Warning! Spoilers for Cobra Kai season 6 part 3, ahead!
Netflix’sCobra Kaiwasn’t always fun and games—sometimes, the characters' stories took a tragic and deadly turn. While death wasn’t extremely common in theKarate Kidspinoff, there were a handful of characters who met ill ends. While these were primarily villains who seemingly had it coming, a couple of innocents simply suffered unforeseeable misfortune. TheseCobra Kaideaths were, naturally, considered far more tragic, but there was one villain in particular whose death was a horribly bitter reminder of all that could go wrong in the world of karate.
In thefinal season ofCobra Kai, each character’s story is fully resolved.Johnny Lawrence and Daniel LaRussogot the happily ever after they had always deserved, and their students set out for their promising futures. The days of dangerous dojo rivalries seemed to be behind them, and this had everything to do with villains like Terry Silver, John Kreese, and Sensei Wolf being dealt with (whether on the mat or off it). While there is no guarantee that these characters won’t face more drama afterCobra Kai,the series' most tragic deaths serve as a reminder of all the costs.
8Dennis de Guzman
Dennis' Death Didn’t Have Much Impact
Dennis de Guzman, played by William Christopher Ford, was introduced inThe Karate Kid Part IIIas one of Terry Silver’s lackeys. He helped Mike Barnes trash Mr. Miyagi’s Bonsai shop and helped the Cobra Kais torture Daniel. De Guzman returned inCobra Kaiseason 6 when he kidnapped Daniel under Terry Silver’s orders. However, De Guzman was ultimately fairly easy for Daniel to deal with.
De Guzman died inCobra Kaiseason 6, part 3 on Terry Silver’s yacht. He had been ordered to return to the land and kidnap Johnny’s wife and daughter—Silver’s insurance to guarantee that the Iron Dragons won the Sekai Taikai. However, before De Guzman could make it far, John Kreese appeared and knocked him down the stairs. De Guzman was seen to have a head wound, butit’s unclear inCobra Kaiwhether this or the yacht explosion is what killed him. Ultimately, it wasn’t all that important. There was nothing to like about the evil De Guzman, so his death didn’t have much of an impact.
7Terry Silver
Silver Was Already On His Way To The Grave
Terry Silver quickly became the overarching villain ofCobra Kai. He was first introduced inThe Karate Kid Part IIIwhen it was revealed that he was co-founder of Cobra Kai alongside John Kreese. Silver had a special talent for getting in Daniel’s head even then, butCobra Kaitook his villainy to a different level. He became the Netflix series' most irredeemable bad guy, which naturally made Silver’s death deeply satisfying.
Silver was dying anyway inCobra Kaiseason 6, part 3, so the yacht explosion really only moved the timeline up by a handful of months or weeks. If there is anything tragic about Silver’s death, it would be thathe was killed by his former best friend—the man who had saved his life during the Vietnam War. Still, John Kreese took Terry Silver out in the most epic way possible, and his death meant the way was clear for Daniel and Johnny to get their happy ending. Ultimately, there was no love lost here.
6Kim Sun-Yung
Master Kim Sun-yung was John Kreese and Terry Silver’s martial arts teacher and, in a way, the original founder of Cobra Kai. This character was mentioned throughout theKarate Kidfranchise but was only officially introduced inCobra Kaiseason 5. It’s quickly clear that Master Kim is a vicious and cruel teacher, and this is how he produced such dangerous fighters. In a significant way, Master Kim’s evil ways have been at the root of all that has gone wrong for the heroes ofThe Karate KidandCobra Kai.
How Old Is Kim Sun-Yung In Cobra Kai?
How can Terry Silver and Kreese’s karate master still be alive? Clearly, Kim Sun-Yung is incredibly long-lived in Cobra Kai’s universe.
Kim Sun-yung’s death became necessary inCobra Kaiseason 6, part 3, when he ordered his granddaughter, Kim Da-eun, to murder John Kreese. Sensei Kim quickly understood that her grandfather didn’t care that Kwon had died at the Sekai Taikai, and this influence would only lead their students further into darkness. Once again,if there were anything tragic about Master Kim’s death, it would only be that it was at the hand of his granddaughter, who used the deadly technique she learned from him.
5Captain George Turner
Captain Turner Was Kreese’s First Real Victim
George Turner was John Kreese and Terry Silver’s captain in the Vietnam War. This cruel man was the first to teach theKarate Kidvillain the “No Mercy” tenet, revealing that he had learned to fight this way from Master Kim Sun-yung in South Korea. Though Turner was a tough leader, he saw potential in John Kreese. However, this all fell apart when the latter man refused to sacrifice the life of one of his colleagues, leading to Turner, Kreese, and Silver’s capture by the Viet Cong.
The true tragedy comes from the fact that rescuers arrived just before Kreese killed Turner, so the captain could have lived had his subordinate chosen.
The Viet Cong’s prisoners were forced to fight one another to the death over a pit of venomous snakes inCobra Kai, and Kreese volunteered to face off against Captain Turner to save Silver. At first, Kreese was hesitant to put his all into fighting Turner—untilthe Captain revealed that Kreese’s girlfriend Betsy had died. Turner revealed the truth at this moment so that Kreese would feel better about killing his captain, so it was selfless in a somewhat twisted way. The true tragedy comes from the fact that rescuers arrived just before Kreese killed Turner, so the captain could have lived had his subordinate chosen.
4John Kreese
John Kreese was the firstvillain ofThe Karate Kid, but it had been evident throughoutCobra Kaithat he had some potential for redemption. It seemed like this wouldn’t happen, however, inCobra Kaiseason 6, part 2, when Kreese retrieved Master Kim’s knife in South Korea. He killed a hallucination of Johnny Lawrence, symbolically burying his final bits of humanity. However,Johnny saving Kreese from Silver and Kwon’s death at the Sekai Taikai changed everything.
It’s never revealed inCobra Kaiwhether Johnny learned about John Kreese’s death, which makes the whole thing even more tragic.
Kreese recognized inCobra Kaiseason 6, part 3, that Kwon’s death had been his fault—not just because Kreese’s knife had stabbed him, but because of the sensei’s violent teachings. This led Kreese to realize what a negative impact he had had on Johnny’s life as well. Kreese gave up his life to take down Terry Silver and protect Johnny’s family to earn redemption. ThisCobra Kaivillain’s death was completely badass, but it was also tragic in that Kreese had only just started to make the right decisions as a human being.
3Betsy
Betsy Was Completely Innocent
Betsy was John Kreese’s girlfriend before he went off to the Vietnam War. When Kreese first met her, Betsy was dating the school football star and bully, who was ultimately revealed to be abusive toward Betsy. Kreese came to her rescue, and the two quickly fell in love. She promised Kreese that she would wait for him while he was away at war, and the lovers dutifully wrote to one another throughout Kreese’s deployment. However, while on a trip to visit family,Betsy suffered a car accident and was instantly killed—a detail that was kept from Kreese by Captain Turner.
ThisCobra Kaicharacter’s death is all the more terrible when considering the way it pushed Kreese to become the villain he never should have become.
Kreese didn’t learn about Betsy’s death until he and Turner were fighting one another over the snake pit. His sorrow and rage are what inspired Kreese to murder his superior, even after the American soldiers arrived to liberate the Viet Cong camp. Betsy’s death was tragic from every angle. She was a young woman with a bright future ahead of her who died in a freak accident. However, thisCobra Kaicharacter’s death is all the more terrible when considering the way it pushed Kreese to become the villain he never should have become.
2Tory’s Mom
Tory Was Left Completely broken
It was revealed early on inTory’sCobra Kaistory that her mom was seriously sick. It was this that put so much pressure on Tory since she was responsible for financially providing for her family while also trying to be a regular teenager. It seemed inCobra Kaithat all Tory’s hard work had paid off since it was revealed that Tory’s mom had improved significantly by the events of season 6, part 2. The doctor said things were really looking up, and Tory might actually experience life with a healthy mother and regular family.
Just after Tory got this great news inCobra Kaiseason 6, part 2, she arrived home to find that her mom had collapsed. Mrs. Nichols was pronounced dead at the hospital, and Tory’s entire world fell to pieces.This was easily one of the most heartbreaking moments inCobra Kai, made even worse by the subsequent flashbacks to some of Tory’s most memorable conversations with her mother.
1Kwon Jae-Sung
Kwon Was A Problem, But He Didn’t Deserve To Die
When John Kreese went to Cobra Kai to convince Master Kim to put his students in the Sekai Taikai under the Cobra Kai banner, he quickly claimed Kwon Jae-sung as his new star student. Kwon was already aggressive, but Kreese pushed him even further, ensuring he became a force to be reconned with. Like all Kreese’s students throughout theKarate Kidfranchise, Kwon achieved this level of fighting ability through pure, unbridled rage. This was always dangerous, butCobra Kaiseason 6, part 2 finally demonstrated why when Kwon’s anger led him to fall on his own knife.
Kwon was far from a well-loved character inCobra Kai.He was a pretty despicable bully who went to great lengths to get under his competitors' skin. The fact that he attempted to use a knife against Axel proves this. However, the sobering revelations surrounding his death were that this could have been any of theKarate Kidfranchise’s villains. Johnny Lawrence, Chozen Toguchi—even Miguel, Robby, and Tory during their “bad” days.Kwon was a child, and he died because of the violence taught by John Kreese. ThisCobra Kaitragedy was profoundly impactful and changed just about everything thereafter.
