Top 30 Shocking, Brutal and Tragic Moments on Cobra Kai

Following the shocking events in Barcelona, John Kreese wrestles with overwhelming guilt. Afterall, the very blade that killed Kwon was one that he brought to the tournament. And so, with Master Kim Sun-Yung pushing his students with a brutal new technique, Kreese abandons Cobra Kai. This leads to Kim Da-Eun being ordered to eliminate Kreese in order to prove her family worth. In a shocking twist, she decides to turn on her grandfather instead. After an ill-fated sneak-attack, a fight erupts, leading Kim Da-Eun to ultimately kill her grandfather - using his own lethal move against him.

To say the fate of Silver and Kreese was a fiery one, would be a wee bit of an understatement. You see, Silver planned to kidnap Carmen in order to blackmail Johnny into throwing the Sekai Tekai tournament. Sensing trouble, a mostly-redeemed Kreese snuck onto Silver’s boat to confront him. An inevitable fight broke out that saw a can of petrol spill out. While Silver was able to pin his adversary down, Kreese, in a final act of defiance, grabbed his lit cigar and tossed it into the spilled fuel - triggering a massive explosion that destroyed the boat and seemingly killed them both.

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.

In season 4, Terry Silver re-enters the world of karate to teach Cobra Kai students once more. But it doesn’t take long for this unstable man to get carried away. After messing with Johnny’s head, Silver tricks the Eagle Fang Sensei into taking a kick to the face. The villain proceeds to viciously overpower the fighter with devastating blows. Fortunately, Kreese puts a stop to the beatdown before it can get any worse. The fact that the harsh sensei thought Terry had crossed a line speaks volumes about the severity of this defeat. Johnny was lucky that Miguel was there to help the beaten man after he tried to drown the pain of this loss.

During an intense fight, Miyagi-Do student Robby accidentally commits a serious crime. The frightened kid immediately runs away from the scene. Robby’s mentor Daniel eventually finds the disheveled young man after a long search. At first, it seems like the two are going to figure a way out of this bad situation on their own. Unfortunately, Daniel decided to tell the cops that Robby was ready to face justice. The confused and hurt young fighter is left with no choice but to get arrested. Robby thought he could completely trust his sensei. But Daniel’s move pushed the kid away from the light and into a truly dark place.

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.

Everything about Kenny’s story in his debut episode is pretty tragic. On his very first day at a new school, he starts getting harassed by a group led by Anthony LaRusso. Kenny also has to spend a lot of time home alone due to busy parents and the fact that his brother’s in juvie. Everything starts looking up when a girl from his school supports Kenny’s cosplay and invites him to meet up. Unfortunately, this meeting was just part of a cruel prank Anthony and his friends were playing. Watching Kenny cower in fear from his tormentors is heartbreaking. The poor kid gets harassed so much that he’s unfortunately driven right into the hands of Cobra Kai.

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.

Imagine honing your skills as a sensei for years or even decades. Suddenly, you and four of your peers are asked to confront one man and get utterly destroyed. This is the scenario that five unlucky men faced when they dared to take on Chozen. The villain turned hero deals out brutal blow after brutal blow. Throughout this fight, Chozen makes sure that every one who ends up on the mat gets there in the most painful way possible. These senseis weren’t the last one to suffer a hard loss at the hands of the Miyagi-Do sensei. But they’re still some of the best examples of why you should never get on Chozen’s bad side.

Miguel initially wanted to learn karate to defend himself against the people in his school who constantly harassed him. He got his chance to break out his new fighting skills at a school Halloween party. After listening in on a conversation Kyler’s having with his twisted pals, Miguel decides to go on the offensive. But there are just too many opponents for Miguel to take on all at once. They get the best of him and beat him senseless. After the harrowing scene, Johnny finds Miguel crumpled on the floor. But things don’t get better from there. Once Miguel’s mom learns about what happened, she asks Johnny to stay away from her son.

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.

Not only is the Sekai Taikai the most prestigious karate tournament in the world, but a dojo can only send six of its students to participate. This means the Miyagi-Do senseis are forced to make some tough cuts. The newly reformed Kenny looks like a strong contender until a poorly timed trip to the bathroom during the final round of selections dashes his chance. A frustrated Kenny accuses Anthony, his former tormentor, of sabotaging him, but the show threw us a curveball by revealing it was Johnny’s protege, Devon, who committed the deed. Both Kenny and Devon grew into talented all-round students in the show’s later seasons, so it’s hard not to be disappointed in the latter for cheating at the expense of her relationships.

While Hawk was still hanging out with his Cobra Kai buddies, he took part in a horrible act of vandalism. After losing a public fight against Miyagi-Do students, he decided to take his negative emotions out on their dojo. Hawk and a few of his Cobra cronies utterly wreck the Miyagi-Do dojo. While the damage to the buildings was bad on its own, they really crossed the line by stealing Mr. Miyagi's medal of honor. The devastated look on Daniel’s face as he uncovers each act of vandalism speaks volumes. It was clear that Cobra Kai’s destructive acts hurt him more than a punch ever could.

After Kenny is relentlessly tormented by his peers at school, he turns to Robby and Cobra Kai for guidance. The new recruit slowly builds up his fighting skills and forges a strong relationship with his mentor. However, their bright relationship takes a dark turn when they meet in the quarterfinals of the All-Valley Tournament. Although Robby tries to go easy on his foe, Kreese tells him to stop holding back. The older fighter shows absolutely no mercy to Kenny. Over the course of a few minutes, Robby hits his friend with painful blows. The mentor also publicly humiliates his mentee in front of the crowd. Kenny leaves the fight with a bloody nose and the knowledge that he isn’t safe from Robby’s brutality.

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.

As the insecure Eli morphed into Hawk and trained in Cobra Kai, he became a much more cutthroat version of himself. One of the most brutal displays of his new personality occured when Kreese brought in recruits who picked on Eli in the past. Hawk sees their entrances as new opportunities to inflict revenge. When facing off against his former tormenter Brucks, the bird themed Cobra Kai Student easily gets the better of his foe and essentially beats him to a pulp. Hawk doesn’t even need to be asked to finish his opponent off. By the end of this brutal beatdown, some bystanders can’t even stand to look at the bloodied and defeated Brucks. Hawk’s revenge clearly went way too far.

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.

What should’ve been a friendly fight between rivals was tainted by tragedy. Just a day after Tory lost her mother, she had to duel Sam to see who would become Miyagi-Do’s female captain. At first, it seemed like the grief had overwhelmed the promising fighter. But when Tory started turning her rage into power, everyone realized that this clash had gotten all too real. The intense circumstances of the fight made each hit and block carry more weight. Additionally, Peyton List excelled at making Tory’s fight and grief feel achingly raw. It would’ve been great if Sam and Dory’s duel had gotten to conclude with one of the two women victorious. Even though it was interrupted, the match still made a huge impact on us.

Over the course of the series, Johnny and Miguel went from having a strict sensei and student relationship to behaving more like a father and son. Although they didn’t always express their feelings openly, it’s obvious they cared about each other. That’s why Miguel didn’t hesitate to get his heavily intoxicated and battered sensei to bed in the “Party Time” episode. After Johnny settles in, he gives an emotional speech about being a father. But in a crushing twist, it’s revealed that the speech is meant for his son Robby. Miguel is absolutely devastated by Johnny’s words. We struggled not to cry along with him as he painfully turned away from his father figure.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

One of the show’s biggest themes is the price one pays when they can't find balance. That lesson comes into horrific focus at the tail end of season six’s second act. During the Sekai Taikai finals, Cobra Kai student Kwon incites a brawl unlike anything we’ve seen before. The sheer scale and devastation is shocking enough, but our goosebumps are made even bigger by the final showdown between Kwon and Axel. Wielding Kreese’s silver knife, Kwon’s aggression and lack of discipline ultimately come at the cost of his life, as a decisive kick from Axel results in his demise. Regardless of how despicable he was, seeing a young and promising competitor go down like this was not at all what we expected.

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?


Is there a “Cobra Kai” moment that shocked you most of all? Let us know down in the comments!