Cobra Kai: Kreese Will Win The All-Valley Tournament Mid-Season — Theory Explained
The next All-Valley Tournament has been built up as the big climax of Cobra Kai season 4, but the championship could happen mid-season, with John Kreese’s Cobra Kai dojo emerging victorious. The All-Valley has been a central plot point since the first Karate Kid, with its most recent appearance being the Cobra Kai season 1 finale. But could season 4’s All-Valley Tournament actually be just the kickoff to an even bigger finale?
In Cobra Kai season 1, Miguel Diaz won the All-Valley Tournament after defeating Johnny Lawrence’s own son, Robby Keene, who entered as an individual competitor. Of course, Miguel used underhanded tactics in order to claim victory, in an uncharacteristically dark turn. The shadow of Cobra Kai’s dirty win has hung over both Johnny and Miguel since, making the next All-Valley a big deal. The tournament’s importance only grew at the end of season 3, when Kreese declared that he would leave town if his dojo lost. And with lots of young characters all strong enough to claim first place, the competition in season 4’s All-Valley will be tougher than ever before.
All of that would seem to add up to the natural conclusion that Cobra Kai season 4’s All-Valley Tournament will be the season’s climax. However, that may not be the case: with so many contenders ready to fight, and with Terry Silver returning to help Kreese prepare his students, it’s possible that Cobra Kai could win the tournament in the middle of season 4, leading to some major aftermath and an even bigger showdown in the true finale. Here’s how it could all go down in Cobra Kai season 4.
Looked at objectively, Kreese and Cobra Kai have a really strong chance of winning the season 4 All-Valley. The dojo has two of the strongest competitors — possibly the two strongest of all — in Robby and Tory. Robby nearly won the season 1 tournament and likely would have if not for the dirty tactics employed against him. And while Tory’s record against Sam LaRusso isn’t the best, she seems to have flourished under Kreese’s tutelage. On top of all that, Kreese is sure to use some less than legal strategies to take out the competition, just like he did in the original Karate Kid. That would open up even more opportunities for Tory or Robby to walk in and take the gold.
The other factor going strongly in Kreese’s favor for the season 4 All-Valley is the return of Terry Silver. In The Karate Kid Part III, the Cobra Kai founder was shown to be even more brutal and animalistic in his teachings than Kreese. Now that he’ll be helping to train the dojo for the season 4 All-Valley Tournament, the Cobra Kai students will likely be tougher than ever. That means that in season 4, Cobra Kai may be a difficult foe for any opponent to overcome.
It would make a lot of sense for Cobra Kai season 4 to end with one of the heroes winning the All-Valley Tournament. After all, that’s exactly how The Karate Kid, The Karate Kid Part II, and Cobra Kai season 1 all ended. The All-Valley Tournament is the definitive Karate Kid climax — and that's exactly the problem. As perfect as that might seem to be for the season 4 climax, it's incredibly predictable. The series might be better off holding the tournament mid-season and having a different climax at the end.
Doing yet another All-Valley finale in Cobra Kai season 4 would just be retreading old territory with diminishing returns. At this point, it would be more interesting to have something else end the season – another brawl, a confrontation between the sensei, or maybe even a climax with no fighting at all. There are so many interesting plot threads and character arcs going in the show right now that Cobra Kai could find plenty of interesting ways to wrap up season 4. And since season 5 has already been confirmed, it would be better to leave things on an unresolved note than to end with another definitive tournament win. Instead, holding the tournament mid-season and having the villains win would be the perfect setup for an even more impactful finale later on.
Another Cobra Kai victory at the All-Valley would have major repercussions. It would establish that Kreese is here to stay and that his students truly are the toughest in town. It would mean Sam, Hawk, Miguel and Demetri all dealing with the fallout from failure. It would mean Tory and Robby grappling with victory by methods they likely know are wrong. With the show continuing indefinitely beyond season 4, Cobra Kai needs to keep some of its drama going by pushing its various characters in new and exciting directions. That could all start in the second half of season 4 if Kreese and Silver win the All-Valley Tournament mid-season.
In the end, The Karate Kid has always been a franchise about underdog victories; about triumphing over adversity and beating back the bullies. Cobra Kai has that same thematic and emotional core, which means that ultimately, the good guys will end up victorious. But if Kreese loses at the season 4 All-Valley, that leaves very little room for the show to go in the future. Sure, he could refuse to stand by his promise, stick around, and keep causing trouble. But it would be so much more interesting, and so much bigger of a challenge for the heroes to overcome, if he didn’t have to – if he won instead. That way, the triumphant underdog victory gets postponed, but when it finally does occur later in the show, it will hit that much harder. Maybe Robby and Tory will realize the error in Kreese’s ways after it finally brings them victory, just as it did for Johnny in season 1. Maybe Kreese will win the Cobra Kai season 4 All-Valley Tournament, but ultimately lose the war.
Source: Screenrant
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