Devon Lee made a quiet entrance into Cobra Kai Season 4. She was a student at West Valley High School who had an inability to control her temper and a habit of participating in debate teams. Most viewers probably thought she was a background character added for a quick laugh when she stormed across a classroom during a heated argument, tore the cover off her opponent’s book, and began yelling at the crowd. Observing from the doorway, Johnny Lawrence seemed to notice something different.
Devon’s recruitment, which was motivated more by her unadulterated aggression during a school debate than by any skill in martial arts, is one of the show’s more subtly clever character introductions. It was a perfect fit for Johnny’s style of operation, which is more interested in fire than technical skill. Devon had too much fire. Over the course of three seasons, the show repeatedly questioned whether she could make any use of it.
The first scene that actress Oona O’Brien filmed for the series is one of the more amusing behind-the-scenes facts about Devon. She had to quickly kick several of the male cast members in the groin. Devon was given a nickname by the crew for the scene, which probably shouldn’t be repeated in a family publication, but it stuck. According to most accounts, O’Brien thought the entire thing was as ridiculous as it sounds, which is probably the appropriate response when you are introduced to a major Netflix series that features that specific choreography.
Devon’s journey through several dojos is worth closely examining since it reveals something authentic about her personality. After Eagle Fang closed, she briefly transferred to Topanga Karate before drifting into Cobra Kai and finally arriving at Miyagi-Do. She was pulled in different directions by four distinct training philosophies. Devon seems to have been used by the authors to examine what happens when a truly gifted student continues to look for the ideal setting but is unable to find it. At each stop, she got better. At each stop, she also made a few bad choices.
The most contentious thing Devon does in the whole series is the laxative incident in Season 6. In order to secure one of the six spots on the Miyagi-Do team for the Sekai Taikai in Barcelona, Devon secretly added stolen laxatives to Kenny Payne’s water bottle, eliminating him from the competition. She was awarded a spot. In the woods, Kenny used a makeshift restroom for a portion of the afternoon.
The fan base was sharply divided when Johnny didn’t lose it on her as many viewers had anticipated. Some believed that Johnny was giving Devon a pass that he would never have given to Hawk or Miguel. Others noted that the scene depicted something more nuanced: a man who truly cares about a student, deciding to concentrate on helping her get back on track instead of undermining her self-esteem prior to a global competition.
One of the more intriguing subplots of the larger story is Johnny’s relationship with Devon during the last season. The show sets up the fact that he is going to become a father to a daughter in real life by having him act as a father figure to her in different ways. It works, but it’s not subtle.
A gap in Johnny’s emotional arc that his biological relationships were unable to fully fill was filled by the warmth of their scenes, which contrasts with his dynamic with Miguel or Robby. In order to assist Devon in organizing a successful team-building event, Johnny steals phones and deceives Sam and Tory during the slumber party scene. This is the kind of ridiculous detail that, when taken into consideration, becomes genuinely heartwarming.
It’s difficult not to think that Devon should have received a better resolution by the end of the show. In her third season of karate, she trained diligently, made honest mistakes, eventually took responsibility for them, and competed on a global scale. There’s a sense that her story isn’t quite over when you see her standing in the All Valley Sports Arena for the final tournament, cheering alongside everyone else while wearing a Cobra Kai gi. It remains to be seen if the franchise ever makes a comeback.
