Allowing Johnny Lawrence (Wiliam Zabka) to shed his one-dimensional bully persona fromThe Karate Kidand become a father to Miguel Diaz (Xolo Maridueña) resulted in one of the most fulfilling relationships featured during the entirety ofCobra Kai.Johnny was struggling mightily in life before he met Miguel at their apartment complex in Season 1, but the young boy helped Johnny find true meaning in his life. And the two stars of the Netflix series dished about their characters’ cherished relationship in a new interview. Maridueña said (perVariety):
“The journey with Billy (Zabka) has been the most gratifying part of this show. That love, that found-father relationship has always been my favorite to play. You see in Johnny’s character, he really yearns to be a good father figure. On the flip side, Miguel didn’t have a dad. In this sense, they really balance each other out. They really helped each other learn how to be the best versions of themselves.”
As the show established from the very first season, another of Johnny’s failures was not being a good parent to his estranged teenage son, Robby Keene (Tanner Buchanan). However, once Miguel came into Johnny’s life, that unconditional love allowed the Cobra Kai sensei to heal his relationship with Robby eventually, too. Zabka said during the same interview:
“The thing that hurts Johnny the most is how he wasn’t there for his his own son on the very first day of his life. All he wants is his son back. He’s got a hole in his heart, and Miguel fills that. Miguel tells Johnny he’s not being a sensei, and that he’s weak.
Suddenly, he gives Johnny strength. In the middle of that, there’s this kind of miraculous moment where his legs are working again [referring to Miguel recovering from his devastating injury in Season 3]. So, there’s this give and take in the beauty of this relationship.”
Johnny Finds Redemption Thanks to Miguel
Cobra KaiSeason 6 Part 3 will mark the endof the fan-favorite series when the final five episodes drop in the winter of 2025, but Johnny continues to evolve as both a hero and a father. And it all began when Daniel LaRusso’s (Ralph Macchio) childhood bully stepped in and helped Miguel when he was being picked on in the very first episode of the Netflix series. From that point on, Johnny and Miguel’s relationship flourished.
At first, Johnny was simply obsessed with re-establishing Cobra Kai’s dojo, but his involvement in Miguel’s life allowed him to evolve from being aKarate Kidvillain to becoming the Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita) of the streaming show. And who can forget the heartbreaking injury Miguel suffered during the Season 2 finale’s hellacious school fight, which Johnny helped him get through in Season 3? Maridueña said during the same sit-down:
Johnny really met Miguel at one of his lowest moments. What makes it real is you have the tender, sweet moments, but then you also have the character building, the tough love.
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Zabka, whose character Johnny became a loving, stand-up father to Robby, Miguel, and his unborn baby girl, added in the same interview:
“The one thing Johnny needed in his life was this boy who needed him. It started to bring out the goodness in Johnny. This whole series has been him breaking down these walls and failing and making mistakes and being stuck in the ’80s and trying to evolve and grow. [Miguel] helps him do that.”
Cobra KaiSeason 6 Part 2 is now streaming on Netflix, along with the rest ofThe Karate Kidspin-off series’ seasons. And the emotional ante is upped in the Part 2 finale asone of the show’s characters surprisingly diesduring a gut-wrenching cliffhanger. But fans won’t have to wait long to see howCobra Kai’sswan song unfolds, because the final five episodes drop onFebruary 13, 2025.
Thirty four years after events of the 1984 All Valley Karate Tournament, a down-and-out Johnny Lawrence seeks redemption by reopening the infamous Cobra Kai dojo, reigniting his rivalry with a now successful Daniel LaRusso.
