Cobra Kai season 6 episode 14 recap: things are getting explosive

In Cobra Kai season 6 episode 14, Cobra Kai's Sekai Taikai chances have been officially resurrected, with Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) and Miguel Diaz (Xolo Maridueña) joining Tory Nichols (Peyton List) with the snake proudly on their backs.

With the championship matches officially on between Tory and Zara Malik (Rayna Vallandingham) for the girls' title and Miguel and Axel Kovačević (Patrick Luwis) for the boys', episode 14 (titled "Strike Last") is an especially action-packed installment of The Karate Kid spinoff series.

But that doesn't mean the powers that be haven't left room for yet another big surprise by the episode's end. Here's everything that went down in Cobra Kai season 6 episode 14.

Cobra Kai lives on

Johnny and Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) are taking a scenic drive through the Valley in Daniel's 1947 Ford Super Deluxe Convertible — yes, the "Wax On, Wax Off" car from the original The Karate Kid movie. They're not heading to Miyagi-Do, Daniel informs Johnny, but rather to the old Cobra Kai headquarters, which Daniel managed to renegotiate to a more reasonable lease rate so Johnny can reopen his dojo.

"I know this style of karate will always exist," Daniel says of Cobra Kai. "But even though I don't believe in it, I do believe in you." If Johnny can lead Tory and Miguel to victory the next day, he argues, his version of Cobra Kai will be Sekai Taikai champions, haunted no longer by the ghosts of Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith) and Kreese (Martin Kove.) So, is it a yes for Johnny? "It's a 'Hell yeah'!"

The Cobra Kai dojo is up and running yet again, with the Miyagi-Do crew coming in to help Tory and Miguel train. The latter is fueled by revenge for what Axel did to Robby, but Johnny tells him he can't go into the fight thinking like that. "It's how I lost to LaRusso in '84," the sensei reminds him. "I was too hellbent on all the sh*t he pulled." He should fight to honor everything he's learned and how far he's come over the years, Johnny tells him.

Similarly, while training with Sam, Tory realizes how much she's gained from being a part of both Cobra Kai and Miyagi-Do. "It's been a strange couple of years. The toughest of my life, but also kind of the best," she tells the LaRusso fam. "When I think about the good parts, a lot of them are because of you guys." Amanda (Courtney Henggeler) reminds Tory about her strength and resilience in the face of all that she's gone through the past few years. It's just the pep talk she needs before her big fight.

Axel struggles with the Iron Dragons' teachings

Now that Axel has a challenger in Miguel, Terry Silver and Sensei Wolf (Lewis Tan) are training the Iron Dragons fighter even harder leading up to the males' championship match. When Axel expresses he wants to get points the fair way, rather than badly injuring his opponents after what happened with both Kwon Jae-Sun (Brandon H. Lee) and Robby Keene (Tanner Buchanan), Wolf is enraged: "There is only winning or not. This isn't a sport, it's a fight."

Silver has also shrewdly clocked Axel's growing attachment to Samantha (Mary Mouser), and the men use his feelings against him. After all of the abuse he's weathered at the hands of his own sensei, will Axel adhere to the Iron Dragons' cruel strategy when it comes his time to fight?

Let the karate battles begin!

Speaking of fighting, ahead of their own match, Zara taunts Tory about her history with Robby and about the little social-media stunt Nichols pulled in season 6 part 2. Tory's mental focus takes a hit as a result, but in between sets, she gets the boost she needs when Robby tells her he loves her. (Plus, the media cameras in the arena are loving the idea of a karate power couple.) Reenergized, Tory knocks out Zara ("Welcome to the Valley, b***h!" she proclaims) and officially becomes the girls' champion of the Sekai Taikai tournament.

Before the boys' championship, Miguel comes upon Samantha's acceptance letter from the Okinawa program. While he's upset the young couple will have to be long-distance for a while, he's happy for Sam: "I want to hear all about it, after I'm doing kicking some a**," he jokes, before they share a sweet smooch.

That kiss is clocked by Axel, who uses that jealousy as fuel during the boys' championship match. The point count is close, which enrages Sensei Wolf: "If you let him win, you will be less than nothing!" Axel brutally knocks down Miguel, widening the gap between scores, but Johnny reminds him that's life, "we all get our a**es handed to us sometimes." All he wants for Miguel, win or lose, is to give the best two minutes of karate he's got.

Sensei Wolf wants Axel to break Miguel's spine, but Axel is uneasy about this strategy. Going against his teacher's instructions, he decides against it, and Miguel wins fair and square, becoming the boys' champion of the Sekai Taikai.

The dojo war is far from over

With Cobra Kai winning both championship rounds, everyone floods the mat in celebration. But not so fast! Points-wise, both Cobra Kai and the Iron Dragons are actually equal, which means a tiebreaker round is needed to determine the overall dojo champion for the first time in Sekai Taikai history.

But instead of another match-up between the young fighters, the tournament protocol says the winner will be determined by one final match, this time fought by the dojos' respective senseis. That means that Johnny will have to face off against Sensei Wolf — to prepare, Lawrence asks Daniel to be his sensei to train for the final match.

Speaking of head-to-head combat, the episode ends with an explosive one: a final showdown between Terry and Kreese aboard Silver's yacht. Their feud over Johnny comes to a physical head, with the former Cobra Kai cohorts duking it out to the death. Though Silver initially gets the upper hand, Kreese sees an opportunity with his lit cigar and a spilled jug of gasoline. "Mercy," he proclaims, as he tosses the smoker and blows them and the entire boat up in flames. And with that, we say bye-bye to our big bads.

All episodes of Cobra Kai season 6 are now available to stream on Netflix.