of good seems to unite both Sam and Tory under one banner. They both tell Robby they will back him up if he wants to pursue Kenny. Miguel agrees. We now have a Fantastic Four ready to kick some butt.

Meanwhile, across town, Chozen prepares for battle by striking a wooden beam, looking as much like Uncle Sato as he’s ever done. Daniel tries Chozen with the same tactic he did with Johnny, asking him to consider not fighting. He asks if something else is going on with Chozen. He seems off lately. Chozen admits that on the night of their clubbing excursion, he called Kumiko and poured his heart out to her. She never returned his call. He has come to the conclusion this can only mean she doesn’t share his feelings. Now, Miyagi’s legacy is all he has left – the only thing that’s worth fighting for.

Johnny arrives at Coyote Creek, axe in tow. He hears Kreese’s voice using the call-and-response technique to teach the Way of the First. But as he climbs up the hill, the only thing he finds is Stingray, acting as sensei to a passel of young kids, playing a recording of Kreese’s voice. He encourages Johnny to forget all of this Miyagi crap and reclaim his rightful legacy as sensei of Cobra Kai. Johnny thinks this is all nonsense until Stingray appeals to Johnny’s ego. He tells Johnny how much that Cobra Kai meant to him. It’s obvious he thinks Johnny is a great sensei and could have thrived if not for the return of Kreese. In a way, Stingray is operating like the devil on Johnny’s shoulder. He’s saying almost verbatim, the same thoughts that Johnny has been thinking himself. During this Stingray scene, Johnny’s theme plays again with a slide guitar in the lead. A very evocative, moving version.

Back at Golf N Stuff, Kenny and Shawn are taking some swings in the batting cage. Kenny is not having a good time. Shawn wonder aloud if Kenny is too old to really enjoy this place anymore. And here comes Robby back again to give it the ole college try. Shawn tries to run intervention again, but this time, Robby doesn’t stand down. He thinks Kenny needs to join Miyagi-Do to not let the anger fester. Kenny looks a little worried but also doesn’t try too hard to stop this battle from happening.

A teen looks up angrily

Shawn then attacks Robby (or tries to). Robby manages to avoid Shawn’s attacks until Kenny joins in, landing a solid punch on Robby. In juvie, Robby had some nice walls to use to his advantage, but inside the batting cage, it’s hard to get leverage off a chain link fence. Luckily, Miguel steps in to lend some aid. They don’t want to fight, but they will if attacked. We know have a 2 v 2 battle happening. And Miguel also has to use that Cobra Kai training to dodge a baseball from hitting him or any of his friends. Both Shawn and Kenny are obviously not match for these two, but Kenny picks up a baseball bat, ready to cause true damage. Tory steps in to stop him from using any dirty tricks. Kenny is ready to fight her, too. In a nice little bit of story consistency, Tory’s wrist and knuckles are still bandaged from the physical and psychological torture Sensei Kim inflicted on her. This is not something I noticed when they were walking around before in the arcade.

Sam steps in to offer Tory aid, although they don’t really attack Kenny. They just use defense on him. Kenny tries to walk off, or maybe he’s going to join Shawn. The girl keep him from progressing further. Eventually, Shawn decides to walk away because security is coming. The Fantastic Four reconvene, and Sam compliments Tory on her use of Miyagi-Do. Tory comments that fighting Sam so much must have rubbed off. They smile at each other, and Robby and Miguel give each other a look, wondering if their little scheme actually worked.

I understand why the showrunners included this fight to help Sam and Tory move the needle on their relationship, but I still think it’s silly they were so gung-ho for Kenny to join Miyagi-Do. He and Anthony have some bad blood between them, and this could set up an opportunity for another conflict between them.

Back at his house, Kenny takes out his aggression on an free-standing punching bag. Shawn compliments his newly developed skills but also comments he couldn’t get past the girls. And he also remarks that they didn’t take cheap shots when they could have. Kenny just calls them pussies. Shawn laughs but wonders when his little brother started talking that way. Kenny claims he has learned the way the world works. Shawn inquires further. Who did he learn all these lessons from? Was it from the “ponytail dude?” Is that how Kenny learned to be aggro?

Kenny defends the Way of the Fist and tells Shawn the motto of “Strike first, strike hard, no mercy.” Shawn steps back and says that sounds like the dumbest thing he’s ever heard, causally dismissing the philosophy that has entrapped so many boys before him. It’s a hilarious writing moment. This is the moment people have been waiting for. Shawn is as heroic as he’s ever been here, giving Kenny some tough love here as only an older brother can. He tells Kenny he needs to decide what kind of man he wants to be and that anger only leads to a bad path. Here, he gives Kenny the same advice Robby did, but Kenny is willing to listen to Shawn. Kenny doesn’t know who he is anymore. Here Shawn gives him a giant brotherly hug.

At this, my heart squeezes into a million pieces. It’s hard to look at this scene and not think of Kenny in season 4. He was getting terrorized at school and didn’t have Shawn or his father to confide in. We wonder how many nights he cried tears, and how much sadness he had to repress to build up such a wall of anger based on never feeling that terror again.

Two men face off as another acts as referee

Back at the LaRusso household, Daniel wonders if the tournament is such a good idea after all. Sam returns home, absolutely glowing. She shares that she and Tory turned a corner. This makes Daniel reconsider his earlier statement. If Tory and Sam can find a compromise, surely anyone can.

At dawn, Daniel arrives at Miyagi-Do, ready to tell Chozen that he has changed his mind. They should just call the dojo Eagle Fang. Mr. Miyagi never cared about a legacy. They can honor Mr. Miyagi under any dojo name. Here’s Daniel, flippin’ the script.

But just in time, Johnny arrives and announces that he, too, has come to a decision. The dojo will be called Miyagi-Do. Despite Stingray’s impassioned arguments, Johnny has realized that Eagle Fang is just another name for Cobra Kai. He wants them to continue to build a better dojo with both their teachings. Johnny and Daniel bow to each other. Maybe Stingray helped Johnny see the light. 

But, just for fun, Johnny and Chozen are still going to fight. As they do that, we see a montage of images at Miyagi-Do. Demetri, Robby, Hawk, and Miguel train side by side. Sam and Tory do kata together. And in walks Kenny. Robby is the fist to greet him, giving him an ultimate fist bump. Miguel follows suit. And this time, Kenny gives Anthony a nod.

We cut from Johnny’s Eagle Fang gi to the new logo. Above the Miyagi bonsai tree, an eagle soars. The students all bow, donned in their new garb.

We then cut to another dojo training at nighttime. Kreese finds a group of students, doing familiar looking exercises. He asks them to tell Kim Da-Un that Cobra Kai is back.

This is a solid first episode to the season. We touch base with almost every legacy character and find out where they stand. It sets up a ground zero for what peacetime in the valley looks like. After such a momentous conflict ended in season 5, there was a hard reset. This sets up the base ground for creating new conflicts. In truth, Daniel and Johnny seem to have taken a step backward since their unity from season five. 

The fights in this episode: While we thought were building up to a fight between Johnny and Chozen, that never panned out. But, we have a pretty cool team fight between Robby, Miguel, Tory, and Sam. 

MVP of the episode. Going to have to give it to Shawn. We have all been waiting for Shawn to arrive. I only wish Kenny didn't have to go through so much alone.


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