Top 20 Most Shocking Cobra Kai Moments

"Mercy"

Everything was in place for Cobra Kai’s season 1 finale to repeat the ending of the initial “Karate Kid” movie. Robby found himself as yet another injured Miyagi-Do student who had the daunting task of trying to beat a fearsome rival with much more training. As their final fight wound down, we expected the underdog to win just like Daniel did in the 1984 movie. However, Miguel takes advantage of Robby’s injury and clinches a brutal victory. This huge upset let fans know early on that “Cobra Kai” wasn’t here just to repeat the beats of the old movies. In this new and bold spinoff, anything could happen.

“Playing With Fire”

Although Johnny hasn’t exactly been father of the year in the past, he’s put in a lot of work to be a better dad to Robby and Miguel. It turns out that he leveled up his parenting skills just in time. Shortly after returning from Mexico, Johnny finds out that he’ll be having a baby with Miguel’s mother Carmen. This surprising plot point immediately pushes the former Cobra Kai sensei to go to extreme and absurd lengths to prepare for the incoming bundle of joy. Watching Johnny fully embrace fatherhood may have been the most surprising aspect of the baby announcement. Before this point, we never would’ve expected him to be so happy to raise a kid.

“First Learn Stand”

When Kenny Payne starts going to a new school, he’s relentlessly tormented by a group of kids. The fact the antagonists are led by Daniel Larusso’s son Anthony was a huge shock. And we couldn’t have predicted how far they’d go to repeatedly see the new kid suffer. But the most earth-shattering reveal came when Kenny went to juvie to visit his older brother Shawn. In an instant, fans recognized the eldest Payne sibling was the person Robby fought while he was in trouble. This twist comes back to bite Anthony Larusso when Shawn encourages Kenny to start training at Cobra Kai with Robby. The new kid’s descent to becoming a tormentor himself all started with a sibling we didn't see coming.

“Match Point”

Eli was able to overcome his insecurity about his cleft lip scar by embracing a mohawk and getting a cool new nickname. His new and occasionally very bright hairstyle became a cornerstone of his identity. Although it seemed like Eli would never part with it, he wasn’t given a choice on one fateful afternoon. While waiting for a tattoo appointment, Hawk is suddenly ambushed by a group of Cobra Kai students. They then proceed to hold him down and hack away at his iconic hair. Seeing a defeated Hawk reveal his horrible hair cut was a crushing and gasp-inducing sight. After this harrowing surprise attack, Hawk understandably had to take time to figure out who he was without his mohawk.

Molé

Before Miguel met his father Hector, he was warned multiple times that his biological dad was incredibly dangerous. But the patriarch initially seemed to be fairly friendly and welcoming. However, once Hector becomes paranoid that the authorities are after him, he turns into a harsh and angry man on a dime. Not only does he put his hands on Miguel, but he even pulls out a gun in his son’s presence. We weren’t prepared for the seemingly pleasant Hector to have such a twisted and dark side to him. Fortunately, Miguel was away quickly before we could see what other grim things his dad was capable of.

“December 19”

There didn’t seem to be any force on earth that could force a pair of old karate rivals to work together. Of course, that was before John Kreese started corrupting young students. After Johnny nearly loses a fight with Kreese, Daniel jumps in to save his rival. The tense matchup ends with a promise to settle the score by having Miyagi-Do students face off against Cobra Kai disciples. With limited time to prepare, Daniel and Johnny surprisingly decide to join forces and train their students together. The mere sight of seeing the two senseis stand shoulder to shoulder was enough to leave us stunned and hungry for what came next.

“King Cobra” & “December 19”

Longtime “Karate Kid” fans wondered if Kreese’s ponytail-wearing buddy Terry Silver would appear in the Vietnam flashbacks. Silver was a veteran who served as both “Karate Kid Part III’s” main villain and Cobra Kai’s original owner. The audience quickly assumes he’s the soldier with a ponytail and cocky attitude in the flashbacks. But shortly after Ponytail expires, the captain says harsh words to a scrawny guy nicknamed Twig. We get definite confirmation that this soldier is indeed Terry Silver when he says an iconic phrase his character is known for. It was a brilliant bait and switch to introduce him as a more fearful character. Although he didn’t seem intimidating then, we know he’d become a serious threat very soon.

“The Rise”

After Miguel completed a long journey of recovery, he was ready to defend his title as the All-Valley champ once more. But shortly after the match begins, Miguel severely aggravates his old injury. The terrifying scene is followed by the hopeful news that the kid will be able to fight after all. Instead of rallying and jumping back into the tournament, Miguel leaves the competition without a word to his friends or family. His uncharacteristic decision to back down majorly shook up the tournament and made it impossible to tell which fighter would win it all. No one anticipated that this would be how the champ threw away his shot at becoming a two time victor.

“Extreme Measures”

Although Daniel hated what Silver was doing with Cobra Kai in the Valley, the Miyagi-Do sensei was ready to stop fighting his foe. But the villain manages to provoke the hero enough to throw the first blow. What follows is a tense fight that Silver completely dominates. And just when Daniel looks ready to come back, he gives into anger and leaves himself wide open. Silver proceeds to beat his foe down into the ground. The only reason he lets Daniel survive is so that the Miyagi-Do man can live to see Cobra Kais tighten their hold over more impressionable people. Seeing our hero lying on the ground beaten was a sobering reminder that Silver’s one of the most dangerous villains in the franchise.

“Miyagi-Do”

Throughout the series, Hawk evolves from a timid nerd to a ruthless fighter who resembles his former tormentors. He even targets his old friend Demetri several times. So, it was a pleasant surprise to see Demetri kick Hawk into a trophy case. Their rematch, however, is more shocking than satisfying. Although Miyagi-Do holds their own against Cobra Kai during a brawl, it all goes downhill once Tory shows up and causes Sam to panic. The showdown reaches its boiling point when Hawk pins down Demetri and is pressured into breaking his arm. While we’ve seen Hawk cause his former friend harm before, he’s never gone this far. But the conflicted look on his face before and after the break suggested Eli is still in there.

“Take a Right”

The redemption arcs help make “Cobra Kai” such a shocking show. We never expected to empathize with Tommy after he told Johnny to put Daniel in a body bag. It’s established at the start of a heartbreaking episode that Tommy could succumb to a terminal illness at any time. But you forget he’s sick when you see him and his fellow Cobra Kais emerge victorious from a bar brawl. And as Tommy and Johnny share an insightful conversation around a campfire, we’re given a glimmer of hope that he’ll recover. Reality sinks back in the next morning when the guys discover Tommy passed away in his sleep. Although we knew his demise was inevitable, it’s harrowing and awfully ironic seeing Tommy in a body bag.

“Head of the Snake”

A climactic final battle between Chozen and Terry Silver became a lot more dangerous when both fighters got their hands on sharp weapons. We tried not to gasp every time a blade came close to seriously wounding a fighter. However, we finally breathed a sigh of relief when Chozen had Silver at his mercy. But that happiness was immediately erased when the Cobra Kai sensei lashed out while his opponent was distracted. Seeing Chozen fall backwards into that pool had us terrified that we might’ve lost one of our new favorite fighters. Fortunately, he was tough enough to survive the slice.

“December 19”

On December 19, 1984, Daniel defeated Johnny in the All Valley Karate Championship. Thirty-odd years later, December 19 turns into D-Day at the LaRusso residence. As Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang try to make a truce for peace, Cobra Kai wages war by throwing Bert through a window. This surprising moment is followed by a shocking brawl in the house that is full of unexpected revelations. Sam summons the strength to stand up to Tory, Miguel has a rematch with Kyler, and, most surprising of all, Hawk confronts the monster he’s become. His moment of truth comes when he turns on his teammates to save Demitri. Although it was one of the show’s most brutal fights, its resolution left us on a hopeful note.

“The Rise”

While the relationship between two of Cobra Kai’s fiercest senseis could get strained at times, their shared memories of their Vietnam War service seemed to hold their bond together. So, we were stunned when Silver permanently fractured their friendship with a twisted scheme. The sensei starts off by savagely beating Cobra Kai student Stingray to a pulp. Next, Silver worked with his victim to frame Kreese for the crime. These dark steps led to a shocking scene where officers arrive to haul the accused veteran away. Although we knew Silver was power-hungry, we never expected him to betray the man who once saved his life to get ahead. Kreese’s fall basically delivered control of Cobra Kai to his former friend on a silver platter.

“The Right Path”

On a business trip to Japan, Daniel is delighted to cross paths with his former love interest Kumiko again. Of course, she’s not the only character from “Karate Kid Part II” who makes an appearance. As Daniel and Kumiko sit down to a friendly drink, they’re interrupted by the antagonistic Chozen. The audience shares Daniel’s surprise and horror as Chozen sternly calls his name from across the room. What’s perhaps even more shocking is this former villain doesn’t throw a punch or make threats. More than three decades after Chozen tried to end Daniel’s life, he bows to his old rival. It’s not often that a show catches us off guard two times in a row, but we didn’t anticipate Chozen’s return or eventual redemption.

“Survivors”

All the heroes wanted to do was go out for a night on the town to celebrate a much-deserved win over Terry Silver. However, the evening takes a sharp and very dark turn. After Chozen, Daniel and Johnny get into their party limo, it’s revealed that their driver’s been replaced. The new person behind the wheel also begins swerving dangerously toward some unknown location. Since Johnny recently announced he was having a kid and Chozen just confessed his feelings for Kumiko, we got a sinking feeling that someone wouldn’t make it when we first watched the episode. However, we were in for a great surprise when villain-turned-ally Mike Barnes revealed he was the bad driver all along. This sequence was truly a wild ride.

“Mercy”

During Season 1, Johnny mentions that his old Cobra Kai sensei passed away. Since John Kreese was one of the best villains in the movies, the audience was disappointed to learn that he wouldn’t appear in this series. But the showrunners gave fans what they wanted in the season finale. After his dojo wins the All Valley Karate Championship, Johnny is visited by a shadowy figure at night who delivers a classic villain monologue. Suddenly, Kreese reveals himself with a cigar in hand. We guess we shouldn’t have been too surprised. After all, this wasn’t the first time that reports of Kreese’s death were exaggerated. This scene was also great foreshadowing for when he pulled off another shocking death hoax in season 5.

“The Rise”

Both Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang agreed to close their doors permanently if they lost to Cobra Kai in the All-Valley tournament. With the hopes of multiple dojos riding on her shoulders, Sam Larusso charged into battle against her old rival Tory. Although the two were evenly matched, the Cobra Kai student eventually landed the final blow on the Miyagi-do disciple. This unthinkable win left our jaws firmly planted on the floor. And before we could recover, we got hit with the bombshell revelation that Silver paid off the referee to guarantee a Cobra Kai win. The weight of this All-Valley loss and the way it played out left us reeling as we ended the show’s shocking season 4 finale.

“December 19”

We already knew that Kreese was merciless, but “Cobra Kai” still managed to keep us guessing about how far he’d go. We’re given our answer in the Season 3 finale when he’s forced into a deathmatch with Captain Turner over a snake pit. Before the fight began, Turner revealed that he hid the news about Kreese’s girlfriend passing away in an accident. When reinforcements show up, the soldier gets the chance to bring his captain to safety. Blinded by loss and vengeance, Kreese kicks Turner into the snake pit. The flashback scene mirrors his equally heated fight against Johnny in the present. If Daniel hadn’t intervened, Johnny likely would’ve met the same dire fate as Turner… minus the snakes.

“No Mercy”

The Season 2 finale hit us with plenty of shocking moments after an all-out war breaks out on the first day of school. The most jaw-dropping moment happens atop a staircase. After a long fight, Miguel gets Robby right where he wants him. But Miguel decides to follow Johnny’s advice and show his enemy mercy. The merciful path proves to be his downfall. Robby retaliates and accidentally kicks Miguel over the ledge. In a show full of hard-hitting moments, nothing hurt more than seeing Miguel freefall before landing back first on a staircase railing .“Cobra Kai” constantly leaves us asking who to root for. But the outcome of this fight begs an even more layered question: is showing mercy always the right choice?