Warning: SPOILERS for Cobra Kai Season 6 Part 2Cobra Kaiseason 6 part 2 introduces Zara Malik (Rayna Vallandingham), a standout new villain and opponent for Miyagi-Do. Zara is a member of the Iron Dragons, one of the 16 international teams competing in the Sekai Taikai tournament in Barcelona.Zara is a new kind of teenage antagonistjoining thecast ofCobra Kaiseason 6, and Rayna Vallandingham is impactful and fun to watch in every scene she’s in.
The Iron Dragons from Bangkok, Thailand, are the most formidable team inCobra Kaiseason 6’s Sekai Taikai tournament. Led by Sensei Wolf (Lewis Tan), Zara Malik shares the honor of being team captain with the foreboding Axel Kovacevic (Patrick Lewus). The Sekai Taikai is a mix of boys and girls, but there’s no division of the sexes. Male and female Sekai Taikai teens fight each other equally, andZara proves to be a difficult challenge for the members of Miyagi-Do and Cobra Kai.
Zara Malik Is Played By Rayna Vallandingham, A Real Life Martial Arts Champion
Rayna Vallandingham Brings Authenticity To Cobra Kai’s Fight Scenes
Zara Malik is so effective inCobra Kaiseason 6, part 2, because Rayna Vallandingham is a real-life world champion martial artist.The 21-year-old American-born Vallandingham is the youngest martial artist to win 13 world championships. A 4th degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do, Rayna was only 8 years old when she became the youngest fighter ever to win four World Titles, racking up another 6 World Championships the following year. Vallandingham is also a brand ambassador, model, and actor, starring as Letcicia in director Phillip Ree’s film,Underdogs.
Explaining That Cobra Kai Death In Season 6, Including Its Thematic Meaning & How It’ll Affect The Final 5 Episodes
Cobra Kai season 6’s part 2 ends with a devastating death scene, making it hard not to wonder how it will ripple into the show’s final five episodes.
Zara Is The Teenage Villain Cobra Kai Needed
Zara Malik is a particularly effective and entertaining foil forTory Nichols (Peyton List)and Robby Keene (Tanner Buchanan) inCobra Kaiseason 6. Tory immediately underestimates Zara because of her size and pays for it.Malik has speed and technique that simply outclass Cobra Kai and Miyagi-Do’s best,and she also brings a viciousness learned from Wolf, her sensei. Zara and Axel lead the Iron Dragons to dominant performances in the Sekai Taikai, with Malik even viciously pummeling Tory inCobra Kaiseason 6, episode 10’s wild brawl.
Hopefully, Rayna Vallandingham will be back for the final episodes ofCobra Kaiseason 6.
Off the mat, however, Zara Malik is conniving and uses her sex appeal to maximum advantage. Zara sets her sights on Robby and tries to break him and Tory apart. Zara also callously dismisses Samantha LaRusso (Mary Mouser) and Devon Lee (Oona O’Brien), two native Californians who feel secretly inadequate that they’re not as world-traveled as Zara and the Iron Dragons. Hopefully, Rayna Vallandingham will be back for the final episodes ofCobra Kaiseason 6, as she has unfinished business with Miyagi-Do and Cobra Kai.
