Daredevil Season 2, Episode 12: The Dark at the End of the Tunnel

As this is the season's penultimate episode, it should come as no surprise that this raises the stakes a fairly considerable degree.  There's action, tense stand-offs, and even a major reveal or two.

Picking up where the last episode left off, we see Elektra is still intent on killing Stick.  While the old man doesn't look like much, he's able to hold his own against the younger assassin fairly well.  Still, Daredevil takes it upon himself to barge in and prevent Elektra from seeking her vengeance.

Stick later says that Matt thinks that her doing this would be a "point of no return" but I'm not sure how that's true.  If Frank's line is anything to go by, she was long gone when she first started killing, but that's neither here nor there.

It seems like the two quasi-allies are about to come to blows when the Hand arrives to force an uneasy alliance.  While this confrontation was likely shorter than the one at the hospital, this one felt more impressive.  Both had sufficient buildup, but maybe the fact that the whole "team" was working together to fend off the swarm of ninjas gave it some extra kick...get it? Kick....they use martial arts....

In true "Hand" fashion, the villains take what they want and vanish.  In this case, it's Stick.  Elektra's happy to leave him, but Matt's insistence on rescue forces her to partake.  More specifically, she wants to be the one to kill him.  She's never going to get asked to join the Defenders with that attitude, but it does make for some nice character conflict.

You'd think that this would give the episode a "race against the clock" feel as both parties frantically try to track the elusive ninjas.  Oddly, it isn't really touched on at all.  Elektra shows up after Matt makes the rescue, but neither party seemed too concerned about it up to that point.  Maybe she was just sitting back and letting Matt do all the leg work, tracking and clearing out defenses, but that isn't made clear.

It does give us some impressive fight sequences as Matt has to try to fight enemies that he can no longer track as they abandon their weapons.  I'm a little torn on the catalyst for the turning of the tide.  It never occurred to Matt that they need to breathe?  Also, you'd think that controlling and silencing your heartbeat would be more difficult.  With all that training, breath control seems like it would be part of the package.  I'd think just grabbing a guy after he hit you would be the more likely way to gain the upper hand (ha) as they'd have to be within arm's reach, but whatever.

In any event, Elektra's arrival marks one of the aforementioned reveals.  It turns out that Elektra is a black sky.  This provides a more logical reason for Stick to mark her for death.  It also means that the Hand swear their loyalty to her.

Now, this is supposed to tie in to her love of violence and/or possible chance of redemption.  Put her two conflicting sides at odds and force her to choose once and for all.  The thing is, couldn't she just turn the Hand into something slightly more benevolent?  Command them to fill up that big hole in the ground, call off the war with the Chaste, and start using those ninja skills to take down the myriad of threats that plague the MCU Earth.  There's a potential oncoming alien army, these guys could be useful on that front.

Either way, the reveal is a mixed bag.  Despite knowing the twist, it was still executed well enough.  The episode also had enough tension, what with so many characters arguing different viewpoints, but the fact that we still have no idea what a Black Sky is kind of robs the twist of any power.  I know, the writers want to be mysterious, but it's hard to get invested in this when we don't know what the ramifications are.

You could argue that it's moot as Elektra seemingly chooses redemption and agrees to save Stick.  It does seem like she's contemplating using the situation to kill him herself, but Stick manages to talk her out of it, by reminding her of why Matt went through the trouble in the first place.  I'm not sure how true Stick's claim is.  While Matt did want to keep Elektra from killing, he also made it clear that, despite their differences, he still harbors some loyalty to the old man.  Maybe Stick was just saying whatever was necessary to keep himself alive, but I think that both motivations could have easily applied.

With all of this, you might think that the Punisher sub-plot was more or less wrapped up.  Even Karen and Ellis discuss this, as it seems like all the relevant parties are dead.  But the prior is convinced to keep investigating, if only to present a more complete picture of Frank when the paper writes their article about his life.

This brings Karen to Frank's old Marine buddy, the one who testified on his behalf.  In another one of the episode's reveals, it turns out that he was running the drug ring.  Considering the character is played by Clancy Brown, I had high hopes for the heel turn.  His deep voice has often been used to great villainous effect, but honestly, I found the earlier scenes when he was still putting on a friendly face more compelling.

I think part of it is because he gets more taciturn after he pulls the gun.  He gets a small moment, when he starts taunting Frank when the latter shows up,but alas, he is robbed of any sort of monologue that could put his baritone to good use.

It does give the episode's two plot lines a nice parallel.  Just as Matt pleaded with Elektra to spare a life, so too does Karen make a similar plea to Frank.  She makes a valiant effort, invoking both Frank's family and his own friendship with her to try and appeal to his better nature, but it's for naught.  It seems like her pleas fell on deaf ears, but given what Frank did last episode, a quick gun shot to the head seems somewhat merciful.  Granted, that doesn't give Karen much comfort, but it's something to ponder.

The cliffhanger ending was a bit lacking.  I suppose the more important factor was Nobu surviving the fatal-under-any-other-circumstance fall, but his declaration that Daredevil must die seems both over-dramatic and redundant.  Granted, they have yet to succeed, but it doesn't seem like the Hand was in any way intent on keeping Matt alive.  That sort of line works better when it's a "now the gloves come off, we're not screwing around anymore" declaration.  The gloves were already off, so it doesn't pack the sort of punch that you would hope for.

Still, I'm looking forward to the finale.  As with most shows, one wonders how they're going to wrap this up in an hour.  Of course, I'm guessing that the bigger plot will resume either in 'The Defenders' or in later seasons of the show, but it'll still be interesting to watch in any event.  





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'Zombeavers' movie review

You can read my review here.

Pros

- Really cute dog

- Intentionally bad "monster" effects for the beavers

-  Clever writing peppered throughout, albeit way too sparsely

Cons

- Obnoxious characters with little to no personality or redeeming qualities

- Way too much dead space with no entertaining elements to speak of.  With a run time of only an hour and twenty minutes, it still feels slow and can be a chore to sit through at points.

Overall

This should have been an easy, enjoyably stupid movie to sit through.  Instead, I was bored for a significant chunk of it.  There isn't enough humor or horror to make this horror comedy worth sitting through.




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Daredevil Season 2, Episode 11: .380

The Hand's attack on the hospital is surprisingly abrupt.  Given the awesome build-up, you could argue that it's a bit anti-climactic that the whole thing is over before the opening credits roll.  On the other hand (ha), it's a sensible strategy from their standpoint.  Go in, grab the kids, and then ninja vanish.  While I had it in my head that we would get more of an extended siege, the ultra-secretive clan of ninjas probably wouldn't want to dawdle too much.

Still, from a story perspective, it seems like there were some missed opportunities.  The last episode showed Foggy looking out in curiosity and fear as the group stormed the hospital, but he seems to show no interest in what's going on.  He basically sits the ordeal out and only asks Claire what happened later, almost as an afterthought.

Claire, on the other hand, actually takes a more active role.  She even partakes in the fight.  She loses, of course, but that was pretty much a given.  She does manage to knock one ninja off a window ledge as he tries to bust in, but yeah she was outclassed here.  Still, much like with Krillin, Tien, and Yamucha in later DBZ sagas, all I wanted was to see them try, and she did; so good on her.  That being said, Rosario Dawson doesn't do rage too well.  Her anguished cry of fury after one of her coworkers gets killed was a bit over the top and could likely produce some snickers from viewers.

While the hospital is quick to brush the whole thing under the rug, Claire can't.  She tries to paint it as corruption, but even if they hadn't gotten the large anonymous donation, what exactly were they supposed to do?  Those kids weren't actually admitted to the hospital (which would likely mean a whole mess of legal and bureaucratic troubles) and nobody would believe the story about a resurrected ninja.  Props to Claire for standing up for her convictions to the point where she quits, but you can see where the board is coming from here.

On top of that, it gives her clear indication that Matt is in over his head.  Even she notes that taking on the mob and dealing with whatever this is are two entirely different beasts.  I was expecting her to cite that she knows two people who could help, but alas, not yet.

We do get something of a team-up, though, as Daredevil and Punisher both set their sites on the Blacksmith.  It doesn't go too well, as Frank still isn't much of a team player, but still you can't say that Matt didn't try.  While I do love me some team ups, I have to admit, Frank's response to the offer was pretty funny.  I think the little arm swing he did as he sarcastically brought up the idea of bringing the Blacksmith to justice was what really sold it.

Really, Frank brought a lot of the episode's highlights.  This episode really played up the duality as we see him at his chummiest, but also at his most brutal.  One scene, he'll be in a car listening to 'Earth, Wind and Fire' or giving Karen relationship advice, and in the next, he'd repeatedly shank somebody with a broken coffee pot.

It's a grim reminder to Karen about the sort of person he is.  Yes, Frank takes out bad guys and takes special care to keep innocents away from danger, but hero isn't exactly on his resume.

If there's one thing that didn't really make sense about Frank's plot here, it's asking Karen to lie to the cops.  You'd think her saying that he saved her and isn't the one offing criminals would work to his advantage, as it would get the cops off his tail, but he passes on the opportunity. Karen tries to justify it saying that Frank wants to get to the Blacksmith first, but Karen notes that his methods are faster, so it seems moot.

On a completely unrelated note, it was awesome to see Madame Gao again.  Despite her lines last season, it seems that she never left and is still working towards whatever agenda she has.  She's a fun character.  I know this is her only appearance this season, but I hope they find more reasons to bring her back.

I was under the impression that she was tied to the Hand, but from what I've read, that might not be the case.  It seems she's tied more towards something Iron Fist related.  Not only is it some cool foreshadowing, but it also suggests that whatever the Defenders have to face may be bigger than just the Hand.

One article posited that the big bad for that series would be Mephisto.  Frankly, I find the idea ridiculous, but if all of these organizations are working together, it may not be as far-fetched as it seems.  I still think that just having the team face the Hand is the better route.  They already seem to be a more than worthy threat and considering this is supposed to be the "street level" team, fighting a demon lord seems way out of their element, but we'll see how that plays out.

Stick and Elektra do make appearances, but it is only for a brief episode ending cliffhanger as the latter confronts the former after the attempt on her life last episode.  More Stick is never a bad thing as Scott Glenn manages to get some good lines, even in his brief appearance here.

On the one hand, part of me wants to note how hard it is to believe that we're already down to the final two episodes.  On the other, you could say that it's about time as this has taken me much longer than I would have liked.

Still, with just two episodes to go, I have a feeling that things are going to get nuts.





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Daredevil Season 2, Episode 10: The Man in the Box

This episode had a lot to juggle and it's a bit crowded.  That much is made clear when you see the cast listing, indicating that Frank, Elektra, Fisk, and even Claire are slated to make appearances.  Most of them end up being extended cameos, but it's probably for the best.

The episode's main focus is on a killing spree that erupts after word gets out about Frank's escape.  The DA is shot down, as is the medical examiner who falsified documents to help cover up the botched sting operation.

Naturally, Frank is the prime suspect.  Karen notes (multiple times, in fact) that this doesn't really fit his M.O, but nobody really takes her insight into consideration.  She's right, but at the same time, the targets are logically consistent.  The DA's actions did result in his family's death and the M.E. is guilty of crimes as well.  As such, it's understandable why people would think that Frank was the one behind it.

But nope, the likely true culprit is instead a newly introduced big bad who goes by the name of the Blacksmith.  He's sort of a Keyser Soze/Heisenburg figure, who deals in massive amounts of drugs.  I'm guessing this is a character from the comics, but I don't know for sure.

I'm not sure the season really needed another big bad.  It seems like the season has its hands full already.  You could argue that it's relevant to Frank, as the Blacksmith is the reason the sting was set up in the first place, but you'd think that taking down the city's three biggest criminal elements would have been sufficient reason as far as the DA was concerned.

As noted before, I roam TvTropes, so I know the identity of the blacksmith.  I won't give it away here, but I am looking forward to that particular reveal.

On the subject of Frank's escape, Matt is able to almost instantly deduce that Fisk was the one behind it, as they shared the same cell block.  Matt writes it off as a coincidence, but couldn't that just be the wing where they send the most dangerous people?  I mean, he's completely right, but it seems more like luck.  Though, Matt does note that Fisk was likely counting on that mindset as cover.  After all, Fisk (at first glance) has nothing to gain by letting Frank out, so why suspect him?

As was the case last episode, D'onofrio is quite a bit of fun to watch.  Odd as it may sound, he's more entertaining as the faux affable manipulator.  It's important to maintain him as a physical threat, but when he goes into his raging beserker mode, it seems like he loses something.  You wouldn't think it as he repeatedly slams Matt into a table and swears vengeance.  It's a likely hint at the next season's arc, more specifically that it will, at least in part, be based on the "Born Again" story line.  That's the one where Karen dies, right?  Probably not a good sign, but we'll see.

I am skeptical of Fisk's boasts regarding what sort of adversary Matt's up against.  Granted, he doesn't know that Matt is contending with the Hand (or does he?), but it's already been shown that Fisk defers to them on several levels.  He's still a big bad, but he's hardly the biggest one out there.

Speaking of he Hand,while they do take a back seat, for the most part, they aren't completely forgotten.  While we had already seen the blood draining, having a few sets of fresh eyes investigate it in the episode's opening scenes really hammers in the horror of what was being done.  Even more hardened New York City cops are aghast at the sheer levels of WTF on display here.

The victims are brought to the local hospital, bringing Claire into the fold.  She doesn't show up often, but it's always nice to see her.  There is an element of bitter-sweetness, however, as things continue to just get worse for her, which if you look back has been the case from the beginning.

In any event,it seems like she was able to save the victims, who were barely hanging on by a thread, but the episode's closing scenes make it clear that something went horribly wrong.  This makes for a rare instance where the "came back wrong" trope applies, but they didn't die.  Considering resurrection is The Hand's schtick (and Nobu's revival) you'd think that's how it would play out, but that doesn't appear to be the case.

As if that weren't bad enough, the Hand do storm the hospital, fulfilling Matt's warning earlier in the episode.  It makes for a great episode cliffhanger as Daredevil readies himself to fend off the oncoming enemies.  The fact that both Claire and Foggy are there helps add to the stakes as there are personal connections at play.  On the plus side, Foggy getting a first hand look at what's going on should give him a better understanding of why Matt keeps fighting and pushing everyone away.

On other fronts, Elektra meets a guy at a bar.  Not the most exciting of subplots, but it does, ironically enough, result in the episode's only action beat (Fisk's hammering Matt is borderline, but I'm not sure it counts) as the man eventually reveals himself to be an assassin sent to kill her.  It was a solid fight, with both parties landing solid hits.

The unveiling of sais during the fight seems like an odd development, but these are gangs of ninjas.  It is also a bit of a fandom nod, given that they are Elektra's weapon of choice in the comics.  Really, if I were going to chide anything, I'd say that the assassin's name should have been Raphael instead of Jacques.

The big twist there is the reveal of who dispatched said assassin.  The viewer, like Elektra herself, assumes that this is the work of the Hand, but before he dies, Jacques says that he was sent by Stick.  I'd say that he could be lying as a way to sow dissent among the Chaste's ranks, but that doesn't really seem like the way the Hand operates.  I could be wrong, though.  Also, Stick probably would do something like that; either to punish her or to test her to see if she still has what it takes to fight.

This episode had a lot to deal with and it handled it fairly well.  With only so much time, some things had to be put on the back burner.  You could also argue that most of the guest stars really didn't have that much to do.  Still, it's clear that things are coming to a head on several fronts.  It makes for decent build up as we move closer to the end of the season.






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Daredevil Season 2, Episode 9: Seven Minutes in Heaven

With everything going on with the Frank Castle and Hand plot lines, the show has done a pretty good job of making you not miss Fisk too much.  Great a villain as he was, and as great as D'onofrio did, the current season kept you invested enough that his absence wasn't really felt.

That being said, it was great to see him in action again.  In fact, his parts of the episode provide most of the highlights.  D'onofrio still owns the role and the episode gives him a lot of great material, as he manages to manipulate situations to his advantage despite his limited resources.

In his endeavors to rise to power, Fisk enlists Castle in disposing of a rival felon who essentially runs the joint.  Not surprisingly, Castle's not too keen on this arrangement.  It takes a while, but Fisk does manage to sway him.  Frankly, I'm surprised that Castle bought Fisk's line about Dutton's involvement in the death of Frank's family so easily.  Fisk doesn't really provide any proof; he just says that he knows.  I was expecting it to be revealed that Dutton had no idea what Frank was talking about when the two confronted each other, but it does turn out to be somewhat true and it leads to the revelation that the operation was a sting operation set up by the authorities.  This especially comes into play with Karen, as she is determined to find the truth, even though the case is apparently closed.

Both Castle and Fisk have a great dynamic.  The prior clearly doesn't like the latter, but Fisk (in true Lex Luthor-esque fashion) is able to get him to go along by offering Frank what he wants, while openly acknowledging that he himself has benefits to reap from it.  It's always fun to watch characters like that work, and it works especially well here.

This plot also gives us some solid action beats as Frank gets a hallway fight of his own after Fisk double crosses him and releases a group of inmates to topple Castle.  Frank probably should have seen that coming, but oh well.  The slow motion wasn't really working for me, but there were enough highlights and acts of jaw dropping viciousness to make up for it.

On top of that, we get a solid fight between Castle and Fisk.  I was expecting this to end in a curb-stomp, where Frank's training would demolish Fisk's brute force approach to fighting, but it's fairly even for the most part.  In fact, Fisk actually ends up with the upper hand.  Of course, Fisk held his own against Daredevil, so it isn't as jarring as one might think.

Speaking of Daredevil, he has things to do too.  First off, he sends Elektra away because he's skeptical about her desire to be good.  It seems a bit abrupt, I have to figure that, growing up the way she did, that change wouldn't be immediate, but Matt seems to think that it's like a light switch.  He says that they corrupt each other, but it seems like he's a positive influence for her.  At least, she gets some good snark in, lampooning Matt's suggestion to use more conventional methods to fight the ancient group of ninjas who are digging a big hole in the ground.

Besides, he needs all the help he can get.  Considering he hasn't fared too well against their agents thus far, his claim that he can take them on alone seems ill thought out.  In fact, he gets his butt kicked again in the closing moments of the episode.  It makes sense, though, given that this fighter is one that Matt had faced (and to whom he lost badly) before.

He does manage to discover the location of their strong hold.  We learn that not only are the Hand digging a deep hole, but they seem to be harvesting blood.  When I saw the people in cages, I figured that they were more "Black Skies", but that isn't made clear.  It does make you wonder what they're planning.  Between blood and big hole, it seems to suggest something more mystical (and quasi-Satanic?) than what we've seen previously.  At the very least, it does give you an indicator of how depraved this group really is.

Whether Frank's escape is a good or a bad thing is still up for debate.  Given that he and Daredevil frequently come to blows, it could be seen as another problem that he has to deal with.  On the other hand, having another crime fighter in action could be beneficial.  I'm hoping that Castle is brought in to help with the Hand, but I'll admit that's a slim possibility.  It seems like it's way out of his element, or something that would come about in 'The Defenders', but again, we'll see.

This was a solid episode.  The prison plot was definitely the strongest element, but both of the other ongoing story lines progressed in decent fashion.  I think metaphorical MVP title goes to Fisk here, but that's OK.  After such a long absence, it was good to showcase why he's such a formidable and fascinating character.  We're down to the final four episodes and I remain excited to see how things play out.



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Daily Dose of Awesome: Game Boy Lighter

Daredevil Season 2, Episode 8: Guilty as Sin

Where were we? Oh, right, big hole in the ground.  I know, it's been a while; but with 'Legends of Tomorrow' wrapped up, I can finally dive back into 'Daredevil' and close this particular book.

It seems that The Hand aren't particularly happy about their hole being discovered and go on the attack.  It's a solid fight.  While the mooks don't make as impressive a showing as Nobu did, they still manage to get the upper hand against the two seasoned fighters.  Granted, a lot of that is due to both Matt and Elektra making a lot of dumb mistakes at crucial moments, but still, a win's a win.  Elektra ends up wounded and Matt has to retreat with Stick, who shows up out of the blue.

I knew he was coming back, but it was still great seeing him again.  Sadly, Scott Glenn doesn't look like he's in much condition to fight, but he still presents the character as a snarky hardass.  He also (finally) has the chance to follow up on those cryptic remarks he made back in his first appearance last season.

Credit where it's due, Scott Glenn delivers a mean exposition dump.  Between that scene and Clancy Brown taking the stand at one point during Frank's trial, this episode really does provide a feast for the eardrums.

Really, the episode's a blast all around.  I've been looking forward to the budding war and this episode gives us the most information on that to date.  Matt's skepticism is a bit odd, considering he and his ex-girlfriend had just been attacked by ninjas.  Clearly, something is up.  Early on, you could argue that Stick was just nuts.  Honestly, that would have been an interesting story to play out, but so far it seems like he was on the money in regards to the scope of the threat.

At the same time, Stick's rebuttal citing Christ when Matt scoffs at the dead returning doesn't really make a whole lot of sense given...you know, divinity and all that.  Oh well.

The plot line regarding Frank's trial also moves along rather nicely.  We start to see some form of conspiratorial corruption at work as Frank appears to have been strong armed into tanking his own case for no discernible reason.  While he claims that he wasn't crazy, couldn't his outburst be seen as proof that he is?  I mean, he becomes borderline feral and turns on a dime with no provocation.  That doesn't exactly scream "sane person" to me.  Besides, the doctor provided medical evidence.  If anything, you could argue that he just made their point.

I did like how Matt's speech somewhat ties the two arcs together.  He notes that the city is in trouble and needs heroes (which it does), citing Frank as one.  It wasn't an official request to join the defenders (how could it be? they don't exist yet,) but if you read between the lines, it seems like the offer was there.

On a similar note, the episode hints that Elektra may become an ally after all.  In fact, one of the central components is her conflict between following Stick's more ruthless ideology and Matt's tough but merciful approach.  It worked rather well as a way to give her an arc even though she had limited screen time and spent a lot of it recuperating in bed.  

By episode's end, the ability for either one to do so is left in the air, but that's to be expected as we still have several episodes to go.

I do have to wonder who Stick intends to recruit.  He cites both Matt and Elektra as amateurs, but it seems like they're still relatively big guns all things considered.  Given his line regarding getting the band back together, I'm guessing that he doesn't have other costumed fighters in mind.  People who are more well versed in "Daredevil" lore probably have a better idea of who he's talking about.  Alas, I have only a cursory knowledge of his goings-on.

For all the strong points, this episode does have some weak spots.  As noted, both Matt and Elektra make some bad decisions in their fight.  On top of that, some of the character drama seems really forced.  Karen jumps to the conclusion that Matt is sleeping around when she sees Elektra in bed.  The woman is clearly ill and Stick is standing around in the apartment, not exactly ideal conditions for sweet lovin'.  This never occurs to her and she doesn't give Matt a chance to explain.

To his credit, Foggy's snippiness towards Matt is somewhat more justified as he's still miffed regarding their bathroom argument.

In any event, the wedge between Matt and his friends seems like it's only getting wider.  Even if some of the steps taken to get there didn't make a whole lot of sense, the end result is still pretty dire.

While not without flaws, this episode was still something of a highlight.  The stakes were raised rather effectively, the character conflicts (for the most part) worked and it was very well paced.  At no point did the episode feel like it was dragging.  The one time I did check to see how much time was left was done more for curiosity's sake than any desire to see things wrap up.

With only 5 episodes remaining this season, I have a feeling that things are only going to get more intense from here.  It should make for interesting viewing.




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Daily Dose of Awesome: The Devil Regains His Strength

This is my jam, right here.

Dungeons and Dragons Essentials Monster Vault

You can read my review here.

Pros

- Features the only book that doesn't run through the rules.  It's all monsters/stats from front to back.

- Like the DM kit, this comes with a 2 sided map, an adventure, and tokens.  All things that can be used even if you prefer to run a different edition of the game.



Cons

- While the book is the same length as all the others, I still feel like the Essentials line could have used more monsters.  Going 30 levels on this book alone seems like it would be tricky.

- A lot of the cooler monsters are at the higher tier.  I suppose it can't be avoided, but it's slim pickings to come up with encounters for starting players.

- Really not sure why the cost of these has gone up so significantly.  I'd suggest browsing to find a more reasonable bargain or waiting for it to drop because that price tag is steeeep.


Overall


- This is a fairly cool kit.  If you're looking to DM, this is definitely worth picking up as it gives you all sorts of material to help facilitate game play.









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Daily Dose of Awesome: I...I have no idea what I even call this

Legends of Tomorrow episode 16: Legendary

With no way to track or kill Savage, Rip throws in the towel and drops the team off back in 2016.  You'd think that they'd be excited to be home, but they're adamant that the mission isn't over.  For some reason, trying to fight Savage in the present never occurs to them.  Still, it is nice to see everyone (even Mick) volunteer to come back and see things through to the end.

The return isn't a complete plot cul-de-sac, however, as it allows Sara to learn the fate of her sister.  Suffice it to say, she's not happy about it.  It gives the episode some emotional poignancy as Sara grapples with her grief.

Seeing the whole team try to save Laurel would have been cool, but alas, it never comes to that.  I'd cite Rip's experiences trying to save his family, but that was due to Time Masters interference.  With oculus out of commission, they could have had a chance.  From a storytelling perspective, though, I do get the need to establish that death can be permanent from time to time.

In any event, the group has bigger problems as Savage has a new scheme that sends them scattering throughout time (conveniently enough, to time periods they've already visited).  As Savage no longer has backers, he decides to go back and redo things, exerting his influence in a more overt fashion so that he can claim power and rule the world.

You'd think that the easiest thing to do would be to go back to Ancient Egypt and work with his then-present self, but instead, he collects the meteors (that are revealed to be Thanagarian tech) and tries to "detonate" them across time, destroying the Earth in three time periods.  This would create a paradox that will essentially hit the reset button.  You'd think that the earliest explosion would render the other two moot, but time travel is wonky as hell and it seems like you just have to roll with it.

To wit, we get to see Savage get beaten down and killed three times.  Not going to lie, that was pretty satisfying.  I think the 2 on 1 fight between Savage and the Hawks won for episode's crowning fight.  Sara's had some emotional backing, but 2 on 1 fights are just cool and, oddly enough, Savage held his own there better than he did against Mick or Sara.

When the fight is over, the question remains of where the characters will go.  Rip takes it upon himself to "protect" time, but the others aren't so clear about where they go from here.  This manifests itself most clearly in both Stein and Jax.  Oddly, Jackson is now the one pushing for adventure and heroism, where Stein wants to settle down and be with his family.

Again, the idea of operating as heroes in the present never occurs to them.  They can still be Firestorm, save the world, and spend time with their loved ones.  It's not an either/or, despite the episode's attempt to paint it as such.  In fact, they saw first hand that not going back to 2016 creates a lot of problems in the future.  We also saw on "Flash" and "Arrow" that things got extremely dire without them to act as backup, so sticking around might not be such a bad idea.

Then again, this could tie into the episode's closing wham moment.  I wouldn't say it's a cliffhanger, but it was still a jaw dropping way to close out the season.  It's especially impressive as this is another one of those plot points that I came across on TvTropes.  I'm really looking forward to seeing what the next season has in store.





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Legends of Tomorrow episode 15: Destiny

As if the reveal that Savage is in the time masters' employ wasn't big enough, this episode follows it up with several whammies in quick succession.  The first is an explanation as to why, it turns out that Earth will be invaded by the Thanagarians shortly after Savage takes power.  Somehow, his rule is what allows humanity to survive.

You'd think with the rise of meta-human superheroes that, even in the future, there would be some ability to fend them off. If that's not viable, maybe round up the present day heroes and bring them forward to act as reinforcements?  I'd also cite the existence of magic, but various incarnations of Thanagarian tech have been explicitly stated to resist magic, so that may hold true here.

You have to wonder how an Earth in ruin would be capable of repelling the Thanagarians, but it is then revealed that the time masters have the ability to mold events to their will.  To wit, everything the team has done to this point has actually aided Savage's rise as opposed to hindered it.  Rip's rebellion, even the death of his family was all engineered for that very purpose.

.....

Wait a minute, why don't the time masters just go all puppet master on the Thanagarians and have them go somewhere else or change their ways so that they're more honorable warriors as opposed to galactic conquerors? 

Anyway, I noted before that roaming TvTropes had spoiled some of the big reveals for me, but it's to the episode's credit that they still hit.  Martin Donovan deserves no small amount of credit for that, as his delivery of the monologue was incredibly effective.  Hero breaking speeches aren't new, but this one worked really well; not just because of the personal nerve it hit regarding Rip's family, but because of the ramifications; specifically, that free will is an illusion and everything has been pre-determined.  The level of the time masters' manipulation is also admittedly rather impressive.  In true "rag tag bunch of misfits" fashion, the team decides to take their destiny back.

This episode had a solid balance of everything.  There were plot twists aplenty, the action scenes were impressive as always, but even with all the heavy stuff, there was quite a bit of comedy to be had.  Normally, you'd think that it would result in mood whiplash or would undercut the tension, but it actually manages to avoid all of that.  No one's doing pratfalls, but there are several clever exchanges between characters that elicit a solid laugh as the episode progresses.

Another particular highlight is Sara's and Snart's plan to disable the time masters' fleet when they make their escape attempt.  You'd think that they just planted timed explosives on the ships, but that's not quite how it plays out.  Really, it's one of those things you have to see for yourself.

The episode does also manage to deliver some drama as various characters not only grapple with the nature of fate, but step up to the plate to sacrifice themselves for the greater good.  Both Ray and Mick volunteer, but it is ultimately Snart who pays the price.  I'm sure the writers have a way to bring him back (from what I read, he's set to appear in "Flash's" third season) but I'll give credit where it's due and say that this death is more believable than Mick's was earlier in the season.  We actually see Snart on screen when it happens and there's no apparent clever editing at work.  Again, I'm sure that there's a back door somewhere, but this was much more convincing.

As the show moves to season's end, you would expect the stakes to be raised and this certainly did that.  Not only does it plant seeds for future plot lines, but just the scope of the issues being dealt with was huge.  While the time masters were something of a greater scope villain, I do like that the finale is bringing the focus back to Savage himself, as he was the reason the team assembled in the first place.

I do think that Kendra was getting a bit cocky near the end.  Yes, Savage may not have the time masters behind him anymore, but he's still immortal.  More than that, as he notes, he has a time machine.  His ability to make life a living hell for the people of Earth seems like it is still very much intact.  Well, for now anyway.  

It'll be interesting to see how the team functions next season.  As Gideon notes, they don't have a guide to the state of the time stream anymore as everything is now in flux.  Will they just fly around randomly and hope that some serious threat just happens to be there?  Or maybe they just stay in the present, considering how bad things got in their absence, it would make sense, but we'll see.

Next, we come to the season finale.  After that, we'll dive back into the second season of Daredevil because I need to get caught up on this stuff.

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'Dragon Ball Super' Universe 6 Arc

Episode 28: The God of Destruction of the 6th Universe! His Name is Shanpa

With Freeza defeated and peace restored to the Earth, Vegeta and Goku immediately book it to Beerus' planet so that they can continue their training. It seems Whis has kicked things up a notch as he brings back weighted clothing. Unlike what was seen in the old series, these sets of clothes slow both Saiyans down considerably. Vegeta even goes so far as to say that they weigh him down more than Bulma's gravity machine. It's impressive as Vegeta used to train in 500 times Earth's normal gravity with that machine, but considering that these are gods, it really shouldn't come as a surprise.

The training is interrupted when something crash lands on the planet. It turns out to be Champa and Vados, the pair that Beerus ran into when he and Whis were en route to Earth. Of course, the napping Beerus assumes that it was Goku and Vegeta who were making the racket and pays them back in kind. You'd think that Whis would step in and vouch for them as they had nothing to do with it, but he just stands there. Maybe he saw it as a training exercise.

When Champa does make his presence known, the two gods (who are revealed to be twin brothers) pick up where they left off. The two don't really get along very well, though it is to the viewer's benefit as the pair's bickering makes for great comedy.

It also allows the episode to elaborate on ideas that were teased in their initial meeting. The nature of the multiverse is explained to the Saiyans, who are flabbergasted at the idea. Unlike most multiverses, where the number of universes is almost infinite, here the number is set at 12. They are paired off into sets of 2, where the sum total comes to 13. Thus, Champa, who is the god of destruction for the sixth universe, is paired with Beerus, who is such for the seventh universe.

We also get greater insight into Champa's objective. While he's initially painted in a more malicious light, his end goal is to simply provide food that is better than anything Beerus' universe could conjure up.

Considering how many jokes are made about Champa's weight, you'd think he'd have it in the bag, but Champa's fancy eggs are apparently no match for ramen. Alas, Champa's hopes of matching Beerus by seeking food from his own Earth prove impossible as Vados reveals that it was left barren as the result of "a stupid war".

It actually makes for a nice segue to Champa's pitch. He wants to challenge the god, not directly as the two show themselves to be evenly matched (though Vados implies that Beerus is in better shape and thus would ultimately win) and the fight would destroy both universes, but a tournament between the two universes' best fighters. If Champa wins, he'll use his set of dragon balls to switch the universes' respective Earths. If Beerus wins, Champa will hand over the 6 he has.

Champa's set is much more powerful than the ones that we are familiar with. They don't have black stars on them, but they are planet sized and have no wish limitations. Champa dubs them "Super Dragon Balls". It's a little on the nose in terms of explaining the show's title. Considering the level of foes that they will be facing, it already makes as much sense as anything, but it is what it is.

All of this, of course, excites Goku to no end. He pretty much spends the episode squeeing about the whole situation. Not only are there other universes, but each one has powerful fighters to challenge him. Naturally, he signs on for Team Beerus. Vegeta agrees as well, noting that training is good, but actual combat would allow him to refine his skills.

The episode is certainly lighthearted and more comedic, but it does a good job of setting up the next story line. It's a breather episode, but not just empty filler. The dialogue was a major strength as many characters got good one liners over the course of the episode. It's a good thing too as the episode is largely characters sitting around talking. Even the exposition dump aspects of the episode worked fairly well. While there's not a direct threat to Earth, this plot setup does hearken back to the franchise's roots of searching for dragon balls and fighting in tournaments while also expanding the franchise's mythos in a pretty significant fashion.

Episode 29: It's Settled! We're Holding a Martial Arts Match!The Team Captain's Stronger than Goku

After establishing the ground rules (as well as the time and location) for the tournament, the two twin gods part ways. Champa and Vados go to set things up while Goku and the others return to Earth.

The episode is largely filler. While it seems uneventful at face value, a lot of information does get revealed over the course of the episode.

Where one might get the impression that the super dragon balls are spread throughout the multiverse, Beerus reveals that each universe has its own set. You have to wonder why Champa was jumping around universes in his hunt if that were the case. It also makes Shenron's statement about not being able to scan beyond our universe when asked to find the last ball inane seeing as it wouldn't be an issue. On top of that, if each universe has its own set, then wouldn't he be able to pick up at least one of them? Unless Champa was collecting Earth 7's dragon balls, which makes no sense. Then again, Shenron did add that he wasn't capable of scanning the entire universe anyway, so it seems like the dragon was covering his bases.

More than that, it is revealed that the gods don't really care about wishes. At one point in the episode, Bulma notes that Champa could easily use said dragon balls to either restore his planet's Earth or to get all the food he wanted. Thus, the tournament comes off as rather pointless.

Beerus simultaneously commends her, but chides her human thinking and explains that the dragon balls are really just an excuse to fight. The god goes on to say that with his wish, he would destroy the world.

It goes a long way towards re-establishing the character's menace after seeing him act as comic relief for so many episodes. Both Goku and Bulma seem to take Beerus' occasionally goofy mannerisms at face value and forget who he is, going so far as to act as if they are close friends when he really doesn't see them as such. Bulma even goes so far as to slap the god again when he acts dismissive towards her opinion. Fortunately for her, he's much more lenient this time. To her credit, even she acknowledged that it was a mistake immediately after it happened.

The exchange also puts the fear of gods into Bulma as she is determined to find the super dragon balls before Beerus so that they can be used as a defensive measure. Considering neither Goku nor Vegeta are capable of fighting him off, it really is their best bet should Beerus' good will wear thin.

There is also the tournament to think about. With only 5 member slots, and 2 of them taken, the question comes up about who the other three fighters will be.

Beerus offers up one with a new fighter named Monaka, who Beerus says is the toughest fighter he's ever faced. Yes, Goku ranks second. The Saiyan is, of course, incredibly excited to find that there's someone else who can give him a good fight to the point that he forgets that Monaka is not the one he'll be facing.

It's good that the show establishes that Goku and Vegeta aren't the strongest beings in the universe. Z tried to push that idea and it was an oddly tough pill to swallow, even if they had hit insane strengths by that point. You do wonder where Monaka was during the reign of Freeza or during Kid Buu's rampage. Were he as powerful as Beerus said he was, it seems like he could have offered some much needed reinforcements. It might be safe to say that Monaka isn't as heroic as the Z fighters, though.

We also see Champa and Vados begin setting things up. While the planet they select has no atmosphere, they create a dome and make their own atmosphere. A ring is instantly constructed and Champa goes so far as to add bleachers (because apparently spectators will be attending) as well as concession stands.

As noted above, this episode is largely filler. The plot really doesn't advance all that much. There's some decent informative reveals (like the fact that Bulma has a sister) and some good jokes peppered throughout. Both Bulma and Beerus got a chance to shine though, one for her intellect and the other for reminding us that he is in fact a force to be reckoned with. Still with all of that, this episode will likely not rank among the greats. It passes the time, but won't go down as a memorable episode by any stretch of the imagination.

Episode 30: Training for the Martial Arts Tournament - Who are the two Remaining Members?

At first, it might seem odd that this episode doesn't feature a plot recap like the others have. Then you realize why, the episode itself acts as a recap. Yep, we have ourselves a clip show. It might seem early to do something like this, but the series has been going almost non stop since launch, the animators probably needed a break.

The recaps are somewhat well justified in universe. The first sequence centers on Goku and Vegeta filling Krillin in on all of the things they learned about the multiverse and the upcoming tournament. This is probably the most frustrating part of the episode as we, the viewers, knew all of this and learned it only recently. As such, it's odd to have it all explained again. It's true that Krillin doesn't know it, but it is still just an excuse to pad out the episode.

At least Beerus and Whis reflecting on how much Beerus has changed since he first started his hunt for the Super Saiyan God served as a way to show character development. At first it seems like Whis is calling the god out on going soft, but the conversation doesn't take that turn, despite some of the early lines hinting at it.

Don't worry, there is some new material. There are, after all, two slots to fill for the tournament team. It doesn't quite have the same feel as the Z fighters assembling to face Freeza's army. The two just ask Buu and Piccolo and both agree.

Oddly enough, Vegeta is skeptical of Buu's place. The saiyan prince notes that Buu was beaten by Beerus in one hit, but neglects to mention that Buu was the only one capable of getting back up and charging at the god again. Even if he doesn't have the strength or fighting prowess of Kid Buu, his durability is an asset, to be sure.

Speaking of Kid Buu, Goku's wish regarding his reincarnation is brought up. It'll be good to see Uub show up in this series. It's noted that he'd be an infant, but with time skips, seeing him in action isn't outside the realm of possibility.

On the opposite side of the coin, Vegeta does vouch for Gohan, saying that he has the most latent ability. While Gohan is initially on board, especially because he wants to see how far he's come in terms of training, he says he has a conference to attend and declines. It's unclear why he would feel so guilty. With Piccolo, there wouldn't have been enough slots for him to fit on the team anyway. Maybe Piccolo would have stepped down? It's a moot point, but it was still odd.

Both Goten and Trunks also express interest in fighting, but Vegeta rebukes them. Again, limited slots are an issue, but he also brings up the fact that fusing is against the rules, so no Gotenks. While's it's frustrating to see powerful fighters repeatedly sidelined, it makes more sense here than it did in the last arc.

With that out of the way, the two saiyans decide to start training in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber (or the Room of Spirit and Time). There is a nice continuity nod as Piccolo notes that Dende has been repairing it. However, there are some contradictions as the two Saiyans say that they plan to spend the three days before the tournament in there. It goes against the rules established in "Dragon Ball Z". One can surmise that Dende made some improvements so that they can now do this, but it would have been nice to establish it as opposed to just throwing this new information in without acknowledging the differences.

All in all, this episode was rather passable. That is the case with most clip shows, to be fair. There are some nice character moments here and there, though. Buu saying that he'd let Mr. Satan make the wish that the two saiyans had offered him as incentive to fight was rather heartwarming. Still, there's not a whole lot here to write home about. It is what it is. If you like clip shows, this is one of the stronger ones, but if you would rather not bother, you can get by skipping this one.

Episode 31: To Lord Zuno! Ask About the Location of the Super Dragon Balls

Before Bulma can venture out into space so that her dragon radar can scan more of the universe, she has to figure out just where it is she's going. As such, she calls on Jaco to help her out. Why Vegeta can't offer any insight isn't explained and the idea of asking the kais is brought up, but brushed aside by saying that they can't be reached for some reason.

While Jaco can't offer much help, as he is tasked with only patrolling the galaxy, he does know of a sort of interplanetary guru, who could potentially answer any questions Bulma may have.

It seems like the episode is going for a sort of "buddy comedy" feel. Bulma and Jaco seem to clash quite a bit, but whatever comedy that may have come is undercut by the translations. Most of the subtitled dialogue really didn't make any sense. Even though this sort of filler episode should be easy to follow, the viewer only has a vague clue as to what is being discussed.

On the plus side, Jaco does get a chance to shine, as he apprehends a criminal upon arriving at the guru's planet. It's nice to see that the elite galactic patrolman can live up to his title. Usually, we've only seen him cower, but there's thankfully more to the character than that. The criminal is given next to no development, but he served his purpose well enough.

As is often the case when characters are given a finite amount of questions to ask an all knowing sage, many go squandered. Why Bulma is upset to only get three questions when Jaco was only given one is a bit odd. It is possibly moot as she wastes two of them anyway. The one legitimate question that she does ask yields a response that really makes no sense. It's unclear if that's the result of the sub-par translation that plagued the episode or if it was meant to be inane.

You get the impression from the guru's dialogue that there are seven super dragon balls that the two twin universes share. It contradicts what Beerus said before, but it would make at least a little more sense as it explains why Champa was there in the first place. Having the 7 spread throughout all 12 universes still seems like it would have been the best and simplest approach, but what can you do?

The more politically correct among you may find this episode..what's the word, problematic? A lot of jokes are made about Bulma's age and her breasts seem to be negatively commented on quite a bit. It's odd as she looks fine. Maybe that's the joke, sort of like how Yoshi repeatedly says that Kory is ugly on "Rurouni Kenshin" despite the fact that she isn't. There's also a bit where Bulma comments on how happy she is to be a wife and mother after Jaco points out that she was a skilled enough pilot to join the patrol-force herself. I could easily see Tumblr freaking out over that. On the plus side, Bulma does get to dish out payback every time a comment was made, so there's that at least.

Sadly, this episode really didn't bring a lot to the table. The comedy fell flat, the story didn't move forward all that much, and there isn't enough action to make up the difference. With a better translation, it may have fared better, but this may go down as the nadir of the show. It's a sad state of affairs when the clip show delivers more entertainment, but that was honestly the case here.

Episode 32: The Match Begins! Everyone, Head to the Nameless Star

The two saiyans finish their training just as the others are getting ready to leave for the tournament, courtesy of an inter-dimensional vehicle of Whis' design. After three years, the two saiyans have a more rugged look than the viewer is used to. It would've been interesting to see the facial hair stick around, as the two pulled it off, but it was apparently just for a quick gag.

The episode features a lot of toilet humor, for some apparent reason. It doesn't work particularly well and most of the jokes fall flat. Jokes are made out of the fact that Krillin had to use the bathroom and that Monaka has very pronounced nipples. It's just kind of dumb.

On the other side, Whis remarking that he's OK with the humans taking pictures of Beerus' planet as long as they don't post them on social media was rather amusing. It makes sense as they don't want people knowing about the realm and it would be tempting to post pictures to such an exotic locale online.

Goku's attempt to test Monaka's strength is also played for laughs as the latter fails to dodge Goku's punch and starts to tear up afterward. Not exactly the best introduction to the character, but Beerus remains adamant that he's their trump card.

The real highlight of the episode is seeing the other universe's fighters. There are more generic opponents like a giant bear and a giant robot; but we also see one fighter who bears a strong resemblance to Freeza. The real kicker, though, is a young saiyan boy. This naturally intrigues both Goku and Vegeta and they spend a good deal of time exchanging notes about where the saiyans reside and what they do. It turns out that the saiyans in universe 6 are more heroic, taking on jobs to help people in contrast to the space pirates that we see in universe 7. While the boy is surprised, he doesn't really bear the two any enmity, though Vegeta is also quick to note that the saiyans of universe 7 don't do that anymore.

Sadly, Majin Buu is immediately disqualified as he falls asleep during the written exam. It's somewhat disappointing. It would have been interesting to see him in the fight. You could argue that he was over-powered and would never get knocked unconscious, making it too easy for them to win. Then again, Beerus clearly bested him in battle, so it isn't like Buu is unbeatable.

Not surprisingly, the episode ends just before the first fight begins. It's Goku vs. the giant bear, who is named Botamo. Sadly, we're not given any indication what sort of fight Goku is in for, though the saiyan is clearly excited.

This episode is mostly filler. It was necessary to some extent, to get the characters to the planet, but it wasn't the most eventful. It isn't helped by the fact that the humor largely missed. It did have some solid moments, peppered throughout, but it could have used more. It will be good to have the tournament start in earnest, though. The next episode should be an improvement overall.

Episode 33: Be Surprised, Universe 6! This is Super Saiyan Goku

The tournament begins in earnest, with Goku facing off against Botamo, a giant bear. Rather than rely on brute strength, as you would expect, Botamo uses his mass in other ways.

His most effective attack is to bounce around the dome, gaining momentum to the point where he becomes a large pin ball. While this could have put Goku out of the fight for good, Botamo's pride gets the better of him and he decides to toy with Goku for a while.

From here, Botamo essentially turns into the Blob (the X-Men villain, not the alien monster from the movies) as none of Goku's attacks seem to do any harm to him. Botamo's ability seems to even put Majin Buu's to shame. At least there, it seemed like the hits were registering to some extent, with Botamo, he just stands there and doesn't even flinch. It would have been interesting to see those two fight, but what can you do?

Even though we never see Goku transform in this fight, it still puts Goku at a disadvantage. It's possible that transforming would have yielded better results, but it doesn't matter as Goku finds a work around.

Botamo barely puts up a fight, but the defeat is still treated as a major upset. Champa tries to call shenanigans, but is only met with groans. Botamo himself doesn't take it too well, either. You could say he couldn't bear to lose.

With that, the next fighter in the roster steps up. Enter Frost, the Universe 6 fighter who the others noted bore a striking resemblance to Freeza. Much like how the young saiyan was a stark contrast to the saiyans we've seen in universe 7, Frost stands as a stark contrast to Freeza. Where the latter was a ruthless tyrant, we learn (through a clumsily inserted exposition dump) that Frost is a noble champion of justice who seeks to bring an end to the war that plagues his universe.

It's kind of weird to see, in all honesty. Frost shakes Goku's hand and even takes a moment to address the universe 7 audience to let them know that he bears them no ill will and hopes that they enjoy the tournament. Even Goku notes that Frost's polite demeanor is throwing him off.

At face value, it's not a bad fight. Both get good hits in and it is pretty well choreographed. However, there isn't much in the way of tension as Goku isn't anywhere near his peak. He spends most of the fight in his regular form and only goes to regular Super Saiyan in the latter half.

Again, there isn't much in the way of tension as we know that Goku is only playing possum. One plus side is that it reinforces the idea that even just being a Super Saiyan is a big deal. Everyone is stunned at Goku's abilities and it acts as a nice reminder that even hitting this put Goku in the echelon of legends.

Of course, Frost eventually hits his final form. In a nice bit of character development, he explains that he was reluctant to use this form, not because he was saving it for later, but because he has a hard time controlling the power and doesn't want to seriously maim or kill anyone.

Not that it matters anyway as Goku is still more than capable of besting his opponent. Sadly, Frost has no golden form. Oddly enough, the episode still uses the ominous chanting that accompanied Freeza's return. It made sense as it gave a sense of foreboding doom, but Frost is perfectly well intentioned.

In fact, his participation in the tournament is explained as he wants Champa to help him in his endeavors. Why you would go to a god of destruction to bring an end to war is left unexplained, but it does give Frost a personal stake and a reason to keep getting up, even when it's clear that he can't win this one.

The episode ends on an odd note as Goku suddenly becomes woozy, allowing Frost to knock him out of the ring. I suspect that he threw the fight to help Frost in his endeavors, but the episode plays the cliffhanger rather straight. We'll have to see how things play out.

This was a decent episode. The fights didn't have as much tension as they probably could have had, but they worked well enough. There was some good banter and Frost was interesting to see. It may not be a standout episode, but it was a good watch.

Episode 34: Piccolo vs. Frost! Bet Everything on the Makankosappo

It turns out that, no, Goku did not throw the fight out of some misguided sense of nobility. He really did suddenly get woozy, allowing Frost to knock him out of the ring. There is a bit of a scare as Goku doesn't get up. In a rather sweet moment, Chichi rushes out to see if her husband is OK.

Luckily, whatever happened seems to wear off, as Goku gets up a few moments later. No one seems sure as to what happened. Even Frost expresses shock at the turn. He's still nothing less than gracious, though, commending Goku for the fight and even giving his saiyan opponent a moment to get a round of applause after helping him get back up.

Both Beerus and Vegeta express shock (and in the case of the prior, outrage) at the fact that one of their stronger team members is out, but there's nothing they can do. As such, Piccolo steps up.

Despite all the power ups that the Namek has had, people still seem to underestimate him, though in Goku's case it does seem far more good natured than genuine doubt about Piccolo's ability.

Right off the bat, Piccolo begins charging up his Makankosappo (or special beam cannon). A lot is made about how long it needs to charge, but that hasn't been the case for some time. Really, that hasn't been a problem since the fight with Raditz. He's used the attack several times with no such hindrance. Even the idea that he needs to charge it up a lot to take down someone of Frost's caliber doesn't seem to make much sense.

It doesn't matter, though, as this is what Piccolo decides to do. It puts him on the defensive, though he still holds his own. He's able to dodge Frost's attacks (which makes sense given the emphasis his "abridged" counterpart places on it) and deflect others.

Even when Piccolo does take a hit, he uses the multi-form technique to create doppelgangers that occupy Frost's attention. It's purely a stalling measure, and it works for the most part,but it isn't enough time.

Just as it looks like Piccolo's about to get knocked out of the ring, he extends his other arm and wraps Frost in it, pinning his opponent. It turns out that this was all part of Piccolo's strategy. It's unclear why he didn't think he could take Frost, but the tactics paid off as Piccolo is moments away from victory.

That is until the namek suddenly becomes woozy, loosening his grip on Frost and leaving himself open for a counterattack. Like Goku before him, Piccolo gets defeated.

It was noted before that there was no clear explanation as to why Goku suddenly fainted. It is here where the explanation is presented. Jaco sees that Frost has a concealed needle and notes that it is forbidden. While Frost tries to argue it's a natural part of his body, the excuse doesn't fly and he is disqualified, allowing Piccolo to pick up the win.

At first, this seems out of character as Frost has been nothing but honorable. As Vados explains, though, it is a facade. In truth, Frost starts the wars that he claims to campaign against so that he can buy planets for cheap, rebuild them, and make a lot of profit. In short, he isn't as different from Freeza as we were originally led to believe.

It's somewhat sad, as Frost being a good guy was rather interesting and endearing. This twist does, however, explain why the chanting was used before. It made no sense at the time, but in hindsight, it was pretty clear foreshadowing. Said chanting makes a glorious comeback as Frost basks in the role of heel.

What happens next is, bizarre to say the least. Upon discovering Frost's nature, Champa is ready to obliterate him as payback for the humiliation. It would have been satisfying, but Vegeta stays it, saying that he wants to fight Frost himself.

The only way to do this, however, would be to redact Piccolo's win and replace it with a loss. Despite the fact that this is an incredibly stupid move given that they are already at a disadvantage, Piccolo agrees and Vegeta steps up to the plate. It's likely that Vegeta will win, and he could see this as a chance to make up for Goku stealing his win against golden Freeza, but it still seems like a bad tactic from two people who are supposed to thrive on their tactical thinking.

Still, this was a fun episode. Frost's turn was perfectly executed and I'm a sucker for that ominous chanting leitmotif that accompanied it. The fight with Vegeta should be a fun one, so I'm looking forward to next week's entry.

Episode 35: Turn Anger into Power! Vegeta's All Out Battle

After making the monumentally stupid decision to let Piccolo forfeit a match that he won so that Vegeta could take a crack at Frost, the saiyan prince steps up to the ring.

There's a lot of great buildup for this fight. Frost outright admits that he'll continue to use his poison weapon, noting that it's his greatest asset. The ref, naturally, intervenes; but in true wrestling fashion, he is rendered useless as Vegeta notes that he doesn't care and that the fight is happening regardless.

It really amps up the tension when you think that the rules are no longer going to apply. No longer is this a professional sporting event, but the alien equivalent of a street fight. The fact that it could amount to a death match only adds to the anticipation as both parties prepare for battle.

Sadly, it ends in the most anticlimactic fashion as Vegeta knocks Frost out in one punch. It doesn't even take all that much, he only goes super saiyan. After all the hype and talk, you'd think that Vegeta would savor it a little even if he was going to win handily.

True to underhanded form, Frost tries to sneak off and steal the stash of loot that we learn Champa had offered the fighters as incentive to win. His efforts are thwarted, however. Interestingly, it is not Vados or one of the gods, but Frost's own teammate, named Hit who puts and end to Frost's schemes, presumably killing him with a single attack.

While it was short, this was an interesting scene. It helps build up Hit as an opponent, as he easily takes Frost out. On top of that, though, Frost's cocky demeanor dissipates and he seems genuinely wary of Hit when the latter approaches him. While Frost was an emperor, Hit seems to be a legend in his own right. It'll be interesting to see what his deal is.

Back at the tournament, Vegeta is about to face off against Magetta, the giant robot fighter. There's a twist, though, as Champa institutes a new rule where the ring is encased in a cube, should one of the fighters touch it, they are disqualified.

While Beerus does call his brother out on changing the rules as he goes, this actually does end up being somewhat beneficial. It turns out that Magetta can spew lava (which is deemed acceptable as it is his equivalent of saliva and thus not a weapon.) Had the cage not been there, the spectators would have likely been in danger. Instead, it merely hits the wall with no real harm done.

The downside, however, is that it also traps in all the heat that the magma generates. Vegeta is more than capable of outmaneuvering the robot in melee, and even the spewing streams of lava don't seem to pose too much of a problem, but the high temperature seems to.

It was a good way to give the opponent the upper hand without coming up with some ridiculous backstory. It's true, Magetta never really lands a solid hit on the saiyan prince. On top of that, Vegeta spends most of the fight in his regular saiyan form, only going super saiyan in the final minutes of the episode. By all accounts, there shouldn't have been a lot of tension. Actually there wasn't up until the moment where we see Vegeta sweating profusely. It does give the impression that the fight might not be as easy as you'd think given Vegeta's divine power set.

We also learn that Goku is still an eligible fighter. It seems that since Frost won by cheating, said win is negated. True to his fair play mindset, Goku actually offers to let Monaka be allowed to fight before him, but Beerus insists that Monaka fight last. It's peculiar, especially when it's made clear that Monaka is currently unconscious. The whole ordeal is largely played for comic relief with mixed results. While Beerus gets annoyed, one can understand why Goku would be confused about the logic being implemented by the god.

This episode was peppered with solid moments, but it fell flat overall. The fights themselves were largely anti-climactic. It's an especially notable problem as the episode is centered entirely on them. The comedy also didn't work all that well. The bits with Frost were entertaining, though. It's a shame he's not sticking around, but Hit might prove to be a fun adversary.

Episode 36: An Unexpectedly Hard Fight!? Vegeta's Explosion of Rage

Odd as it may seem at first glance, Vegeta finds himself in a bind against his current opponent, the metal man named Magetta. The amount of heat that Magetta's lava generates in such a confined space thanks to the new barrier is sapping Vegeta of his strength as a result of exhaustion. On top of that, it's eating up more oxygen than can flow into the barrier, making suffocation a threat on top of that.

As noted before, this was a great way to present a challenge to such a powerful fighter without just increasing the power level. Vegeta's backed into a corner and is running out of time. It makes for surprisingly great tension in what could have, by all accounts, been another anti-climactic fight.

In fact, Vegeta comes very close to losing. Magetta goes on the offensive and appears to knock Vegeta to the ground outside the ring. It makes for a great cliffhanger to precede the cut to break. Of course, Vegeta is still eligible and the fight proceeds.

This was, admittedly, an odd development. It's revealed that Vegeta's foot landed on a piece of debris from the demolished stage. Because he's technically still on the ring and his other foot never touched the ground, he is still eligible to fight. You'd think that this was Vegeta's plan all along. Not only is it a good tactic, but the amount of precision and balance it took to land the way he did was honest to God impressive.

That would be fine, but Vegeta actually takes umbrage at this development. He hates the fact that he needed a loophole to win the fight. Nonsensical as it is, it brings Vegeta to the state where he is no longer playing around and he decides to end the fight once and for all.

His first order of business is to use his immense power to destroy the barrier, because while touching it isn't allowed, that was an option apparently. Champa chides Vados for not making the barrier stronger, but she notes that he didn't make a big deal out of it before. Not only does this vent the heat to some extent, but it allows the Saiyan prince to breathe normally again.

Vegeta's Gallic Gun may have been ineffective, but he finds that the Final Flash yields much better results. He doesn't take nearly as long to charge the attack up as he did when he used it against Cell. Though the intent is to knock Magetta out of the ring, not kill him, so the difference is justified. On top of that, Vegeta's a lot stronger, so he may not need as much time to charge an attack as he did then.

While the beam doesn't knock Magetta out of the ring, Vegeta is able to knock Magetta out with a melee attack.

There's not much more to the episode, as it ends after the young Saiyan boy from universe 6 declares that he's the next opponent. This was a solid episode. It was largely fight focused, but it kept the tension up. You might find the fake out a bit cheap, but I thought it was pulled off better than some. It should be interesting to see the two Saiyans face off. It might add some personal weight to the fight, but we'll see when we get there.

Episode 37: Don't Forget Your Saiyan Pride! Vegeta vs. Saiyan of the Universe 6

As the episode opens, Vados and Whis are repairing the damage to the ring caused by Vegeta's fight with Magetta. It seems some modifications are being done as the ring is significantly bigger. Vados says that this is to reduce the risk of being knocked out of bounds.

On top of that, the cube barrier is not replaced. Despite the fact that Champa suggested putting the rule into place, he is surprisingly OK with the change back. It's likely, he only put that in to give Magetta the upper hand, but he could have been a bit more subtle.

Speaking of Magetta, Beerus notes that the stadium has gotten a lot hotter. It shows just what sort of heat Vegeta had to deal with while he was fighting in the cube. Honestly, the prince should be thankful that he wasn't cooked.

In any event, Vegeta's next opponent is Cabba, the young saiyan boy. Given the running gag with names, I'm guessing that's the Japanese word for Cabbage?

The boy is respectful, bowing and wishing Vegeta a good fight. He doesn't quite take it to the extent that Frost did, but at least we know that he's being genuine.

Surly as he is, Vegeta doesn't take kindly to this. He does get some satisfaction to see that Cabba can give him a decent fight in their normal forms. Cabba even uses Vegeta's gallick gun, though Vegeta is able to win that particular beam war.

Sadly, Cabba is unable to transform into the super saiyan form. Vegeta is flabbergasted. I guess he just got used to every saiyan being able to transform, though I think that the in-universe reason is due to the caliber of fighters in this tournament. Vegeta isn't wrong in pointing out that the boy is way out of his league.

It only gets worse when Cabba asks Vegeta for help in transforming. It seems that Cabba wants to be able to transform so that he can better fight for peace in his universe.

Suffice it to say, this is an affront to everything Vegeta stands for. Not only is the boy humbly asking for help, but he's doing it in the middle of their fight. So, naturally, Vegeta decides to punish Cabba by transforming into a super saiyan and pummeling him.

It's an odd mix of brutal and comical. Vegeta repeatedly hits Cabba quite hard and in such a way that Cabba never ends up outside the ring. However, when Vegeta starts kicking him into the air, only to let Cabba fall before getting kicked back up into the air, it gets a bit silly.

Cabba actually does try surrendering, but Vegeta has none of it. You'd think that the ref would step in and declare the match over, but the prince is able to openly threaten to kill Cabba and his family with no repercussions.

This turns out to be something of a mistake as Cabba becomes outraged enough to transform into a super saiyan himself. The quite polite saiyan suddenly turns into a berserker and he smacks Vegeta around with surprising ease.

Now, at no point does Vegeta go to one of his higher forms, but later on, you do see him smiling, showing that he was, in his own way, obliging Cabba's request.

Rather than go to super saiyan 2 or 3, Vegeta jumps right to his blue form and brings the fight to a quick end. It was surprising as they usually go to great lengths to keep their full power hidden from opponents. It appears that he did it to show Cabba what saiyans were capable of in order to motivate him to train harder. It works, so while Vegeta's methods appeared suspect from an outsider perspective (Yamucha even muses that Vegeta may have gone back to being evil when he was beating up Cabba) it got the desired results.

It's noted that Vegeta's gotten three wins in a row, putting Universe 7's team at a distinct advantage. Champa's roster is reduced to Hit, the assassin who attacked Frost a few episodes back.

Considering the assassin wasn't even paying attention until Vegeta transformed into his blue form, it's safe to say that he's going to be a heavy hitter..pun not intended.

The episode ends before the fight can begin, but it might be safe to say that Vegeta's going to lose this one. It's standard procedure to give Goku the final battle and beating Vegeta would show how tough Hit is. On top of that, Monaka still hasn't fought. It would be very strange to bring the character in, talk about how powerful he is, and then do nothing with him.

All in all, this episode was OK, but not great. Oddly, while the fight was the focus, the real takeaway was the character depth that the episode gave Vegeta. Sadly, the episode did suffer from some lackluster animation at points. They were usually cut away quickly, but the subpar frames were still noticeable.

Depending on how formidable Hit is, we could be coming to the end of the arc. Of course, if he bests both saiyans and goes toe to toe with Monaka, there could still be a few episodes, so we'll have to see how that plays out.

Episode 38: Universe 6's Most Powerful Warrior! Meet Hit Man Hit!

With Vegeta on a hot streak and Champa's team roster reduced to one fighter, it looks like Team Beerus has this tournament in the bag. Of course, we know from the encounter with Frost that Hit is formidable and not one to be counted out either.

Basic narrative structure told you that Vegeta was going to lose this fight, but it was still well done. For one thing, Vegeta went right into his "blue" form. That alone helped build tension as it eliminated the "well he's not really in trouble because he's holding back" mentality that plagued some of the earlier fights. It also acts as a testament to Hit's abilities, because he is still able to keep the saiyan prince on the defensive despite being in his peak form.

Even Vegeta's trait of being more of a strategist gets played up to the max here. A lot of the fight just has him thinking and analyzing, trying to figure out a way to counter Hit's seemingly flawless approach. It doesn't quite hit the same highs as, say, "Death Note" on that front, and you could argue that having large blocks of time where a character stands still in a show based around intense fights is counter-intuitive, but I still dug it.

I also dug Hit's characterization. He has the cold demeanor that you would expect from an assassin, but he also seems to have some code of honor. He repeatedly urges Vegeta to surrender and does the same with Goku, even going so far as to warn him that repeated hits to vital areas would kill him. He clearly has no qualms with killing, but he seems to take an active role in avoiding it when it isn't necessary, fascinating stuff.

The reveal of Hit's ability to freeze time around him for a fraction of a second was rather clumsily introduced, but I'm not sure how else it could have been done. On top of that, there needed to be some edge to give Goku, otherwise, he wouldn't have fared much better than Vegeta did.

To wit, Goku has a hard time initially, though he does eventually figure out a way to anticipate Hit's moves, even taking the time freeze into account. It makes for a nice, dramatic way to end the episode as the tide turns in the hero's favor.

Speaking of Goku, his interplay with Hit was a highlight of the episode. He's so cheerful and friendly. He usually is, but it seems like the writers really amped it up this episode. It made a nice contrast to Hit's cold demeanor, which was likely the intent, but it was still fun to watch.

I'm torn on the reveal about Monaka. On the one hand, Whis' reveal that his status as the universe's strongest was a bluff was funny. It also adds some tension as now the tournament hinges on Goku. It also explains Beerus' reluctance to let him fight (and his absence during Kid Buu's rampage), but at the same time, showing that there were stronger fighters out there was an interesting idea to introduce. I mentioned before that Goku and Vegeta being the strongest in the universe was a tough pill to swallow and this helped address that, until now anyway. But, it is what it is, so we'll just move on.

If anything hurt this episode, it was the animation. It doesn't quite hit the same lows as episode 5, but there were parts where you could tell that they were cutting corners. It just makes you wonder why the show has been going almost non-stop since it started. It seems like taking a few weeks off between story lines would give the animators the time they need to fix a lot of these things. While having new episodes is nice, if it results in better quality, I think people would be willing to wait.

Still, this was a strong episode. It provided a worthy challenge to two characters who are rather difficult to challenge at this point. The emphasis on strategy was a nice touch and we got some great character moments peppered throughout the episode. All in all, it was an entertaining watch.

Episode 39: Great Time Skipping Counter-Attack! Is it Coming? Goku's New Technique 

As the fight continues, Goku and Hit find themselves in a unique stalemate. True, Goku can anticipate what Hit will do with the fraction of a second he gains with his time-freezing technique (thanks in part to watching how he moved during the fight with Vegeta), but as Hit and Piccolo note, Goku tipping his hand could give Hit an edge in the fight again.

Oddly enough, it doesn't, though Hit still puts up a good fight against Goku in his peak form. In an interesting twist, Hit is able to regain the upper hand through another technique. The episode is a little unclear, but by mimicking the saiyan style of powering up mid-fight (complete with yelling, which Goku amusingly notes,) Hit is able to "improve" i.e. he can hit harder, move faster, and (more importantly) he can extend the length of his time-leap technique.

I noted before that Vegeta really put strategic thinking to use last episode, but it looks like Goku is trying to improve in that area as well. He surmises that he can take a few hits as a way to figure out Hit's movements to eventually compensate for the wider gap in time.

For his part, Hit catches on and shows why this is a horrible idea. Not only are Hits blows rather devastating, but it turns out that his time leap limit can be extended more than once, meaning that Goku is low on options.

You'd think with is cold, assassin like demeanor, that Hit would bring the fight to an abrupt end. He doesn't. On the contrary, he notes that this fight is making him a better fighter and actually encourages Goku to get up and keep the fight going. It was rather unexpected to see the emotionless fighter show a more sporting side. He even cracks a smile, indicating that he's enjoying it. It's a small thing in the grand scheme of things, but it was a nice bit of characterization.

True to form, Goku finds the will to keep going and ascend to new heights. At first it looks like he's going to reach yet another new form (Super Saiyan Blue 2?) but instead, he brings out the kaio-ken technique to up his abilities and gain the upper hand. It's been awhile, but it was nice to see that the technique wasn't completely forgotten. The episode also gives a credible explanation as to why he stopped using it after he hit the first Super Saiyan form, which I also appreciated.

Goku notes that even now, it was a gamble as the toll on his body could have been fatal, but it manages to pay off and it looks like Goku has Hit on the ropes.

It was kind of disappointing to see the episode end the way it did, with the fight appearing to remain unresolved. It isn't much of a cliffhanger as it looks like Goku has the win. Really, they could have wrapped it up quicker and moved on, but I guess the next episode would have acted as an epilogue either way. Still, the fight was very enjoyable. The tide turned on more than one occasion and while Goku's win was inevitable, it was still executed in a fun and exciting way. It was enough to make for a solid episode overall.

Episode 40: Conclusion at last! Is Beerus the Winner? Or is it Shanpa?

The way the last episode ended, you'd think that Goku had the fight in the bag. The combined might of his blue form, kaio-ken technique, and a gigantic Kamehameha wave should, by all accounts, end the battle. Such isn't the case, however, as it is revealed that Hit used his time leap ability to evade the blast. Thus, the fight resumes.

It's a fairly entertaining watch. Not only do both sides land some solid hits but the dynamic between the two fighters continues to become more favorable as more time goes on. Both are incredibly respectful of the other's ability and Goku's good natured demeanor is so powerful that the cold, ruthless assassin actually cracks a smile. Even the universe 6 kai is blown away by that particular development.

Despite the fact that the kaio-ken is taking its toll on Goku's body, he actually attempts to escalate the fight by asking Beerus to revoke the tournament rules. It seems like an odd request, but he notes that Hit is holding back on his more powerful attacks. Even Hit seems taken aback, but it is consistent with Goku wanting to fight opponents at their peak, even if it is a detriment to him.

While Champa is on board with the plan, Beerus objects, leading to some bickering. It's largely played for laughs, but it does have more serious repercussions. For one thing, Champa alluding to the two teams just being pawns in their game sets both Goku and Hit off. Though neither does anything about it that moment, it could lead to something later on down the line.

On top of that, the fact that the twin gods can't come to an agreement leads Goku to just hop out of the ring, telling Hit that they can have a rematch some other time without the constraints. Goku's nonchalant approach stands as a stark contrast to everybody's stunned response to this.

Of course, Champa is pleased with the result, while Beerus isn't. Goku's insistence that they still have Monaka as a trump card only adds salt to the metaphorical wound as it seems like Universe 7 has no chance of winning.

Even Monaka seems terrified about having to step into the ring. We don't see much, but what we do see isn't impressive. Monaka seems slow and stiff. Even the leap into the ring ends in failure as Monaka crashes and lands head first. It only goes downhill from there as Monaka attempts to throw a punch.

It's clear that it had no effect, but (in rather hilarious fashion) Hit throws the fight and flies out of the ring, acting like it was the result of Monaka's blow. Credit where it's due, that was an interesting and certainly unexpected way to resolve the plot line. It was also nice to give the lesser known fighter a chance to bask in the limelight for a while.

It's short lived, however, as Champa seems poised to take the role of the arc's ultimate villain. He's none too pleased with the results and voices his intent to kill every member of his team. Cabba does try to talk the god down, but it's to no avail. While Champa was always portrayed as somewhat bumbling and pathetic, here, he's legitimately creepy and no one takes the threat he poses lightly.

It would have been cool to see the whole team battle the god, though considering how the Z warriors fared against Beerus, it probably wouldn't have lasted long. Goku shows his desire to help when it looks like things are going South, but alas, his body is too strained from his use of the kaio-ken technique. You'd think that the others would at least step up, but they don't seem too concerned with what's happening.

It's a moot point anyway as a new player enters the field and draws everyone's attention. His arrival is enough to scare both Champa and Beerus. The reaction is goofy, but at the same time it achieves the desired result of showing you just how big a deal this new character is. Who is this new character? Well, we don't get a name, but the two gods of destruction refer to him as "the king of everything".

This was a fun episode. The healthy dose of humor helped add to what would have just been an entire episode of fighting. There were also some great character moments peppered throughout. The addition of yet another "god" figure could be ridiculous, but with that title, I have to assume that we've hit the top of the "Dragon Ball" divine hierarchy.

It makes for a great reveal and opens up new questions, such as why he's even there in the first place. It should make for an interesting episode next week as we learn more about both the king and the workings of the multiverse.

Episode 41: Come, God of Dragons - And Pretty Please Grant My Wish

As shown at the end of the last episode, the group had been met with a new visitor, described as "the king of everything", who manages to spook both of the sibling gods of destruction.

It was a little odd to see that even Supreme Kai didn't know who this person was, though Elder Kai rightly smacks him for it. Even without him, though, the main characters are left befuddled, allowing Beerus to explain just what he is.

It seems that the "king of everything", or omni-king for short, is the being that sits atop the multiverse itself. So, for all intents and purposes, this is God. Granted, this franchise has a habit of introducing ever higher ranking deities, but if there's a being higher than this one, I'd be hard pressed to even think of what it would be.

Beerus even notes that the omni-king has the ability to wipe the whole thing out of existence should he desire it. If you were wondering why the two gods were scared, that gives you a pretty good indicator. Both Beerus and Champa note that even being seated higher than him seems improper and immediately go down to the ring so that they can pay their proper reverence.

While the omni-king seems cheerful and friendly, he is quick to note that neither god is particularly good at being destroyers. It seems that he was just messing with them, though, as he notes that he was kidding when he brings up the idea of replacing them.

Naturally, Goku forgoes all formality and just attempts to use his cheerful demeanor in order introduce himself. Neither Champa, Beerus, or the omni-king's guards (why does the divine ruler of the multiverse need guards?) take kindly to this. It's very effectively played for laughs, though you could easily see why the others would be aghast at how Goku is approaching this situation.

After a hearty handshake, the omni-king explains that he enjoyed what he saw of the tournament and wants to have one that features all 12 universes. At first it seems like it's going to be something that will occur immediately, but it is possible that it is just a sequel hook to set up a future arc.

With that taken care of, Beerus wants to collect his winnings: a wish from the super dragon balls. The problem of only having six is handwaved with the reveal that the very planet they were fighting on was the seventh. Piccolo surmises that the ball collided with asteroids that covered it, but that is just conjecture on his part.

In any event, Beerus calls forth the dragon, whose summoning incantation includes the words "easy peezy lemon squeezy" for some reason. Even Beerus notes that this makes no sense and that the language of the gods doesn't even have words for that expression, but apparently it works and the dragon god is summoned.

Appearances by Shenlong and Porunga are always rather jaw dropping, but this being rightly puts those to shame. The creature lives up to its name as we gradually learn that this dragon is larger than entire galaxies.

The reveal starts off rather unsettling but than becomes awe inspiring and majestic. The scene is even accompanied by the music that played when Goku first ascended to Super Saiyan God and it works magnificently.

As if that wasn't enough to display the scope of this thing, the group is only able to make its wish by approaching its "nucleus". It gives the scene a very otherworldly feel as they are merely talking to what amounts to a form that their minds can fathom. The scenery around them adds to it as it seems like they've entered another realm entirely.

This whole sequence really is the show stealer, which is impressive as it was preceded by a conversation with God. Even if the episode didn't advance the overall plot along too much, I think that this will standout as one of the more memorable episodes just because of the dragon alone.

While Beerus noted that he would use the wish for destructive purposes, Bulma manages to convince him to do something a bit more innocuous. He tells the group that he wished for a more comfortable bed, but we learn that he used his wish to restore universe 6's Earth.

It was just as heartwarming as it sounds. True, Beerus says he wants his brother to owe him one, but even if that were true, it was still rather nice of him. It's especially moving as this is coming from a being who is supposed to destroy worlds.

This was a surprisingly strong episode. The spectacle of the dragon alone was worth the watch, but it does introduce some elements that will likely come into play later on and Beerus' gesture added a nice emotional weight to it. Oddly, the dialogue implies that this is the end of the arc, but it seems like the next episode will act as a more traditional epilogue. Which one turns out to be the case remains to be seen.

Episode 42: Trouble at the Victory Celebration! Showdown at Last! Monaka vs. Goku

With the tournament concluded, the heroes return to Earth. To celebrate the victory, Bulma decides to throw a party. Beerus and Whis are invited and Bulma even goes so far as to extend an invitation to Monaka, as she is under the impression that he was vital to the team's win.

It's a nice enough gesture, but it does pose a problem as Monaka was a fake and having him at the party risks revealing Beerus' ruse. As he notes, it reflects badly when gods lie and, on top of that, the whole point was to motivate Goku and Vegeta to train harder. Even with the tournament done, that motivation still holds true, so Beerus decides to keep the lie going.

It becomes a problem, however, when Monaka just happens to be sent to deliver some food for Bulma's party. It's pure happenstance, as he wasn't aware that there was a party, let alone one where he was invited. Suffice it to say, this worries Beerus.

You'd expect wackiness to ensue as Beerus goes to greater lengths to maintain the lie, but it isn't long before the other Z-fighters pick up on what happened. Even Vegeta seems OK with it. He picks up on the reasons almost immediately and just shrugs it off. You could argue that's partially due to fear, as Beerus is still way out of his league, but he still seems to take it in stride.

However, Goku needs to be kept in the dark so that he doesn't lose his desire to train. While the ensuing antics are indeed funny, the motivation seems a bit thin. Goku was already plenty motivated to train before, he still has Vegeta egging him on, two divine beings who he wishes to surpass, a desired rematch with Hit, and even an upcoming multiversal tournament with even more fighters for him to fight. That's not even taking into account what other monstrosities may wake up and threaten existence in the meantime. Really, he has plenty of motivation to keep training, but then again, that's not funny, so you just have to roll with it.

I have to hand it to the writers, that Monaka costume was a rather well executed Chekhov's Gun. Most instances of the trope are telegraphed, but this was much more subtle. Mr. Satan has his own reasons for making the costume and that alone was satisfactory for a one-off gag, but it comes back into play when the others suggest that Beerus put the costume on in order to take Monaka's place and keep Goku convinced that there's a fighter that powerful out there.

The whole episode, in fact, was rather well put together. The exchanges were funny and the situation did spiral more and more out of control as things progressed. Even though this is just a comic relief filler episode, the fact that it's actually funny goes a long way to making it enjoyable to sit through.

There is a decent fight, though both sides are clearly holding back. Given that it's just a sparring match, it makes sense, and the episode's focus is more on comedy than on action so it isn't a complaint like it would be in most episodes.

Really, the only weak link is the "moral" at the end where Beerus and Whis talk about the importance of honesty. Yes, it's an animated series likely watched by young kids, but it was still a little too on the nose. It wasn't necessary, as even Beerus' comment about lying reflecting badly was enough to make the point, and the show doesn't usually do that sort of thing so it comes out of nowhere.

Still, this was a fun watch. It keeps you engaged and it does set up the potential stakes for the next tournament, where things may not be so friendly. As far as story arc epilogues go, this was a fairly strong one.

Episode 43: Goku's Ki is out of Control!? Looking After Pan is a lot of Trouble

While the period of peace before the omni-king's tournament continues, Goku finds himself in a bit of a quandary. His powers are out of whack and his appetite isn't what it used to be. He shrugs it off, but the concern showed by both Chichi and Goten is enough to convince him to go see King Kai to see what's up.

It turns out that using the Kaio-Ken during the tournament had some after effects and is causing his energy to behave in bizarre ways. The good news is that it will heal on its own, so all he needs to do is rest. As such, he decides to help take care of his grand-daughter, Pan, while Gohan goes on a job interview.

Luckily, he's not alone as both Chichi and Piccolo offer assistance. While their presence hinders the potential for wackiness to ensue, it's worth the trade off as we see that the Namek has taken a liking to the kid. It's kind of adorable.

Of course, Goku is shown playing with his grand-daughter and talking about how she'll become a super saiyan. As adorable as seeing Piccolo with Pan is, this scene tops it and legitimately stands as one of the major highlights of the episode.

Despite the trio's valiant efforts, they do lose track of the toddler and she wanders off and into the hands of Pilaf and his gang, who are looking to capitalize on Goku's weakened state to...do something? It's not clear what they're ultimate objective is, but they have a robot.

Truth be told, they're an unnecessary addition. Honestly, between Goku's malfunctioning body and the saiyan toddler, you had all you needed for a fun episode. Alas, the trio are a factor and they don't add much to the episode. They actually manage to drag the episode down.

It was nice to see that the kidnapping was entirely unintentional. It wasn't like Pilaf wanted to use the toddler for payback, they just got caught up in a moment of panic and the kid ended up with them. Also, despite Pilaf's proclamation that he's the ultimate evil, he refuses to just abandon the kid somewhere.

It does lead to some shenanigans, but again, the episode doesn't really live up to the potential of the premise.

At the very least, it was cool to see Pan power up for the first time. She doesn't go super saiyan, which is for the best as that would have been ridiculous, but it is a big step in the right direction. She also flies, which was also surprisingly glorious to see. Considering how common the ability is, you wouldn't think that it could inspire awe at this point, but seeing a toddler do it (and seeing the phenomenon from her eyes,) the wonder is somewhat restored.

Also, on a random note, it was great to see that my theory about Chichi's earlier declaration that she had spent the fortune that they won was a bluff on her end to motivate Goku to keep working. I say this not so much to boast about how astute and genre savvy I am, but because it reflects better on Chichi. It was a good thing too as Goku's condition results in the house getting destroyed, so having that fiscal cushion definitely worked to their advantage.

Admittedly, this episode had some great moments, but they end up being greater than the sum of their parts. Really, taking Pilaf and his gang out of the equation would have resulted in a much stronger and more focused episode. Because of them, it becomes disjointed and leads to some bizarre pacing. Still, there are some good humorous bits here and there, and the episode is worth a watch just for the sheer adorableness on display.

Episode 44: Seal of Planet Potofu - Secret of the Superhuman Water is Unleashed


At first glance, this seems like it's going to be another one-off filler episode. To its credit, the plot hook is solid enough. Goten and Trunks end up in the back of Monaka's truck when he returns to make a delivery. As a result, the two accidentally get transported to another planet and end up in conflict with a group of extra-terrestrial villains.

After being sidelined for so long, I was actually looking forward to seeing an episode where they take center stage. I didn't expect anything epic, but I figured that they'd stop the bad guys and that the episode would end with Monaka returning them to Earth; no harm, no foul. Surprisingly, enough, that's not what happens. In fact, by episode's end, it seems like the characters could have a serious problem on their hands.

This episode had a lot of solid moments. Trunks play-wielding a sword was one. This show really seems to enjoy making nods to the future iteration of Trunks. I suppose it's fitting considering said character is said to be making a return in the next arc. I also like how Bulma was able to figure out what happened rather quickly. Of course, having security cameras helped a lot, but it avoided wasting time having her freak out over not knowing where they are.

The scene that unfolds just before the mid-episode break was also rather effective. We learn that the aliens are looking for mystical water that is supposed to grant extraordinary strength. I was expecting this to lead to a recreation of that old fable of the water at the top of the mountain, but this stuff is legit.

Just as the villain opens it, he sees a light and then the camera cuts to a wide shot of the planet as he screams out. It was very "Raiders of the Lost Ark". Granted, nobody's face melted, but the way it played out, you could have seen opening the bottle to end with similar results before it was shown otherwise

As with many things, the results weren't what the villain had in mind. There are effects, to be sure, and great strength could easily be gained, but it isn't that simple. Even the guardian warns him that the water absorbs, which was some decent foreshadowing for what happens to Vegeta when he arrives on the scene.

On the one hand, I was kind of disappointed to see Vegeta upstaging the two kids, but at the same time, seeing him own a fight is always fun to watch. His ownage, alas, is temporary as the saiyan prince soon finds himself encased in sentient goo.

You'd think that suffocation would be the threat, but surprisingly, Vegeta gets spat out fairly quickly. I was also, subsequently, expecting this to lead to another "possession" where Vegeta is now enslaved and forced to fight in the bad guy's stead.

Instead, Vegeta reveals that he doesn't have any strength left. At this point, the villain chuckles and creates a doppelganger of the prince, indicating that he leeched the strength for his own gain. Whether he has access to Vegeta's full power or not is unclear, but seeing as this was the cliffhanger of the episode, some unanswered questions are to be expected. If he does now have the powers of a super saiyan blue, you can see why I said that the characters could have a serious problem.

While the episode overall is solid, it isn't without its flaws. The villain is rather one note. We don't even get his name until the final few minutes of the episode. Were he just a "one and done" antagonist, you could probably let it slide, but this story seems to be something of a mini-arc and I don't know if there's enough there to carry it.

The fact that Jaco just happened to be looking for said villain was also a bit too plot convenient. If Jaco had listed a few and the bad guy du jour happened to be among them, I think it would have been an easier pill to swallow. Either that or have Jaco recognize the guy on sight and then whip out his rolodex to acknowledge that he's an intergalactic fugitive.

All in all, though, this was a solid watch. The plot hook was engaging enough and it makes for a nice mini-adventure before the series dives into another huge arc. I'm looking forward to seeing how this plays out.

Episode 45: Vegeta Disappears!? The Threat of Duplicated Vegeta

This episode picks up where the last left off, with Vegeta now powerless after having his energies drained by the strange purple liquid that eventually molded into a doppelganger.

The group makes a hasty retreat with some help from Jaco and we're given the backstory of the substance. Potage, the elderly being who had been tasked with guarding it, explains that it was created as a weapon to defend the planet from attackers. As with so many weapons, this one backfires as it soon develops a malevolent will of its own after absorbing the spirits of so many ne'er do wells over the eons.

The idea that the water enhances strength was merely a myth, though you have to wonder why no effort was made to quell that one. Potage notes that the story only drew in more people interested in the water's power, allowing for more to be absorbed. If left unchecked, this entity, called Commeson could pose a threat to the entire universe, especially now that it has Vegeta's power at its disposal.

As if that weren't bad enough, Potage explains that after the water absorbs your abilities, you fade away in 3-5 minutes. On the plus side, this is still "Dragon Ball", so 5 minutes amounts to about 10 episodes, leaving Vegeta a good chunk of time to have his hide saved.

Said hide has no choice but to rely on Gotenks to save the day. You'd think that this would be an interesting fight, but alas, even at Super Saiyan 3, Gotenks can't do any serious damage to the saiyan prince's double. I said before that I'm not sure whether the clone fights with the power of a super saiyan blue or not, and this episode doesn't really clarify. Given how one-sided the fight is, you could say that he is. On the other hand, you could say that Vegeta is just so powerful at this point that he can best a super saiyan 3 in his regular form. It's possible given the training he and Goku have undergone, but that still seems nuts.

You could argue that this is over-analytical nitpicking, especially considering Goku's statement against Beerus that regardless of form, it's still him; but I am still kind of curious about it.

We do learn that in addition to powers and mannerisms, the clone takes the victim's spirit. This results in hesitation when Vegeta is tasked with absorbing Trunks, and even a reluctance to rely on absorption in order to boost power. This comes to a head when the Gryll clone orders Vegeta to absorb the two kids, only to have the clone defy the order and break free of Commeson's psychic bonds.

You could argue that this is just a rehash of the scene when Majin Vegeta's will was able to overpower Babidi's commands back in the Buu saga, but it was still a cool moment.

Another highlight comes when Goku arrives on the scene after being told that something is up by King Kai, who senses the energy from Gotenks fighting the Vegeta clone. Naturally, Goku has a hard time getting caught up as to what's going on.

Once he is up to speed, though, Goku is excited about the prospect of fighting Vegeta to the death. Not surprisingly, the Vegeta clone is just as eager for the fight. It does make for a great episode ender as the rivalry between the last two remaining saiyans revives, sort of.

Honestly, in the grand scheme of things, this episode didn't drive forward all that much. The exposition was nice, but really, the whole thing is carried by a lot of fun moments that are peppered throughout the episode. I'm not sure this will go down as one of the show's more memorable ones, but it was a fun watch.

Episode 46: Goku vs. Duplicated Vegeta! Who's Gonna Win?

The third round between Vegeta and Goku begins as the latter tries to save the prior from disappearing as a result of the superhuman water.

While the fight is the central focus of the episode, it is actually one of the weaker elements of the episode. It's kind of a given that Goku is stronger, so there wasn't as much tension as one would hope. The fact that it took place over the course of a single episode also means it's a bit rushed.

Both fighters do end up going into the blue form, which answered a few questions that I had before. Not only did the water now have access to divine powers, but Vegeta really did clobber the SS3 Gotenks in his regular, non-powered form.

Oddly enough, the events on the sidelines were the more compelling parts of the episode. Vegeta is put into a very bizarre position as he wants (and needs) Goku to win so that he can survive, but he also gets frustrated when his copy is on the losing end as he feels it reflects badly on him. He ends up calling out both parties for their fighting style, leaving both Goku and the Vegeta copy wondering who's side the saiyan prince is on.

Trunks' concern for his father also adds some emotional weight to the episode. Even though you know in the back of your head that Vegeta's going to be fine, Trunks isn't privy to that sort of meta-knowledge. You can't help but feel for the kid as he has to watch his father literally disappear in front of his eyes.

Some other highlights include seeing Vegeta put what looks like a pacifier in his mouth to stall the process. Even Jaco tries to get a picture, but alas, the battery on his camera dies before he can take it.

You'd think that Vegeta's pride wouldn't allow it, but he's surprisingly OK with it. We see later that he doesn't know what a pacifier is (which gives you an idea of how attentive a father he was) and only becomes appalled when Goku explains it to him.

I also got a kick out of seeing the superhuman water go out of its way to avoid Jaco when it tries to find more victims in order to gain power. Considering Trunks and Goten are there, it makes sense, but it was still funny.

Having Monaka be the one to ultimately save the day was an interesting twist. It's pure accident, of course, but it works out. It provides a quick and legitimate resolution to the conflict while also giving Goku more proof that Monaka is a legitimate warrior. Considering every one else had already contributed to the fight to some extent, it was nice to see that he got to add something, as opposed to being dead weight.

The teaser for the next story line was well executed as we see Future Trunks being pursued by something. I'm guessing this is yet another alternate timeline as Trunks' hair was blue as opposed to purple and the original Future Trunks hasn't returned in years. Either way, I'm looking forward to seeing how this story arc is going to play out.

As to this recently completed one, it worked for what it was. The fact that it was brief was nice and minimized filler, but it didn't have a lot of time to build things up again either. As noted, even the big fight fell a little flat. Still, it provided an interesting adversary and made for a nice mini-adventure between bigger story arcs.

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