Creators of the Netflix martial arts drama seriesCobra Kaidisobeyed Netflix and Sony Pictures' orders to write a backup story for the show’s explosive finale, writer Josh Heald has revealed. The penultimate episode ofCobra Kaisees chief antagonists John Kreese and Terry Silver engage in an epic hand-to-hand showdown on Silver’s boat, before Kreese blows up the vessel, killing them both. This extraordinary conclusion did away with both principalvillains of theKarate Kidfranchiseat the same time.
During a panel discussion atNewport Beach TV Feston Saturday, June 7,Cobra Kai’s co-creator and lead writer, Josh Heald, explained that this scene was always the ending that his team had planned for Kreese and Silver. However,when Netflix and Sony Pictures Television heard thatCobra Kai’s writers were planning to end the series in this manner, they demanded an alternativeversion of the finale. Heald described his meeting with Netflix and Sony executives as follows:
“We walked into Sony and Netflix at the top of season 6 and said, “Kreese and Silver are going to fight each other to death on a yacht that’s then going to explode at sea.” They said, “Okay, but really, what are you going to do?” We said, “That.” They said, “Have a backup plan.” We said, “We don’t have a backup plan.” They said, “Work on a backup plan.” We said, “Sure, we will.” And then we didn’t. In our hearts, we knew we were going to do that.
“It wasn’t easy. We have 22-minute comedy budget for a giant action spectacle. They said, “Well, if you’re going to fight to the death and blow up a boat at sea, you’re going to need to lose X, Y, and Z from the budget.” We said, “Okay, consider that gone.” They then talked about taking away things we needed, and we said, “No, we can’t live without air. We’ve gotta take these two men to sea and choreograph a fight on an actual boat.” None of that was CGI, or VFX, or anything. I mean, that was a boat at sea with two men fighting on it. The boat was rocking. We were gonna lose someone at some point. Just keep rolling, it’ll be great if they go overboard. Just go with it.
“I mean, the CGI was the explosion. We weren’t allowed to blow up a boat. So that was a compromise.”
What Cobra Kai’s Creators Not Having A Backup Plan Meant For The Show’s Finale
It Was An All-Or-Nothing Decision
Cobra Kai’s creators going all in on the boat explosion that ends the series' penultimate episode meant stretching the show’s budget to its very limit. What’s more,not having a backup plan in case it wasn’t possible to execute the boat scene in practice risked jeopardizing the climax of the entire series. Without a climactic showdown involving at least one of Kreese or Silver, if not both,Cobra Kaicouldn’t have resolved the plot threads and character arcs it had spent years developing.
As Heald alludes to, the writers must really have believed in the story they were telling to stick to their guns and calculate that their risk would pay off. As a result, the show got the big finish it needed, andCobra Kaiseason 6 earned a respectable 82% score on Rotten Tomatoesas critics and fans alike were generally satisfied with its conclusion.
Our Take On Cobra Kai Creators Defying Netflix Orders To Have A Finale Backup Plan
Their Creative Convictions Won Out To The Show’s Benefit
It was certainly a daring move on the part of Heald, Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg, and their fellowCobra Kaiwriters to defy Netflix’s orders and literally push the boat out for their series finale. As the list ofshows Netflix canceled in 2024 demonstrates, the streaming giant isn’t afraid to pull the plug on a series before its time.Heald and his team could have endangered the entire final season ofCobra Kaiif Netflix wasn’t happywith the results of the boat scene they were planning.
In the end, though, this is a story of creative convictions winning out over the conservatism of big-money backers.Cobra Kaimay have had to compromise in using CGI to render the explosive ending to its boat showdown between Terry Silver and John Kreese, but the scene made it into the series, and is still every bit as thrilling as its writers intended.
Cobra Kai
Cast
Cobra Kai is a sequel series continuing the narrative of the Karate Kid saga, set 30 years after the 1984 All Valley Karate Tournament. It focuses on Johnny Lawrence seeking redemption by reopening the Cobra Kai dojo, reigniting his rivalry with Daniel LaRusso, who strives to maintain balance in his life.
