| This article is about the penultimate episode of Season 6 of Cobra Kai. You may be looking for the second episode of Season 1. |
- "Welcome to the valley, bitch."
- ―Tory Nichols
"Strike Last" is the fourteenth episode of the sixth season of Cobra Kai.
Synopsis[]
The action heats up as the Valley's top fighters pit their courage against their rivals' speed and strength. But one last surprise changes everything.
Plot[]
Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence are driving in Los Angeles in Mr. Miyagi's old car where he takes his former rival to the old Cobra Kai dojo. He tells him that he was able to talk to Armand Zakarian to rent at a reasonable rate under his name. Daniel tells him that if Miguel and Tory win, they will be Sekai Taikai champions and that he will accept Johnny's version of Cobra Kai. After, the two bow to each other.
The Iron Dragons are training where Terry Silver is clearly mad and upset about Johnny taking back Cobra Kai, but Feng assures Silver that the champion title is still theirs. Feng calls Axel and Wing to fight, where Axel doesn't break his arm despite being able to and lands a hit, upsetting Feng Xiao. He and Terry chastise him about holding back out of empathy and being distracted by Samantha LaRusso and tells him if she means more than winning to him, he already lost.
At the dojo, Johnny trains Miguel and Tory for their matches with help from the Miyagi-Do students. After training, Miguel and Johnny talk to each other while having pizza. Johnny admits that he should've defeated Daniel in their first All Valley but he was too imbalanced and hellbent on revenge. Johnny also tells them that being Miguel's sensei is the best thing that's ever happened to him. Later, Sam teaches Tory the advanced moves of Miyagi-Do and she meets Daniel and Amanda and thanks them for helping her turn her life around.
At the All Valley Sports Arena, Demetri reveals to Eli and Moon that he got into CalTech. He also tells the two that he turned down MIT's offer so he can be reunited with Eli. Tory and Zara begin their fight but Tory loses focus as Zara had taunted her just before their match began, allowing Zara to score 5 points in the first round. After the first round ends, Robby tells Tory that he loves her and the two kiss, which makes Tory even more focused. The second round begins with Tory fully focused and she successfully lands 2 knockdowns before knocking out Zara (and her upper incisors) after scoring several points, causing her to win the match and becomes the Sekai Taikai female champion. Tory also taunts Zara the same way the latter did in Barcelona.
Before the next match, Daniel and Silver talk to each other where Silver taunts Daniel for withdrawing Miyagi-Do, telling him that Cobra Kai would end up overshadowing Miyagi-Do should they win. He even went on to say that he would love to see the look on Mr. Miyagi's face if he were alive to see him destroy everything Daniel and his mentor worked for. Daniel then tells Silver the same words he told Daniel before: Cobra Kai never dies.
Miguel and Sam talk where he praises her for going to Okinawa for her study abroad program. The boys' final begins, and Miguel dominates Axel in the first round. However, Axel drives up his score in Round 2 after being angrily berated by Feng, saying that he will be less than nothing if he lost. After Johnny reminds Miguel of everything's he's endured over the years and gives him his headband, and Axel refuses to cheat after Feng told him to break Miguel's spine as it was already weakened in Season 2. Miguel defeats Axel with several points and a knockdown, making Miguel the boys' champion. Disgusted with Feng's dirty tactics, Axel quits Iron Dragons. Gunther reveals that the score is tied and that Johnny and Feng will fight each other in a tiebreaker.
Needing an insurance policy in case Johnny beats Wolf, Silver orders his henchman Dennis to abduct Carmen and their (Johnny's and Carmen's) daughter. However, knowing of his plan, Kreese attacks and kills Dennis before confronting Silver. Silver tells him he should've been away, but Kreese berates him for losing to Cobra Kai. After, Silver berates him for still having a weak spot for Johnny. Then, Kreese and Silver fight each other on Silver's yacht. While Silver has the upper hand, Kreese makes one last play by throwing his cigar on spilled fuel, much to the horror of Silver. Kreese's cigar successfully lands on the fuel, leading to the yacht exploding and the deaths of both Kreese and Silver.
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
- Vanessa Rubio as Carmen Diaz
- Martin Kove as John Kreese
- Thomas Ian Griffith as Terry Silver
Guest Starring[]
- Lewis Tan as Sensei Wolf
- Griffin Santopietro as Anthony LaRusso
- Patrick Luwis as Axel Kovacevic
- Rayna Vallandingham as Zara Malik
- Carsten Norgaard as Gunther Braun
- William Christopher Ford as Dennis de Guzman
- Hannah Kepple as Moon Taylor
- Rose Bianco as Rosa Diaz
- Yuji Okumoto as Chozen Toguchi
- Darryl Vidal as Himself
- Brock Redmond as Sawyer
Trivia[]
- The title of this episode alludes to the first part of the Cobra Kai mantra, "Strike first," and it also parallels the title of the second episode of Season 1, which is Strike First.
- This episode marks the first time Axel and Zara lose a fight, being defeated by Miguel and Tory, respectively.
- This marks the first time Johnny was training his students at his Cobra Kai dojo since Season 2.
- This also marks the first time Miguel and Tory train at their old dojo since Seasons 2 and 4, respectively.
- This also marks the first time Hawk is at the old dojo since Feel The Night in Season 3, Robby's first time at the dojo since The Rise, and Kenny’s first time at the dojo since The Fall in Season 4.
- This is Amanda's first time inside Johnny's old Cobra Kai dojo since season 3 when she confronted Kreese.
- This is Samantha and Anthony's first visit at Johnny's old Cobra Kai dojo.
- With those two, now all of the LaRusso family have set foot inside Johnny's old Cobra Kai dojo, let alone Louie, who never actually visited the dojo.
- Samantha had already been at the area twice in seasons 2 and 3, but this was the first episode she actually set foot inside the dojo.
- With those two, now all of the LaRusso family have set foot inside Johnny's old Cobra Kai dojo, let alone Louie, who never actually visited the dojo.
- It's revealed that Dennis de Guzman was the one who had burned down Mike Barnes' furniture store on Silver's orders.
- This episode marks the first time Miguel and Tory wear the black Cobra Kai gi since Seasons 2 and 4 respectively.
- When Tory expresses her gratitude to the LaRusso's for helping her improve her life, events from The Moment of Truth, Kicks Get Chicks, Best of the Best, and Rattled are mentioned.
- Robby and Tory's kiss, which regained her confidence, is a callback to The Fall, when Moon kissed Hawk to give him back his confidence.
- When Tory knocked out Zara with her teeth falling out, this is what Tory said she would do in Snakes on a Plane.
- Afterward, Tory said "Welcome to the Valley, bitch!", which alludes to Zara's taunt, "Welcome to Barcelona, bitch!", in Benvinguts a Barcelona.
- This episode is John Kreese, Terry Silver, and Dennis de Guzman's last appearance since they died in the explosion.
- This makes them the seventh, eighth, and ninth deceased characters in the contemporary timeline, following Nariyoshi Miyagi, Grace Nichols, Claramunt, Tommy, Kwon Jae-Sung, and Kim Sun-Yung.
- This episode marks the final appearances of Axel and Zara.
- This episode marks the final interaction of Terry Silver and Johnny Lawrence and his family.
- Although this is the only time that Rosa Diaz met Terry Silver before his demise.
- The short break scene before the boys final match marks the final interaction of Daniel LaRusso and Terry Silver.
Gallery[]
