‘Cobra Kai’ EPs Warn That Miyagi-Do Are ‘Underdogs Again’ At Sekai Taikai Tourney
Miyagi-Do might feel a little overwhelmed in Barcelona upon arrival to the Sekai Taikai tournament.
Part 2 of the final season of “Cobra Kai” is all about the international Sekai Taikai tournament, and after a rocky selection process back in The Valley on who’d be attending the final squad was set. The roster looks like this: Robby (Tanner Buchanan) and Sam (Mary Mouser) are the captains joined by Miguel (Xolo Maridueña), Hawk (Jacob Bertrand), Demetri (Gianni DeCenzo), and Devon (Oona O’Brien).
“Cobra Kai” showrunners Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg told TheWrap that the team makeup and uptick in overall skill makes Miyagi-Do underdogs once again.
“We’ve seen them kick a lot of ass in The Valley, but on the world stage now you’re seeing fighters that are a lot more experienced and have been on that world stage themselves for a while,” Hurwitz said. “In the first five episodes, you see Cobra Kai across the world and the threat that they are – once you get to the tournament there’s 14 additional teams that they now have to worry about. We brought in the Iron Dragons as this team that is sort of been the best of the best, and has won prior tournaments. We wanted to make our kids the underdogs again as they enter this tournament.”
One of the things the showrunners are most excited for with Part 2 is just the uptick in martial arts prowess on display. The goal was to make the Sekai Taikai feel distinct and not just “The All Valley tournament but in Barcelona.”
“Our cast at this point has been training in martial arts since the beginning of the series, or the beginning of whenever they’ve joined this series,” Heald said. “And our stunt team is just a bunch of world class martial artists who come to work every day to make everyone look great. When all of that conspires, with the writing, it just takes it up a notch. We wanted to make sure that it felt like something that is outside the language of ‘The Karate Kid’ and ‘Cobra Kai’ but feels like we just poured gasoline on it.”
With Miyagi-Do being such underdogs, it’s up to co-senseis Daniel (Ralph Macchio) and Johnny (William Zabka) to step up their game as well. Unfortunately, that’s not going to be the case because the two continue to be unable to get on the same page.
“It’s a Noah Baumbach movie that’s not in a good, good place. They’re together, but very unhappy with each other,” Schlossberg said. “They’re so invested in these kids and they know that the kids need to see them, working together,” Schlossberg said. “So there’s a lot of Johnny and Daniel kind of trying to pretend like everything is good, and then when the kids are gone that’s when the bickering starts.”
The dojo won’t just have to contend with other world-class teams at the tournament, but also the fact that Tory (Peyton List) defected from Miyagi-Do after her mother’s death at the end of Part 1 and joined Kreese (Martin Kove) and Cobra Kai.
“Tory was backed into a corner and made the best choice that she could make for herself, given her headspace and given her point of view,” Heald said. “She’s clearly in a dark, dark, grieving place and is going to that comfortable, dark place that she’s been before when she feels terrible. She’s clearly hurtin, and she’s trying to channel it and to focus to get the one thing that she’s after which is victory.”
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