Who is Tory in Cobra Kai?

"The world shows no mercy. So why should we? Some people have it good, but the rest of us, we have to fight for every inch of what's ours. Not just to score a point - for everything."―Tory to Miguel[src]

Tory Nichols[1] is a main character in Cobra Kai. She has been described as a troubled teen who speaks her mind and is willing to fight anyone who angers her.

Tory becomes a student at the newly reopened Cobra Kai Dojo. After falling victim to the merciless teachings of her sensei John Kreese, Tory becomes aggressive and vengeful, especially towards Samantha LaRusso. Following her expulsion for starting the school karate war, she forms a bond with Kreese. Through this bond, she becomes more ruthless and vengeful. She goes on to be one of Kreese's most corrupted students, with her karate skills earning her the nickname Queen Cobra.

Upon witnessing the ruthless lengths Terry Silver was willing to take to make Cobra Kai infamous and feeling used as a puppet, Tory ultimately defected from the dojo and joined forces with Sam, Miguel, Robby and their friends to expose Silver and put him in jail once and for all, making amends with all those that she hurt.

Biography

Tory grew up in poverty to a single mother and younger brother, Brandon. Their mother was a waitress that struggled to make ends meet. After work, her mother would often bring leftover food from the restaurant home to feed her children. One night, Tory's mother was caught red-handed by the manager and fired for stealing from the job, despite the fact the food would have been disposed of anyway. This incident shaped Tory's worldview and philosophy on life; the world is a cruel and harsh place and one should react by looking out for one's self. Her mother eventually became sick and bedridden, unable to care for herself or her children. Tory filled the role of caretaker by getting a job, caring for Brandon, and being the primary healthcare provider of their sick mother.

Cobra Kai

Season 2

Tory joins Cobra Kai

Tory tries out for a spot in Cobra Kai, having found out about their performace at Valley Fest. Johnny then orders Miguel to take on "Little Miss Hotshot", and she impresses Johnny and Kreese by using a skillful takedown on Miguel while sparring. She soon becomes friends with Aisha Robinson but develops a rivalry with Samantha LaRusso after Tory steals a bottle of vodka and behaves aggressively. Then when Sam accuses her of stealing her mom's wallet, Tory pushes Sam into a table full of food items.

She helps Miguel get over his breakup with Sam and ends up starting a relationship with him. However, after witnessing Miguel and Sam passionately kiss at Moon's party, she decides to attack Sam rather than handle the issue on her own.

Tory trains with Miguel

On the first day of school she threatens Sam over the intercom and hunts her down. When the two meet in the hallway she reveals to everyone that Sam and Miguel kissed and then viciously attacks Sam. Sam's boyfriend Robby Keene tries to intervene and diffuse the fight but Miguel who sees Robby restraining Tory kicks Doug Rickenberger and attacks Robby which results in a all-out karate war between the Cobra Kai and Miyagi-Do Karate Dojos erupt. During the fight she kicks Miguel in the stomach because she was angry at him for kissing Sam.

Tory tries to kill Sam

She has the upper hand over Sam for the beginning of the fight, but Sam eventually starts to get the upper hand, which causes Tory to fight more viciously, using her spiked bracelet as a knuckle duster. She manages to injures Sam's arm with the bracelet. She then tries to kill Sam but is ultimately beaten by her after being knocked down the staircase. When Robby kicks Miguel off the railing Tory screams "Miguel" out of horror. After Miguel falls on the ground and is lying unconscious Tory, Sam, and Hawk go to Miguel.

Later she is seen with Hawk, Raymond, Mitch and other students training at the dojo with Kreese as Johnny confronts Kreese telling him that she, Hawk, Raymond and others are now his students and that he owns the dojo now. It is evident that Tory along with the others blame Johnny for Miguel's injury and have betrayed him as a result.

Season 3

Tory talks to John Kreese

Tory faces the consequences of her role as the instigator in the school karate war, and is expelled from West Valley High School. She is given an unsupervised probation as an alternative to juvenile hall, as she is the primary caregiver of her sick mother but must conform to all probation rules or her probation officer will show up at her apartment and she will receive a very harsh juvenile sentence and be sent to juvie. She takes on two jobs to pay the rent on time, which forces her to quit Cobra Kai. However she feels no regret or remorse for her actions such as starting the high school karate war, and only feels this is simply more unfair treatment from the world. Her landlord, Rodney, propositions her an alternative for paying rent, and threatens to call her probation officer to arrest her and send her to juvie, if she defends herself or shows one more violent act. It is clear Tory feels no remorse of hurting Sam and hospitalizing her and simply feels all this is the world making her life more miserable. Sensei John Kreese approaches her one day to ask her to return, but she explains that she cannot because of her probation, two other jobs, trying to receive a GED, and her financial struggles. Kreese realizes that the landlord, Rodney is harassing Tory and threatens Rodney, who agrees to waive the rent for the month. This allows Tory to return to Cobra Kai.

Tory shows up to the arcade fight

When some of the Miyagi-Do and Cobra Kai students are fighting in the arcade, Tory shows up with two other Cobra Kai members, Edwin and Big Red, and angrily shouts Sam's name, which causes the latter to suffer a panic attack and basically shut down. Tory's arrival proves to be the turning point, as the Cobra Kai's gain the edge and defeat Miyagi Do. After beating Miyagi-Do, she tells Sam to show herself, but the latter is sitting in the corner with a look of fear on her face. When Hawk has hold of Demetri's arm, Tory, along with the other Cobra Kai members, encourages Hawk to break his arm, which he does. At class the next day, Tory admits that she did not actually think Hawk was going to break Demetri's arm. She then helps weed out the "unworthy" Cobra Kai recruits particularly in a sparring match against a girl named Sarah. After the match, Sarah lashes out at Tory saying “You chipped my tooth, bitch!”, to which Tory insults Sarah telling her that she “needed braces anyway”. She also appeared shocked when Hawk brutally beats up Brucks a few moments later at his match.

Tory talks to Robby at the probation office

When Tory is in the probation office, she encounters Robby, who is angry at her for starting the fight. She rebuts that while she started the high school karate war, he ended it. She knows that it is unfair that they get probation while everyone else is scolded, and warns him that Sam will turn him, much to his anger. Before leaving, she tells Robby to check stable in the home life section, since they will not check. While staying at Cobra Kai, Robby is noticed by Tory, who mocks him for trying to run away. She says channeling in the hate will make him stronger. Later on, Tory invites him to hang out with some of the Cobra Kai members. That day, the two along with Hawk, Kyler and some other Cobra Kai members break into the zoo, and Robby steals a snake for Kreese. After returning to the dojo with the snake, Kreese informs them about Miguel and Sam working together, angering both Tory and Robby. Kreese then dismisses the class, causing Tory to storm out.

Tory fights with Sam once again

After leaving, Tory goes to Sam's house with seven other Cobra Kai members and physically attacks the Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang members, who had just formed a truce. She defeats a Stiven before finding Sam, who runs away before Tory chases her into the Miyagi-Do dojo and starts attacking her. After kicking Sam, she picks up a pair of nunchaku and attacks Sam. She misses, and instead hits and breaks a photo of Mr. Miyagi. Sam, now angry and letting go of her fear, dodges Tory's attacks and picks up a bō staff. The two then fight, with Sam eventually managing to disarm Tory and corner her against the wall with Sam winning. Hawk, who had just defected from Cobra Kai, alongside Miguel and Demetri arrive, and Hawk tells Tory the fight is over. Tory tells Sam the fight will never be over, with Sam responding that she knows where to find her. Tory then calls Hawk and Miguel traitors, tells Hawk to watch his back and turns to leave. Before she goes, Demetri tells her that Hawk has friends who will watch his back for him.

Season 4

Tory talks to Robby at the dojo

Since the LaRusso house fight, Tory returns to Cobra Kai where she calls out Kyler for not contributing his all to the fight. Despite his defensive attitude, she points out how Miguel just got out of a wheelchair but still kicked his ass. Their bickering is interrupted by the arrival of Robby Keene, who has been sleeping in the dojo for a few days. After practice, she confronts Robby in the back room for not participating in the house fight. He doesn't know why she thought everything would be fine after. She just wants Sam LaRusso to pay, pointing out that she still has a hold over Robby, otherwise he wouldn't be defending her. Tory warns Robby that if he's going to be defensive, Cobra Kai isn't the right dojo for him. When Robby decides to be a lead student at the dojo, he makes a bet that if anyone can land a hit on him he'll leave. He easily defeats the boys of the dojo. Tory puts up a fight and while Robby is able to take her down, she ultimately lands a kick on him when his guard is down. Despite honoring the bet, she then tells him to stay. He obliges, and begins to teach the group Miyagi-Do karate so they can beat their teamed-up enemies.

Tory is back at work where she is taking tips. She then approaches another customer who turns out to be Amanda LaRusso, Sam's mother. Tory is surprised that she came to her job but Amanda explains that her parents didn't answer her calls. Amanda tells her how hard Sam's life has been since the LaRusso house invasion. She threatens to have her in jail if she hurts Sam again. A customer asks for his soup when Tory asks her to leave but only if she got Amanda's message. He asks for his soup again but Tory lashes at him, causing her to get fired. Before she leaves, she insults the restaurant and talks to the customer about how the chef put his private parts in the soup. Back at Cobra Kai, Tory is learning Miyagi-Do where she knocks down Robby. As she readies to finish him, Kreese confronts her and tells Robby to continue teaching. Tory admits that she got fired from her job and it's difficult to find a new one while on probation. Tory then reveals to her sensei that it was Amanda who got her fired. At LaRusso Auto, Tory is upset with how Amanda bought groceries and threatens to hurt Sam at the tournament.

Tory's new job at a party place

She watches newcomer Kenny Payne get humiliated by Kyler but has a change of heart when Kreese gives him a spot after he comes back and punches Kyler without him noticing.

Tory finds a new job as a mermaid at a party place. However, she realizes that Sam and Amanda were there for a party for Daniel's worker's child. While Tory tells a story to the kids, Sam insults her by comparing it to their recent experiences. Angered, Tory has the kids throw glitter at her. Sam counters when she kisses Miguel in front of her, causing her to leave. Amanda then apologizes about Sam and Tory tells her to stay out of her situation and can handle herself. Tory is with her classmates watching Bloodsport. After Hawk knocks over Kenny's food, Cobra Kai gets in a confrontation with Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang, who were also at the drive-in. Miguel tells them to meet in the baseball diamond where Cobra Kai gets drenched by Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang.

Before class, Terry Silver tells the Cobra Kai students to not fight until the tournament where Tory gets angry about the rule. She and the other Cobra Kai's ambush Hawk and cut off his mohawk in revenge for betraying them, bullying Kenny and drenching them at the baseball diamond.

Tory goes to talk to Amanda

When she arrives at Cobra Kai, Tory is confronted by her aunt and tells her that because Tory is a high school dropout and criminal, she is the only guardian who can take care of her brother. Now realizing how bad her situation is, she has a change of heart and visits Amanda for her help. Tory explains that she can go back to West Valley High School but the LaRusso's have to approve. Amanda agrees while Tory promises to her that she'll stay away from Sam. When Daniel and Sam get home, Sam gets angry with her mother that she let Tory back at her house. When she arrives at on her first day, Sam threatens her.

During another class session, Tory is sparring with rookie Piper and defeats her in seconds, causing Kreese to get a point in the match.

Tory and Robby at the Junior Prom

Robby asks Tory about the high school prom where Tory doesn't seem keen about the idea. He tries to persuade again her and because she's back at West Valley, she changes her mind and agrees. Sensei Silver overhears the conversation and wants them to go all out for the prom. Robby and Tory arrive and dance with each other, unbeknownst to the two that Sam and Miguel were watching them. During Stingray's afterparty, Sam insults Tory but when Tory retaliates, Sam attacks her and tackles her to the ground. Miguel tries to stop her but then tackles Tory when the latter tries to attack Sam. Robby arrives and attacks Miguel, believing he is attacking Tory. Tory then kicks Sam to the ground. Sam and Miguel then fight Tory and Robby, but Sam, Tory and Miguel are pushed into the pool by Robby. After the afterparty, Robby and Tory kiss.

Tory wins the All Valley

On the day of the All-Valley tournament, Tory shows off her offensive skills during the skills competition. She advances to the quarterfinals where she fights Eagle Fang rookie Devon and easily wins. After defeating her opponent in the semifinals, she advances to the finals against none other than Samantha LaRusso. During the fight, Tory accidentally elbows Sam's eye. While talking to her senseis, Silver tells her to elbow the other eye. Upset with the idea, Tory counters saying that she doesn't need to cheat to win. After Kreese hears this, he now realizes what he put Johnny through and has a change of heart. He tells her to win how she feels is the right way. In the end, Tory defeats her, causing her to win the girls division and Cobra Kai becoming the grand champion. But in a surprise moment, she tells Sam if she's okay before her teammates congratulate her. When she goes to retrieve her stuff as Kyler and his gang decide to have an afterparty, she witnesses Terry making a deal with the referee. Tory learns that Terry bribed him to ensure Cobra Kai's victory. She realizes that she was cheated in her victory, upsetting her.

Season 5

Tory with the All Valley trophy

Tory is hailed as the All Valley champion, but she clearly hates what happened. She's still training at Cobra Kai's new dojo, but only because she's completely terrified of Silver. At the dojo, she's trained by a Japanese sensei, sensei Joe (actually Chozen Toguchi) that senses her distress: he explains that she needs to focus breathe, when she trains, but especially she needs to understand what she is fighting for. He explains to her that she is fighting for her honor, because honor is the only thing that only she can take away from herself. He then shows her some moves of Tang Soo Doo, amazing Tory, but especially sensei Terry Silver, who briefly questions Joe about where he comes from. Tory is later in her room, holding the All Valley trophy: to the sadness given by knowing the truth about the tournament, are now added sensei's Joe words about honor, that visibily affects her.

Tory and Robby break up.

Tory and the other Cobra Kais are then at Splasharama Water Adventure, where she finally sees Robby, just back from his trip to Mexico with his father. She's very happy to see him, they kiss, but then he announces he's leaving Cobra Kai, and she should as well, but she refuses, fearing the possible consequences of such decision. Since she cannot bring herself to tell him the truth, she simply tells him that he's free to do whatever he wants, but she's not bound to follow him because she can make her own decisions, even though she's clearly distraught, as she would instead follow him without second thoughts in any other occasions. She then stops a fight between Kenny and Eli, telling both of them to back off, but then is joined by Robby, who does the same but when they are the two of them alone he points her out that Cobra Kai is all but a good place for Kenny to stay. The two attempt to enjoy the day, but then are forced to stop another quarrel, to which she and Eli decide to decide who will remain at the park through a race on the longest slide: Tory wins because Eli's floatie has a hole, and this leads to another quarrel for which everyone is thrown out from the park. At the parking lot, Tory and Robby argue again: he assumes everything is going great for her, now that she's the champion, while she, unable to tell him the truth, replies that she just wanted to enjoy the day together, but he remarks that as long as she stay at Cobra Kai, they won't be able to be together. She replies she won't leave, so he breaks up with her.

Back at the dojo, she trains extensively, shocking her companions, and then she witnesses Silver celebrating Stingray's return to Cobra Kai, much to her confusion. When someone anonymously leaves at LaRusso's house a newspaper clipping indicating that Stingray is lying, it turns out it was her under Kreese's will: it turns out the reason she has not left Cobra Kai dojo is because she wants to bring down Silver so, not having anyone else to ask to, she talked to her old sensei, but is again left disturbed when he express disinterest or, even worse, satisfaction in discovering that what she did led only to Silver beating Daniel unconcious. She's getting tired of all these lies that are only isolating her from those he cares about and putting the life of innocents in danger, but Kreese reassures her that what they are doing will eventually resolve everything.

The next week, when Silver starts merging Topanga Karate into Cobra Kai, many Topanga students chose to join Cobra Kai, while a few others decide to quit when they grab a bottle from one of their new senseis. Sensei Kim demands them to fight with Tory, to test which of them are the better fighters. Tory is placed to train along with Devon Lee. The two bonds over the respective stubbornness and the fact that Devon's mother died recently for cancer. Silver's new associate, sensei Kim, then makes the two train through fight: hoping to convince Devon to quit Cobra Kai, Tory hits hard and, apparently manages make her leave. The next day, however, Devon Lee arrives at Cobra Kai dojo, much to Tory's displeasure. Then Silver and Kim reveal that the test of the previous day was actually to verify if Tory has the makings of a captain. Tory asks why, but Kim and Silver remains secretive and just reveals that is a greater thing she can ever imagine.

As Cobra Kai expands, Tory tries to convince Devon to quit by ignoring her, but the latter, having realized that Tory is hiding something, only becomes frustrated. The two are then placed to do an exercise in which they must defeat sensei Kim, so Tory, again, tries to exclude Devon by attempting to defeat Kim alone. The attempt fails, only making Devon more determined to win. The two subsequently try again, but Tory, in order not to sacrifice Devon, ends up making her lose again. Devon asks her why she did not make the point, to which Tory points out that if she had, she would not have been a good captain. Devon seems to appreciate the gesture.

When Kreese realizes he won't be able to get out of prison legally, he tries to protect Tory by suggesting her to use Terry's friendship to improve her life, no longer trying to expose him. Tory, however, is not happy with this: she lied to Robby and Devon and remained in a place she no longer wanted to be. She feels exploited, and whether this is the truth or not, it's clear she'll never get anything by associating with Kreese. With the Sekai Taikai coming up, Tory was set to fight against Samantha LaRusso in a rematch, but after witnessing the referee being bribed by Terry Silver, during the fight between Kenny and Hawk, she unexpectedly disappears, which results in Sensei Kim choosing Devon Lee instead to fight against Samantha LaRusso. Devon is easily defeated despite only scoring one point against Sam due to a bad call made by the referee and both Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang are nevertheless qualified as the organizers are impressed with their teachings despite allowing Cobra Kai to enter. As Sam and the others celebrate, Tory unexpectedly shows up and tells her that she's not here for a fight, and reveals to Sam she didn't lose the All Valley.

An angry Sam pushes her aside and accuses her of doing nothing after finding out about Terry Silver's cheating at the All Valley before kicking her aside and getting into another fight with her. She chastises Tory for all the pain the LaRusso family had suffered because of her before their fight is broken out by Robby and Miguel. Not calming down, Sam accuses her of being a coward, making her call a mistake to have come to speak and leaves. She is then training at the dojo when Robby arrives and encourages again the members to leave. While everyone refuses, the glance between him and Tory makes it clear how close Tory is to breaking point: she has refused to explain to both sensei and to Devon why she left the day before, and now she's alone. To make it worse, Kim punishes her by forcing her to punch a rock dummy with her bare hands, injuring her hand. Luckily, while Tory puts some ice on her hand, back at her house, Sam comes to listen to her, having been pushed by Miguel into accept Tory's reasons to not come clean from the beginning. By entering in the house and witnessing the chaos inside, with the bedridden mother, Sam, for the first time, is able to see how hard Tory's life is, feeling clearly disturbed. Tory explains how much pain she felt by discovering how her victory was a sham, how she attempted to help Kreese in making Silver pay, but she only lied even more and now her life is a hell. Sam, sympathetic, proposes to cooperate into find evidence against Silver.

The Miyagi-Fangs, along with Tory, infiltrate in Cobra Kai dojo to retrieve the footage of Stingray's beating. With Tory's badge, they enter without burglarizing the door and saves Robby from breaking his probation. Inside, they then find out that the tape of the beating had been cancelled in order for Silver to cover his tracks, but Tory has an idea: days before, she revealed to Silver she knew about the bribing at the All Valley, to which he admitted everything about it; if they retrieve the tape and manage to prove that Silver is a sham, Stingray may have the courage to come clean. Sadly, while Eli and Demetri extract the video from the mainframe, the group is betrayed by Mitch that, wanting to rejoin Cobra Kai, has warned Kyler and the others. A fight ensues, during which Devon, angry about Tory's secrets and lies, berates her for it, but doesn't attack her yet. Just then, sensei Kim joins, viciously beating Tory and calling her a failure, to the girl's disregard, having no respect for the sensei, and when the woman starts hitting Tory's injured hand, Sam comes to aid along with Devon, who disowns her as a sensei. The girls, thanks to the training, manage to hold the woman long enough for Anthony to broadcast Silver and Tory's tape on television. Silver is then defeated by Daniel, disowned by the rest of the Cobra Kai students and arrested, thanks also to Stingray's confession.

Outside of the dojo, she watches Silver's arrest and then she approaches by Robby, who asks her forgiveness for leaving her in her worst moment, but she stops him, because she made mistakes as well, is tired and so she only wants the two of them to kiss. They kiss, rekindling their relationship.

Fighting Style

Before joining Cobra Kai, Tory trained in kickboxing. After joining the dojo, she immediately demonstrates considerable aggression and some decent grappling techniques, performing a few takedowns and a joint lock during her match with Miguel. Her striking technique is a bit rough but she makes up for it with her natural strength, speed, aggression, and fearlessness. She can hold her own against the technically proficient Samantha. Tory is a ruthless fighter who is more than willing to use weapons against an unarmed opponent if she feels the need.

The longer she trains, Tory's striking technique visibly improves, making her even more formidable. She also receives some training with nunchaku, using them against Sam who wields a bo staff. However, Sam's skill with the bo-staff is still greater, allowing her to disarm and corner Tory. Kreese describes Tory as "a born fighter".

When Robby fought the whole Cobra Kai Dojo, Tory was defeated along with the rest of the students, but was the only one to land a kick on him. During her training for the All Valley Karate Tournament, Tory was trained by Robby in the ways of Miyagi-Do in order to counter their moves. Tory's level of expertise allowed her to effectively take down newcomers like Piper during a sparring session and Devon Lee during the All Valley. During most of her fights at the tournament, Tory mostly defeated her opponents by direct kicks to their faces that quickly knocked them down. During the Skills Competition at the All Valley, Tory demonstrated skill in the use of a Katana.

Despite not expecting LaRusso to use Eagle Fang techniques during their fight at the finals, Tory was able to quickly land two points on Sam by fighting more aggressively. Tory was strong enough to lift LaRusso up and quick enough to evade her attacks when she tried to pin her to the ground, though she couldn't escape from a Leglock Sam caught her in, needing to resort to an accidental elbow to the eye to escape (which causes the bribed referee to give her a warning and to go back to her sensei instead of a point deduction). Tory eventually managed to push Sam away while she blocked one of her kicks in order to land a longer kick that took her down during their final round which eventually gave Tory the win.

In the following weeks since the Tournament, Tory did not lose a single step and her strength became powerful to the point that she could smash a plate of solid stone, an act that almost broke her hand. Despite this injury, she was neverthless capable of taking down numerous Cobra Kais in the showdown in the Encino dojo. However, her skills were no match for those of the granddaughter of Kim Sun-Yung, Kim Da-Eun, and despite fighting her numerous times alongside Devon Lee and later Sam, she was unable to land a single blow in every one of their fights.

Personality

Tory's personality is rooted deeply in her feeling of being cheated out of the life she deserves by the unfairness of the world. She is the primary caretaker and breadwinner of her family, which puts her in a difficult position that pushes her emotional and physical capabilities. In relaxed settings she is playful, fun-loving, and has a bit of a wild streak. She is assertive and has a sarcastic sense of humor. She enjoys being out with her friends and is openly flirtatious to Miguel Diaz, trying her best to help him get over Samantha. Underneath that exterior, Tory believes that life is about fighting for what you believe is yours. She can be a bully particularly to Sam who she views as uptight, privileged and competition for Miguel. She is highly vengeful if she feels like she's been wronged. After witnessing Sam and Miguel kissing, she attempts to get revenge the next day by threatening Sam over the school intercom, viciously attacking her and resorting to dirty tactics, such as cutting her with a spiked bracelet.

She becomes more aggressive, especially after returning to Cobra Kai. She is easily able to scare and intimidate Sam, with the latter being so traumatized by their fight during the school brawl. During the arcade fight, she aggressively calls out Sam's name, which then causes Sam to suffer a panic attack and basically shut down out of fear. She is corrupted by Kreese's teachings to the point that she becomes more aggressive and ruthless than most of the students. When Robby thinks about leaving Cobra Kai, Tory persuades him to stay and even says that he will become stronger by channeling in his anger, with the latter showing how much she has been corrupted by Kreese's teachings. After Sam overcomes her fear and disarms Tory in their fight at Miyagi Do, Tory tells her that this is not over and she even threatens Hawk.

After the LaRusso House fight, Tory acted aggressively against her own teammates at the Cobra Kai Dojo for losing the fight. She only gains more hatred towards the LaRusso family when Amanda accidentally gets her fired from one of her jobs by telling her to leave her daughter alone, Tory later refuses help from Amanda after she finds out about her home life. Her rivalry with Sam continues, only this time LaRusso also antagonizes her multiple times. After a talk with her aunt, she has a change of heart by going to talk to Amanda in order to get help. During the Junior Prom, Tory expressed to Robby her desire to win the All Valley Tournament by saying that the trophy would remind her that she was the best at something as she wouldn't get to have good life due to her situation. Robby understood which made Tory fall for Robby even more. While her rivalry with Sam didn't deescalate, she decided to fight fairly against her during the final fight of the tournament after a talk with Amanda, leading to her winning the All Valley and feeling accomplished, and started to tell Sam if she's okay despite the bet that the losing dojo closes forever. However, Tory later found out that Terry bribed the referee by giving out false calls (being out of bounds and an accidental elbow to Sam's face) and she didn't win fairly, which made her upset and shattered her dreams, making her victory hollow and realizing Silver just used her to win in her favor.

Ever since discovering Terry's willingness to manipulate competitions to his and Cobra Kai's favor, Tory suffered a major internal conflict between two choices: expose Silver for the fraud that he is or remain at Cobra Kai, where she could have experiences of a lifetime. Although she had won the All Valley and realized that her victory was a fraud, she still continued to break up fights between the students of Cobra Kai, Miyagi-Do, as well as Eagle Fang despite the bet that the losing dojo will close. Her membership in Cobra Kai ultimately drove to her break-up wth Robby. She became more disturbed when Silver brought Kim Da-Eun and her fellow senseis from Korea to his cause and despised their abusive behavior towards her teammates, particularly former Eagle Fang member Devon Lee, which led her to abandon the dojo when she was supposed to face Sam in the matches for the Sekai Taikai Tournament. Being punished by being forced to break through solid stone with her hand was the last straw, prompting Tory to put her rivalry with Sam aside and join forces with her, Miguel, Robby and their friends in putting Silver behind bars for good. After Cobra Kai was defeated and Silver was arrested, Tory asked Robby to kiss her showing that she was starting to fall in love with him and they got back together, which gave Tory some kind of inner peace and joy.

Relationships

Samantha LaRusso

Sam is Tory's biggest rival. Upon their first encounter, the two immediately dislike each other, with Tory disliking Sam for being privileged. When Sam puts accuses Tory of stealing her mom's wallet, their rivalry escalates, particularly on Tory's end, who has no issues with bullying and insulting Sam. After witnessing Sam and her boyfriend kissing, Tory exacts revenge the following day by exposing Sam in front of everyone and attacks her, all of which leads to the massive school brawl. At one point during the fight, Tory uses her spiked bracelet to attack Sam. Despite injuring Sam with the bracelet, she loses the fight when Sam kicks her down the stairs. Tory was expelled for instigating the fight. Later, in the season, when the Miyagi-Do's and Cobra Kai's are fighting in the arcade, Tory calls out her name, but then Sam suffers a panic attack and basically shuts down, as she is still traumatized over her fight with Tory in the school brawl. Tory goads her to come out, but she doesn't. In the finale, when Tory spots Sam during the fight at the latter's house, Sam runs away, while Tory chases her into Miyagi-Do and attacks her with nunchaku's, but Sam overcomes her fear and starts to fight back, ultimately resulting in Sam managing to disarm Tory with her Bo staff. The fight is then interrupted by Miguel, Hawk and Demetri coming in, with Hawk telling Tory to stop the fight. Tory tells Sam that this won't be over, to which Sam says "you know where to find me." Tory then walks out.

In the next season, Sam disagrees with her mother's desire to help Tory, not knowing how hard her rival has to work to feed her ill mother and younger brother, though she ultimately agrees to let Tory back in school to please her parents. Once Tory returns to school, it seems she is going to thank Sam, only for the latter to threaten to kick her ass for the third time if she tries anything against her. A few weeks later, they engage in a brawl during the after-party at Stingray's home, but Tory emerges victorious over both Sam and Miguel with Robby's aid. The two rivals face each other in the finals of the All-Valley Tournament and prove to be evenly matched. After the match ends in Tory's victory, she asks Sam if she was alright, having decided to honor Amanda's deal to end her rivalry with Sam, though at the cost of Miyagi Do having to shut down for good.

Sam feels guilty for losing to Tory, blaming herself in the closure of Miyagi-Do dojo. Tory, on the other hand, is no better, knowing how everything was ruined by Terry's schemes. They don't interact for most of the season until when their dojos compete for the acceptance at Sekai Taikai, but their situations couldn't be more different: Samantha is more determined than ever, thanks to the joined teaching of her three senseis, while Tory has just understood how much she's alone, to the point that she abandons the match even before its beginning. Later, she reveals to Sam that she didn't lose the All-Valley, enraging Sam, who attempts to beat Tory up and blames her for the pain her family is going through, making Tory give up even more. Later, however, thanks to Miguel's encouragement, Sam visits Tory, wishing to hear what she had been through in the last weeks. She demonstrates compassion upon seeing Tory's sick mother and hearing that she had been living through hell under Terry Silver's roof. They decide to help each other and Tory offers to use her dojo's card to gain access to Silver's office so they could find something that would put him in prison. During the showdown at the dojo, Sam sees Tory is having difficulty in facing Sensei Kim Da-Eun and joins her in battle, only for the two to be repeatedly beaten by the sensei. Their combined efforts eventually lead to Silver's downfall and the closing of the Cobra Kai dojo.

Miguel Diaz

Miguel is Tory's ex-boyfriend. Tory takes an interest in Miguel and helps him get over his recent break up with Sam, even taking him on in a sparring session during her first time at the dojo. Overtime the two quickly become a couple. However, Tory witnesses Miguel and Sam kissing the night before the first day of school. The following day, in the school brawl, Tory, still angry over the kiss, kicks Miguel's stomach when the latter tries to stop her from attacking Sam. She however is horrified when Miguel is kicked off the railing by Robby.

While at lunch with Johnny, Tory sees Robby when Johnny goes to the bathroom. Miguel shows that he's upset with Tory for not seeing him in the hospital. He is further upset when Tory says that Cobra Kai is trying to get back at Miyagi Do for what happened to him, while Tory voices her disappointment for his kiss with Sam. Miguel then tells her that she needs help, which angers her, as she feels he is calling her crazy. Miguel breaks up with Tory for severely injuring Sam and starting the school brawl, and then she leaves in anger. The next time, they see each other is when the Cobra Kais enter Sam's house in order to attack the Miyagi Do and Eagle Fang students, who had just formed a truce. Miguel tells Tory she doesn't have to do this, to which Tory says it's to late. Then, a fight breaks out, with Cobra Kai losing. Before Tory leaves following losing the fight, she calls both Miguel and Hawk traitors.

During the weeks where Cobra Kai was expanding throughout the Valley following their victory in the All Valley Tournament, Tory sees Silver's true colors and makes amends with Sam, Miguel, Robby and their friends so they could dismantle Cobra Kai and place Silver in jail. Even before Tory officially left Cobra Kai and helped Miyagi Do and Eagle Fang to shut it down for good, Miguel defended Tory: when she confesses the truth about All Valley, Miguel defends her secrecy when Samantha blames her for what happened after the tournament, knowing him how much Tory must have struggled on coming clean, given the toxicity of Cobra Kai. Thanks to his patient prodding, Samantha finds the strenght to listen to Tory.

John Kreese

Kreese is Tory's teacher and she becomes corrupted by Kreese's teachings to the point that she joins him and betrays Johnny, when the latter takes back Cobra Kai from Johnny. When Kreese asks her if she is coming back to Cobra Kai, Tory says she can't because of her sick mom and landlord. Kreese shows some sympathy for her mom, due to his own mom dying years ago. He then confronts her landlord and threatens him to leave her alone. After his confrontation with her landlord, Tory returns to Cobra Kai. Tory gets more corrupted by Kreese's teachings. By the end of the season, Tory is revealed to be one of the handful of students at Cobra Kai remaining. Kreese is clearly using Tory in order to hurt Daniel through Samantha.

During the girls' division final match, Terry Silver encourages Tory to deliver another strike to Sam's eyesight to win but she agrees with Kreese, who began feeling regrets towards the ruthless ways he had trained his students, particularly Johnny, to fight how she thinks is right. Tory won the match, making Cobra Kai the ultimate winner. Unbeknownst to Kreese, Silver had bribed the referee to facilitate Cobra Kai's victory, which Tory discovers through his conversation with the ref.

Upon hearing Kreese had been framed and arrested for the attempted murder of Stingray, courtesy of Silver, Tory has been visiting Kreese in hopes that he could give her advice in how to take down Silver before Cobra Kai makes things worse. Kreese sends Tory to leave in the LaRusso Family's mailbox a piece of paper containing Stingray's lie about Kreese assaulting him and the address to his new apartment, a consolation prize from Silver. Kreese assures Tory that she had to stay "just a little longer" and that the time of Silver's downfall was near. Once Tory informs Kreese of the Sekai Taikai Tournament and asks what she was supposed to do, Kreese tells her to do what she thinks is right for her as well as that he was bailing on the plan to take down Silver, frustrating Tory, who storms out of the visiting room.

Robby Keene

Robby and Tory have a complicated relationship, having gone from enemies to lovers. Tory initially dates Miguel Diaz, the ex-boyfriend of Robby's girlfriend Samantha LaRusso. The tension between the two couples is apparent for this reason, with Robby disliking Tory for her bullying of Sam. He actively tries to protect Sam from Tory. After the school fight, Robby does a brief stint in juvie. Following his release, he collides with Tory in the probation office. He is inititally aggressive towards her, as she started the fight that led him to be in juvie. She reminds him that he ended it. She believes they are in the same position, alone, and that Sam will turn on Robby. The teen begins to stay at Cobra Kai dojo at the insistence of Kreese, a choice that Tory supports. She tries to help him form connections and friendships in the dojo, even inviting him along to a zoo heist. Things become complicated after the LaRusso house fight, as Robby isn't present when the rest of the Cobra Kai's ambush the Miyagi-Do's and Eagle Fang's. Tory views this as a betrayal, no longer believing he's one of them.

Robby earns back her respect and trust by honoring a deal to leave the dojo if any of the students can land a hit on him; Tory is the only one to do so. She allows him to stay, and their tension grows throughout training. They are often impressed by one another's fighting skills, and are both gifted fighters. They work harmoniously together, defeating even Miguel and Sam who were fought together. Tory and Robby attend the West Valley Junior Prom together, with Robby serving as her plus one. While their plan is initially to get under the skins of their exes for the sake of playing a mind game, they share a passionate and fun dance together which ultimately brings them closer together. Their mutually difficult pasts and troubled natures gives them a bond unlike their former relationships, as neither has to hide the darker truths of their lives. They understand one another's troubles including financial stress, but are capable of having fun together despite their stresses. After the events of junior prom, Robby and Tory kiss for the first time and have sex. Following Robby's loss to Hawk in the boys' division finals, Tory attempts to comfort him, only to be rebuffed and told to focus on her match with Samantha.

Shortly after aiding Johnny in rescuing Miguel from Mexico, Robby, who had realized that his teachings to Kenny made him corrupt, attempts to persuade Tory to quit Cobra Kai before Terry Silver encourages her to commit acts that she would later regret, which Tory rejects and insists that she is capable of making her own choices. This refusal ultimately leads to the two breaking up. However, when she sees Robby again when Cobra Kai, Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang compete for a spot in the Sekai Taikai, Tory looks at Robby with a smitten look on her face showing that she is still in love with him as no other guy has been able to connect with Tory on such a deep level due to their troubled similarities. Despite Tory's best efforts to prove her loyalty to the dojo, Sensei Kim Da-Eun is able to detect Tory's residual feelings for Robby as her weakness. Having had enough of Silvers, Kim, and their fellow senseis' ruthless ways, and realizing about the referee's bribery, Tory allies herself with Sam, Miguel, Robby and the other Miyagi-Dos and Eagle Fangs to bring Silver down permanently. Robby is surprised to see Tory had changed her mind and his surprise turns to shock and concern when he sees her broken hand, to which Tory lies and labels it a "training accident." Thanks to Hawk, Demetri and Anthony, the Cobra Kais realize Terry is a manipulative man who is capable of using bribery and other unconventional ways to make Cobra Kai number one when they see a video of Tory confronting Terry for using such method in the All-Valley, prompting them to reject him and abandon the dojo. After witnessing Silver being taken to prison, Tory and Robby apologize to one another and rekindle their relationship with a kiss.

Amanda LaRusso

The first time they met, was after the fight at the LaRusso house. Amanda visits Tory at her job to remind her to stay away from Samantha, threatening to put Tory in jail if she hurts Sam again. Tory refuses, to which Amanda tells her it would be a mistake to not get the message. This enranges the girl even more, getting her fired. Later, Kreese reveals Amanda about Tory's problems and has her leave her alone. Regretting what she did, as she as well, in her youth, had anger issues cause of her family situation, Amanda leaves some groceries in front of Nichols' house, but Tory refuses help and promises she will humiliate Sam in the All-Valley. When Sam and Tory quarrels again at the party place, when the latter leaves, Amanda confronts her: it's true that it was Sam who started, this time, but it was Tory who finished, so she can't ignore the fact that this didn't solve anything. She attempts again to offer help, but Tory has none of it and wants to be left alone. Amanda agrees, but reminds her that if no one in her family can help her, things won't get better if Tory doesn't ask for help. When Tory tries to get back at school, the principal accepts, but only if the LaRussos accept it as well. She goes to talk to Amanda, who gives her approval on the condition that Tory accepts to go into counseling over her anger problems. Tory accepts the deal, and thanks to it, she starts to improve her attitude. Just before the All Valley finals, Amanda meets with Tory, praising her for having gone into therapy, for which Tory found a volunteer willing to help her mother. Amanda is happy, and then asks Tory to repay the debt by fighting fairly, without using dirty tricks. She then goes to cheer for Sam, but wishes good luck to Tory as well who, during the fight, tries all she can to keep the promise. As a result, Amanda doesn't mind her daughter Sam losing, as she sees that Tory had beat her fairly and checked on her if she's okay, hoping that the hatchet will be buried. However, this is at the cost of Miyagi Do having to shut down for good. Because of this, Amanda convinces Daniel to move on from karate as nobody got hurt at the All Valley, despite Daniel continuing his fight against Cobra Kai as he realizes that Terry Silver will corrupt more students if he expands the dojo. These actions led to them breaking up, but later reunite when Amanda finds out from her cousin Jessica about Terry Silver's actions in 1985.

Other Relationships

• Aisha Robinson (Close friend)
• Piper Elswith (Ally/Teammate)
• Devon Lee (Close friend)
• Kyler Park (Former Teammate)
• Cobra Kai students (Temporary Allies)

Appearances

Trivia

• When angered, Tory has a similar demeanor to both Dutch and Mike Barnes.
• Her introduction to Miguel ("Tory, with a "Y") is similar to Ali Mills' introduction to Daniel LaRusso ("Ali, with an "I").
• Her surname was confirmed by Jon Hurwitz on Twitter.
• Tory might be the female counterpart to the younger Johnny Lawrence from the original 1984 movie, as they've both instigated rivalries to their respective protagonists. When she beats Sam in the All Valley, she tells her if she's alright, mirroring a quote that Johnny Lawrence said after losing to Daniel.

Gallery

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References

1. ↑ Jon Hurwitz confirming her surname on Twitter

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