Tory Nichols Reaches Her Breaking Point on ‘Cobra Kai’ Season 6, Part 1 | Netflix Review

Be warned of spoilers ahead, because I have a tendency to spoil TV shows and movies, as best as possible!

I started watching Cobra Kai during the last two months of my Disney College Program in November 2022. I stopped briefly, but then, I finished all five seasons by late January 2023, after my Disney College Program ended. The show was about teenagers doing karate with ‘80s hard rock / heavy metal music in the background. What more could you ask for? It’s been a giant roller coaster ride. I immediately liked Miguel, felt sorry for Hawk, thought Sam was a snobby princess, and thought Demetri was annoying as hell. Then, season three came along and things flipped. I wanted to rip out Hawk’s guts and felt sorry for Demetri. Robby, I’ve always liked him. He had a rough childhood with his dad being Johnny Lawrence and he broke the law numerous times throughout his life. 

However, there was one character that I’ve always adored, even when she beat the sh*t out of Sam, which you have to admit, she kind of deserved it. Yes, I’m talking about Tory Nichols and it’s not just because I enjoy seeing Emma Ross from Jessie kick people’s butts. She’s just fascinating to watch. Because of her mother’s illness, she had many responsibilities piled on her shoulders, which is a lot of pressure for a teenage girl. Because of Nichols’ rough background, she fought for her life every single day. People made assumptions about her and treated her unfairly, to the point where she had all this built-up anger that made her an aggressive fighter. 

Nichols was in uncomfortable territories during the first five episodes of season six. She’s been in poor shape ever since Terry Silver paid the referees to let her win the All Valley Karate Tournament. To add to her troubles, she just joined Miyagi-Do and needed time to adjust, she and Sam were trying to patch things up, John Kreese came back into her life, and her mother just died. Like this girl can’t seem to get a break! At least, Sam finally apologized to Nichols for misjudging her and kissing her boyfriend (Miguel, Sam’s ex-boyfriend, at the time). Kreese has been clouding her judgments for a long time, not as long as Johnny’s, but still. Therefore, her mother dying was the final straw. Though predictable, I can see why Nichols rejoined Cobra Kai because despite her and Sam supposedly putting their past behind them, she’ll always be in second place, with Sam being in first place, thanks to her parents.

Moving onto Demetri, who I hated during the first two seasons because of his controlling and judgemental personality, he grew on me in season three and onwards. However, by season six’s fourth episode, the binary brothers hit a bump in the road with Hawk telling Demetri that he never applied to MIT. And honestly, I respect Hawk’s decision for not applying because he wants to keep his options open. Demetri said they’ve dreamt about going to MIT since they were kids; he planned their whole life for them. This is where Demetri’s controlling persona returns, which is partially why I couldn’t stand him in the first place. On the other hand, I enjoyed seeing this dangerous and pissed off version of Demetri. Earlier in the episode, he wasn’t sure of himself and thought he had no place in the Sekai Taikai. I hate to say it, but Hawk “rejecting” him, gave Demetri the push to fight for himself and a spot in the Sekai Taikai, even if it meant beating up his best friend. 

Like Tory, Robby has nothing to lose and no plans for college whatsoever. He always felt like he had something to prove, therefore, I wanted him to beat Miguel for the boys’ team captain spot in the Sekai Taikai. I get that Miguel wants to make a good impression on Stanford, but he made it seem like Robby isn’t worthy enough to be a team captain because he’s not going to college. Sure Robby has made mistakes, but he’s learned from them and I have faith that he has a bright future ahead of him. Even Mr. Miyagi made past mistakes. In season six’s third episode, it’s revealed that he was charged for assault and robbery in 1947, leading him to hide in China. He also co-owned a boxing gym, and let’s just say, Daniel does not handle the news well.

Speaking of Johnny and Daniel, when are they going to make up already? Just when they’ve finally made peace with each other, something else drives them apart. With Tory rejoining Cobra Kai, I can sense Johnny blaming Daniel for the switch, since it was the latter’s idea to stop the fight. Despite their differences, they’re both ego maniacs. They have different training styles. Johnny thinks the students will benefit more from his training methods, while Daniel thinks the students will benefit more from his training methods. I’m getting sick of this rivalry, like “grow up already!”

Here’s more brief things that annoyed me about season six, part one. Devon pissed me off with her laxative stunt she pulled on Kenny because it contradicts what she said in the season five finale, where she told Da-eun she would become a champion on her own terms, the right way. Plus, Kenny was traumatized enough by his experience in Cobra Kai, did the writers have to traumatize him further? Also, how the heck is Master Kim still alive? This dude was already an old man when he started training Da-eun, his granddaughter, when she was a young girl and now she’s a middle aged woman, therefore, he should be dead now!

Despite the negatives, I think season six is off to a great start and I can’t wait to see where the Sekai Taikai storyline goes, especially with the new guy, Kwon. He’s an interesting and troubled kid, so I hope we get more of his background soon. I believe Kreese will become a good person eventually, but now that he hates Johnny’s guts, that’s not going to happen for a while. Already, the characters have been through hell and it’s about to get even crazier for the last 10 episodes. I already sense more wicked things to come and Tory Nichols is not going down without a fight. Unless, rejoining Cobra Kai is part of her plan to take down Kreese, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

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Take care and see ya real soon!

Lana