Warning: Spoilers for Cobra Kai season 5
Cobra Kai season 5’s ending leaves Tory’s future up in the air. Furious with Silver and seemingly done with Kreese as well, Peyton List’s Tory Nichols has finally left Cobra Kai. But as for where she goes from here, that’s a question that wasn’t answered within the story itself.
Tory’s days of being one of Cobra Kai’s biggest weapons have come to end. In fact, leaving the dojo in Cobra Kai season 5 has actually come with quite a few significant changes for her character and her place in the Netflix series. In addition to severing ties with Silver’s Cobra Kai, she seems to have soured on Kreese as well. Being abruptly told to pursue her own interests after working so hard to help him looks to have added Tory to the list of people Kreese has alienated in his life. But while she may have turned on Kreese and Silver, she’s no longer at odds with her oldest Cobra Kai rival. Turning on Cobra Kai has allowed her to resolve her feud with Sam. While the two are a long way from becoming friends, they’ve apparently put the behind past them and were even shown teaming up in the Cobra Kai season 5 finale.
Interestingly, the finale gave no indication of what Tory will do now. Presumably, she’ll remain active in the sport of karate, but exactly how she’ll carry on hasn’t been explained yet. The most obvious answer is that she’ll join Johnny, Daniel, and Chozen’s dojo, but one obstacle in the way of that scenario is the fact she has no existing loyalties to any of those characters. Also, Kreese becoming a fugitive has further limited her options. While their last scene together saw them part on bad terms, the show didn’t go as far as to rule out Tory regaining her faith in her mentor. That being said, the setup for Kreese’s season 6 story makes it highly unlikely that the two characters will find themselves on the same side when the show comes back.
Will Tory Get A New Mentor In Cobra Kai Season 6?
If Tory is to get a new mentor in Cobra Kai, the most likely candidate for this role is Chozen. While Daniel’s martial arts philosophy certainly has something to offer for former Cobra Kai students like Miguel, it’s hard to imagine Daniel’s ideas appealing to Tory in any way. As for Johnny, she wasn’t loyal to him even when he was her sensei in season 2, and thus far, there’s no reason to suggest that’ll change. A better option is Chozen, who doesn’t have his own protégé yet. Admittedly, Cobra Kai only gave them one scene together, but it was enough to show that he’s capable of pushing her in the right direction. The show can continue that in season 6, especially since his aggressive approach to Miyagi-do karate could impress Tory.
Given that Tory is such an important part of Cobra Kai, there’s little doubt that she’ll be integral to what comes next. For now, they have no clear opponent for season 6, but they do have at least one known goal for the future, which is winning the Sekai Taikai. For at least a while, Tory and the others may get a chance to focus their attention on their training rather than fighting Cobra Kai.