- "Let the games begin."
- ―John Kreese
"Best of the Best" is the fifth episode of the sixth season of Cobra Kai.
Synopsis[]
Miyagi-Do's top students square off to be team captains, but a devastating tragedy changes everything. Kreese reveals his final surprise.
Plot[]
At the doctor's office, Tory picks up medicine for her mother. She explains that she is back on track and the doctor praises her for taking care of her. When she leaves, she encounters Kreese. He tries to offer her a spot in his dojo but Tory denies him, letting him know that she has been fitting in with Miyagi-Do.
Before Miyagi-Do's training session, Sam tells Hawk, Demetri and Miguel about Aisha getting into UC Santa Cruz. They cheer Miguel up after he tells them that he hasn't heard anything from Stanford. Demetri tells them that he got accepted into MIT and reminds Hawk about not applying. He tells him Michael Jordan's old quote: you miss 100% of the shots you don't make. Robby and Tory practice where he praises her for rejecting Kreese. Tory tells him to keep it between the two and Robby tells her that they will stick together after the tournament and they kiss. Daniel and Johnny arrive and explain to the students that in order to appoint the captains, he has Miguel and Robby fight for male captain while Sam and Tory will fight for the female captain. Johnny trains them with his training methods, much to Daniel's embarrassment.
After grocery shopping, Daniel vents to Amanda about Johnny taking over training. He tells her that he hasn't fully embraced Miyagi-Do despite the training. Amanda tells him that anything is possible. Daniel counters saying Mr. Miyagi never wanted this to happen. Johnny tells Carmen that the training is well and that the baby is kicking. When Miguel comes out, he tells them that he got deferred for Stanford and they hug him.
Tory comes home but she sees her mom on the ground. She tries to wake her up but to no avail. Back at school, Miguel tells Sam that Stanford accepts 15% of the deferred students. Robby arrives and asks about Tory and tells him that he will go down when they fight.
At LaRusso Auto, Johnny confronts Daniel about putting him on the test drive schedule despite the captain's match. He senses that the reason why he put him for Thursday is to take over the training.
While at the park, Robby texts Tory but she doesn't answer. Tory is at the hospital where the doctor explains that they discovered that her mother was developing a blood clot. She berates the doctor for not noticing and leaves in anger.
Miguel and Sam are training with Daniel and tells Sam that he really wants to be male captain. Sam tells her father that she's fighting for closure and Daniel praises her. Johnny confronts Daniel about training Miguel and Sam. He tells them that they are reviewing kata and as his boss, he tells him to go back to the test drive. Johnny tells everyone he is leaving but is stopped by Amanda. Amanda tells Johnny that the reason why he's been acting strange is because of Mr. Miyagi's old box.
At the apartment, Miguel approaches Robby and tells him that even if they fight, they don't have any bad blood. He vents to him about college but he tells him about his situation. Before their conversation escalates, Carmen offers burgers but Robby declines. Miguel leaves and Robby tries to call Tory but to no avail. At home, Tory has a flashback with her mom and gives her a colored cap. Her mom tells her that in her drawing, the characters have to learn to work together.
Back at the LaRusso house, Daniel vents about Johnny not embracing Miyagi-Do. He adds that he's been unprofessional as his employee but Amanda tells him that they are still partners. Amanda mentions that he's been imbalanced and that he needs to focus on the present and that the students need him and Johnny.
Before the matches, Daniel tries to apologize but Johnny understands that he was doing his job. He adds that even if he's his boss at the dealership, he's his partner at the dojo. He tells Johnny that he will referee Miguel and Robby and Johnny will referee Sam and Tory. Miguel and Robby's match begins and Miguel scores two quick points. However, after seeing Tory, Robby mounts a comeback and beats Miguel. Daniel then appoints him male captain for the Sekai Taikai. Sam and Tory are up next. While the fight is happening, Sam takes the lead but when the hospital calls, Amanda answers. Daniel notices Tory's emotions change and has Johnny call off the fight. Tory reveals that her mother died and that she needs to fight for her. The senseis, Robby, and Amanda try to make her remain on the team but she leaves Miyagi-Do. Daniel and Johnny argue about his decision to end the fight. Johnny gets angry and tells him that Tory was fighting through it and the same thing would have helped him when his mother died. Daniel rebuts saying that they don't teach anger and Tory needed time to grieve, upsetting Johnny about how Daniel keeps bring up Miyagi-Do. After Johnny insults Mr. Miyagi for his past secret, Daniel punches him but apologizes. Johnny unleashes Sensei Lawrence and tells him that after they win the Sekai Taikai, they are done. The two explain that training is now over and that Hawk will replace Tory. Daniel tells his team that they will be fighting for Miyagi-Do and they need to support each other. He gives Robby and Sam their captain headbands. Daniel sees that the captain headbands look familiar to the one he saw in Mr. Miyagi's box. He realizes that Mr. Miyagi fought in the tournament as well and there’s blood on the headband, causing him to question his belief.
They arrive in Barcelona, Spain for the Sekai Taikai. While getting ready, they see the new Cobra Kai and when Tory arrives with them, the rest of Miyagi-Do is shocked.
Cast[]
Starring[]
- Ralph Macchio as Daniel LaRusso
- William Zabka as Johnny Lawrence
- Courtney Henggeler as Amanda LaRusso
- Xolo Maridueña as Miguel Diaz
- Tanner Buchanan as Robby Keene
- Mary Mouser as Samantha LaRusso
- Peyton List as Tory Nichols
- Jacob Bertrand as Eli "Hawk" Moskowitz
- Gianni Decenzo as Demetri Alexopoulos
- Dallas Dupree Young as Kenny Payne (credit only)
- Vanessa Rubio as Carmen Diaz
- Martin Kove as John Kreese
Guest Starring[]
- Griffin Santopietro as Anthony LaRusso
- Oona O'Brien as Devon Lee
- Aedin Mincks as Mitch
- Khalil Everage as Chris
- Owen Morgan as Bert
- Brandon H. Lee as Kwon Jae-Sung
- Dan Ahdoot as Anoush
- Bret Ernst as Louie LaRusso Jr.
- Déjà Dee as Dr. Judith
- Alicia Hannah-Kim as Kim Da-Eun
- Nichole Brown as Aisha Robinson (mentioned and flashback)
Co-Starring[]
- Bethany Dezelle as Grace Nichols
- Charlotte Anne Tucker as Young Tory
- Kevin Waterman as Cody/Test Driver
Trivia[]
- The scene where Daniel tells Johnny “It’s not the Miyagi-Way” became an internet meme in TikTok using the word “Get Out” at the end of the sentence.
- This is Kreese's first time in America since his prison escape.
- This is the final episode of the first part of the sixth season. The next set of episodes is currently slated to released on November 15, 2024.
- Tory's mom is revealed to be named Grace and finally appears in this episode with some more lines and a full view of her.
- It's revealed Grace was struggling with cancer for the past five years.
- In Tory's flashback, she draws three mermaids on a to-go box. Tory had previously dressed as a mermaid for her new job in "Bicephaly".
- This is also the first episode to show a younger version of Tory.
- Tory's brother Brandon does not appear in the flashback, which is set shortly after their father left. It's likely he either had not been born yet or was just a baby.
- This is the second episode of season 6 where Aisha appears via flashback, and she is also mentioned by Sam as going to UC Santa Cruz for college.
- As of this episode, Daniel LaRusso breaks his tradition of not striking first by punching Johnny.
- Daniel's punch on Johnny is a callback to The Karate Kid.
- This is the first time Robby has beaten Miguel in a match, as he had lost to Miguel in the season one finale.
- Kenny does not appear in this episode, but is mentioned by Devon as still recovering from the events of Underdogs.
- This is Louie and Anoush's first appearances in season 6.
- This is the longest episode of the first part of season 6 with a runtime of 44 minutes, second only to Head of the Snake.
- This is the first non-season finale to not play the original Cobra Kai credits theme.
- This episode is named after the film series Best of the Best, one of the films which Johnny shows to Sam, Tory, Robby and Miguel as he is training them for the Sekai Takai. He points out the character of Alex Grady played by Eric Roberts, noting that he lost his shoulder in the first movie, but that it was miraculously healed by the second, and saying that they too can be like Eric Roberts if they believe in themselves. The slogan "Best of the Best" is also featured on the emblem of Sekai Taikai. The episode's plot mirrors that of the first Best of the Best film, in which an underdog team of American martial artists trains to take on the South Korean team in a world championship event.
- This episode shares similarities to the movie Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge; both characters, Tory and Scorpion share the same tragedy in their family.
Gallery[]
