Grace Nichols was the mother of Tory Nichols and Brandon Nichols, and the sister of Kandace.
Biography[]
Grace and her family grew up poor. She married Mr. Nichols and had two children, Tory and Brandon. However, her husband abandoned them at some point, leaving her to raise her children alone while struggling to make ends meet.
In the past, Grace worked at a restaurant and would often sneak home leftover food from there so she could feed Tory and Brandon. One night, she was caught red-handed by the manager and fired for stealing from the job, despite the fact the food would have been disposed of anyway. This incident shaped Tory's worldview and philosophy on life; the world is a cruel and harsh place and one should react by looking out for one's self.
In 2014, Grace was struck with cancer and by 2018, was bedridden with dialysis. As a result, Tory became the family's sole provider. Grace would eventually succumb to a pulmonary embolism and pass away, severely impacting Tory.
Cobra Kai[]
Season 2[]
Grace is first mentioned in this season when Tory revealed to her boyfriend, Miguel Diaz, that her mother used to work in a restaurant and would always bring home leftover food so her children had enough to eat. However, she was eventually caught red-handed and immediately fired because it was against the restaurant's policies, even though the food that remained would have just been thrown away. After her mother was fired for simply trying to take care of her family, Tory adopted a philosophy of showing no mercy to the world, and this in turn led her to accept John Kreese's merciless teaching methods without question.
Season 3[]
Tory was expelled from West Valley High School for her role in igniting a karate brawl between the Cobra Kai and Miyagi-Do Karate Dojos. It was only due to being her bedridden mother's caretaker that she was put on probation instead of being sentenced to juvie. Due to her responsibilities towards her mother and brother, Tory now needed to work two jobs to pay the rent and all the other bills, which forced her to quit Cobra Kai. However, upon hearing of Tory's struggles as well as her problems with her landlord, Rodney, Kreese threatened Rodney until he agreed to waive Tory's rent for the month and never sexually harass her again, allowing her to return to Cobra Kai.
Although Grace doesn't fully appear aside from the partial view of her bedroom, her voice is briefly heard twice in "Nature Vs. Nurture", first when she thanks Brandon for bringing her a sandwich Tory prepared, and later when she asks who is at the door when her daughter answers it to find Kreese. Tory quickly lies to her mom that it's no one so she and Kreese can talk in private.
Season 4[]
Tory's maternal aunt, Kandace, returned to West Valley and seemingly attempted to make up with her niece, but in reality wanted to know if Grace's disability check came in yet. Tory rejected her aunt, refusing to let Kandace steal the money her family needed. Kandace was prepared to take custody of Tory and Brandon after her sister's death but Tory knew that Kandace was only concerned with the survivor benefits that she will get from them. Tory insisted that once she turned 18 next year, she would fight to gain custody of her brother after their mother passes away. However, Kandace pointed out that she knows the legal system, and Tory's status as a high school drop-out and criminal would make her unfit to become Brandon's legal guardian over an adult in the judge's eyes. Kandace taunts that she'll see Tory at her mom's funeral.
Upon striking a deal with the LaRusso family, Tory returned to school and Amanda LaRusso helped put her in touch with a therapist, who also found a volunteer to help take care of Grace at home. Tory thanked Amanda for all of her help, despite all the harm that the former had done to Amanda's daughter Sam.
Season 5[]
Nothing is talked about Grace in this season but in the penultimate episode "Survivors", it can be seen from the partial view of her bedroom that her illness has worsened, as she is now confined in an actual hospital cot. What's more, it's implied that she's now using a ventilator to help her breathe.
Season 6[]
Grace started to feel better, and recently she even cooked dinner. The doctor gave Tory a modified prescription for her mother. When Tory returned home on December 11, 2019, she found her mother unresponsive on the floor, and it turned out that she had died. Unbeknownst to the family, Grace was suffering from a pulmonary embolism, which was worse than the doctors suspected. Following her mother's passing, Tory recalled specific childhood memories with Grace and her mother's words which left an impact.
Trivia[]
- Grace Nichols is the second character to die in the current timeline, the first being Tommy.
Gallery[]
