Cobra Kai Season 6 Part 3's AI Cameo Is The Worst Moment In The Entire Series

This article contains spoilers for "Cobra Kai" Season 6 Part 3.

Hey, remember how "Cobra Kai" Season 6 Part 2 used AI to bring back a dead "Karate Kid" actor? The show's revelation of Mr. Miyagi's (Pat Morita) big, dark secret in the episode "Blood in Blood Out" leads to a nightmare sequence in the part 2 finale "Eunjangdo," where Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) has to fight against a young Miyagi (Brian Takahashi), who eventually morphs into the Morita version.

Bringing back Morita's Miyagi — even for just a short moment — proved divisive among the fandom, with many viewers condemning the decision on social media. This, however, has done little to curb the show's enthusiasm. In the "Cobra Kai" Season 6 Part 3 episode "Skeletons," Daniel has yet another prolonged dream sequence as he ponders his dearly departed sensei's seemingly villainous past deeds. This dream comes in the shape of countless masked men who are dressed in the Cobra Kai skeleton costumes from "The Karate Kid." Before Daniel becomes overwhelmed, Miyagi arrives from the shadows, and the two join forces for a prolonged fight sequence against the attackers. After the skeletons stop their assault, Daniel and the dream Miyagi have an equally lengthy heart-to-heart, which ends up lifting Daniel's spirits ... but also gives "Cobra Kai" arguably the worst moment in the entire series. 

Even if you don't like "Cobra Kai" as a show, it's easy to see that it doesn't have a lot of throwaway scenes. Opinions may vary on whether every storyline is gold, but the series generally does a commendable job at crafting every individual scene into a streamlined thing that does its intended job of either building the series' most recent dramatic elements or simply setting up the next cool karate battle.

Because of this track record, the Miyagi cameo in "Skeletons" is doubly more off-putting. It's far longer than it needs to be, and since we're clearly watching an AI resurrection of a beloved dead actor, the dialogue between Daniel and Miyagi makes for seriously uncomfortable viewing. What's more, there's no need to include the scene in the first place. The death of Kwon (Brandon H. Lee) in "Eunjangdo" already showed that karate fights may lead to accidental deaths, which should've mae Daniel realize that Miyagi's killing of a Sekai Taikai opponent was likely unintentional. Also, the series finale, "Ex-Degenerate," almost casually reveals the truth behind Miyagi's supposed violent robbery of a necklace. Lucille LaRusso (Randee Heller) gifts said necklace to Samantha LaRusso (Mary Mouser), and reveals that the piece of jewelry was a Miyagi family heirloom that an internment camp guard stole from Miyagi's wife after her death. Daniel's sensei was merely tracking down what belonged to him, and quite justifiably clocked the former guard when he tried to resist.

The combination of those scenes would easily close the book on the Miyagi storyline without the AI cameo. Because of this, the whole dream sequence comes across as a combination of misguided fan service and the showrunners' stated desire to set up a spin-off for Mr. Miyagi.

"Cobra Kai" is now streaming in its entirety on Netflix.