Cobra Kai season 4 is building to the All Valley Tournament but another West Valley High School brawl could be a better ending to the season. Cobra Kai season 3 ended on December 19th with a wager made between Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio), Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka), and John Kreese (Martin Kove) that if Cobra Kai loses the All Valley Championship, Kreese would leave the San Fernando Valley forever. Johnny and Daniel then aligned their respective dojos and students, Eagle Fang Karate and Miyagi-Do, against Kreese and Cobra Kai.
The trailer for Cobra Kai season 4 suggests that much of the comedy and drama of the new batch of episodes involve all three dojos' preparations for the All Valley. Kreese counters the Johnny/Daniel alliance by calling in his old friend from The Karate Kid Part III, Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith), to help him turn Cobra Kai's students, led by Robby Keene (Tanner Buchanan) and Tory Nichols (Peyton List), into even deadlier weapons. Meanwhile, Daniel and Johnny put their 35-year rivalry aside and try to make their disparate teaching styles work for their students. Johnny's top pupil, Miguel Diaz (Xolo Mariduena), is the defending All Valley Champion but Daniel's daughter, Samantha LaRusso (Mary Mouser), is also a top contender to win the All Valley. The other Eagle Fang and Miyagi-Do students like Hawk (Jacob Bertrand) and Demetri (Gianni DeCenzo) are also potential dark horse All Valley winners.
While The Karate Kid, The Karate Kid Part III, and Cobra Kai season 1 all climaxed with the All Valley Under 18 Karate Tournament, it's possible Cobra Kai season 4 could, instead, repeat the finale of season 2 and stage another wild brawl between the teenagers at West Valley High School. The All Valley Tournament seems designed to settle the issue between Johnny, Daniel, and Kreese, and whether or not it succeeds is an open question. But the animosity between Cobra Kai's teens runs deep and it's possible that regardless of who (and which dojo) wins the All Valley trophy, more violence could erupt at a West Valley High school dance to close out Cobra Kai season 4 just as it did on the first day of school and right before Christmas at the LaRussos' home at the end of Cobra Kai season 3.
Cobra Kai Season 2's High School Fight Was The Apex Of The Series So Far
Cobra Kai season 2's climactic West Valley High brawl was a high point that radically altered the course of Netflix's Karate Kid continuation, which was building up to the eye-popping display of karate throughout the series thus far. Instigated by Tory, who wanted revenge on Sam for kissing Miguel, the fight quickly escalated and became a full-on war between the Cobra Kai and Miyagi-Do students. Miguel and Robby were drawn into the fray, along with Hawk and Demetri among others, and the melee ended in tragic fashion when Robby kicked Miguel off a second-floor balcony and Diaz was hospitalized with spinal injures. With Johnny's help, Miguel needed most of Cobra Kai season 3 to rehab and miraculously learn how to walk again, though Diaz still wasn't 100% by the end of Cobra Kai season 3 on December 19th.
The West Valley High brawl escalated the capacity for violence Cobra Kai was capable of and the series hasn't looked back. Karate became a huge issue in the Valley because of the brawl, which was local news and led to the city attempting to ban the All Valley Tournament. But despite the injuries Miguel suffered, the violence didn't stop. Cobra Kai's Tory and Hawk still hunted Miyagi-Do's students on the street and in places like Golf N Stuff, while Sam lead her friends to fight back. The hatred between the kids ended up trashing Daniel LaRusso's own house when Cobra Kai staged a home invasion, and the brutal fight echoed Cobra Kai season 2's finale school fight at West Valley High.
The All Valley Tournament Probably Won't Settle Everything
The agreement Johnny and Daniel struck with Kreese looks like a possible solution for all of the problems Cobra Kai has caused but there's no telling whether Kreese would honor the pact if his dojo does lose the All Valley Tournament. On paper, it's a risky deal that does address the constant violence between Cobra Kai, Miyagi-Do, and Eagle Fang's students. The All Valley Championship offers a controlled environment where the kids' anger towards one another can be channeled in a setting with established rules. The teens will fight for points instead of aiming to hurt each other, and it's possible they could even learn to respect one another in the process, the way Johnny and Daniel (briefly) did when Daniel won the tournament in The Karate Kid.
However, the hatred between Cobra Kai and Miyagi-Do/Eagle Fang won't magically be erased by the All Valley Tournament, regardless of the results. If Miguel successfully defends the championship or Samantha wins the tournament, it would only fuel more resentment from Tory and Robby, and vice versa. Plus, if Cobra Kai loses and Kreese does honor the stipulation and leaves the Valley, it would only motivate Cobra Kai's students to take revenge for robbing them of their sensei. Things could actually get significantly worse for Daniel and Johnny's students if Cobra Kai loses the All Valley Championship. On the flip side, if Robby or Tory wins the All Valley for Cobra Kai, then there's really no stopping it from being open season on Miguel, Sam, and their friends.
A West Valley School Dance Brawl Is A Better Cobra Kai Season 4 Ending
If Cobra Kai season 4 does stage the All Valley Tournament in the middle of the season, then a brawl at a West Valley High school dance would be a spectacular ending instead. Cobra Kai season 4's trailer includes a brief glimpse of Tory at a school dance and, judging from her mermaid-like outfit, it's themed for under the sea (perhaps a nod to the Enchantment Under the Sea dance in Back of the Future). Cobra Kai hasn't had a school dance scene since season 1, which was a direct callback to The Karate Kid's Halloween dance. If all of West Valley High's students are gathered under one roof, then violence will inevitably erupt. The presence of Tory, and presumably Robby as well, would only instigate a fight since both of them were expelled from West Valley High for their role in Cobra Kai season 2's finale brawl.
A school dance after the All Valley Championships would be a powder keg regardless of who wins. If Cobra Kai won, then they'll be seeking to assert their bragging rights and dominance. If Miguel, Sam, or someone else from Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang won, then Cobra Kai will be hellbent on revenge for losing Kreese (or Kreese will send them anyway if he reneges on his side of the bargain). Plus, at this point in the series, everyone's karate skills have considerably increased, which means the fighting will be even more intense and outlandish, taking Cobra Kai's action and violence to another level entirely. A second West Valley High brawl at the school dance is just the spectacle for Cobra Kai season 4 to go out on and set up the already greenlit Cobra Kai season 5 if that is, indeed, how season 4 ends.
Cobra Kai season 4 premieres December 31, 2021 on Netflix.