Cobra Kai's Ralph Macchio Had One Condition For His Most Shocking Moment

The following contains spoilers for the entire final season of "Cobra Kai."

"Cobra Kai" Season 6 Part 3 is full of moments straight out of most "Karate Kid" enthusiasts' dreams. For six years, the show has done fan service the right way, using it to say something about its characters, the past, and the present. When the first season essentially redid the original plot of "The Karate Kid" but with Miguel Diaz (Xolo Maridueña) turning to the dark side and purposely using a dirty trick to win, it was to show Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) realizing the dangers of passing along the more aggressive aspects of the Cobra Kai teachings.

This continues all the way to the final episodes of Season 6, which are some of the best episodes in the entire show. We see themes and character arcs come full circle, hard-won victories achieved, and plenty of shocking moments. Arguably, though, one of the biggest shocks comes in the series' final episode, when Johnny arrives at his last fight of the Sekai Taikai tournament accompanied by virtually all the main characters that were part of the new Miyagi-Do dojo, each of them dressed in the Cobra Kai gi. That includes Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) himself, the sworn enemy of Cobra Kai, who's now backing his best friend and wearing his dojo's uniform.

It's a moment that fans could have only dreamed of, and one that shocked even Macchio himself. As such, when the actor read the script for the final episode, he wasn't fully convinced. Speaking to a group of reporters during a roundtable interview /Film participated in, the actor explained, "I felt like a little toy doll that they were just redressing in the dark, [like] Darth Vader taking Luke Skywalker and putting him in the Darth Vader costume."

Macchio came to terms with the decision, but he did have one condition for the scene — his headband. "As long as I keep the Hachimaki Miyagi-Do headband, I'm cool," the actor added, jokingly. "It shows such growth and such support for his ex-foe now friend, Johnny Lawrence. It shows such goodness that what he would do to support his friend and the greater good, and I loved it."

Before he shows up in Johnny's corner, Daniel becomes his former enemy's sensei in "Cobra Kai" Season 6 Part 3. With Cobra Kai and the Iron Dragons tied at the Sekai Taikai, the whole tournament comes down to a fight between senseis. Hence, Daniel takes it upon himself to train Johnny and get him back into champion shape. This results in a triumphant training montage straight out of "Rocky III," with the former rivals practicing together on the beach like Apollo and Rocky, all while Joe Esposito's iconic "You're The Best" plays in the background (the show's other white whale next to AC/DC's "Thunderstruck").

Daniel and Johnny even do the crane kick at the beach, a scene that was a full-circle moment for Macchio. "A lot of that was the last day of shooting of the whole series, so we ended with me and Billy Zabka on the beach," the actor explained. "We started this franchise where he beat the crap out of me on the beach. That was the first day of filming. So here we were playing in the surf, hugging each other on the beach. You couldn't have scripted it better."

"We had a great deal of fun," Macchio added. "And so did the three writers of the show because they were literally living their dream."

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