Cobra Kai by no means dies. Nonetheless, the sixth and remaining season of “Cobra Kai” will mark the tip of the legacy sequel collection that widened the scope of the Miyagi-verse. Despite the fact that “Cobra Kai” is coming to an finish, there’s nonetheless heaps to stay up for, as season 6 half 3 — which is able to function the present’s remaining episodes — is about to reach in early 2025. For now, now we have to be content material with the newly unveiled season 6 half 2, during which Miyagi-Do heads to Spain for the Sekai Taikai, essentially the most prestigious worldwide karate match in martial arts historical past. The present has all the time been about huge fights and even larger rivalries, together with all of the fractured, tentative relationships in between. Due to the Sekai Taikai, the stakes have by no means been greater, as new challengers and outdated rivals will make an look throughout a world championship which means so much for everybody concerned.
Season 6 half 2 makes the clever selection of taking issues to the following stage, permitting the simmering tensions and fissures to come back to the floor even when each sensei and pupil has a contemporary begin in thoughts. Among the many sturdy, vibrant personalities which are part of the present, season 6 has launched Axel Kovacevic (Patrick Luwis), a member of the Iron Dragons dojo (whose ranks additionally embrace Rayna Vallandingham’s Zara Malik). Identical to Miyagi-Do, the Iron Dragons are out to turn out to be world champions on the Sekai Taikai, and Axel initially finds himself at odds with Cobra Kai and Miyagi-Do’s college students in the course of the match. Nonetheless, now that Axel has met Samantha (Mary Mouser), it seems destiny might produce other plans for these would-be opponents, inflicting the road between private instincts {and professional} rivalry to blur.
To his credit score, Luwis imbues Axel with delicate complexities that additional complicate issues. However the place, precisely, have this promising younger actor turned up earlier than?
Axel Kovacevic is Patrick Luwis’ most distinguished position to this point
“Cobra Kai” just isn’t Luwis’ first performing credit score by an extended mile, because the actor has already appeared in a string of tv exhibits and shorts over time. He beforehand had episode-long stints in “The Dropout” and “NCIS,” and also you would possibly even bear in mind him from Zack Snyder’s “Insurgent Moon — Half One: A Baby of Hearth” (the place he performed Ivar, one of many extra battle-eager residents of Veldt). Luwis additionally made a blink-and-you-miss-it look in Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie.”
Luwis was hesitant to signal on for “Cobra Kai” after his supervisor initially pitched him his position, as he realized the character is meant to be a martial arts prodigy and would require in depth accent work. Luwis talked in regards to the difficult means of making ready for the present in an interview with Actors With Points, stating:
“So all this stuff felt prefer it was an uphill battle already. I believed, ‘I’ll appear to be an fool to this casting workplace’. I used to be speaking myself out of it […] I find yourself getting a name again and ultimately reserving the position. It is like an ideal instance of initially feeling intimidated and discovering all these explanation why you should not or could not do it, and it finally ends up being the very best resolution I might have made.”
Luwis completely nails Axel’s layered persona. Probably the greatest fighters in “Cobra Kai” season 6 half 2, Axel has spent his total life coaching with the only purpose of turning into a karate champion. Because of this uncompromising emphasis on being the very best at what he does, Axel has no possibility however to exude power always, even when it typically feels hole. This hollowness may be straightforward to overlook on account of his stoic, intimidating stature, however he nurtures a hidden vulnerability in entrance of characters who see him for who he’s. Iron Dragons dojo head Sensei Wolf (Lewis Tan) and Samantha signify opposing ends of this sentiment, as one pushes Axel to the purpose of exploitation, whereas the opposite urges him to embrace his true potential by widening his horizons.
You possibly can see extra of Axel when “Cobra Kai” season 6 half 3 premieres February 13, 2025, on Netflix.