Cobra Kai Season 6 Part 2's Surprise Romance Storyline Is Perfect
Beyond the action, the horrendously poorly portrayed rules of karate, and the memorable quotes and characters, the "Karate Kid" franchise has always had time for romance. From the very start, this franchise has been built on unlikely romances, whether it's Ralph Macchio's scrawny new kid Daniel LaRusso going after rich, popular girl Ali Mills (Elisabeth Shue) in the first film or immediately leaving Ali for a summer romance during a trip to Japan with Kumiko in "The Karate Kid Part II."
Likewise, the legacy sequel TV series "Cobra Kai" has romance built into its DNA. The show —— which is the closest to a full-on live-action sports anime and is set in a world of heightened stakes where everything revolves around karate — has explored romances for both the many new kids on the block and their senseis — with Johnny Lawrence's arc from jerk to a legit good partner being a highlight of the series.
In the second of three parts for "Cobra Kai" season 6, in addition to the thrills of the Sekai Taikai karate tournament, we also get a shocking detour for a little romance for two very unlikely characters — Cobra Kai Sensei Kim Da-Eun (Alicia Hannah-Kim) and Miyagi-do master Chozen (Yuji Okumoto), who find themselves going from fighters to lovers during a heated night in Barcelona. We have seen enemies becoming allies becoming friends plenty of times in "Cobra Kai" before, but Chozen and Kim took "fraternizing with the enemy" to new levels. It's a romance no one saw coming, yet one that makes perfect sense. He is a bad boy, she is a power player, and they are both attracted to power.
As co-creator and showrunner Hayden Schlossberg told TVLine, "Chozen and Kim Da-Eun are both very similar in their personalities, very stoic, very serious and they both have the charge of making sure that the kids are okay." Schlossberg continued, "On the given night, it just made sense that they would be at odds with each other, but even though that they're on opposing dojos, they have those similarities, and sometimes that friction can create a spark."
Chozen can help redeem Kim
Talking with EW, Hannah-Kim said she didn't think that Kim pairing with Chozen was ever going to be part of the character's arc. "She's on vacation, she's in a different mindset," she added. "He's out there on his own looking for the kids; she's out there on her own. It's kind of like a 'great minds think alike' thing."
The pairing of Kim and Chozen is a great idea because it is not only fun to see these two overly serious characters get to have some hot, steamy fun, but it improves what are otherwise relatively undercooked character stories. Chozen, who was one of the best parts of season 5, has spent all of season 6 so far dwelling over Kumiko, with this second batch of episodes revealing that Daniel's former rival went to Japan to confess his love only to find another guy in Kumiko's apartment (likely a misunderstanding that will turn into a joke in the last episodes) and drown his sorrows in alcohol.
Meanwhile, Kim was introduced as a cold, uncaring karate master who was just a bad day away from becoming as sadistic as Kreese or Silver, the biggest villains in the franchise. Season 6, however, has improved Kim's character significantly, not just through her fling with Chozen, but her relationship with Tory, as well. Kim is clearly an older version of who Tory could be if she followed Kreese, someone so obsessed with karate, with power no matter the cost, that she loses herself, her happiness, and a chance at love. When Tory asks in the finale if it was worth giving everything up, Kim is briefly taken aback and it seems like she might rethinking her whole history with karate.
This is why the repairing with Chozen is so perfect because he is a path for Kim to redeem herself. Chozen also started out on a path of having a harsh teacher who loved tormenting students, he took karate too far, and briefly got involved in a fight to the death — like Kim's student, Kwon, did. Chozen was able to realize the error of his ways and become a more centered and healthier person, so perhaps he can help Kim find her way, too.