[Editor’s note: This article and video contain spoilers for Cobra Kai Season 5.]Griffin Santopietro,Dallas Dupree Young,andOona O’Brienmade a big impression inCobra KaiSeason 4, but Anthony, Kenny, and Devon all experience significant evolutions over the course of Season 5 that further define the paths their on and what they’ll be capable of moving forward.
Back in the early days, Anthony (Santopietro) had zero interest in karate, but as the dojo war intensifies and Anthony comes to understand the value of Miyagi-Do training, he’s in the thick of things alongside his sister (Mary Mouser) more so than ever. Whereas Anthony’s being pulled towards the light, so to speak, Kenny’s (Young) training has him in an especially dark headspace as he becomes Cobra Kai’s #1 student. And then we’ve got Devon (O’Brien) who’s operating in a middle ground of sorts. She isn’t closing herself off to any particular style of karate, but no matter where she lands, she’s determined to take what she learns and forge her own future.
WithCobra KaiSeason 5 now available to stream on Netflix, I got the chance to chat with Santopietro, Young, and O’Brien about some of their character’s biggest moments in the new season and also about where things might be heading for them in Season 6.
While one might assume the team has all the time in the world to film episodes given the overall quality of the show, in reality, episodes ofCobra Kaiare filmed extremely fast. In fact, sometimes they even hit the point where they need “double-up days,” days when there are two crews filming at once. However, there were two particular Season 5 scenes Santopietro knew he wanted to take his time with. He explained:
“It’s either got to be that big oner or that final fight at the end because that was my first big fight and I think that since everyone else was so good at it and this was kind of my first one, I felt like I needed to step up my game a bit and prepare for it, which was a lot of fun. And then I think the bar scene with Mary and I, that Oklahoma bit, that was really fun but I remember really wanting to make that a good scene.”
Given Anthony is currently following in his sister’s footsteps and also in Kenny and Devon’s when it comes to honing his karate skills, I opted to ask Santopietro for something he saw a co-star do stunt-wise that he’d love to be able to do himself in a future season. Here’s what he went with:
“There’s a few things! There’s that bit where, Dallas, remember when you take Xolo [Maridueña]’s jacket? I don’t know, but there’s a bit where Xolo’s just fighting with a shirt or a jacket. I think that’s the coolest thing ever. There’s that and Jacob [Bertrand], Dallas, your fight with Jacob, when someone just told him to do that big flying kick thing and he just did it. I want to get to that point!”
In O’Brien’s case, Devon is determined to become a top-tier student, and she’s ramping up her karate skills in that pursuit courtesy of some extended time with Tory (Peyton List). Given how key Tory is to Devon’s journey throughout the season, I asked O’Brien what she appreciated most about List as a scene partner. Here’s what she said:
“It was so much fun working with Peyton. The whole time we were just, in between takes, goofing around, practicing. We did a lot of dancing and singing random songs. But yeah, we were just goofing around a lot and I think it made for an easygoing set environment and it really helped us get where we needed to be chemistry-wise."
As for Kenny, given the fall of Cobra Kai and the final Season 5 conversation between him and Robby (Tanner Buchanan), one can assume they’ll continue to patch things up to the point that Robby can continue mentoring him. But, if not Robby, who does Young think Kenny would benefit from spending the most time with in Season 6?
“I’m gonna go with Ralph Macchio. You know what? I’m gonna go with Daniel LaRusso just to get a new look on the karate. You have the intense side with Cobra Kai and then you have the more chill and you need to relax and focus on balance. So I think just to have a different side of karate would be great. And it would also help Kenny not be so aggressive at times as well.”
While looking ahead for Anthony, Santopietro pinpointed the character’s greatest asset that emerged during Season 5 that could help the group in tackling whatever lies ahead in Season 6:
“I think that what we really got to see a lot from the egg scene in Episode 7 was that Anthony — or actually, even with the ending scene — Anthony is pretty good when it comes to planning and strategizing. I think Kenny’s a big physical threat whereas I think Anthony’s a little more strategic, so I think that would be really interesting to see Anthony hone in those skills a lot more where it’s more that he’s always got the plan, you know what I mean? And I think that’s why he could really fit well with Hawk and Demetri. They can come up with some nerdy little plan and then everybody can execute it."
Looking for more from Santopietro, Young, and O’Brien onCobra KaiSeason 5? Be sure to check out our full conversation in the video interview at the top of this article!
