Ralph Macchio Calls the Final Five Episodes of COBRA KAI "A Genuine, Big, Fat, Warm Embrace" - and I Agree
Ralph Macchio has made a career out of playing Daniel LaRusso in the Karate Kid franchise, and he is closing a very important chapter in that book with the recent finale of the hit spin-off series, Cobra Kai.
The show followed up with the characters from The Karate Kid three decades after we last saw them, and the story was so careful to pay tribute to the characters, including the late, great Pat Morita, who played Mr. Miyagi, but it also made sure to tell a great new story with humor and heart that nodded to everything the fans hoped to see.
Now, the super-sized sixth and final season has released its final five episodes, and fans are enjoying how the series wrapped. Macchio talked to GamesRadar about the run of the show and how it has ended, looking all the way back to the beginning, saying:
"I think what I love about the end of the series is it really feels like a big '80s Karate Kid movie, like a really good Karate Kid movie with all the feels, cheers, tears, the 'F yeah!' moments.
“I remember seeing [the first film] for the first time in a theater, and people came out of their seats and were high-fiving their neighbors, and people they never met before. And at the end of the show, you kind of still feel that, albeit through a Cobra Kai lens."
He continued: "It has the signature that the Cobra Kai series has created, but it never leaves the themes of what the Karate Kid was. And I'm really glad it landed that way. And these guys did a beautiful job. John, Josh, and Hayden really did."
They really did do such a good job. From Johnny’s (William Zabka) redemptive story arc to the insane fight sequences and the cameos from every Karate Kid movie, it hit every note that kept fans coming back for more.
Showrunner and co-creator John Hurwitz also spoke to the outlet, and he talked about the approach to wrapping up the epic series, saying:
"I think, when you're wrapping up a giant karate soap opera that we've been on a six-season journey with, there's so many characters that you want to tie up, and from the very beginning, we would take some episodes and highlight certain characters and others.
“We took the approach of, in the final five episodes, not trying to tie everything up all at once in one episode, but spread it throughout, give everyone their big, climactic moment."
Hurwitz went on to add: "That's one of the reasons why we wanted to do 15 episodes in our final season, so that we had the real estate to spend a little bit of time, and we definitely wanted to finish where we started with Daniel and Johnny as the two main characters that we spent the most time on in the early couple of episodes."
Macchio went on to talk about the appeal of the franchise, which has been able to capture a sprawling fanbase:
"That's been the gift that keeps on giving with this, being involved in this film franchise and this series and everything else. To have 8-year-old kids and 80-year-old grandparents all enjoying a piece of this, of this story over these years and gaining different things from it, whether it be nostalgia or new relevant stories going forward, it's always been positive. It's always about overcoming obstacles, wish fulfillment, aspirations, storytelling, mentorship.
“It's a genuine, big, fat, warm embrace and in a world that isn't always warm and embracing. So I really feel blessed, privileged, and, and honored to be, you know, carrying a piece of that torch. It's really quite unique."
Cobra Kai season 6 part 3 is streaming now on Netflix. Ralph Macchio will next be seen in the franchise film Karate Kid: Legends, which is set to hit theatres on May 30, 2025.