Cobra Kai’s William Zabka Explains Johnny’s ‘Big Decision’ in Season 6 Premiere: ‘He Wants Nothing to Do With John Kreese’

The following contains spoilers for the first episode of Cobra Kai Season 6, Part 1!

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Daniel and Johnny’s dojos may have agreed to join forces, but is it really “Peacetime in the Valley,” as the season premiere suggests? With the threat of John Kreese on the back-burner (for now) and the Sekai Taikai rapidly approaching, there’s still a couple of things the formerly warring nemeses-turned-allies must agree to: the dojo’s name and legacy.

Despite Hawk and Demetri’s suggestion of “Miyagi Fang Karate” (which was served up alongside a mildly offensive caricature of Mr. Miyagi), Daniel refuses to turn his sensei into some sort of “karate vampire.” Thus begins a debate and rivalry between Johnny and Chozen, who sides with Daniel in wanting to honor Miyagi’s teachings and legacy. They decide to face off on the mat, Eagle Fang vs. Miyagi-Do. The winner will name the dojo. But by episode’s end, Johnny has a change of heart and concedes, deciding that Eagle Fang is just another version of Cobra Kai. Plus, he admits that working with Daniel and Chozen has made him a better sensei.

“That’s a big decision for him,” William Zabka tells TVLine in the video above. “After Cobra Kai, he opened up Eagle Fang, which is really the only thing in his life, karate-wise, that’s his own, that he built from scratch. So to concede and to join Miyagi-Do is a big decision and conflict in him. But he’s faced with the idea that Eagle Fang is kind of a step-child of Cobra Kai and he wants nothing to do with John Kreese. He’s evolving and comes to the decision that he wants Miyagi-Do’s legacy to be the one to live on… It’s a big step for Johnny.”

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Big changes are a bit of a theme in Episode 1, as Daniel delivers a shocker of his own. “After this tournament, my full-time sensei days are over,” he tells his wife Amanda. “This tournament is my karate swan song.” Say what?! Could Daniel really leave martial arts behind and simply… move on?

“Sometimes in life you tell yourself something that you want to believe in the moment because of all the trauma that is churned up,” says Ralph Macchio. “I’ve had those moments in my life where I’m saying, ‘You know what? I’m done with this for now,’ and then all of a sudden it finds its way… [Daniel’s] trying to be a good husband at that point after dragging his wife and kids through this endless karate war in the San Fernando Valley.”

Hear Zabka and Macchio’s full responses in the video above, grade the episode below, then hit the comments to tell us what you thought of Cobra Kai’ s final season premiere .

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