Jacob Bertrand is warning fans that Cobra Kai might be coming to an end — but the final season is about to be a wild ride.
“There’s a ton of relationship drama,” Bertrand, 24, exclusively told Us Weekly while discussing season 6 of the Netflix hit. “I will say, you think [the characters would] learn how to communicate, but nope. Not really. Not yet.”
Warning: Spoilers below for the first five episodes of Cobra Kai season 6.
While a bumpy road seemingly lies ahead for many of the show’s romances, Bertrand — who has starred as bad-boy-turned-good Hawk since Cobra Kai’s 2016 premiere — noted that this season’s conflicts will spawn more from outstanding circumstances rather than immaturity.
“I think of all the seasons, a lot of the miscommunications were derived from them being young and not really knowing what to do,” he explained. “I’d say this season in particular, there’s just things that happen in life. That there is no real, like, perfect way to react to stuff.”
Bertrand points to Peyton List’s Tory Nichols as an example. Part 1 of season 6, which dropped on Thursday, July 18, saw Tori reeling over death of her mother and leaving Miyagi-Do to rejoin Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) and Daniel La Russo’s (Ralph Macchio) nemesis, John Kreese (Martin Kove), in his recalibrated Cobra Kai. Hawk and the rest of the crew are blindsided by the news when they fly overseas to South Korea for the Sekai Taikai.
While Hawk will likely not take the betrayal well, Bertrand said that he understands Tory’s decision.
“The actions that Tory takes are, to me, so justified,” he told Us. “She’s just looking out for herself, just trying to survive, you know?” Bertrand added that while the choice will “cause a lot of animosity” in the group, it’s a “warranted” move fueled by grief and loss.
“Her life is crumbling before her eyes, and where else are you going to turn? To someone who really has kind of supported you throughout everything,” he said, pointing to Tory and Kreese’s previous bond.
Tori’s reveal, however, is just the beginning. “Season 6 is just bigger. Everything is at a 10. It’s more drama,” he said. “But it’s also pretty grounded. The reactions that everyone has feel very, very genuine this season.”
Of course, Hawk will be dealing with his own baggage this season. The character has seen an immense amount of change throughout the years, shifting from shy and quiet Eli to rebel without a cause Hawk. Now, Bertrand says the character is hoping to find balance — even if that means abandoning his childhood dreams of attending MIT with his best friend, Demetri (Gianni Decenzo).
“I think Hawk in these instances, in the past two years, he’s sort of experiencing life in a completely new fashion,” Bertrand explained. “And I feel like MIT was an old Eli dream. And Hawk is trying to figure out exactly what his dreams are now. And you know, he goes to this frat party, he’s really popular with the girls. And I think for a second it gives him a pause of, ‘Wait, what do I wanna do? Maybe I’ll go to a party school, maybe I can dip into that life.’ But I think that line of thinking is a little bit more Red Hawk than it is Miyagi Do, centered Hawk.”
Bertrand said that while Hawk’s future is up in the air now, he will make a decision by the series finale — but don’t expect it to come much sooner than that. The remaining 10 episodes will focus on Hawk leaning on the ones closest to him for guidance.
“I think Hawk has the tendency to go wherever he feels the most powerful and he has his friends there to remind him that, ‘Hey, you don’t need to be in a cherry-picked position to feel powerful or put yourself in a situation that probably isn’t the best. You can be good and feel safe with us and hanging out with us,’“ he said. “So I think that’s sort of a little bit of an arc that we get to see this season.”
Whatever growth Hawk has experienced on screen, has been mirrored in Bertrand’s own life. The 24-year-old says he’s learned a lot from Zabka, 58, and Macchio, 62, who reprised their roles on Cobra Kai after starring in 1986’s Karate Kid. (Macchio also returned for two subsequent sequels.)
“In the early seasons, I hung out with Billy a lot and we developed a really good relationship. And he [is] definitely someone that doesn’t mind taking someone under his wing and sharing wisdom,” he gushed. “But out of [everyone], Ralph is the most sensei-like to me. It’s just been fun getting to develop a relationship with all of them.”
Bertrand noted that he also bonded with Yuji Okumoto, who reprised his role as Chozen for seasons 5 and 6, even taking a trip up to Seattle to visit his restaurant, Kona Kitchen. Zabka and Macchio, meanwhile, helped Bertrand on set, teaching him to be “more intentional” with his “work ethic” from day one of rehearsal to filming each and every scene.
“It’s just fun. They’re just great guys,” he added of his costars and mentors. “They’re just the most down-to-earth, older male influences that I could ask for, really.”
Part 1 of Cobra Kai season 6 is now available on Netflix. Part 2 will be available on November 15, with Part 3 dropping sometime in 2025.
