Cobra Kai: Why Aisha Couldn't Be In Season 3
Many were confused about why Aisha (Nichole Brown) wasn't in Cobra Kai season 3, but in reality her presence wouldn't have worked. Here's why.
Though fans wondered why Aisha (Nicholle Brown) wasn't in Cobra Kai season 3, the reality is her character wouldn't have worked. The character played important roles in the show’s first two seasons, but was absent for the entirety of season 3. Her exit was explained by a line in the premiere that revealed she moved to a private school.
Aisha was introduced in Cobra Kai season 1 as a high school classmate of the teenage characters, and the best friend of Samantha LaRusso (Mary Mouser). After being alienated by Sam’s decision to hang out with two bullies, Aisha became one of Johnny’s first students at the newly-reopened Cobra Kai. Due to the training she received from Johnny (William Zabka), Aisha grew into a highly competent (and aggressive) fighter. During this time, she resisted Sam’s attempts to restart their friendship and, like the other students, developed a more violent personality. As a Cobra Kai student, she participated in season 1’s All-Valley Karate Tournament and also played a small part in the high school brawl in the season 2 finale.
Despite being a key Cobra Kai student, Aisha was missing from season 3. Cobra Kai co-showrunner Jon Hurwitz compared her not being around to the show not using Kyler (Joe Seo), Louie (Bret Ernst), and Yasmine (Annalisa Cochrane) in season 2. This suggests that there simply wasn’t room for her in season 3. This explanation makes sense when taking into consideration the state of affairs with the dueling dojos.
With Kreese (Martin Kove) in control of Cobra Kai, the series led the dojo down a much more villainous path. Johnny may have inadvertently sent his students in the wrong direction, but Kreese took them to a whole new level, with many of them actively seeking out trouble and making unprovoked assaults. Aisha may have been aggressive, but she wasn’t a “bad” kid who would engage in that sort of violence. How Aisha initially tried to stop the brawl is an example of how her character has a calming presence in the series. Though she didn’t like Sam, it’s hard to imagine her letting her fellow students go as far as they did.
Also, it’s important to point out that Aisha wasn’t among the students that took Kreese’s side immediately after the brawl. That supports the idea that she wouldn’t have betrayed Johnny in the first place. If Aisha was in season 3, it seems reasonable that she would have started out with him, but for the purpose of the story, he was isolated from all potential allies. But now that Cobra Kai has moved past that phase, the character could be brought back into the fold for season 4. She doesn’t fit the current “Strike First. Strike Hard. No Mercy” mantra that Kreese is teaching, but she would fit right in with what Johnny is doing with Eagle Fang Dojo. If she joins the new dojo, she could once again take part in the All-Valley Karate Tournament and help bring down Cobra Kai.
More: Cobra Kai: Predicting Who Could Win Season 4's All-Valley Tournament (& Who Won't)
