Seemingly teased in the Cobra Kai season 4 trailer, a new character could become Eagle Fang and Miyagi-do's answer to Tory. Played by Peyton List, Tory Nichols was originally one of Johnny’s students, but his expulsion from Cobra Kai and John Kreese’s takeover placed her firmly on the side of the villains.
Tory is one of the best weapons that Kreese (Martin Kove) has at his disposal in his conflict with Miyagi-do and Eagle Fang Karate. How important Tory is to Kreese was made clear when he made noticeable efforts to keep her at Cobra Kai. And it’s not hard to understand what Kreese sees in her. Her fierce competitiveness, toughness, confidence, and ruthlessness in combat all contributed to her being such an important asset to the Cobra Kai roster. With her skills and drive to succeed, there’s no doubt that Tory is one of Kreese’s best paths to victory in the next All-Valley Karate Tournament. Many believe that she actually stands a chance at winning it all.
Cobra Kai could end up with a “good” counterpart to Tory in the form of Oona O’Brien’s Devon, a character who is confirmed to appear in season 4 of the Netflix series. It’s commonly believed that she was briefly teased in the Cobra Kai season 4 trailer, where there was a shot of Johnny (William Zabka) and Daniel (Ralph Macchio) observing a gymnast. Based on this person’s appearance, it seems likely that this is Devon, meaning that she may be a potential recruit for their joint dojo. No official details about Devon have been discussed, but a casting report from Deadline revealed that she’s a “potential new karate student who is relentlessly competitive, a quick study, and equally quick-tempered when she’s provoked.”
This description of Devon makes her sound remarkably like Tory, who is also known to be “competitive” and “quick-tempered when she’s provoked”. Cobra Kai bringing in a female fighter who shares some of Tory’s stand-out personality traits shouldn’t be a problem, though, especially since it looks like she’ll be recruited by Johnny and Daniel, rather than Kreese. After all, it could be interesting to see how a character like her could work as one of the good guys. Practicing Miyagi-do karate requires a great deal of patience and the completion of seemingly menial tasks, so her training could bring about issues with her temper.
Devon’s role could have major implications for the direction Cobra Kai takes in season 4. If she really is a “quick study”, then she may be able to catch up to the other students, despite being a late addition. If so, she could evolve into an important character. Plus, it makes sense that she could be the one who diverts Tory’s attention from Sam (Mary Mouser). Their personalities could clash, thus leading to the birth of a brand-new Cobra Kai rivalry.