By Dorian Tisato

Since his debut, Eli is one of the most compelling and multilayered characters in the Miyagiverse. From a timid nerd to a ruthless fighter to an honourable martial artist, Eli has worn many masks in the past five seasons of Cobra Kai. We’ve seen the best and worst of his character that have us either loving him or fearing him. 

There has been a lot of debate as to whether there are two versions of Eli Moskowitz. There is Eli and there is Hawk. Eli is gentle, Hawk is ruthless. Eli is compassionate, Hawk is apathetic. Eli defends his friends, Hawk uses them as a human shield.

According to actor Jacob Bertrand, said in an interview with Cobra Kai Kompanion, he hinted that there is a difference between the two, especially in Season 3 with the return of Kyler (Joe Seo) and Brucks (Bo Mitchell).

“I knew it was going to be a really interesting scene, seeing how Hawk would react in seeing them again.

“He’s had a lot of success being Hawk and has moved on from being Eli”.

It is important to note that the way he refers to Hawk is almost like a mask he wears, as opposed to being a dual personality. This is relevant to who Eli is and his identity as a person.

You’ll recall during his second lesson in the Cobra Kai dojo, Johnny asks Eli  – in his ‘Johnny Classic’ way – if he is one of those ‘challenged’ kids. To which Eli responds, “the doctor says I could be on the spectrum”. While Johnny doesn’t quite understand what that means, the viewers certainly did.

This comment alone heavily implies that Eli could be autistic or perhaps another identity related to other Neurodivergents. What is a Neurdodivergent? Well, a Neurodivergent is a person that has a neurological difference in the way they interact with people.

But what else makes Eli a Neurodivergent? Well, even when he is introduced, his best friend Demetri says he is a man of few words. Implying that he doesn’t have typical social skills that non-autistic people commonly express.

Okay, so we’ve stated the obvious, but the deeper reason that Eli could be autistic is the way he masks who he is. We’ve met the real Eli in Strike First, but over time, that Eli disappeared. And Hawk was born. This is called masking.

Research has shown that masking is very common amongst people that are autistic, and it is clear that Eli masks who he really is by wearing the mask of Hawk.

As Jacob said above, “he’s had a lot of success being Hawk”. But at what cost? Once Eli wore his mask, he didn’t want to take it off, and this is where the side effects set in.

Post-All Valley, Eli warned Demetri to ‘cool it with the nerd shit’ when he mentioned their time at computer camp. This foreshadowed the further descent from his true identity to his alter ego. Look at it this way: Eli is Bruce Wayne, but instead of becoming Batman, he becomes Bane.

Masking who he really is has cost Eli a lot, especially in seasons two and three. For example, he forgot who his friends were, especially Demetri and Miguel. After threatening Demetri with the ‘snitches get stitches’ line, this was the change we all saw coming with Hawk now going from a blue to red mohawk, even Demetri referencing this as his ‘Red Hulk’ phase.

From then on, the mask only came off for ten seconds at Moon’s party with Demetri mentioning the new Doctor Who, and Eli re-emerged for a split second in absolute glee. But once he saw Moon kissing Piper, the mask went back on.

By season 3, the masking was extreme, especially during the laser skirmish brawl. Eli went so far to ‘fit in’ as the Cobra Kai leader that he broke Demetri’s arm. Even though you could feel the guilt that Eli showed, Hawk didn’t let anyone see it.

Why go so far just to fit in? Well, with the new recruits entering Cobra Kai, it shows that Eli is a survivalist, and to him, being Hawk is necessary. This is evident when Kyler and Brucks – his former bullies – join Cobra Kai. While it was a risky move, Eli pulverised Brucks in front of Kyler to prove a point. While Eli made his point, fellow Cobra Kai student Tory was horrified by what she just saw, despite her ruthless nature. This began to have an effect on everyone around him.

However, during the LaRusso home brawl, a light had been switched on in Eli’s brain, especially when Kyler pretends to be his friend for attacking Miguel. It was at this moment that the mask began to slip off. Everyone’s voices were in Eli’s head: Johnny (reminding him who he is), Miguel (telling him he is brainwashed), Kreese (commanding him to take in his lessons), all speaking to him at once. 

While it is dramatised, this is what is known as autistic burnout: all of his bottled emotions hitting him at once, and in that shining moment with Demetri in an arm lock, Eli had returned and switched sides. While it was a major turning point, this was only the beginning.

Upon joining Miyagi-Fang, Eli needed to adjust to life without his mask, and the consequences of his actions. Apart from Demetri, he needed to earn everyone’s trust back, prove that he wasn’t the same person as before, and avoid falling into old habits.

While there was a small re-emergence of Hawk when he met Kenny, Eli didn’t attack the young Cobra Kai recruit for any reason other than he was Cobra Kai.

A major change leading up to the introduction of Terry Silver to Miyagi-Fang was the retribution from Cobra Kai for the water hose prank: they shaved off Eli’s new purple mohawk. Devastated from his loss of identity, Eli gave up on karate all-together and became isolated from everyone including Demetri. This is very common for any autistic (or Neurodivergent) person that decides to unmask, as they now need to find out who they are and allow themselves to be free of any future masking.

While he was accepted into Miyagi Do, Eli was still trying to find himself, even at the tournament. Moon showed that she accepted him for who he is, not the colour of his hair. From then on, Eli allowed himself to embrace the good and the bad sides of himself, and to fight for what’s right. While he was crowned the champion, this was another obstacle he would need to face.

By the time the tournament wrapped, Eli was on top of the world: him and Moon were back together, he had his friends, and most importantly, no masking. But there is a new Cobra in town: Kenny. Last time the two of them came to blows, Kenny was timid and fearful, now he is ruthless and feared, not dissimilar from who Eli used to be.

Despite his status as a champion, Eli was not a threat in Kenny’s eyes. This is a lesson that Eli was going to have to learn the hard way: just because you win, doesn’t mean you won’t lose. During the Sekai Taikai trials, Eli took it easy on Kenny, per Robby’s request. Feeling he will lose, Eli decided to mask once more as Hawk, and it backfired badly with an unfocused Eli losing to Kenny badly with an unethical strike to his diaphragm.

This was a small setback for the one-time champion who is now being called ‘Faux-Hawk’. Despite the cruel nickname, Eli remained optimistic and didn’t allow the loss to affect him too much. 

This was evident during the final battle at the Cobra Kai main dojo when he and Demetri were once again confronted by Kyler and his crew. While he could have put his mask back on, Eli has learned from his mistakes and stands tall against his former bully, not even letting the ‘Faux-Hawk’ taunt affect him. 

Like a lot of the characters in the show, Eli has had to overcome a lot of obstacles in the show. And we still have one more season to go…