John Kreese's alternate fate in ending of Cobra Kai, John Kreese actor Martin Kove revealed that he filmed a scene where the iconic villain would have been shown to have survived the explosion. As detailed by Kove (Parade), it was a shot of his hand with the ring holding a magazine whose headline said "Whatever happened to Terry Silver?" According to the actor, the showrunners didn't feel it was necessary.

Kove also pointed out that having Kreese survive an explosion of that scale in the middle of the ocean "would have been a little hokey." While the John Kreese returning from the dead yet again would have been a little too much. But more than whether Kreese could have survived the explosion, the fact is that his death was the perfect way to wrap up his character arc that Cobra Kai developed so well.

Kreese Showing Up Alive At The End Of Cobra Kai Would Have Ruined His Sacrifice

Cobra Kai's Alternate Kreese Ending Would Have Been Underwhelming

As much as I love John Kreese and would have liked to see him fake his death one more time, Cobra Kai did the right thing by keeping him dead in the finale. The whole point of Kreese showing up at Terry's yacht is that the original Karate Kid villain was ready to die if it meant stopping Silver from going after Johnny's family. Kreese is a warrior and knows how to pick his fights, meaning he knows exactly what he would have to do to stop Terry Silver.

The fact that Kreese sacrificed himself, knowing that neither Johnny nor Tory would ever learn about what he did, speaks volumes about his character arc. Kreese failed his most important students more than once, and he always ended up letting his issues get in the way of what he was trying to teach. In the end, Kreese gave up everything to protect Johnny and his family. He didn't want to be the hero or prove anything to Johnny, which is why I think Kreese's death in Cobra Kai season 6 worked so well.

I was a little frustrated with how Johnny most likely never learned what Kreese did for him at the end. I was also bothered by how Torry, with whom Kreese had created a very strong bond during Cobra Kai, would never learn why he disappeared forever. That said, Kreese's final scene with Johnny was more than perfect. While there was no immediate forgiveness, everything that needed to be said was said.

Kreese was not necessarily a good guy or a hero at the end of the show, but he cared about Johnny enough to put his life on the line fighting Terry Silver.

Likewise, Torry saw that Kreese was the one who allowed Johnny to retake Cobra Kai and bring Miguel with him so that they could have a chance at beating the Iron Dragons in the Sekai Taikai finals. Even if Torry never finds out what happened to Kreese, she will always how he helped her and her friends in such a crucial moment.

Kreese Dying To Save Johnny's Family Was The Best Possible Ending For Him

Kreese Found Some Sort Of Redemption At The End

Having revisited the Karate Kid movies after Cobra Kai's finale, I'm confident to say that there was no better ending for Kreese than what we got. John Kreese was not a very complex character in the original films, but even then, we could tell that he was not fit to be a teacher. Johnny's sensei had some good lessons to on, but unlike Miyagi, he let life get the best of him and wanted his students to learn through pain.

As irremediable as Kreese seemed to be, the real message of Cobra Kai is that it is never too late to learn something. Daniel LaRusso realized early on the show that not even Mr. Miyagi had all the answers, and during season 6, he discovered that his sensei was not perfect. Kreese was not necessarily a good guy or a hero at the end of the show, but he cared about Johnny enough to put his life on the line fighting Terry Silver.

Source: Parade