Ex-Degenerate

This article is about the last episode of Season 6 of Cobra Kai. You may be looking for the first episode of Season 1.

"Got it. No Mercy!"

―Johnny Lawrence’s final words in the episode, and series.

Ex-Degenerate

Season 6, Episode 15

Air date

February 13, 2025

Written by

Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg

Directed by

Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg

Episode Guide
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Ex-Degenerate is the 15th and final episode of the sixth season of Cobra Kai. It is also the series finale of the show.

Synopsis[]

Fierce rivalries. Fresh opportunities. Daniel and Johnny find themselves back where it all began — and the stakes have never been higher.

Plot[]

In a 2017 flashback, Johnny Lawrence visits his mother's grave and apologizes for letting her down. In the present day, he tells his daughter about his fight and that his second chance of being a champion is coming and he can't blow it.

Later, Chozen and Daniel are training Johnny in the old Cobra Kai dojo where Daniel notices Johnny is off. He admits how good Feng is and that he can't stand a chance. Daniel talks about Rocky where he tells him that whether he wins or loses, there are people that are there for him, including Daniel. He and Johnny intensify their training and Johnny restores his confidence.

At the LaRusso house, the LaRusso's and Diazes are having dinner where Miguel reveals that he got into Stanford, much to Sam's delight. Lucille gives Sam a necklace as her graduation gift. She tells the story behind the necklace and Daniel now learns the truth about Mr. Miyagi.

At the All-Valley arena, a person from Icon Branding gives Robby and Tory a marketing offer because of their impressive performances in the tournament and after they accept, the two hug each other. Gunther gives Daryl the microphone and lets him emcee the event as his way of apologizing for getting off the wrong hand. Yasmine and Demetri reunite and the two kiss, rekindling their relationship.

Before the fight starts, Feng meets Johnny in the locker room where he tells him that his defeat will be made public and nearly breaks his arm after Johnny gets provoked and tries to attack him. Lyle and Nestor are at a bar watching the match.

Daryl emcees the fight and explains that they reverted back to the traditional rules: first to 3 points win. He introduces the Iron Dragons with Feng and his students walking out and to their surprise, Silver isn’t around and the team are unaware of his fate. Daniel, Chozen and their students all run out donning the black Cobra Kai gi with Johnny entering last. The match starts, and Feng scores two quick points and using dirty tactics like ear clapping and an elbow to the mouth to weaken Johnny, and Daniel calls a timeout. Daniel speaks Johnny's language and reminds his former rival about Cobra Kai's other motto and inspires Johnny. Thanks to Daniel's advice, Johnny mounts a comeback and eventually wins. Everyone embraces Johnny after his victory.

After the tournament, everyone is enjoying their lives normally. Johnny has bought a house for him and his family, Miguel and Sam continue to expand their relationship, Robby and Tory have become representatives for Icon Branding and they promote and market karate, and Eli and Demetri head off to Caltech. Chozen arrives South Korea and reunites with Kim Da-Eun who is running her dojang and the two start a relationship. Johnny puts flowers and a picture on his mother's tombstone of him, Robby and Miguel with Carmen and Laura after she gave birth. Miguel meets with Sam at the airport and reveals that he is going to Okinawa to help her explore than attend the summer program in Stanford. She also reveals that she is wearing the octopus necklace Miguel bought her.

Stingray exits the Cobra Kai dojo and tells the children that the dojo is at capacity and he will teach beginners at a new location. Inside the dojo, Johnny is talking to a new group of kids with Devon, Kenny and Anthony also present as senior students. He explains to the students that even though his style is offense, they will also train with Miyagi-Do to learn defense from one of the best mentors in the world and tells them to be who they are. He also tells them about how Miguel became a champion and hopes that they can follow his footsteps.

At a Japanese restaurant, Daniel and Johnny are having lunch where they discuss the upcoming All-Valley tournament and how Daniel wants Anthony to learn more Cobra Kai and Johnny wants Devon to learn more Miyagi-Do. Johnny enlists Daniel's help on his first property tax bill, in which the latter tells the former that he will introduce him to his accountant. Daniel sees a fly around him and decides to try one of Mr. Miyagi's first lessons: catching a fly with chopsticks, but when Daniel gets close to catching it, Johnny kills the fly with his hands and says, "No mercy."

Cast[]

Trivia[]

The title of this episode alludes to four things: the title of the first episode of Season 1, which is "Ace Degenerate" and Johnny's transformation from a degenerate to a new, changed man, the fact that Johnny, Chozen, and Daniel are in charge of their respective dojos since all of their mentors have passed away at this point, and how Johnny and his contemporaries have grown beyond the teachings of their mentors.
In The Karate Kid, Johnny claims to be an ex-degenerate for his senior year of high school.
This is the only season finale not to feature John Kreese due to his death in the previous episode.
This episode marks the first time Chozen, Sam, Anthony and Demetri wear Cobra Kai uniforms.
This is also Daniel's first time wearing Cobra Kai gi since The Karate Kid Part III, now wearing the black one instead the white one that he wears during under Silver's training.
This is also Hawk's first time wearing the black Cobra Kai gi since Season 2. All the other Miyagi-Do students alongside Robby and Kenny wear their black Cobra Kai gi for the first time since Season 4.
This is also Devon’s first time wearing the original black Cobra Kai gi as the previous black gi she wore is from the previous season.
Daniel says "You're alright, Lawrence" to Johnny after he wins the karate tournament trophy is a nod to Johnny saying "You're alright, LaRusso" to Daniel in the original film after Daniel defeated Johnny.
During Sam's goodbye, the family gets emotional, but Amanda appears to be affected the most, making this the first time she really breaks down.
Johnny’s backhand finisher on Sensei Wolf is likely a nod to a backhand he used on Daniel during their first fight at the beach in the original film.
Miguel going with Sam to Okinawa is a callback to The Karate Kid Part II where Daniel wanted to accompany Mr. Miyagi.
When Stingray goes to pick up his mom's dry cleaning, he can be seen getting into the 2009 Dodge Challenger that had originally belonged to Johnny and which Silver had acquired for Stingray.
In "Fire and Ice" Johnny explicitly states to Miguel that Laura died shortly before Robby's birth on February 4, 2002, so possible date is in January of 2002, yet in this episode her tombstone places her death at September 23, 2007, 5 years after Robby's birth.
During the training montage, Daniel and Johnny are shown running past South Seas and West Valley High School. The scene is also a reference to Rocky II.
- Also, the song that's being played during the montage, Joe Esposito's You're the Best Around, is the same song being played during the qualification montage in the original film.
Hawk's car design is a nod to the late Paul Walker's Nissan Skyline R34 from 2 Fast 2 Furious.
- Eli/Hawk's license plate is 0010001, which, in binary, translates to 17 in standard decimal. This is ostensibly his age as his teen friends prepare for college. "Binary" is also how he and Demetri refer to their duo friendship.
The two men discussing a Back to the Future reboot in the restaurant at the end are Cobra Kai creators Josh Heald and Jon Hurwitz.
According to an interview with Martin Kove, a deleted scene from the finale would have hinted at Kreese surviving the explosion that seemingly ended his story. Originally, the last glimpse of the character was meant to be a shot of his hand taking a magazine featuring an article about Terry Silver. The decision to remove this was made by the showrunners. Instead, the final cut has Kreese dying from the explosion that also killed off Terry Silver. "I loved it. It was my hand with the ring--just the shot of the hand--taking the magazine that says, 'Whatever happened to Terry Silver?' But [the showrunners] didn't feel it was necessary. It might have been a little hokey to have the guy live through an explosion."^[1]