Robby’s ending in Cobra Kai didn’t exactly sit right with me the first time I watched it - or at least it did, until I rewatched The Karate Kid again. After everything he’d been through across 6 emotionally turbulent seasons, it felt like the show shortchanged him when he lost to Axel at the Sekai Taikai. He’d been a central figure since the very beginning, constantly caught between Johnny Lawrence and Daniel LaRusso’s opposing ideologies. After all the internal conflict, moral growth, and high-stakes fights, I expected a definitive moment of triumph. However, Robby’s final chapter didn’t deliver that clear-cut victory - at least, not in the way fans have come to expect from a series built on dojo rivalries and tournament showdowns.
I had the same view, but after revisiting the original 1984 The Karate Kid, my perspective started to shift. Suddenly, Robby’s ending in Cobra Kai didn’t feel like an anticlimax. It felt deliberate. In fact, the show’s decision to close out his arc the way it did actually recontextualizes Johnny Lawrence’s original defeat at the hands of Daniel LaRusso. The parallels between the two characters - both emotionally invested in a tournament they ultimately lose - speak volumes about how far Cobra Kai has evolved from the binary storytelling of The Karate Kid. Robby may not have won in the traditional sense, but what he gains in the finale is arguably more important.
Robby Keene's Ending In Cobra Kai Didn't Sit Right With Me At First
Robby’s Final Loss Felt More Like A Fumble Than A Finish Line
Robby’s ending in Cobra Kai left me frustrated, because it felt like he never got the closure his arc had earned. After all the time spent developing his character - from a rebellious loner with a chip on his shoulder to a dedicated martial artist striving for balance - his defeat in the final tournament felt like a narrative dead end. It wasn’t just that he lost the Sekai Taikai; it was that the moment didn’t seem to carry the emotional weight the series had been building toward.
From the earliest seasons of Cobra Kai, Robby has always felt like the tragic middle ground between Johnny and Daniel. He never fully belonged to either camp, often finding himself isolated by his choices or the consequences of his parents' shortcomings. Yet as Cobra Kai evolved, so did Robby. His decision to walk away from Cobra Kai’s toxic influence, his slow mending of his relationship with Johnny, and his growing bond with Miguel all hinted at a redemptive arc coming to fruition.
For Robby, who had spent so much of the series trying to prove himself - to Johnny, to Daniel, to himself - the loss read as yet another knockdown in a series of near-misses.
That’s what made his loss at the Sekai Taikai tournament feel so jarring. Robby was in top form - focused, grounded, and emotionally stable - but even that wasn’t enough to secure a win. After years of strife, it seemed like he was due a symbolic victory, the kind of scene where a character’s journey culminates in a single triumphant moment. Instead, we got something quieter, something more ambiguous.
Cobra Kai Series Finale Ending Explained In Full
Complete with one last epic fight, the Cobra Kai series finale brought the Sekai Taikai to a close and ended the stories of several key characters.
At first glance, that felt like a missed opportunity. The tournament had always been a proving ground in Cobra Kai, where winning symbolized growth and legitimacy. For Robby, who had spent so much of the series trying to prove himself - to Johnny, to Daniel, to himself - the loss read as yet another knockdown in a series of near-misses. However, once I stepped back and looked at the bigger picture, especially after rewatching The Karate Kid, it became clear that Robby’s ending in Cobra Kai was about something deeper than victory.
Johnny's Fate In The Karate Kid Was The Same As Robby's (With A Difference)
Both Lost The Big Fight, But Only One Was Set Up For A Better Life Afterward
When I revisited The Karate Kid after finishing Cobra Kai, the parallels between Johnny Lawrence’s 1984 loss and Robby’s modern-day defeat in the Sekai Taikai at the end of season 6 jumped out at me. Both characters enter their respective tournaments with immense personal stakes. For Johnny, winning the All Valley meant holding onto his identity and the only sense of validation he had through Cobra Kai’s aggressive ideology. For Robby, the Sekai Taikai was a chance to finally prove he had found a middle path - one that didn’t rely on vengeance or external approval.
However, even though they both lost key matches at a precarious moment in their lives, their reactions and circumstances couldn’t be more different. Johnny’s defeat in The Karate Kid marked the beginning of a downward spiral. Humiliated and emotionally shattered, he was then physically assaulted by his own sensei, John Kreese, in the parking lot. That moment symbolized everything wrong with the original Cobra Kai, from its toxic mentorship and obsession with winning to the lack of emotional maturity.
Johnny is there to him after the Sekai Taikai, proud of the fighter and person Robby has become.
Robby, on the other hand, loses the Sekai Taikai with dignity. He doesn’t lash out or crumble under the pressure. In fact, the system around Robby - especially Johnny - makes all the difference. Robby isn’t abandoned by his mentor in defeat. He isn’t told he’s worthless. Instead, Johnny is there to him after the Sekai Taikai, proud of the fighter and person Robby has become. That alone creates a stark contrast to how Johnny was treated when he lost.
What Cobra Kai manages to do so well is flip the emotional consequence of these two similar events. Robby’s ending in Cobra Kai initially felt unsatisfying, but it actually highlights how much the cycle has been broken. Where Johnny once stood alone in shame, Robby stands surrounded by people who value him beyond his tournament performance. He walks away not with a trophy, but with his relationships intact and his future still full of promise.
Cobra Kai deliberately echoes Johnny’s past to underline how far he’s come, not just as a fighter, but as a mentor and a father. Robby’s loss is Johnny’s redemption. It’s the visual proof that Johnny has created something better than Kreese ever could: a dojo and a family where defeat isn’t the end of the road, but a stepping stone.
Unlike Johnny In The Karate Kid, Robby Was Ready To Deal With Defeat In Cobra Kai
Robby’s Loss Proves That Johnny Truly Broke Cobra Kai’s Toxic Legacy
The true power of Robby’s ending in Cobra Kai doesn’t lie in the fight itself - it lies in how he handles the loss. Where The Karate Kid left him broken and directionless, Robby’s response to failure reveals just how much he’s grown, and more importantly, how Johnny has evolved as a teacher. Robby doesn’t see the loss as a personal failing. He takes it in stride, showing a level of emotional maturity that his father never had at his age.
By the end of Cobra Kai, Johnny’s greatest achievement isn’t winning any fight - it’s raising a student, and a son, who can lose and still walk away with his head high.
This isn’t just character growth for Robby, it’s narrative growth for the Cobra Kai legacy. Johnny has always been haunted by his past, particularly the way Kreese molded him into a fighter obsessed with dominance. But by the end of Cobra Kai, Johnny’s greatest achievement isn’t winning any fight - it’s raising a student, and a son, who can lose and still walk away with his head high. Robby’s ending in Cobra Kai is the show’s final proof that Johnny succeeded in breaking the toxic cycle he was trapped in for decades.
Unlike the Johnny Lawrence of 1984, who was left adrift after his loss, Robby exits the series grounded. He’s reconciled with his father, found peace with his rivals, and carved out an identity that exists outside of the dojo. He no longer needs a win to define his worth. This is a huge departure from how things began, when Robby’s sense of self was tied so closely to how others saw him. especially Johnny and Daniel.
In this sense, Robby’s ending is more than just an emotional payoff. It’s a quiet, powerful statement about what true growth looks like. The victory isn’t on the mat; it’s in the ability to face a setback with grace and resilience. That’s something that wouldn’t have been possible without Johnny’s journey alongside him. So yes, Robby’s ending in Cobra Kai may not come with a championship belt. What it does come with, though, is something even more impressive, It reframes the emotional core of The Karate Kid, showing that the real triumph isn’t in winning a tournament, but in learning how to live beyond it.
Cobra Kai
- Release Date
- 2018 - 2025-00-00
- Network
- Netflix, YouTube
- Showrunner
- Jon Hurwitz
Cast
Ralph MacchioDaniel LaRusso
Johnny Lawrence
WHERE TO WATCH
- Directors
- Hayden Schlossberg, Jon Hurwitz, Joel Novoa, Jennifer Celotta, Steven K. Tsuchida, Sherwin Shilati, Marielle Woods, Steve Pink, Lin Oeding, Michael Grossman
- Writers
- Josh Heald, Ashley Darnall, Chris Rafferty, Bill Posley
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