Cobra Kai stunned fans with a shocking death during the second part of season 6 — and Alicia Hannah-Kim is opening up about how the cast reacted to the “unprecedented” episode and how it will affect her character, Sensei Kim, going forward.
“We were all shocked when we read that script,” Hannah-Kim, 37, exclusively told Us Weekly about the episode 10 twist. “And then actually the filming of it was so awful.”
Warning: Spoilers below for season 6 part 2 of Cobra Kai.
The surprise came in part 2’s final moments when Kwon Jae-Sung (Brandon H. Lee) and Axel Kovacevic (Patrick Luwis) engaged in the Sekai Taikai brawl. After a knockdown, drag-out fight between all the dojos, the duo came face to face in a showdown that ended with Axel falling on a knife and ultimately dying from the stab wound.
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The scene was a turning point in the series for both fans and the cast.
“We all love Brandon so much and just to see him lying there was really deeply emotional, but it just suddenly felt like Cobra Kai got really real in that sense, in that moment because there’s fight scenes, people get hurt, but people get back up again. But this is just irreparable damage,” Hannah-Kim told Us. “That’s it. He’s dead, so it was shocking. That’s a final cut and call there. And it was really sad.”
As for her character, the actress believes Kwon’s death will knock “some sense into” Kim going forward.
“I think you can walk the walk and talk the talk as much as you want, but when a consequence hits you in the face like that, and she does care deeply about Kwon; he is a difficult student for her, but it’s still one of her students,” Hannah-Kim explained. “I think, you know, as severe as she is, she very much sees them as people. And so, to lose him will be devastating for her.”
Hannah-Kim noted that the aftermath of Kwon’s death will “prompt her to make some very interesting choices.”
Season 6 of Cobra Kai — which is the final season of the hit Netflix series — introduced fans to a softer side of the typically hard-edged Kim, particularly when she and Miyagi-Do master Chozen (Yuji Okumoto) developed an unexpected romance.
“I was shocked when showrunners [Josh Heald and Jon Hurwitz] told me that I would have a little romantic interlude. My jaw hit the floor,” Hannah-Kim said of hearing she was going to get a love interest on the show. “I was like, ‘With who?! And what? And how?’ And then I got really awkward on set with Yuji. Because I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is happening!’ But it’s really delightful as an actor.”
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Hannah-Kim described the passionate on-screen kiss that happens between her and Okumoto, revealing that the extras on set had no idea that was going to happen.
“I was just shoving gum into my mouth before and so was Yuji,” she said with a laugh. “Because we were both married and I was like, ‘Yuji, I haven’t kissed another man in so long. Get ready!’”
But will their love go the distance? Fans are going to have to wait until part 3, but Hannah-Kim believes the pair have “a lot of things in common” and wouldn’t be surprised at the possibility.
“I think Cobra Kai is really interesting in that they do imbue their villains with potential for redemption. And like there’s love interest and there’s comedy, she said. “There’s possibly a full softening of Kim — who knows!”
Cobra Kai season 6 parts 1 and 2 are now streaming on Netflix. Part 3 drops on February 13, 2025.
With reporting by Travis Cronin