- "I wanted to win the All Valley more than anything. When they handed me that trophy... that was the best moment of my life. But then I saw Silver and that ref, and it just killed me. I felt like a fraud. I wanted to get back at Silver so bad. That's why I listened to Kreese, but then I got caught up in more lies. And now my life is a living hell."
- ―Tory to Sam LaRusso[src]
Tory Nichols[1] is one of the two tritagonists (alongside Demetri Alexopoulos) in the Netflix series, Cobra Kai.
She served as the tertiary antagonist of Season 2, the secondary antagonist of Season 3, one of the two tritagonists (along with Demetri Alexopoulos) of Season 4 and Season 5, and one of the two deuteragonists during parts 1 and 2of Season 6. She is portrayed by Peyton List.
She has been described as a troubled teen who speaks her mind and is willing to fight anyone who angers her. Tory becomes a student at the newly reopened Cobra Kai Dojo. After falling victim to the merciless teachings of her sensei John Kreese, Tory becomes aggressive and vengeful, especially towards Samantha LaRusso. Following her expulsion for starting the school karate war, she forms a bond with Kreese. Through this bond, she becomes more ruthless and vengeful. She goes on to be one of Kreese's most corrupted students, with her karate skills earning her the nickname Queen Cobra.
Upon witnessing the ruthless lengths Terry Silver was willing to take to make Cobra Kai infamous and feeling used as a puppet, Tory ultimately defected from the dojo and joined forces with Sam, Miguel, Robby and their friends to expose Silver and put him in jail once and for all, making amends with all those that she hurt. However, following the death of her mother, which messes with her mind, a heartbroken Tory full of rage reluctantly defects back to Cobra Kai after not being allowed to fight Sam for a chance of female captaincy in the Sekai Taikai.
Tory joining Cobra Kai causes strain amongst the Miyagi-Do students, where she has Robby pause their relationship to focus on the tournament. She faces Miyagi-Do in the first match of the Sekai Taikai where they win, but proceed to lose to the Iron Dragons. Cobra Kai continue to advance through each elimination round up until they face Miyagi-Do once again for a spot in the semifinals. Despite it being a close match, Miyagi-Do is victorious, with Cobra Kai eliminated from the tournament. However, Cobra Kai earn a spot in the semifinals after another dojo is disqualified, where an all out brawl commences, leading to Kwon's sudden death with Tory in complete shock.
Biography
Tory grew up in poverty with a single mother, Grace, and younger brother, Brandon. Her father was abusive to her mother and left them at some point. When Tory was young, her mother would often bring home leftover food from the restaurant she worked at to feed her children. One night, her mother 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.
Tory worked part-time as a waitress at the roller ink. Her mother eventually became sick and by 2018, bedridden with dialysis, unable to care for herself or her children. This forced Tory to fill in as her family's sole breadwinner.
Cobra Kai
Season 2
Tory tries out for a spot in Cobra Kai, having found out about their performace at Valley Fest. Johnny then orders Miguel to take on "Little Miss Hotshot", and she impresses Johnny and Kreese by using a skillful takedown on Miguel while sparring. She soon becomes friends with Aisha Robinson but develops a rivalry with Samantha LaRusso after Tory steals a bottle of vodka and behaves aggressively. Then when Sam accuses her of stealing her mom's wallet, Tory pushes Sam into a table full of food items.
She helps Miguel get over his breakup with Sam and ends up starting a relationship with him. She remains insecure about Miguel's history with Sam, especially when they run into each other again during an 80s-themed event at the roller disco where Tory works part-time as a waitress. After witnessing Sam and Miguel talking, she purposefully trips Sam on the rink, provoking the latter into leg-sweeping Tory and consequently getting kicked out.
At the end of summer, after witnessing Miguel and Sam passionately kiss at Moon's party, she decides to attack Sam rather than handle the issue on her own.
On the first day of school, she threatens Sam over the intercom and hunts her down. When the two meet in the hallway she reveals to everyone that Sam and Miguel kissed and then viciously attacks Sam. Sam's boyfriend Robby Keene tries to intervene and diffuse the fight but Miguel who sees Robby restraining Tory kicks Doug Rickenberger and attacks Robby which results in a all-out karate war between the Cobra Kai and Miyagi-Do Karate Dojos erupt. During the fight she kicks Miguel in the stomach to push him away when he tries to restrain her from attacking Sam.
She has the upper hand over Sam for the beginning of the fight, but Sam eventually starts to get the upper hand, which causes Tory to fight more viciously, using her spiked bracelet as a knuckle duster. She manages to injures Sam's arm with the bracelet. She then tries to kill Sam but is ultimately beaten by her after being knocked down the staircase. When Robby kicks Miguel off the railing Tory screams "Miguel" out of horror. After Miguel falls on the ground and is lying unconscious Tory, Sam, and Hawk go to Miguel.
Later, she is seen with Hawk, Raymond, Mitch and other students training at the dojo with Kreese as Johnny confronts Kreese telling him that she, Hawk, Raymond and others are now his students and that he owns the dojo now. It is evident that Tory along with the others blame Johnny for Miguel's injury and have betrayed him as a result.
Season 3
Tory faces the consequences of her role as the instigator in the school karate war, and is expelled from West Valley High School. She is given an unsupervised probation as an alternative to juvenile hall, as she is the primary caregiver of her brother and sick mother, but must follow all the rules according to her probation officer or she she will receive a juvenile sentence. She takes on a second job at a sushi restaurant to pay the rent on time, which forces her to quit Cobra Kai, while also studying for her GED. However, while Tory claims to feel guilty that Miguel Diaz got injured, she feels no regret or remorse for her actions in starting the karate brawl, and views her punishment as simply more unfair treatment from the world. It is especially clear Tory feels no remorse for hospitalizing Sam.
Her landlord, Rodney, propositions her when she's late on her rent as an alternative for eviction. When Tory defends herself from his advances, he threatens to call her probation officer if she displays one more violent act. Later that day when Sensei John Kreese visits her to ask her to return to the dojo, Tory explains that she cannot because of her probation, two jobs, and trying to earn a GED amid her financial struggles. Kreese realizes that Tory's landlord is harassing her and threatens Rodney, who agrees to waive Tory's rent for the month and leave her alone. This allows Tory to return to Cobra Kai.
When some of the Miyagi-Do and Cobra Kai students are fighting in the arcade, Tory shows up with two other Cobra Kai members, Edwin and Big Red, and angrily shouts Sam's name, which causes the latter to suffer a panic attack and basically shut down. Tory's arrival proves to be the turning point, as the Cobra Kai's gain the edge and defeat Miyagi Do. After beating Miyagi-Do, she tells Sam to show herself, but the latter is sitting in the corner with a look of fear on her face. When Hawk has hold of Demetri's arm, Tory, along with the other Cobra Kai members, encourages Hawk to break his arm, which he does. At class the next day, Tory admits that she did not actually think Hawk was going to break Demetri's arm. She then helps weed out the "unworthy" Cobra Kai recruits, particularly in a sparring match against a girl named Sarah. After the match, in which Tory kicked her in the face, Sarah angrily says, “You chipped my tooth, bitch!”, but Tory is unrepentant and insults that she “needed braces anyway”. She also appeared shocked when Hawk brutally beats up Brucks a few moments later at his match.
When Tory is in the probation office, she encounters Robby, who is angry at her for starting the fight. She rebuts that while she started the high school karate war, he ended it. She claims that it is unfair that they get probation while everyone else is scolded, and warns him that Sam will turn on him, much to his anger. Before leaving, she tells Robby to just check "stable" in the "home life" section since the probation officers won't bother to check. While staying at Cobra Kai, Robby is noticed by Tory, who mocks him for trying to run away. She says channeling his hate will make him stronger. Later on, Tory invites Robby to hang out with some of the Cobra Kai members. That day, the two along with Hawk, Kyler and some other Cobra Kai members break into the zoo, and Robby steals a snake for Kreese. After returning to the dojo with the snake, Kreese informs them about Miguel and Sam working together, angering both Tory and Robby. Kreese then dismisses the class, causing Tory to storm out.
After leaving, Tory leads an assault on the LaRusso house with seven other Cobra Kai members and physically attacks the Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang members there, who had just formed a truce. She defeats Stiven before targeting Sam, who tries to flee. Tory chases her into the Miyagi-Do dojo, where she starts taunting and attacking her. After kicking Sam, Tory picks up a pair of nunchaku. She misses Sam, and instead hits and breaks a photo of Mr. Miyagi. Sam, now angry and letting go of her fear, dodges Tory's attacks and picks up a bō staff. The two then fight, with Sam eventually winning by disarming Tory and cornering her against the wall. Hawk, who had just defected from Cobra Kai, alongside Miguel and Demetri arrive, and Hawk tells Tory the fight is over. Tory tells Sam the fight will never be over, with Sam responding that Tory knows where to find her. Tory reluctantly retreats, but not before calling Hawk and Miguel traitors and warning Hawk to watch his back. Before she leaves, Demetri tells Tory that Hawk has friends who will watch his back for him.
Season 4
Since the LaRusso house fight, Tory returns to Cobra Kai where she calls out Kyler for not contributing his all to the fight; despite his defensive attitude, she points out his loss to Miguel, who'd just got out of a wheelchair. Kyler replies that he was present at least, which can't be said for the half-empty dojo since half the class (including Doug Rickenberger and Mikey Miller) quit; Kreese overhears them from his office.
They're soon interrupted by the arrival of Robby, who has been sleeping in the dojo for a few days. After practice, she confronts Robby in the back room for not participating in the house fight. He doesn't know why she thought everything would be fine after. She just wants Sam LaRusso to pay, pointing out that she still has a hold over Robby, otherwise he wouldn't be defending her. Tory warns Robby that if he's going to be defensive, Cobra Kai isn't the right dojo for him.
When Robby decides to be a lead student at the dojo, he makes a bet that if anyone can land a hit on him he'll leave. He easily defeats the boys of the dojo. Tory puts up a fight and while Robby is able to take her down, she ultimately lands a kick on him when his guard is down. Despite honoring the bet, she then tells him to stay. He obliges, and begins to teach the group Miyagi-Do karate so they can beat their teamed-up enemies.
Tory is back at work where she is taking tips. She then approaches another customer who turns out to be Amanda LaRusso, Sam's mother. Tory is surprised that she came to her job but Amanda explains that her parents didn't answer her calls. Amanda tells her how hard Sam's life has been since the LaRusso house invasion. She threatens to have her in jail if she hurts Sam again. A customer asks for his soup when Tory asks her to leave but only if she got Amanda's message. He asks for his soup again but Tory lashes out at him, causing her to get fired. Before she leaves, she insults the restaurant and talks to the customer about how the chef put his private parts in the soup. Back at Cobra Kai, Tory is learning Miyagi-Do where she knocks down Robby. As she readies to finish him, Kreese confronts her and tells Robby to continue teaching. Tory admits that she got fired from her job and it's difficult to find a new one while on probation. Tory then reveals to her sensei that it was Amanda who got her fired. At LaRusso Auto, Tory is furious with how Amanda bought her groceries as a peace offering. She angrily rejects Amanda's help and threatens to hurt Sam at the tournament.
She watches newcomer Kenny Payne get humiliated by Kyler but has a change of heart when Kreese gives him a spot after he comes back and punches Kyler without him noticing.
Tory finds a new job as a mermaid entertainer at a party place. However, she realizes that Sam and Amanda were there for a child's birthday party. While Tory tells a story to the kids, Sam insults her by interrupting and comparing the story to their recent experiences. Angered, Tory has the kids throw glitter at her. Sam counters when she kisses Miguel in front of her, causing her to leave. Amanda follows her and tries to apologize for Sam's behavior. Tory once again orders Amanda to stay out of her situation and claims she can handle herself.
Tory is with her classmates watching Bloodsport. After Hawk knocks over Kenny's food, Cobra Kai gets in a confrontation with Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang, who were also at the drive-in. Miguel tells them to meet in the baseball diamond where Cobra Kai gets drenched by Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang. Before class, Terry Silver tells the Cobra Kai students to not fight until the tournament but Tory gets angry about the rule. She and the other Cobra Kai's ambush Hawk and cut off his mohawk in revenge for betraying them, bullying Kenny and drenching them at the baseball diamond.
When she arrives at Cobra Kai, Tory is confronted by her aunt Kandace, who tries to claim her ill mother's disability check. When Tory rejects her, Kandace warns her that she is the only guardian who can take care of Tory and her brother after their mother dies. Tory argues that she will take custody of Brandon herself, but her aunt points out that since Tory is a high school dropout and criminal, she won't stand a chance against Kandace in court. Now realizing how bad her situation is, Tory has a change of heart and visits Amanda for help to get her life back on track. Tory explains that the principal will allow her back at West Valley High School if the LaRussos approve. Amanda agrees and Tory now promises that she will stay away from Sam. She also concedes to Amanda's advice to talk to a professional. When Daniel and Sam arrive home, Sam gets angry with her mother that she let Tory into her house.
When Tory arrives back at school on her first day, Sam threatens her.
During another class session, Tory is sparring with rookie Piper and defeats her in seconds, causing Kreese to get a point in the match. She and Piper are later shown hanging out together at school with some other Cobra Kai girls.
Robby asks Tory about the high school prom, but she doesn't seem keen on going. He tries to persuade her and because she's back at West Valley, and she changes her mind and agrees. Sensei Silver overhears the conversation and wants them to go all out for the prom. Robby and Tory arrive and dance with each other, stealing the show while aware that Sam and Miguel are watching them. However, they soon just enjoy prom. Tory opens up to Robby about her desire to win the tournament so she can prove to herself that she can succeed at something despite lacking the privileges of her more well-off classmates and peers. During Stingray's afterparty, Sam insults Tory but when Tory retaliates, Sam kicks her and tackles her to the ground. Miguel tries to stop her but then tackles Tory when the latter tries to attack Sam. Robby arrives and attacks Miguel, believing he is attacking Tory. Tory then kicks Sam to the ground. The couples fight each other until Sam, Tory, and Miguel are pushed into the pool by Robby. Tory playfully pulls Robby in too when he tries to help her out. After the party, Robby and Tory kiss in his rental car.
On the day of the All-Valley tournament, Tory shows off her swordsmanship skills during the skills competition. She advances to the quarterfinals where she fights Eagle Fang rookie Devon and easily wins. After defeating her opponent in the semifinals, she advances to the finals against none other than Samantha LaRusso. Before the match, Tory meets with Amanda, who's proud of her for keeping up her appointments with her therapist, Dr. Hillier. Tory thanks Amanda, as Dr. Hillier also found a healthcare volunteer to help take care of her mother. Amanda asks Tory to fight fair so her and Sam's rivalry can end.
During the fight, Tory accidentally elbows Sam's eye. While talking to her senseis, Silver tells her to elbow the other eye, assuring Tory the ref won't disqualify her. Upset with his order, Tory counters that she doesn't need to cheat to win. After Kreese hears this, he seemingly realizes what he put Johnny through. Kreese tells her to win how she feels is the right way. In the end, Tory defeats Sam, causing her to win the girls division and Cobra Kai becoming the grand champion. But in a surprise moment, she asks Sam if she's okay before her teammates congratulate her. After the tournament, Tory goes to retrieve her belongings before joining the Cobra Kais at an afterparty hosted by Kyler. She witnesses Silver making a deal with the referee, learning that her sensei bribed him to ensure Cobra Kai's victory. Tory realizes that she was cheated in her victory, upsetting her.
Season 5
Tory is hailed as the All Valley champion, but she clearly hates what happened. She's still training at Cobra Kai's new dojo, but only because she's completely terrified of Silver. At the dojo, she's trained by a Japanese sensei, sensei Joe (actually Chozen Toguchi) that senses her distress: he explains that she needs to focus breathe, when she trains, but also, she especially needs to understand what she is fighting for. He explains to her that she is fighting for her honor, because honor is the only thing that only she can take away from herself. He then shows her some moves of Tang Soo Doo, amazing Tory, but especially sensei Terry Silver, who briefly questions Joe about where he comes from. Tory is later in her room, holding the All Valley trophy; adding to the sadness given by knowing the truth about the tournament are sensei's Joe words about honor, which visibly affects her.
Tory and the other Cobra Kais are then at Splasharama Water Adventure, where she finally sees Robby, just back from his trip to Mexico with his father. She's very happy to see him, they kiss, but then he announces he's leaving Cobra Kai, and she should as well, but she refuses, fearing the possible consequences of such a decision. Since she cannot bring herself to tell him the truth, she simply tells him that he's free to do whatever he wants, but she's not bound to follow him because she can make her own decisions, even though she's clearly distraught as she would instead follow him without a second thought in any other occasion.
She then stops a fight between Kenny and Eli, telling both of them to back off, but then is joined by Robby, who does the same, but when the two of them are alone, he informs her Cobra Kai is all but a good place for Kenny to stay.
The two attempt to enjoy the day, but then are forced to stop another quarrel, to which she and Eli decide to decide who will remain at the park through a race on the longest slide; Tory wins because Eli's floatie has a hole, and this leads to another quarrel for which everyone is thrown out from the park. At the parking lot, Tory and Robby argue again: he assumes everything is going great for her, now that she's the champion, while she, unable to tell him the truth, replies that she just wanted to enjoy the day together, but he remarks that as long as she stays at Cobra Kai, they won't be able to be together. She replies she won't leave, so he breaks up with her.
Back at the dojo, she trains extensively, shocking her companions, and then she witnesses Silver celebrating Stingray's return to Cobra Kai, much to her confusion. When someone anonymously leaves a newspaper clipping indicating that Stingray is lying at the LaRusso house, it's revealed to be her under Kreese's will: it turns out the reason she has not left Cobra Kai dojo is because she wants to bring down Silver, so, not having anyone else to ask to, she talked to her old sensei, but is again left disturbed when he expresses disinterest or, even worse, satisfaction in discovering that what she did led only to Silver beating Daniel unconscious. She's getting tired of all these lies that are only isolating her from those she cares about and putting the life of innocents in danger, but Kreese reassures her that what they are doing will eventually resolve everything.
The next week, when Silver starts merging Topanga Karate into Cobra Kai, many Topanga students chose to join Cobra Kai, while a few others decide to quit when they grab a bottle from one of their new senseis. Sensei Kim demands them to fight with Tory, to test which of them are the better fighters. Tory is placed to train along with Devon Lee. The two bonds over the respective stubbornness and the fact that Devon's mother died recently from cancer. Silver's new associate, Sensei Kim, then makes the two train through fighting; hoping to convince Devon to quit Cobra Kai, Tory hits hard, and apparently manages to make her leave. The next day, however, Devon Lee arrives at Cobra Kai dojo, much to Tory's displeasure. Then Silver and Kim reveal that the test of the previous day was actually to verify if Tory has the makings of a captain. Tory asks why, but Kim and Silver remain secretive and just reveals that is a greater thing she can ever imagine.
As Cobra Kai expands, Tory tries to convince Devon to quit by ignoring her, but the latter, having realized that Tory is hiding something, only becomes frustrated. The two are then placed to do an exercise in which they must defeat Sensei Kim, so Tory, again, tries to exclude Devon by attempting to defeat Kim alone. The attempt fails, only making Devon more determined to win. The two subsequently try again, but Tory, in order not to sacrifice Devon, ends up making her lose again. Devon asks her why she did not make the point, to which Tory points out that if she had, she would not have been a good captain. Devon seems to appreciate the gesture.
When Kreese realizes he won't be able to get out of prison legally, he tries to protect Tory by suggesting her to use Terry's friendship to improve her life, no longer trying to expose him. Tory, however, is not happy with this: she lied to Robby and Devon, remained in a place she no longer wanted to be, and now she refuses to even try taking advantage of a man she knows would easily retaliate against her if he found out what she did. She feels exploited, and whether this is the truth or not, it's clear she'll never get anything good by associating with Kreese. With the Sekai Taikai coming up, Tory was set to fight against Samantha LaRusso in a rematch, but after realizing that Silver again bribed the referee, she leaves without anyone noticing, which results in Sensei Kim choosing Devon Lee instead to fight against Samantha LaRusso. Devon is easily defeated and both Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang are nevertheless qualified, as the organizers are impressed with their teachings, despite allowing Cobra Kai to enter as well. As Sam and the others celebrate, Tory unexpectedly shows up and tells her that she's not here for a fight, and reveals to Sam she didn't lose the All Valley.
A furious Sam attacks her and accuses her of doing nothing after discovering Terry Silver's cheating at the All Valley, refusing to listen to what Tory has to say. She is blamed for all the pain the LaRusso family has suffered and, despite Robby and Miguel trying to intervene, Sam goes on and accuses her of being a coward, causing her to conclude that coming to speak was a mistake and to leave in despair. The next day, Tory is training at the dojo when Robby arrives and again incites the members to leave. While everyone refuses, the look between him and Tory makes it clear how close she is to a breaking point: she has refused to explain to both of the senseis and Devon why she left the day before, and now she is alone. To make matters worse, Kim, sensing her impending defect, punishes her by forcing her to punch a rock dummy with her bare hands, leading her to actually break it, but injuring her hand in the process.
Fortunately, while Tory is at home putting ice on her hand, Sam comes to listen to her, after being urged by Miguel to accept Tory's reasons for not confessing from the start; entering the house and witnessing the internal chaos, with her mother bedridden, Sam is able to understand how hard Tory's life is, showing herself clearly disturbed for the first time. Tory explains how terrible it was to find out her victory was a sham, and tells how she tried to help Kreese make Silver pay, but she only lied even more and now her life is hell. Sam, sympathetic, proposes that they cooperate in the search for evidence against Silver.
The Miyagi-Fangs, along with Tory, infiltrate in Cobra Kai dojo to retrieve the footage of Stingray's beating. With Tory's badge, they enter without burglarizing the door and save Robby from breaking his probation. Inside, they then find out that the tape of the beating had been cancelled in order for Silver to cover his tracks, but Tory has an idea: days before, she revealed to Silver she knew about the bribing at the All Valley, to which he admitted everything about it; if they retrieve the tape and manage to prove that Silver is a sham, Stingray may have the courage to come clean. While Eli and Demetri extract the video from the mainframe, the group is sadly betrayed by Mitch, who wanted to rejoin Cobra Kai and has warned Kyler and the others. A fight ensues, during which Devon, angry about Tory's secrets and lies, berates her for it, but doesn't attack her yet. Just then, Sensei Kim joins, viciously beating Tory and calling her a failure, to the girl's disregard as well as having no respect for the sensei. When Kim harshly steps on Tory's injured hand, Sam comes to help. Witnessing how much Tory is being abused, Devon switches sides and takes Sam's place, letting her go defend Anthony from the other Cobra Kais. She and Tory fight Kim, disowning her as a sensei. The girls, thanks to the training, manage to hold the woman off long enough for Anthony to broadcast Silver's confession to Tory on the dojo's TVs.
When Silver arrived, he accused Daniel, asking if this is part of his plan, and added it will change nothing. Tory defended Daniel saying the idea was hers and the Miyagi-Fangs, with Robby adding the video does change everything; this is proven true when none of Silver's students responded back to his question and when they're not convinced after his monologuing. Silver is then defeated by Daniel after challenging the latter, disowned by the rest of the Cobra Kai students and arrested, thanks to Stingray's revised confession and the video of Silver confessing about bribing the referee.
Outside of the dojo, she watches Silver's arrest and is then approached by Robby, who asks her forgiveness for leaving her in her worst moment; however, she stops him, because she made mistakes as well, is tired and so she only wants the two of them to kiss. They do so, rekindling their relationship.
Season 6
After Cobra Kai's closure, Tory joined the Miyagi-Do Karate dojo. Robby and Miguel tried to get Tory and Samantha to become friends. Later, they then fought together with Robby and Miguel against Kenny and Shawn.
After, they became friends and stopped fighting each other. Sam and Tory go to a sleepover at Devon's house. Before they left, they apologized for everything they had done to each other in past events and started fighting normally, impressing Johnny.
Before going home, her former sensei Kreese met with Tory where he wanted her to return to Cobra Kai. However, Tory brushed him off. At Miyagi-Do, she told Robby about her meeting with Kreese. Later, Tory returned to her apartment, only to find her mother dead despite news from her doctor that she was doing so much better. The doctor revealed that her mother was developing a blood clot and berates her. The death of her mother greatly affected her to the point where she didn't answer Robby's phone call or be there for him during the early moments of his fight against Miguel back at the dojo.
During the captain's match, Tory was desperate and wanted to beat Samantha LaRusso at all costs during the fight. However, the hospital calls and Daniel notices her emotions and becomes prompted by Amanda to stop the fight, much to Johnny's anger. Even when Johnny is notified of what transpired, he refuses to end the sparring match. Tory then angrily announces what has happened and walks out of the dojo. In private, Johnny said to Daniel he permitted the fight to continue as he felt Tory needed to work out her anger. Had Johnny's mother passed away when he was at Tory's age and station in life, he believed that sparring would have helped work out the issues. The dojo later travels to Spain to begin the Sekai Taikai, where they observe other dojos the world over presenting their contestants. Among them is Kreese with Cobra Kai students from Korea, but then Tory appears as a contestant, shocking Robby.
Upon arriving in Barcelona, Tory hasn't been fitting in due to the loss of her mother. Kim Da-Eun tells her to focus. Robby, Sam and Devon talk to her but to no avail. She tells Robby that it was better to put their relationship on pause, upsetting Robby. During the Sekai Taikai, Cobra Kai struggles and loses to the Iron Dragons students Axel and Zara. She then notices Zara kiss Robby and puts her on blast for it. In the all-dojo brawl, she fights the other students with the help of Sam and Robby who both come to Tory's aid after seeing her struggling. During the fight, Robby defends her against Zara, making it clear that he'd choose Tory over her every time. The brawl comes to an end when Kwon ends up fatally stabbing himself, shocking Tory and the rest of the students who were a part of the brawl.
Combat style
- "I've seen what's inside you. Let it out!"
- ―Terry Silver to Tory[src]
Before joining Cobra Kai, Tory trained in kickboxing. After joining the dojo, she immediately demonstrates considerable aggression and some decent grappling techniques, performing a few takedowns and a joint lock during her match with Miguel. Her striking technique is a bit rough but she makes up for it with her natural aggression, fearlessness, strength and speed. She can hold her own against the technically proficient Samantha. Tory is a ruthless fighter; who is more than willing to use weapons against an unarmed opponent; if she feels the need.
The longer she trains, Tory's striking technique visibly improves, making her even more formidable. She also receives some training with nunchaku, using them against Sam, who wields a bo-staff. But Sam's skill with the bo-staff is still slightly greater, allowing her to disarm and corner Tory; but still not enough to actually best Tory. Kreese describes Tory as "a born fighter".
Tory is an extremely deadliest hand-to-hand combatant and martial artist; when angered or provoked; even more so; when she gives completely into her aggression, anger and rage respectively; it makes Tory an extremely unpredictable hand-to-hand combatant and martial artist towards her opponents.
When Robby fought the whole Cobra Kai Dojo, Tory was defeated along with the rest of the students, but was the only one to land a kick on him. During her training for the All Valley Karate Tournament, Tory was trained by Robby in the ways of Miyagi-Do in order to counter their moves. Tory's level of expertise allowed her to effectively take down newcomers like Piper during a sparring session and Devon Lee during the All Valley. During most of her fights at the tournament, Tory mostly defeated her opponents by direct kicks to their faces that quickly had knocked them down. During the Skills Competition at the All Valley, Tory had demonstrated skill in the use of a katana.
Despite not expecting LaRusso to use Eagle Fang techniques during their fight at the finals, Tory was able to quickly land two points on Sam;by fighting more aggressively. Tory was strong enough to lift LaRusso up and quick enough to evade her attacks when she tried to pin her to the ground, although she briefly could not escape from a Leg-lock Sam caught her in; but ultimately escape from a Leg-lock Sam caught her when she had accidentally elbow Sam in the eye. Tory eventually managed to push Sam away well as she blocked one of her kicks in order to land a longer kick that took her down during their final round which eventually gave Tory the win.
In the following weeks since the tournament, Tory did not lose a single step and her strength became even more powerful to the point that she could smash a plate of solid stone, an act that almost broke her hand. Despite this injury, she was capable of taking down several Cobra Kais in the showdown in the Encino dojo. But her skills were no match for those of the granddaughter of Kim Sun-Yung, Kim Da-Eun and despite fighting her numerous times alongside Devon Lee, and later Sam, she was unable to land a single blow in every one of their fights.
After joining Miyagi-Do, her skills improve even more. Both she and Sam use Miyagi-Do to stop Kenny without putting in a lot of effort. When training for the Sekai Taikai, Tory makes it to the final round, allowing her to compete in the tournament and giving her a chance to be the captain of the team. While fighting Sam to be the captain, she aggressively attacks Sam, but the latter gains a 2-1 by using superior defense to counter Tory's strikes before striking her at the right time. During the fourth round, she puts herself in a position to win the point and potentially severely injure Sam, but she is stopped by Daniel, who ends the fight.
Tory is the strongest female student, as well as one of the best students in Cobra Kai, Miyagi-Do Karate and Miyagi-Fang Karate respectively.
Personality
- "I like a challenge."
- ―Tory to Johnny Lawrence[src]
Tory's personality is rooted deeply in her feeling of being cheated out of the life she deserves by the unfairness of the world. She is the primary caretaker and breadwinner of her family, which puts her in a difficult position that pushes her emotional and physical capabilities. In relaxed settings, she is playful, fun-loving, and has a bit of a wild streak. She is assertive and has a sarcastic sense of humor. She enjoys being out with her friends and is openly flirtatious to Miguel Diaz, trying her best to help him get over Samantha. Underneath that exterior, Tory believes that life is about fighting for what you believe is yours. She can be a bully, particularly to Sam, who she views as uptight, privileged and competition for Miguel. She is highly vengeful if she feels like she's been wronged. After witnessing Sam and Miguel kissing, she attempts to get revenge the next day by threatening Sam over the school intercom, viciously attacking her and resorting to dirty tactics, such as cutting her with a spiked bracelet.
Tory becomes more aggressive, especially after returning to Cobra Kai. She is easily able to scare and intimidate Sam, with the latter being extremely traumatized by their fight during the school brawl. During the arcade fight, she aggressively calls out Sam's name, which then causes Sam to suffer a panic attack and basically shut down out of fear. She is corrupted by Kreese's teachings to the point that she becomes more aggressive and ruthless than most of the students. When Robby thinks about leaving Cobra Kai, Tory persuades him to stay and even says that he will become stronger by channeling in his anger, with the latter showing how much she has been corrupted by Kreese's teachings. After Sam overcomes her fear and disarms Tory in their fight at Miyagi Do, Tory tells her that this is not over and she even threatens Hawk.
After the LaRusso House fight, Tory acted aggressively against her own teammates at the Cobra Kai Dojo for losing the fight. She only gains more hatred towards the LaRusso family when Amanda accidentally gets her fired from one of her jobs by telling her to leave her daughter alone, Tory later refuses help from Amanda after she finds out about her home life. Her rivalry with Sam continues, only this time LaRusso also antagonizes her multiple times. After a talk with her aunt, she has a change of heart by going to talk to Amanda in order to get help. During the Junior Prom, Tory expressed to Robby her desire to win the All Valley Tournament by saying that the trophy would remind her that she was the best at something as she wouldn't get to have good life due to her situation. Robby understood which made Tory fall for Robby even more. While her rivalry with Sam didn't deescalate, she decided to fight fairly against her during the final fight of the tournament after a talk with Amanda, leading to her winning the All Valley and feeling accomplished, and started to tell Sam if she's okay despite the bet that the losing dojo closes forever. However, Tory later found out that Terry bribed the referee by giving out false calls (being out of bounds and an accidental elbow to Sam's face) and she didn't win fairly, which made her upset and shattered her dreams, making her victory hollow and realizing Silver just used her to win in her favor.
Ever since discovering Terry's willingness to manipulate competitions to his and Cobra Kai's favor, Tory suffered a major internal conflict between two choices: expose Silver for the fraud that he is as part of hers and Kreese's plan or remain at Cobra Kai, where she could have experiences of a lifetime. Although she had won the All Valley and realized that her victory was a fraud, she still continued to break up fights between the students of Cobra Kai, Miyagi-Do, as well as Eagle Fang despite the bet that the losing dojo will close. Her membership in Silver's dojo ultimately drove to her break-up wth Robby. She became more disturbed when Silver brought Kim Da-Eun and her fellow senseis from Korea to his cause and despised their abusive behavior towards her teammates, particularly former Eagle Fang member Devon Lee, which led her to abandon the dojo when she was supposed to face Sam in the matches for the Sekai Taikai Tournament. Once her alliance with Kreese came to an end, Tory decides to put her rivalry with Sam aside and join forces with her, Miguel, Robby and their friends in putting Silver behind bars for good. After Cobra Kai was defeated and Silver was arrested, Tory asked Robby to kiss her showing that she was starting to fall in love with him and they got back together, which gave Tory some kind of inner peace and joy.
Tory's life has become more stable in the next season, as she and Sam apologized for their transgressions against each other and became good friends, her relationship with Robby continued to blossom and her mother Grace reportedly grew stronger and healthier to the point of cooking again for her and Brandon. Unfortunately, Tory's life takes a turn to the worse when her mother passes away from a pulmonary embolism that the doctors had failed to notice, causing her to distance herself from Robby and teammates in Miyagi-Do. After spending a few days grieving alone, Tory made her mission to honor what she believed was her mother's dying wish to do whatever necessary to improve her life, leading her to ferociously fight against Samantha for a spot as female captain in the Sekai Taikai until the match was interrupted by Daniel and Amanda, who wanted to help Tory recover properly from her mother's passing. However, she sees the interruption of her match with Sam as a betrayal and it drives her to reluctantly accept Kreese's earlier request to rejoin him in the Sekai Taikai as his champion in his faction of Cobra Kai, also under the leadership of Kim Da-Eun, even though Tory held resentment towards her for torturing her right before Silver's downfall.
During the tournament, Tory has demonstrated to be in another inner conflict when having to choose between her teammates in Cobra Kai or her friends in Miyagi-Do, including Robby, causing her to let her fellow Cobra Kai's down in certain matches, especially against the Iron Dragons. Seeing their relationship was putting both of them distracted, Tory suggested to Robby they put their relationship on a "break," leaving the boy slightly heartbroken. Though she and Kim Da-Eun occasionally trade snarky remarks, especially after what they went through in the past summer during Silver's reign, the girl comes to ask her sensei if she believes winning in every competition is worth it, even at the cost of relationships and any other aspect of their lives outside karate, to which Kim replied with, "Absolutely." In spite of not having a close relationship with her new teammates, Tory was incredibly distraught when Kwon accidentally killed himself with Kreese's eunjangdo dagger and sobbed on Robby's shoulder.
Relationships
Samantha LaRusso
Sam is Tory's biggest rival.
Upon Tory and Sam's first encounter, the two immediately dislike each other, with Tory disliking Sam for being privileged. When Sam puts accuses Tory of stealing her mom's wallet, their rivalry escalates, particularly on Tory's end, who has no issues with bullying and insulting Sam. After witnessing Sam and her boyfriend kissing, Tory exacts revenge the following day by exposing Sam in front of everyone and attacks her, all of which leads to the massive school brawl. At one point during the fight, Tory uses her spiked bracelet to attack Sam. Despite injuring Sam with the bracelet, she loses the fight when Sam kicks her down the stairs. Tory was expelled for instigating the fight. Later, in the season, when the Miyagi-Do's and Cobra Kai's are fighting in the arcade, Tory calls out her name, but then Sam suffers a panic attack and basically shuts down, as she is still traumatized over her fight with Tory in the school brawl. Tory goads her to come out, but she doesn't. In the finale, when Tory spots Sam during the fight at the latter's house, Sam runs away, while Tory chases her into Miyagi-Do and attacks her with nunchaku's, but Sam overcomes her fear and starts to fight back, ultimately resulting in Sam managing to disarm Tory with her Bo staff. The fight is then interrupted by Miguel, Hawk and Demetri coming in, with Hawk telling Tory to stop the fight. Tory tells Sam that this won't be over, to which Sam says "you know where to find me." Tory then walks out.
In the next season, Sam disagrees with her mother's desire to help Tory, not knowing how hard her rival has to work to feed her ill mother and younger brother, though she ultimately agrees to let Tory back in school to please her parents. Once Tory returns to school, it seems she is going to thank Sam, only for the latter to threaten to kick her ass for the third time if she tries anything against her. A few weeks later, they engage in a brawl during the after-party at Stingray's home, but Tory emerges victorious over both Sam and Miguel with Robby's aid. The two rivals face each other in the finals of the All-Valley Tournament and prove to be evenly matched. After the match ends in Tory's victory, she asks Sam if she was alright, having decided to honor Amanda's deal to end her rivalry with Sam, though at the cost of Miyagi Do having to shut down for good.
Sam feels guilty for losing to Tory, blaming herself in the closure of Miyagi-Do dojo. Tory, on the other hand, is no better, knowing how everything was ruined by Terry's schemes. They don't interact for most of the season until when their dojos compete for the acceptance at Sekai Taikai, but their situations couldn't be more different: Samantha is more determined than ever, thanks to the joined teaching of her three senseis, while Tory has just understood how much she's alone, to the point that she abandons the match even before its beginning. Later, she reveals to Sam that she didn't lose the All-Valley, enraging Sam, who attempts to beat Tory up and blames her for the pain her family is going through, making Tory give up even more. Later, however, thanks to Miguel's encouragement, Sam visits Tory, wishing to hear what she had been through in the last weeks. She demonstrates compassion upon seeing Tory's sick mother and hearing that she had been living through hell under Terry Silver's roof. They decide to help each other and Tory offers to use her dojo's card to gain access to Silver's office so they could find something that would put him in prison. During the showdown at the dojo, Sam sees Tory is having difficulty in facing Sensei Kim Da-Eun and joins her in battle, only for the two to be repeatedly beaten by the sensei. Their combined efforts eventually lead to Silver's downfall and the closing of the Cobra Kai dojo.
Despite working together to defeat Silver and with Tory now part of Miyagi-Do, she and Sam struggle to get along due to their past history. Their respective boyfriends take them on a double date at Golf N' Stuff. The two and Miguel assist Robby fighting Kenny and Shawn and this leads to the girls becoming friends. Due to their new friendship, their fighting styles get sloppy. Johnny and Devon schemes a way to make Tory and Sam fight each other again through a sleepover at Devon's house. Tory and Sam realized what Johnny's trying to make them do and leave. Outside, the two bring up how their old rivalry started and shortly, the two apologized to each other for their actions in the past and became true friends. This helps them put their fighting skills back on track while training for the Sekai Taikai as a team. However, Tory reluctantly defects back to Cobra Kai after losing her mother and for being stopped from defeating Sam for the role of female captain.
Despite their renewed rivalry, Sam comes to Tory's aid in the Sekai Taikai brawl after seeing her friend in trouble. Tory thanks Sam who tells her "Anytime." Even before the beginning of the tournament, Sam told Tory that she understood her decision to honour her late mother but she could have come to her, Robby or any of their friends for support, showing Sam has grown more mature and did not despise Tory at all for returning to Kreese's side.
Miguel Diaz
Miguel is Tory's ex-boyfriend, former enemy and current friend.
Tory takes an interest in Miguel and helps him get over his recent break up with Sam, even taking him on in a sparring session during her first time at the dojo. Overtime the two quickly become a couple. However, Tory witnesses Miguel and Sam kissing the night before the first day of school. The following day, in the school brawl, Tory, still angry over the kiss, kicks Miguel's stomach when the latter tries to stop her from attacking Sam. She however is horrified when Miguel is kicked off the railing by Robby.
While at lunch with Johnny, Tory sees Miguel when Johnny goes to the bathroom. Miguel shows that he's upset with Tory for not seeing him in the hospital. He is further upset when Tory says that Cobra Kai is trying to get back at Miyagi Do for what happened to him, while Tory voices her disappointment for his kiss with Sam. Miguel then tells her that she needs help, which angers her, as she feels he is calling her crazy. Miguel breaks up with Tory for severely injuring Sam and starting the school brawl, and then she leaves in anger. The next time, they see each other is when the Cobra Kais enter Sam's house in order to attack the Miyagi Do and Eagle Fang students, who had just formed a truce. Miguel tells Tory she doesn't have to do this, to which Tory says it's too late. Then, a fight breaks out, with Cobra Kai losing. Before Tory leaves following losing the fight, she calls both Miguel and Hawk traitors.
During the weeks where Cobra Kai was expanding throughout the Valley following their victory in the All Valley Tournament, Tory sees Terry Silver's true colors and makes amends with Sam, Miguel, Robby and their friends so they could dismantle Cobra Kai and place Silver in jail once and for all. Even before Tory officially left Cobra Kai and helped Miyagi Do and Eagle Fang to shut it down for good, Miguel defended Tory: when she confesses the truth about All Valley, Miguel defends her secrecy when Samantha blames her for what happened after the tournament, knowing him how much Tory must have struggled on coming clean, given the toxicity of Cobra Kai. Thanks to his patient prodding, Samantha finds the strength to listen to Tory.
With Tory joining Miyagi-Do, Miguel and Robby planned to have Sam and Tory get along by taking them on a double date at Golf N'Stuff, but it goes awkward, with Tory revealing that she was having difficulty in finding college opportunities after being expelled and placed in probation for the whole year of 2018-2019. While Robby tries to deal with Kenny, Miguel attempts to bring the girls together through ice cream while talking about their own future after high school, but it doesn't work. The three were able to assist Robby fighting Kenny and Shawn, this apparently leads Sam and Tory become friends. Since then, the two couples are fully on good terms while they train for the Sekai Taikai. However, Tory reluctantly rejoined Cobra Kai after she lost her mother, which severely impacted the Miyagi-Dos, especially Robby, whose loss of focus kept pushing Miyagi-Do back in ranking. However, Miyagi-Do managed to regain its footing and ascend in ranking, taking out Brazilian dojo Los Redentores and even Cobra Kai. When Sam sadly told a nearby Tory that she wished she could be celebrating with them and Tory left afterwards, Miguel expressed his belief Tory would return to them once she was done using Cobra Kai for her own purposes. In the middle of the brawl between all dojos, Miguel took care of numerous attacking karatekas and allowed Robby to go save Tory from Iron Dragons's female captain, Zara Malik.
John Kreese
Kreese is Tory's teacher.
Tory becomes corrupted by Kreese's teachings; to the point that; she joins him and betrays Johnny, when the latter takes back Cobra Kai from Johnny. When Kreese asks her if she is coming back to Cobra Kai, Tory says she can't because of her sick mom and landlord. Kreese shows some sympathy for her mom, due to his own mom dying years ago. He then confronts her landlord and threatens him to leave her alone. After his confrontation with her landlord, Tory returns to Cobra Kai. Tory gets more corrupted by Kreese's teachings. By the end of the season, Tory is revealed to be one of the handful of students at Cobra Kai remaining. Kreese is clearly using Tory in order to hurt Daniel through Samantha.
During the girls' division final match, Terry Silver encourages Tory to deliver another strike to Sam's eyesight to win but she agrees with Kreese, who began feeling regrets towards the ruthless ways he had trained his students, particularly Johnny, to fight how she thinks is right. Tory won the match, making Cobra Kai the ultimate winner. Unbeknownst to Kreese, Silver had bribed the referee to facilitate Cobra Kai's victory, which Tory discovers through his conversation with the ref.
Upon hearing Kreese had been framed and arrested for the attempted murder of Stingray, courtesy of Silver, Tory has been visiting Kreese in hopes that he could give her advice in how to take down Silver before Cobra Kai makes things worse. Kreese sends Tory to leave in the LaRusso Family's mailbox a piece of paper containing Stingray's lie about Kreese assaulting him and the address to his new apartment, a consolation prize from Silver. Kreese assures Tory that she had to stay "just a little longer" and that the time of Silver's downfall was near. Once Tory informs Kreese of the Sekai Taikai Tournament and asks what she was supposed to do, Kreese tells her to do what she thinks is right for her as well as that he was bailing on the plan to take down Silver, frustrating Tory, who reminds Kreese that she had been keeping secrets from everyone she loves. She concludes her alliance with Kreese was for nothing and storms out of the visiting room. Shortly after Silver's arrest, Kreese manages to escape prison and flees to Korea, where he joins forces with Kim Da-Eun and her students in order to win the Sekai Taikai.
A few months later, Kreese approaches Tory as she was taking medicine back to her mother, whose health had been improving according to the doctors, and offers her a spot in his new Cobra Kai dojo under his leadership and Kim Da-Eun for the Sekai Taikai but Tory wanted nothing to do with Kreese, Kim or their students and advises him to crawl back under his rock before the authorities or Daniel and Johnny come across him and place him back behind bars, ignoring his manipulation that Miyagi-Do would always put her in second place after Samantha. Following the death of her mother and what she sees as a betrayal of her senseis for interrupting her match with Sam for female captain, Tory is revealed to have rejoined Cobra Kai in order to be the best fighter in the world as she believed it would've been what her mother would've wanted. Shortly after their arrival in Barcelona, Tory continued to suffer from conflicting loyalties but Kim Da-Eun and Kreese constantly reminded her to focus on the tourmanet and her "friends" in Miyagi-Do were her enemies. Despite her senseis' manipulations, Tory continued linked to the Miyagi-Dos and they would come to help each other during the dojos' massive brawl.
Robby Keene
Robby is Tory's boyfriend and former enemy.
Tory initially dates Miguel Diaz, the ex-boyfriend of Robby's girlfriend, Samantha LaRusso. The tension between the two couples is apparent for this reason, with Robby disliking Tory for her bullying of Sam. He actively tries to protect Sam from Tory. After the school fight, Robby does a brief stint in juvie. Following his release, he collides with Tory in the probation office. He is inititally aggressive towards her, as she had started the fight that; had led him to be in juvie. She reminds him that; he had ended it. She believes they are in the same position, alone and that; Sam will turn on Robby. The teen begins to stay at Cobra Kai dojo at the insistence of Kreese, a choice that; Tory supports. She tries to help him form connections and friendships in the dojo, even inviting him along to a zoo heist. Things become complicated after the LaRusso house fight, as Robby is not present; when the rest of the Cobra Kai's ambush the Miyagi-Do's and Eagle Fang's. Tory views this as a betrayal, no longer believing he is one of them.
Robby earns back her respect and trust; by honoring a deal to leave the dojo if any of the students can land a hit on him; Tory is the only one to do so. She allows him to stay and their tension grows throughout training. They are often impressed by one another's combat skills, they are both gifted combatants and martial artists. They work harmoniously together, defeating; even Miguel and Sam; who were fought together. Tory and Robby attend the West Valley Junior Prom together; with Robby serving as her plus one. While their plan is initially to get under the skins of their exes for the sake of playing a mind game, they share a passionate and fun dance together; which ultimately brings them closer together. Their mutually difficult pasts and troubled natures gives them a bond unlike their former relationships, as neither has to hide the darker truths of their lives. They understand one another's troubles; including financial stress; but are capable of having fun together despite their stresses. After the events of junior prom, Robby and Tory kiss for the first time. Following Robby's loss to Hawk in the boys' division finals, Tory attempts to comfort him, only to be rebuffed and told to focus on her match; with Samantha.
Shortly after aiding Johnny in rescuing Miguel from Mexico, Robby; who had realized that; his teachings to Kenny had; made him corrupt, attempts to persuade Tory to quit Cobra Kai; before Terry Silver encourages her to commit acts that she would later regret, which Tory rejects and insists that she is capable of making her own choices. This refusal ultimately leads to the two breaking up, with Robby unaware that she had been plotting with Kreese to destroy Silver's empire. However, when she sees Robby again when Cobra Kai, Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang compete for a spot in the Sekai Taikai, Tory looks at Robby with a smitten look on her face showing that she is still in love with him as no other guy has been able to connect with Tory on such a deep level due to their troubled similarities. Despite Tory's best efforts to prove her loyalty to the dojo, Sensei Kim Da-Eun is able to detect Tory's residual feelings for Robby as her weakness.
Having had enough of Silver, Kim, and their fellow senseis' ruthless ways, and utterly alone since Kreese ultimately gave up on her, Tory allies herself with Sam, Miguel, Robby and the other Miyagi-Fangs to bring Silver down permanently. Robby is surprised to see Tory had changed her mind and his surprise turns to shock and concern when he sees her broken hand, to which Tory lies and labels it a "training accident." Thanks to Hawk, Demetri and Anthony, the Cobra Kais realize Terry is a manipulative man who is capable of using bribery and other unconventional ways to make Cobra Kai number one when they see a video of Tory confronting Terry for using such method in the All-Valley, prompting them to reject him and abandon the dojo. After witnessing Silver being taken to prison, Tory and Robby apologize to one another and rekindle their relationship with a kiss.
On the first day of school, Robby and Tory share a kiss after he was reinstated. They continue their relationship while training together at Miyagi-Do. To bring Sam and Tory together, Miguel and Robby takes them on a double date at Golf N' Stuff, but it goes awkward at first. When the couple has their own conversation, Robby confesses that it was Miguel's idea and he convinces Tory to give Sam a chance. Tory, Miguel, and Sam were able to assist Robby fighting Kenny and Shawn, this apparently leads Sam and Tory become friends. While training for the Sekai Taikai, Robby and Tory make a deal to share the champions podium together no matter what. However, after Tory's mother dies that caused her to distance herself from everyone from Miyagi-Do including Robby, she reluctantly defects back to Cobra Kai.
Before the beginning of the tournament, Robby continued to try to reconnect with Tory and comforted her for the loss of her mother. However, due to them being in rival dojos, Tory suggested putting a "break" on their relationship, leaving Robby slightly upset. Things between the two soured when Tory's teammate Kwon pretended to be falling for her and did it in front of Robby to provoke him, causing Robby to be seduced and have one-night stand with the female captain of Iron Dragons, Zara Malik. As she was leaving the elevator, Tory was shocked to see Robby and Zara kissing. During the tournament match between Robby and Kwon, Tory revealed to Robby that Kwon was messing with him and deceived him into thinking he and Tory had a thing, causing Robby to defeat Kwon and take out Cobra Kai from the competition.
However, Cobra Kai was reinstated back into the tournament after the disqualification of the Russian Tiger Strike for using performance enhancing drugs, which would later instigate a war between all dojos inside the stadium. Robby was attacked by Kwon, Yoon and their fellow Cobra Kai's whereas Tory saw herself versus Zara. After getting away from the Cobra Kai's, Robby saved Tory from Zara, who was appalled Robby would choose Tory over her, to which Robby responded with, "It's not even close." The madness would ultimately come to an end when Kwon fatally stabbed himself by accident with Kreese's dagger and his bloody corpse left Tory in tears and crying on Robby's shoulder.
Amanda LaRusso
Amanda describes Tory as a "dime store Freddy Krueger" after she hurt Sam at the school brawl. The first time they met, was after the fight at the LaRusso house. Amanda visits Tory at her job to warn her to stay away from Samantha, threatening to put Tory in jail if she hurts her daughter again. Tory remains defiant, to which Amanda warns her it would be a mistake to not get the message.
This enrages Tory even more, getting her fired; but Amanda was lucky that; Tory did not take any legal action against her; despite Amanda's behavior being classified as a form of harassment. It's important to note that; verbally threatening someone is a criminal offense; even; if Amanda did not explicitly express any intent to harm Tory. But despite this; if Amanda had continued in provoking Tory; she obviously would have sent Amanda to prison; without any hesitations at all.
Amanda's choice to stand up for her daughter, Sam against Tory was also both foolish and wrong; since it was actually Sam; who had ignited the hostile rivalry and had provoked both confrontations against Tory; instead of the other way around.
Later, Kreese reveals to Amanda Tory's problems at home and tells Amanda to leave her alone. Regretting what happened, as she had anger issues as well in her youth because of her family situation, Amanda leaves some groceries in front of Nichols' house. But Tory angrily refuses her help and vows to humiliate Sam in the All-Valley. When Sam and Tory quarrel again at Tory's new job at the party place, Amanda confronts her as she leaves; it's true that; it was Sam who; had started this; but it was Tory; who had finished it, so she cannot ignore the fact that; this did not solve anything; still completely ignoring the fact that; it Sam is; who is in the wrong not Tory.
Amanda attempts again to offer help; but Tory has none of it and wants to be left alone. Amanda agrees; but reminds her that if no one in her family can help her, things won't get better if Tory doesn't ask for help. When Tory tries to get back into school, the principal accepts; but only; if the LaRussos sign a consent form. She goes to talk to Amanda; who grants her approval on the condition that; Tory both leaves Sam alone and goes to counseling over her anger problems. Tory accepts the deal and thanks to it, she starts to improve her attitude. Just; before the All Valley finals, Amanda meets with Tory, praising her for keeping up; with her therapy from; which Tory found a volunteer willing to help her mother.
Amanda is happy and then asks Tory to repay the debt; by fighting fairly; without using any dirty tricks. She then goes to cheer for Sam; but wishes good luck to Tory as well; who; during the fight, tries all she can to keep the promise. As a result; Amanda does not mind her daughter losing, as she sees that; Tory had beat Sam fairly and checked on her; if she is okay, hoping that; the hatchet will be buried. As a result; Amanda initially wants Daniel to move on from karate; since nobody got hurt at the All Valley.
When Sam and Tory are selected to fight for female captain on which one of them will lead Miyagi-Do in the Sekai Taikai, Amanda wishes Tory good luck. During the fight, Amanda gets a call from the hospital and discovers that Tory's mother recently died. This, combined with the fact that Tory's unstable because of her loss, she has Daniel stop the fight which he does. Amanda and Daniel express their condolences, but Tory wants to continue fighting to overcome her grief. Tory also assumes that Amanda and Daniel will always favor Sam over her, but they said it's not true. This results Tory quitting Miyagi-Do and joining Kreese and Kim Da-Eun's Cobra Kai dojo for the Sekai Taikai in Barcelona.
Other Relationships
- Aisha Robinson (close friend)
- Piper Elswith (ally and former teammate)
- Devon Lee (close friend and brief mentee)
- Kyler Park (former Teammate)
- Kenny Payne (friend)
- Cobra Kai students (temporary enemies and teammates)
- Kim Da-Eun (situational ally and former sensei)
Appearances
Trivia
- When angered, Tory has a similar demeanor to both Dutch and Mike Barnes.
- Her introduction to Miguel ("Tory, with a "Y") is similar to Ali Mills' introduction to Daniel LaRusso ("Ali, with an "I").
- Her surname was confirmed by Jon Hurwitz on Twitter.
- Tory might be the female counterpart to the younger Johnny Lawrence from the original 1984 movie, as they've both instigated rivalries to their respective protagonists. When she beats Sam in the All Valley, Tory asks her if she's alright, mirroring what Johnny Lawrence said to Daniel after losing.
- Season 4 is the only season where she appears in every episode, therefore going a full season.
- In addition to having a credit-only appearance in "Long, Long Way From Home", she appears in the Cobra Kai commercial, flashbacks from the 51st All Valley, and a youtube video on that tournament against Sam.
- In "Survivors," the ninth episode of Season 5 when Terry Silver and Kim Da-Eun forced Tory to punch a solid stone dummy, it references The Karate Kid Part III, when Terry made Daniel punch a wooden dummy.
- When Tory told Sam that she never apologized to her when Sam accused Tory of stealing Amanda's wallet in Sleeper, she was actually correct.
- She is the third character to have a mother become deceased, the others being Johnny and Devon.
- Tory is the only person from the main characters that most stayed in the Cobra Kai Dojo (from seasons 2 to 5, and then returning in 6).
- In "Sleeper," the third episode of Season 6, after Kim Da-Eun states to John Kreese that no dojo will be able to stand in Cobra Kai's way with Kwon Jae-Sung now in line, Kreese tells her that there is "one more piece of the puzzle left" and the scene changes to show Tory training for the Sekai Taikai. This foreshadows her reluctant return to Cobra Kai a couple episodes later in "Best of the Best."