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Cobra Kai 5 Star Peyton List Breaks Down Tory's Loyalties & More

Published Fri, 16 Sep 2022 08:07:12 -0500

There's no shortage of redemptive arcs on Cobra Kai, and it's something Peyton List is well familiar with as Tory Nichols. The season four finale was supposed to be Tory's shining moment winning the women's final at the All-Valley Karate Tournament, but she discovered it was tainted after overhearing her sensei Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith) bribing the presiding referee. The actress discussed her character's journey during the fifth season in a recent interview.

Cobra Kai: Peyton List Breaks Down Tory's Loyalties and Staying — Cobra Kai. Peyton List as Tory Nichols in Cobra Kai. Cr. Courtesy of Netflix © 2022

"All Tory wanted was to win the All Valley to prove herself worthy. She wanted to feel worthy to herself," List said. "I'd never really seen Tory lose her fire and her passion that was the first time I had seen that. She's very conflicted, [and] doesn't know whether or not to go back to Cobra Kai. Silver is making Cobra Kai bigger than ever and into something that Tory doesn't necessarily agree with." She also has her reasons for staying. "Tory seems to be the only person that has been loyal to a dojo on this show. I don't see her really ever leaving. Her loyalty is to Kreese at the end of the day because Kreese [Martin Kove] is such a father figure to Tory. Or I guess grandfather figure, but I just can't see her betraying him in any way."

cobra kai — Cobra Kai. (L to R) Oona O'Brien as Devon, Peyton List as Tory Nichols in Cobra Kai. Cr. Courtesy of Netflix © 2022

List was prepared for the stakes to go even higher. "With the All Valley tournament, I thought, 'Season 5 is going to be a lot more relaxed on the fighting. I'm probably not going to be with stunts at all,'" she said. "And then, of course, the writers just completely turned that around. Especially for the big guys, the older guys, there are just some intense fights. And so many returns of characters from the past that we haven't seen that are very surprising." For more on List talking about how the older and younger cast bond on set, working with new cast member Alicia Hannah-Kim, Mary Mouser's Sam, [and] how she and her peers have grown up since season one, check out the entire interview here.