"Not Happening": The One Thing Ralph Macchi Refused to Do in the 'Cobra Kai' Finale

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Cobra Kai

[Editor's Note: The following contains spoilers for Cobra Kai Season 6, Part 3]

Summary

Collider's Perri Nemiroff sits down with Cobra Kai's Ralph Macchio to look back on Season 6, Part 3.
Macchio talks about the importance of Daniel and Sam's relationship, working alongside William Zabka, and the scenes that were most joyful for him throughout the series.
He also talks about Daniel putting on the black gi, Johnny Lawrence's victory, and the way the show honors the 1984 film that started it all.

The final installment of Netflix's Cobra Kai is here with Season 6, Part 3, and, as expected, it's an emotionally charged send-off for the beloved series. To reflect on the highlights from Season 1 to that big finish, Collider's Perri Nemiroff spoke with legacy star Ralph Macchio.

After the shocking Season 6, Part 2 finale, both Miyagi-Do and Cobra Kai have to reckon with their pasts while finding ways to forge forward. That requires The Karate Kid's Daniel LaRusso to reenter the Sekai Taikai tournament and help his students, including his own daughter (Mary Mouser), emerge stronger than ever - and in some cases, that means not emerging as a winner.

In this interview, Macchio looks back on the moment when he realized Cobra Kai was "something magic" and discusses how Daniel and Sam's relationship "saved this show" for him. Check out the video above or the transcript below for Macchio's thoughts on all of that, and his experience putting on the black gi for the very first time.

This Was the Moment Ralph Macchio Knew ‘Cobra Kai’ Was “Something Magic”

From the kids to directing, “the collaboration was enriching.”

PERRI NEMIROFF: When you first signed on the dotted line and agreed to make Cobra Kai, what single thing about the show were you most looking forward to doing, and ultimately, is there anything about having made six seasons that wound up being more creatively fulfilling than you ever could have imagined at the start?

RALPH MACCHIO: At the start of it, the thing I was most excited about was we read the kids, so Mary [Mouser], Tanner [Buchanan], Xolo [Maridueña]. I loved all three of them, but I was really excited because I hit it off with Mary right away. Being a parent to a daughter and having gone through the elements of those years, I was really excited about tapping into that stuff. I was less excited about all the karate stuff because I didn't know what that was. So, day one, that was something I was looking forward to because, to me, it being grounded in the human element, which when you think of even The Karate Kid, crane kick and all, and the waxing on and all this stuff, it's the human element that grounds that movie and one of the reasons it stood the test of time.

That was before I got to work with William [Zabka]. The moment is when I first got to work with William in our first scene, which we’ve spoken about, where it was just like, “There's something here. There's something magic here.” Directing Episode 603 was one of the highlights for me. Working with Mary and Peyton [List] in that scene, I think, is really a heartfelt forgiveness scene. I loved introducing Kwon and Yoon. That was cool. That stuff, because I got to pretend to control my own destiny, even though there are three big showrunners telling me how they saw it as well, that collaboration was enriching. And just beyond the expectation were the kids, just how much they cared.

Daniel and Sam’s Relationship “Saved the Show” for Ralph Macchio

The father-daughter dynamic kept Cobra Kai grounded for the legacy star.

Close-up of Sam (Mary Mouser) smiling as she's being honored with a headband

Your last scene with Mary just ruined me.

MACCHIO: I love that scene.

Those tears feel so incredibly real.

MACCHIO: That's why I alluded to that at the start. I've said this to her before, and she hates hearing it. No, she doesn't hate hearing it; I don't know if she can process it. I said, “Through this journey,” not up until the last chapter, but I’d say Seasons 4 or 5, I said, “You saved this show for me.” She doesn't understand that, but it's that same moment I said. All the other stuff is awesome and it's exciting. The last five, it's truthfully Billy and I and that journey that's next-level emotional. But during the bumps and bruises of who LaRusso really is and what he’d do, some of the stupid stuff he does where he should know better, where I’d be pushing and pulling with our three amigos, it was always the groundedness of the father-daughter thing that I always said, “This is true and honest.” But then, this last five, everything's awesome. I love it.

Ralph Macchio and William Zabka in Cobra Kai Season 3

"He doesn't let Silver get to him."

Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio), Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka), and Chozen Toguchi (Yuji Okumoto) in 'Cobra Kai' Season 6.

I have to ask about saying “Cobra Kai never dies.” What was it like finding the right tone for a line like that so it also felt true to Daniel in the moment, and he could really own it?

MACCHIO: I remember Josh [Heald] directed that episode. There are those moments, and them as writers, they're licking their chops, putting me in the black gi, me saying, “Cobra Kai [never dies].” This is these three nerds from Jersey saying, “Someday we're going to get Ralph Macchio to say this and wear this.” But so much has happened and so much growth. Those two examples, the “Cobra Kai never dies,” there were different ways I said it, and I didn't know which one was going to land. I like what they chose because it's sort of throwing it in his face, and yet, he has to cover because it is killing him that Silver's… But he doesn’t let Silver get to him where he has so much in the past. So it's a real growth thing for him. And the fact that he's got Johnny Lawrence’s back, and it's more about taking down the villains and the negativity than even what the patch says. So, yeah, I love that moment. It's a great moment, just him in the black gi. I just would not relent [gestures to the hachimaki]. I think you'd probably have to ask the three guys, but I probably think they saw him in the black everything, and I'm like, “No.”

I did get this from Hayden [Schlossberg], though. I'll give you this: He said, “I want you to stand like this in the Kreese position.” I said, “Not happening. I’ll give you the black gi.”

Martin Kove as John Kreese standing in front of students with a scowl on his face in Cobra Kai

I will say, Kreese’s ending in this show, chef’s kiss.

MACCHIO: That is what I call Hayden Town.

Very impressed by how they wrapped up that storyline, which felt like one of the most challenging ones for me as a viewer.

There Was No Victory Without Daniel LaRusso and Mr. Miyagi

“It's a big fat ‘80s movie with the feels, cheers, and tears of 1984.”

Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) staring at Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) in a tournament in Cobra Kai.

So we talked about “Cobra Kai never dies,” and then you get that moment with Billy where you're essentially saying the Cobra Kai mantra. I'm going to ask a very similar question about that because he has to say what Johnny needs to hear in the moment, but because of your performance, I feel like, to his core, he finally believes in a better version of what all of that means. So, what was it like figuring out the right way to deliver those lines?

MACCHIO: The only way is to go all in. When I read it, I knew exactly what we needed, just like when I walked out with the black gi. We had one shot. It was the end of the day. “We're into overtime. We’ve got to go. We got one shot,” and I knew what that one shot was, and I knew how I had to present myself in it and have that sense of, “I am here for the greater good. This is bigger than me and my thought. This is about helping my neighbor, my best friend.” And so, that moment is about going all in. I couldn't deliver that halfway. I had to do LaRusso’s version. “I've heard this, I understand this, it doesn't make total sense for me, but in this moment, you need to hear this.” To that same point, when he looks back, and I say, “Take it down a notch,” and he has to step back, and they’re on his feet, that's the Miyagi-do. He can't win without Daniel. They needed each other.

Your performances are all spot on in this. And bringing that up is also making me think of how good the editing is. The cutting in these final matches is top-tier.

MACCHIO: That stuff's important. That's the first thing I said to Josh. I was directing that episode when they were mapping out the outline for 15, and—because I know these guys, I can say it—I said, “Don't come to me unless this victory hinges on there's no way Johnny could have any of this without Daniel and Sensei Miyagi. I need that. I'm cool staying on the sidelines.” And that's why I love this finale. I think it's a big fat ‘80s movie with the feels, cheers, and tears of 1984. It's awesome.

William Zabka as Johnny and Ralph Macchio as Daniel in the original The Karate Kid.

I can confirm everything you just said. I'll say this to you many more times after this, congratulations!

MACCHIO: Thank you, Perri.

You don't often see a six-season show stick the landing as well as this, and I'm grateful for it.

MACCHIO: The guys get a lot of credit for that. That's really them and listening to my abuse. [Laughs] But they were going to do it anyway.

You can watch all six seasons of Cobra Kai on Netflix.

Cobra Kai

Release Date 2018 - 2024

Network Netflix, YouTube Premium

Showrunner Jon Hurwitz

Directors Hayden Schlossberg, Jon Hurwitz, Joel Novoa, Jennifer Celotta, Steven K. Tsuchida, Sherwin Shilati, Marielle Woods, Steve Pink, Lin Oeding, Michael Grossman

Writers Josh Heald, Ashley Darnall, Chris Rafferty, Bill Posley

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