Netflix’s Original Series Cobra Kai episode six “Ouroboros” kicks off with Ralph Macchio’s Daniel LaRusso giving up on fighting against Thomas Griffith’s Terry Silver. The viewer can see that Daniel has bruises on his face while also having his fighting spirit broken. Unfortunately, even with the return of his family ready to fight alongside him he still does not want to get involved. This leads to William Zabka’s Johnny Lawrence, Yuji Okumoto’s Chozen Toguchi, Mary Mouser’s Samantha LaRusso, and Courtney Henggeler’s Amanda LaRusso trying to find a way to help Daniel as a way to show that they have his back no matter what.
A few minutes into the episode, the viewer sees Peyton List’s Tory Nichols fight a young girl who seems to be implied to be her future disciple. This is due to her being forced to fight to prove she is still the best fighter in cobra kai. Obviously, by the look on her face she does not want to fight the girl. In her mind, she has no choice in the matter because of the new sensei ordering her to show no mercy and her not being able to refuse a direct order. Furthermore, she cannot refuse altogether due to her being a spy for Martin Kove’s John Kreese as he has told her to follow every order as to not draw suspicion. She knows that she must keep up appearances that way she can help destroy Terry Silver from the inside and free everyone from cobra kai. The viewer can see that all of the sacrifice Tory is doing is taking a toll on her by the look she makes as she is praised by her new sensei. This event fantastically demonstrates how easy it is to fall in with the wrong crowd especially if they make you feel as if you gain something by doing things that you do not want to do.
Later in the episode, the viewer sees Kreese in jail as a result of Terry Silver’s scheme to get rid of him that way he could be head sensei. The interesting part is he is currently attending therapy to work on his issues. During this, the viewer sees the ghost of his past as well as his present come out as he speaks to the therapist while he also sees a young Johnny as one of his ghosts. This is due to his guilt of not being the father that Johnny needed at the time instead choosing to treat him too harshly. He knows that deep down he wanted to do right by Johnny all those years ago he just does not know how. Unfortunately, the war has made it difficult for him to open up to anyone he cares about. This demonstrates how Kreese is not just a one-dimensional evil character like most series have. Instead, he is a complicated character that has gone through a tremendous amount of loss and horrors as a result of war. Hopefully, when he gets released, he will try to do better as his wish for all his students was for them to be better than him.
At the end of the episode, Daniel finally enters Pat Morita’s Mr. Miyagi room in his house. This by far is the most emotional moment in the series. The viewer sees how much Daniel feels in the moment as he looks at old keeps sakes of Mr. Miyagi. During this, his wife and him talk about how they both looked up to him for advice. This is due to him giving her life advice as well when she and Daniel were about to get married. As a result, Daniel has his fighting spirt restored with his friends, family, and students ready to put an end to cobra kai once and for all.
Rating 8.5/10