Cobra Kai star Jacob Bertrand breaks down Hawk's character arc, which saw him go from bullied to bully – and eventual hero.
"I think Hawk is at a point where he does know himself very well and I think, you know, towards the end of the show you just see sort of like full circle. I think. I think almost everyone gets a really, really good ending. And, you know, besides the people who die [laughs], you know, most people get a really, really good ending. And I'm excited to have everyone see where Hawk ends up 'cause there's so much turmoil right now," Bertrand tells 12DOVE.
When we first met Eli 'Hawk' Moskowitz in Cobra Kai season 1, he was a quiet, mohawk-less kid who was getting bullied pretty hard by his peers. That all changed, however, when he joined the Cobra Kai Dojo (owned by OG Karate Kid character Johnny Lawrence) and entered his ruthless, revenge arc i.e. "Strike first, no mercy." His arc is not unlike Johnny's arc, who is presented to us as Daniel's main adversary in the first film – but is later revealed to have a heart as the film series continues.
"I don't think Hawk's a bully. I think he has just been misguided a lot – seasons 2 and 3. I think he was just misguided. He's a, he was like a 15-year-old kid getting manipulated by like a 60-year-old guy. What do you want from this kid? He's super powerful and has a cool mohawk and all the ladies love him. Of course, the power's gonna go to his head a little bit. He can't help it – he just had to come to the good side for a little bit, drink from the Miyagi Do water, trim a couple Bonsai trees, and now he's straight."
In season 2, Hawk makes Demetri (Gianni Decenzo) his prime bullying target before becoming fully manipulated by Kreese, Johnny's sensei and the primary antagonist of the series. He even goes so far as to vandalize Daniel LaRusso's dojo and steal the Medal of Honor that belonged to the legendary Mr. Miyagi himself. In season 3, Hawk escalates the rivalry between Cobra Kai and Miyagi-Do – but eventually ends up saving Demetri in the middle of a pretty violent fight, rekindling their friendship, and going on to train at the Miyagi-Do. Bertrand, however, wouldn't have minded if Hawk stayed a bully for a little while longer.
"I think me personally, Jacob, the actor, would've loved to have seen how dark Hawk could have gone. But I know that one of the best moments for fans is when Hawk switches back. But personally, I would've loved if Hawk stayed as a villain and started murdering people – that would've been so sick. Obviously, people would've hated that. But I would've loved getting to kill people and break more arms and put people in in comas."
The actor also touched on Hawk's surprising loss against Kenny (Dallas Dupree Young), which made sense in a metaphorical, learning and growing kind of way – but still upset and confused fans of the show.
"To me, it didn't make any sense [laughs]. But you know, that's your job as the actor to try to sell it to the best of your ability. I hate seeing my character lose, I'm probably the most competitive and, and put myself so much in the character's shoes that I just hate whenever Hawk loses. The highs are so high, but the lows are so low. I think from that, there is a cool storyline in season five, at the very end when Hawk is talking to Kyler and he's like 'yeah, dude, sometimes you fucking lose and you just gotta move on."
One of the overarching themes in the Karate Kid franchise is "Sometimes when you lose, you win" – something that Bertrand acknowledges.
"That's a part of life. You lose, you get back up, you try again. I think that's cool. I think him losing to Kenny makes no sense. But a cool lesson came out of it for all the kids watching at home."
Cobra Kai season 6 part 2 is set to hit Netflix on November 15. Part 3 is set to premiere sometime in 2025. For more, check out our list of the best Netflix shows to stream right now.
