While most ordinary TV shows aren’t too interested in introducing new characters into the mix at all when they reach their final season, let alone feature one who becomes a breakout best character, “Cobra Kai” is no ordinary TV show. Currently, the show’s sixth and final season just bowed its second of three parts, and it’s become apparent that the villainess Zara Malik is arguably the final season’s best new character. A student from the Iron Dragons participating in the Sekai Taikai tournament, Zara is a mysterious girl who lets her beauty, popularity, and especially her fists do the talking for her. As “Cobra Kai” wraps up its various storylines before the final episodes drop on February 13 of next year, Zara could turn out to be a pretty dangerous and dramatic wild card.
What’s even more exciting than that is the accomplishments and potential of the actress behind Zara: Rayna Vallandingham. The 21-year-old Los Angeles native is officially the youngest black belt martial artist ever to win 13 world taekwondo titles, and that achievement is thanks to her literally dedicating nearly her entire life to martial arts, having started practicing and competing at the age of 2. If that already sounds too prolific for you, then buckle up: she’s also a martial arts instructor, fight choreographer, and content creator (neé online influencer) who’s amassed millions of followers on social media.
All of this means that Vallandingham isn’t just extremely accomplished at her young age, but that she’s poised to be an extremely savvy new presence in the entertainment world. In fact, her role in “Cobra Kai” and the way she’s breaking out with the character of Zara only furthers that possibility, making her goal to be “the female Bruce Lee” seem like not just empty words, but a decent promise.
Vallandingham knows the value of a strong screen persona
On “Cobra Kai,” Zara is (to borrow a cliche) not here to make friends. She almost instantly dubs herself the “Queen of Karate” upon winning her first event, insults Samantha (Mary Mouser) and Devon (Oona O’Brien) about the state of Miyagi-Do, and then seduces Robby (Tanner Buchanan) while Tory (Peyton List) watches. She is, at least so far, unapologetic in her actions, and while the “Karate Kid” franchise has become famous for giving previously villainous characters their shots at redemption, it’s possible that Zara won’t be looking for any for herself anytime soon.
Being such a media-savvy person, Vallandingham likely knows the value of portraying such a vivacious character in a popular show, particularly a new one during its last season. She’s proven herself to be choosy in her projects, having turned down gigs before, like one animated series that she said could’ve launched her into stardom faster. As she told Muscle and Fitness:
“Once I was once offered to do a voiceover for a character on a show, that it didn’t align with my values. To me it seemed like kind of a racist take on a martial arts spin off. I was like, I could be into rewriting the story of what it takes to be a female martial artist, but the original is not aligned with who I am and who I want to represent. So even though it had the potential to be huge, I had to turn it down.”
Of course, that’s not to say that Zara’s actions align with her values per se, just that “Cobra Kai” itself does. Given that Vallandingham has stated that she wants to appear in action films, “Cobra Kai” is of course a great place to start, and appearing as a villain on the show has a similar effect to Jet Li using his villainous turn in “Lethal Weapon 4” as his breakout role in America, letting viewers sit up and take notice of such a dynamic presence.
Given Vallandingham’s accomplishments in martial arts, she’s a natural to be tapped by an 87North production or perhaps a new Lionsgate action thriller, and her role on “Cobra Kai” means that she’s not going to be instantly typecast as just a love interest or “sexy badass” stock female action character. While season 6 of “Cobra Kai” may be the last time we see Zara, it feels like we’re only just beginning to see Rayna Vallandingham on our screens.
“Cobra Kai” is streaming on Netflix.
