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'Cobra Kai' finale: Tanner Buchanan, Mary Mouser on the evolution of their characters throughout Netflix hit

'Cobra Kai' finale: Tanner Buchanan, Mary Mouser on the evolution of their characters throughout Netflix hit

Yahoo13-02-2025

It's the end of an era with the release of Cobra Kai Season 6, Part 3 on Thursday, the conclusion of one of Netflix's most successful shows. With Part 2 of the final season ending with a catastrophic death at the Sekai Taikai in Barcelona, each character is dealing with the aftermath of that traumatic competition.
But with that comes real growth for the show's characters in this chapter in the Karate Kid franchise. A particularly moving moment comes when Samantha "Sam" LaRusso (Mary Mouser), daughter of Ralph Macchio's Daniel LaRusso, and Peyton List's character, Tory Nichols, share an emotional and heartwarming moment together, re-establishing their friendship.
Sam and Tory have not always seen eye-to-eye, and were closer to mortal enemies than friends, but these kick-ass karate girls satisfyingly come together to end the show.
"I've been so grateful for the journey that Sam and Tory have gotten to go on. I'm so happy that they're finally in a place where they can have a sit down conversation at all, much less a conversation about their friendship, much less a conversation about the growth that they both endured," Mary Mouser told Yahoo Canada. "I think they built each other up as these enemies in each other's minds for so long and I know, on my side at least, ... realizing how much there was to learn from Tory for Sam is so cool to now see them, literally, legitimately, sharing tips, and being able to be a good listener to one another."
"It's one thing to talk at somebody, but it's something else to actually sit in and really let someone else tell you how to be, how to fight, how to live your life, do things that you feel confident you already know how to do. To open yourself up in that way is really powerful, and I was so grateful for it."
While this conversation happens in Episode 12 of Season 6, the second episode of the Part 3 release, the episodes were shot out of order, making this scene among the last that Mouser filmed for the show.
"That moment was so powerful. To get to spend that [time] with Peyton, and with Samantha and Tory, and what felt like kind of the beginning of Sam's karate arc ending with Tory, was really special," Mouser said.
But there's no denying that one of the characters with the most significant arc in Cobra Kai has been Tanner Buchanan's Robby Keene. From his strained relationship with his father Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) and general parental neglect, to his rivalry with Miguel Diaz (Xolo Maridueña), he's come a long way since that first season.
"We all grew up with our characters, so it's been fun to even take some of his own lessons that he's learned along the way, and kind of incorporate them in my own life," Buchanan said. "And try and figure out what the right thing is to do as you're growing up and becoming an adult, and what your life is going to look like, and how to kind of execute it."
"It's been fun to play around with it and I'm lucky enough to have Josh [Heald], Jon [Hurwitz] and Hayden [Schlossberg] write such an intricate, fun character to play."
While the wild ride of the Cobra Kai Netflix series has come to an end, there's no doubting the show has given us robust character development throughout all six seasons, set to make fans miss all these beloved characters.

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'Adults' star Malik Elassal: Add Canadian comedian, actor and writer to the list of comedy sensations
'Adults' star Malik Elassal: Add Canadian comedian, actor and writer to the list of comedy sensations

Yahoo

timean hour ago

  • Yahoo

'Adults' star Malik Elassal: Add Canadian comedian, actor and writer to the list of comedy sensations

For decades, comedy has been considered one of Canada's greatest exports, including notable talents like Eugene Levy, Martin Short, Catherine O'Hara and the late John Candy. Adding to that legacy is Malik Elassal, who stars in the popular new show Adults (on Disney+ in Canada, Hulu in the U.S.), created by Ben Kronengold and Rebecca Shaw (The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon). Making the move from Alberta to the U.S., incredibly skilled in hysterical stand-up comedy, with moments from his sets going viral, Elassal is set to be another of one Canada's comedy legends. And what makes Adults a great introduction for many is that the show really showcases each cast member's unique comedy strengths. "We all come from these different places, but when we come together there's something between all of us," Elassal told Yahoo Canada. "Amita [Rao] is an improviser. Lucy [Freyer] was an actor in Juilliard. But then when we come together, we sort of have our our own rhythm that's outside of improv training, outside of more standard actors training, or outside of TikTok." In Aults, a group of friends move in together in Samir's (Malik Elassal) childhood home in New York. Samir is trying, at least sometimes, to take on more responsibility in life, Billie (Lucy Freyer) is pursuing a career in journalism, Anton (Owen Thiele) was Samir's college roommate who can be friends with anyone. Issa (Amita Rao) is taking on odd jobs with her infectious personality, and she's dating Paul Baker (Jack Innanen), who she convinces Samir to let move in with the rest of the group. The show in intensely funny in a way that leans into absurdity at times, awkwardness at others, and navigates different elements and styles of comedy effortlessly, largely thanks to this impressive cast. With Elassal already receiving positive feedback from the show, he's really just happy to make people smile and laugh. "It feels like it falls in line with my love language, to give somebody this big thing and for them to enjoy it," he said. As Elassal described, a lot of the brilliant on-screen chemistry we see between this group of friends in Adults was formed by the natural evolution of the group's off-screen dynamic. "[When] we started hanging out and started being on set, you just realize that somebody has been on the same version of the internet as you," Elassal said about his friendship with fellow Canadian Jack Innanen. "We just really became close." With Samir having a particularly close frienship with Billie in the show, Elassal added that even just taking walks with Lucy Freyer and ribbing each other in real life informed what we see on-screen. Additionally, Kronengold and Shaw looked to the actors to inform their scripts. "We started to find out that things from our lives would end up in the script," Elassal said. "So we'd have takes where we got to add things in there, and that was always really fun." A particularly hysterical moment in the show is Episode 6, where Billie is hosting her boyfriend, and her former high school teacher, played by Charlie Cox, for dinner. As Billie tries to get all of her roommates in line with the hopes of a more sophisticated evening, things quickly take an unexpected and hysterical turn when Cox's character shows up high on a "pony dose" of ketamine, and Paul Baker's friend, who happens to be Julia Fox (who's playing herself), comes over for the meal. "We were block shooting the whole series, so every episode was over the span of like four or five days, or so. And usually we have different locations and we were going to different places, but ... for like four or five days in a row we're just in this house, basically," Elassal explained about that epiosde. "And I'm in this giant suit looking ridiculous and running around, and it just felt like a day that never ended." "It really kind of led into this dreary, looming feeling that the episode has. ... Charlie would show up, and then me and Charlie would have scenes together at like 2:00 a.m., after everybody went home, and he was kissing me on the forehead. It's all just very surreal. ... And then one day they're like, 'Oh, hey, Julia Fox is coming today.' ... You see my reaction to Julia Fox being on my couch in the episode, ... it's basically just how I felt." In terms of what drew Elassal to a career in comedy, there wasn't necessarily a specific "breakthrough" moment, but he can identify the time that he understood the feeling of being able to make someone laugh. "I remember a moment watching my older cousin, when I was younger, stand up and do an impression of his dad to all of the aunts and uncles, ... and him making them all laugh so hard," Elassal said. "And I was like, 'Oh, this is the coolest person I've ever seen.'" "I think something from that time might have gotten in my head of like, that's a real, worthwhile thing to do in your life, is to be able to make a group of people that happy." While a Canadian making the move to the U.S. always feels like a big professional step, it was a "culture shock" for Calgary-raised Elassal. "It's insane. It's such a culture shock," Elassal said. "You're going to the airport in America and they have signs up like, hey please don't bring your gun on the plane. And I'm like, are people doing that? Like, accidentally?" "I mean, there's a craziness to America. And it's fun to live there. But whenever I come back to Canada, I still feel at home, even though New York is home right now." As Elassal's career progresses, from stand-up comedy to TV, and even joining projects from other famed comedians, like Pete Holmes' podcast, "You Made It Weird," we certainly can't wait to see what Elassal does next. "It's unbelievable. I'm consistently so happy to get to meet all these people that I was already such a fan of, and it's amazing to get to work with them," he said. "It's such a dream come true. ... I'm really lucky that I get to have my dreams come true."

'Adults' star Malik Elassal: Calgary-raised comedian, actor and writer is Canada's new comedy sensation
'Adults' star Malik Elassal: Calgary-raised comedian, actor and writer is Canada's new comedy sensation

Yahoo

timean hour ago

  • Yahoo

'Adults' star Malik Elassal: Calgary-raised comedian, actor and writer is Canada's new comedy sensation

For decades, comedy has been considered one of Canada's greatest exports, including notable talents like Eugene Levy, Martin Short, Catherine O'Hara and the late John Candy. Adding to that legacy is Malik Elassal, who stars in the popular new show Adults (on Disney+ in Canada, Hulu in the U.S.), created by Ben Kronengold and Rebecca Shaw (The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon). Making the move from Alberta to the U.S., incredibly skilled in hysterical stand-up comedy, with moments from his sets going viral, Elassal is set to be another of one Canada's comedy legends. And what makes Adults a great introduction for many is that the show really showcases each cast member's unique comedy strengths. "We all come from these different places, but when we come together there's something between all of us," Elassal told Yahoo Canada. "Amita [Rao] is an improviser. Lucy [Freyer] was an actor in Juilliard. But then when we come together, we sort of have our our own rhythm that's outside of improv training, outside of more standard actors training, or outside of TikTok." In Aults, a group of friends move in together in Samir's (Malik Elassal) childhood home in New York. Samir is trying, at least sometimes, to take on more responsibility in life, Billie (Lucy Freyer) is pursuing a career in journalism, Anton (Owen Thiele) was Samir's college roommate who can be friends with anyone. Issa (Amita Rao) is taking on odd jobs with her infectious personality, and she's dating Paul Baker (Jack Innanen), who she convinces Samir to let move in with the rest of the group. The show in intensely funny in a way that leans into absurdity at times, awkwardness at others, and navigates different elements and styles of comedy effortlessly, largely thanks to this impressive cast. With Elassal already receiving positive feedback from the show, he's really just happy to make people smile and laugh. "It feels like it falls in line with my love language, to give somebody this big thing and for them to enjoy it," he said. As Elassal described, a lot of the brilliant on-screen chemistry we see between this group of friends in Adults was formed by the natural evolution of the group's off-screen dynamic. "[When] we started hanging out and started being on set, you just realize that somebody has been on the same version of the internet as you," Elassal said about his friendship with fellow Canadian Jack Innanen. "We just really became close." With Samir having a particularly close frienship with Billie in the show, Elassal added that even just taking walks with Lucy Freyer and ribbing each other in real life informed what we see on-screen. Additionally, Kronengold and Shaw looked to the actors to inform their scripts. "We started to find out that things from our lives would end up in the script," Elassal said. 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"And I'm in this giant suit looking ridiculous and running around, and it just felt like a day that never ended." "It really kind of led into this dreary, looming feeling that the episode has. ... Charlie would show up, and then me and Charlie would have scenes together at like 2:00 a.m., after everybody went home, and he was kissing me on the forehead. It's all just very surreal. ... And then one day they're like, 'Oh, hey, Julia Fox is coming today.' ... You see my reaction to Julia Fox being on my couch in the episode, ... it's basically just how I felt." In terms of what drew Elassal to a career in comedy, there wasn't necessarily a specific "breakthrough" moment, but he can identify the time that he understood the feeling of being able to make someone laugh. "I remember a moment watching my older cousin, when I was younger, stand up and do an impression of his dad to all of the aunts and uncles, ... and him making them all laugh so hard," Elassal said. "And I was like, 'Oh, this is the coolest person I've ever seen.'" "I think something from that time might have gotten in my head of like, that's a real, worthwhile thing to do in your life, is to be able to make a group of people that happy." While a Canadian making the move to the U.S. always feels like a big professional step, it was a "culture shock" for Calgary-raised Elassal. "It's insane. It's such a culture shock," Elassal said. "You're going to the airport in America and they have signs up like, hey please don't bring your gun on the plane. And I'm like, are people doing that? Like, accidentally?" "I mean, there's a craziness to America. And it's fun to live there. But whenever I come back to Canada, I still feel at home, even though New York is home right now." As Elassal's career progresses, from stand-up comedy to TV, and even joining projects from other famed comedians, like Pete Holmes' podcast, "You Made It Weird," we certainly can't wait to see what Elassal does next. "It's unbelievable. I'm consistently so happy to get to meet all these people that I was already such a fan of, and it's amazing to get to work with them," he said. "It's such a dream come true. ... I'm really lucky that I get to have my dreams come true."

Who was Stockton Rush? OceanGate CEO focus of Titan implosion documentary
Who was Stockton Rush? OceanGate CEO focus of Titan implosion documentary

USA Today

time3 hours ago

  • USA Today

Who was Stockton Rush? OceanGate CEO focus of Titan implosion documentary

Who was Stockton Rush? OceanGate CEO focus of Titan implosion documentary Show Caption Hide Caption Newly released footage captures sound of Titan submersible imploding Newly released video appeared to capture the sound of the Titan submersible imploding on its way to visit the Titanic wreck in June 2023. Netflix released "Titan: The OceanGate Disaster" on June 11, a week before the two-year anniversary of the 2023 implosion that killed five people on a voyage to view the wreckage of the Titanic. The documentary focuses on the role of OceanGate CEO Stockon Rush and his role as CEO of OceanGate "his quest to become the next billionaire innovator," according to the documentary's synopsis. "'Titan: The OceanGate Submersible Disaster' makes a belabored point that OceanGate's failings leading to the implosion stemmed from Rush's leadership," Eric Francisco of Esquire wrote. "His short temper and arrogance permeated in all his efforts to build a business around deep-sea commercial tourism." There were five people aboard the submersible on June 18, 2023 and were killed in the implosion: Rush, British billionaire Hamish Harding, French maritime and Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet, and a father and son from one of Pakistan's most prominent families, Shahzada Dawood and Suleman Dawood. A series of hearings were held in 2024 as part of the investigation, and a lawsuit has been filed by the family of Nargeolet, claiming all five passengers probably experienced "terror and anguish" in their final moments. The hearings revealed one of the final messages sent from the crew before it was crushed by the pressure of the ocean: "All good here." Here's what you need to know about Stockton Rush. Who was Stockton Rush? Rush, 61, was a member of a prominent family in San Francisco and a descendant of two signers of the Declaration of Independence, SF Gate reported at the time of the implosion. The outlet reported that he was working as an aerospace engineer for McDonnell Douglas when he married his wife Wendy in 1986. Rush co-founded the company in 2009 and oversaw OceanGate's financial and engineering strategies, company's website said before being taken down in the wake of the implosion, USA TODAY previously reported. Titan danger: Titanic sub took on extreme danger, while 'breaking the rules' "We have heard the baseless cries of 'you are going to kill someone' way too often," Rush wrote in 2018 – according to The Conversation – after being told he was putting lives at risk using his experimental submersible. "I take this as a serious personal insult." In an interview with CBS News Unsung Science, he talked about his dreams of being an explorer − "I wanted to be sort of the Captain Kirk" − and fears about going underwater. "What I worry about most are things that will stop me from being able to get to the surface," he said. Still, he insisted on the safety of submersibles and the value of taking risks. "I mean, if you just want to be safe, don't get out of bed," he said. What happened to Titan? The submersible imploded about 1 hour and 45 minutes after its trip began, resulting in the deaths of its five passengers. Two weeks after the incident, OceanGate said on its website it had suspended "all exploration and commercial operations." Its headquarters in Everett, Washington, were shuttered. Its business license expired on June 7, 2024, according to Washington Department of Revenue records. The nonprofit research wing of the company, called OceanGate Foundation, was launched in 2010 but also closed in 2023, according to department records. OceanGate Inc. also operated a subsidiary, OceanGate Expeditions, out of the same office. According to Washington records, it closed on March 31, 2021. The U.S. Coast Guard continues to investigate what caused the implosion. Contributing: Elizabeth Weise, Isabella Butera, Phaedra Tepham – USA TODAY

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