Warning: SPOILERS lie ahead for Cobra Kai season 6 part 3!
After his surprise donning of the outfit, Ralph Macchio is weighing in on Daniel wearing a black gi and uttering the Cobra Kai mantra to Johnny in the season 6 finale. The Netflix series, a continuation of the Karate Kid films, has shown Macchio and William Zabka’s iconic characters slowly working through their differences as they imparted their martial arts wisdom to their children and other young students in need. Cobra Kai season 6 part 3 saw the two taking their combined dojos to the Sekai Taikai, where Daniel donned the iconic Cobra Kai gi for a pivotal moment.
In an interview with Collider, Macchio detailed the thought process behind Daniel and his black gi. The star began by recalling his initial reservations about doing the scene, and the various iterations it went through before they landed on the final version, with Macchio having bluntly turned down one of the creative trio’s pitches for 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.”
Macchio went on to note that he insisted on maintaining certain elements of Daniel’s identity, though did acknowledge that the key to doing the scene was “to go all in“, particularly as they only “had one shot” to get the scene right, and reminded himself that both the sequence and the show was “bigger than me“. Check out the rest of his explanation below:
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. 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.
What This Means For Daniel LaRusso & Cobra Kai
Daniel’s Black Gi Became Pivotal For The Character In The Finale
Cobra Kai has consistently deconstructed the original Karate Kid rivalries, showing how their perspectives shifted over time. Daniel and Johnny, once diametrically opposed, have finally formed an alliance, and his moment in the black gi reinforces that transformation. The black gi, often associated with Cobra Kai’s aggressive tactics, serves a different function in this instance, being that Daniel is not conforming to their ideology, but using their language for sincerity.
Related
Cobra Kai Series Finale Ending Explained In Full
Complete with one last epic fight, the Cobra Kai series finale brought the Sekai Taikai to a close and ended the stories of several key characters.
Moreover, the production team behind Cobra Kai has often integrated callbacks to The Karate Kid while reinterpreting them in new ways. Particularly with costuming, which has been used in Cobra Kai to reflect allegiances and character arcs, from Johnny’s initial rejection of its colors to Miguel’s shifting uniforms throughout the series. Daniel wearing the black gi signals a temporary but necessary departure from tradition and reinforces the idea that his rivalry with Johnny has turned into mutual respect.
Our Take On Macchio’s Perspective Of The Black Gi
Cobra Kai Never Dies
Ralph Macchio’s approach to Daniel’s character exemplifies how Cobra Kai has balanced nostalgia with updated ideas. Daniel’s black gi scene is not about reversing decades of character development, but about showing Daniel’s ability to adapt while remaining true to his core beliefs. His insistence on certain details, like his stance, demonstrates that even when engaging with Cobra Kai’s imagery, he is still operating on his own terms. This kind of attention to character continuity is what has made Cobra Kai resonate with audiences.
Source: Collider
Cobra Kai
5/10
- Release Date
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2018 – 2024
- Network
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Netflix, YouTube Premium
- Showrunner
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Jon Hurwitz
- Directors
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Hayden Schlossberg, Jon Hurwitz, Joel Novoa, Jennifer Celotta, Steven K. Tsuchida, Sherwin Shilati, Marielle Woods, Steve Pink, Lin Oeding, Michael Grossman
- Writers
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Josh Heald, Ashley Darnall, Chris Rafferty, Bill Posley