Cobra Kai: How does season 5 set up the potential next chapter?

Season 5 ended with an explosive and action-packed finale that really scattered a lot of the big players of the series.

It's a series that has repeatedly brought back characters from the franchise and managed to fold them into the story in interesting ways, so the question going into a (not yet announced) potential season 6 is – who is there left to bring back? And where can the show go from here?

Read on to find out what could potentially lie ahead for season 6, though be warned: there are full spoilers for season 5 ahead.

What happens at the end of Cobra Kai season 5?

The biggest question left unanswered by the end of season 5 is what the fate of the eponymous dojo will be. With Silver on his way to prison, Kreese on the run and Johnny Lawrence completely uninterested, there seems to be no leadership for Cobra Kai.

However, it does seem that the newly introduced sensei Kim Da-Eun could use Cobra Kai to complete her dream of bringing her family’s Way of the Fist to the world stage. But what is a dojo without students? The revelations of Silver’s activities have left Cobra Kai’s students disillusioned, so it’s not entirely clear that there will even be a dojo to take to the world stage.

World tournament

The scale of the show is getting a lot bigger than the Valley, with Cobra Kai and Miyagi-Fang headed to square up with the best dojos on the planet. While season 5 really began to break out of the shell of American Karate with the introduction of new non-American sensei in the Cobra Kai cast, it seems that season 6 could shed it almost entirely. That means we'll hopefully get the opportunity to see a whole load of different styles that'll be fun to watch and shake up the fighting we see on screen.

New life

We know that Carmen and Johnny have a baby on the way. Now, the series has always played a little fast and loose with timelines so we don't know if we'll get to the birth of the baby in any potential sixth season, but the pregnancy itself still sets up some interesting stakes regardless.

We've already established that Robby and Miguel are happy about their new little sibling on the way, but how will the stress of the competition bear down on the parents? And how will Johnny split his time between preparing his students for the next level with looking after Carmen and his family's future?

Young love

Earlier, it was looking like the show's central teen romances would both be left in disarray, but now things are looking up. After Sam took some space to figure herself out, the lingering romantic tension between her and Miguel finally came to a head and their declarations of love at the end of the season suggest the romance is back on.

Similarly, Tory and Robby aren’t yet on firm ground but after their joint takedown of Silver, things are looking up for the pair. Whether the trials and tribulations that season 6 brings will take these young lovers apart or bring them even closer together is yet to be seen. All we know is that given their history there is certainly room for more drama there, even after their team-up.

Will there be a Cobra Kai season 6?

There are also some loose ends that could come back to bite in season 6.

One of these is Hector, Miguel's father who Carmen ran to the US to get away from. It's clear that after seeing the dark side of the man, Miguel is done with him – but what's less clear is whether he is done with Miguel. And what does that mean for the baby on the way?

And then there's Mike Barnes and Stingray. While Silver may have succeeded with his fear tactics and manipulation so far, there's no telling as to what could happen now that the balance of power has shifted. Maybe Barnes runs off into the sunset with his Rembrandt, or maybe the taste of the action he got means that he’ll remind everyone why he was known as the bad boy of karate.

Read more: Cobra Kai season 5's big Karate Kid cameos explained

Kenny, the bullied new student who Robby took under his wing at Cobra Kai and then went on to be manipulated by Silver, is presently pretty lost. He built his new life at this school on the basis of being Cobra Kai’s most impressive new member, but since he’s now broken out of Silver’s manipulation it’s hard to tell what the future holds for him.

John Kreese is now a man on the run – after a daring escape he’s now out and ready to make his presence felt. Though what exactly the former sensei will do now is deeply unclear. On the one hand, with Silver out of the picture, he could once again try to take the reins of Cobra Kai. On the other, he was clearly deeply affected by the rejection he received from his ‘best pupil’ Johnny Lawrence, so maybe he could finally try to make amends. Whatever he does, it’s sure to be a key part of any future season.

So far Netflix is staying quiet on whether there will be a season 6 of the Karate Kid follow-up, but if the show does get renewed it seems like fans have an exciting time ahead of them.

Cobra Kai season 5 is now available to watch on Netflix. You can also read our guides to the best Netflix series and best Netflix movies to keep you entertained, check out our Drama hub for more news, interviews and features, or visit our TV Guide for more to watch.

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