(Credits: Netflix)

Not many TV shows that run for multiple seasons manage to make it all the way to the end of their runs without sacrificing a major character or killing off a key player in shocking fashion, and Cobra Kai is no different after the events of the sixth and final season’s second part.

Beginning life as a YouTube original, the sequel series to the cult 1980s movies, and the one starring a young Hilary Swank, gained so much popularity that Netflix swooped in to pick up the rights and turn it into one of the streaming service’s originals, a decision that’s paid huge dividends.

Since migrating to the biggest platform in the business, Cobra Kai has solidified itself as one of Netflix’s flagship shows, drawing in massive viewership figures. The end is nigh, though, with the middle chapter of the three-part final season dropping on November 15, which culminated in the death of an important character.

Titled ‘Eunjangdo’, the tenth instalment in the 15-episode sixth season unfolds in Barcelona, where an elite tournament called the Sekai Taikai is taking place. The grand finale features a showdown between Tanner Buchanan’s Robby Keene and Patrick Luwis’ Axel Kovacevic, both of whom do at least manage to emerge unscathed.

A mass brawl erupts that draws in the Cobra Kai dojo’s Kwon Jae-Sung, played by Brandon H Lee. During the chaos, a harrowing scream pierces the air. The fighting stops, and it’s revealed the eunjangdo knife – a key story point that has its own backstory detailing how it came into the possession of legacy star Martin Kove’s John Kreese – is lodged right in his torso.

“We set Kwon up to be the new big, bad antagonist going into this second block,” co-creator Hayden Schlossberg told Variety. “For him to get killed by another opponent is a surprise we were looking forward to.” Not only that, but it marks the first time a graphic death scene has been depicted in either Cobra Kai or any of the main Karate Kid movies, which is why it came as such a shock to viewers.

“It created an opportunity for us to have Kreese see the results of some of his actions,” Schlossberg continued. “Watching one of his students get killed with the knife he brought there.” Fellow co-showrunner Josh Heald agreed, with the knife and its newfound status as an instrument of death set to factor heavily into the remaining five episodes.

“The knife represents Kreese’s last vestige of humanity,” he explained. “It’s an inflexion point: does it send him further down the spiral, or does it create an opportunity for change? That’s a big question we want people to be chewing on at the end of these five episodes.”

There’s definitely plenty to chew on, but the downside for Cobra Kai fans is that they’ll have to wait until February 13th of next year to find out how it ends.