Cobra Kai's Anthony Actor Reveals The 3 Things He Wants In Season 6

[AS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON COMICBOOK.COM]

Cobra Kai star Griffin Santopietro shares his hopes for season 6. The actor has portrayed Anthony LaRusso in the hit Karate Kid spinoff since the very beginning. But, when the character was first introduced, the only son of Daniel (Ralph Macchio) and Amanda (Courtney Henggeler) was more of a minor presence, every now and then offering a snarky comment to give his sister, Samantha (Mary Mouser), a hard time. That all changed in more recent seasons, as Anthony received a greater spotlight and developed a shifting rivalry with newcomer Kenny Payne (Dallas Dupree Young).

That spotlight continues into Cobra Kai season 5, which recently debuted on Netflix, with Kenny targeting Anthony for his past behavior. Over the course of ten episodes, Anthony also has a few standout moments. He strengthens his connection with his sister, and he helps during the eventual Cobra Kai season 5 finale, when it counts the most. Still, his issues with Kenny remain unresolved, and it's something Santopietro hopes the show will explore further.

In an interview with PopCulture.com, the actor discusses what he hopes to see if Cobra Kai is renewed for season 6. Santopietro mentions that he hopes his character takes more of a leadership role. He also says that he wants to see Anthony's relationship with his family explored further, particularly with Daniel, and he hopes that Kenny's feud with Anthony continues. His quote is included below:

I want to see his relationship in the dojo and whatever the next conflict is. I liked the egg scene in the finale where you see that Anthony’s more of a strategic brain kind of guy. So I think to have him take that leadership position in the dojo would be really interesting. I want to see definitely more with him and Kenny. I really want to see them fight. I want to see one final showdown between them and then they can be friends after, but I want to see it. I want to see more of his relationship just with his family, which we’ve gotten to see a lot of, but I’ve always really enjoyed doing that stuff. And I guess to see more of that and maybe more of his relationship with his dad, especially over the last couple of seasons where he felt like he was neglected. I’d like to see them address that more.

The way the spinoff has generally worked is that there tend to be a few lead characters from the young crowd for each season. Cobra Kai season 4, for example, focused a great deal on making Tory (Peyton List) a more sympathetic protagonist and bringing Kenny into the fold. Although each cast member gets their own story, some of those arcs are more of the main focus than others. This is true of Anthony, as well. He's moved from a minor supporting player to a major one, an evolution that could continue since the young LaRusso has no shortage of narrative avenues to go down.

The bad blood with Kenny is a classic example. Santopietro makes reference to them becoming friends, which would follow a classic Cobra Kai trajectory. Kenny initially appears overwhelmed by Anthony’s bullying, until he learns how to fight back. Then he enjoys the rush of power and becomes cruel in his vendetta – even as Anthony tries to apologize. There's potential there for growth, in the vein of Daniel's former enemies. But a dojo showdown likely has to occur first.