After two rather strong episodes, this one decides to hit the brakes a little. That's not to say that it's a total dud, but compared to its predecessors, it is a bit lacking.
Right off the bat, the cliffhanger where Trunks attacks Goku is abruptly resolved. Admittedly, seeing Bulma literally slap some sense into the future iteration of her son was fun to see, but it still seems like a missed opportunity.
I said before that his attacking made no sense, but he does somewhat justify it, explaining that last he knew, Goku was still dead from the Cell games. He also later says that he wasn't sure if he had successfully made it back to the past. I suppose it's possible, but considering that Vegeta and Bulma were standing right there, it's a little bit harder to believe.
Upon discovering the nature of Trunks, Whis and Beerus reveal that time travel is a very serious crime that even the gods are not permitted to violate.
Considering Trunks' noble intentions, I suppose this is supposed to be a bad thing, but truth be told, I am very much in favor of this "law". Whis is right; time should only go one way. I could point out that, technically, Trunks didn't time travel as he went to a separate timeline, but I suppose that's splitting hairs. Actually, is Trunks' Earth one of the 12? I suppose it would have to be, but again, that could be splitting hairs.
Fortunately, the two agree to look the other way after being given some fish sausages.
After a fair bit of comedic filler, the episode gets more serious as Trunks reveals what happened to his Earth. The good news is that he was able to avert the release of Majin Buu by defeating Babidi and Dabura, but the arrival of Goku Black made it somewhat moot.
We do get a few tidbits of information, such as the fact that Black has apparently traveled to several worlds and wiped them out. We also learn that he literally appeared from nowhere and just started wrecking stuff.
Unlike the androids, where Trunks came to offer a warning ahead of time so that the team could prepare, we learn that the plan is to bring the team back to his time.
Given how small the time machine is, it would have been a tight fit, but it becomes moot as Black arrives. Again, it's a missed opportunity. Seeing them go to the future and see what had become of Earth would have been really cool, but oh well.
You might wonder how Black was able to track Trunks when he clearly had no idea what happened before. Well, his time ring is able to detect the rift and reopen it so that Black can pursue. Yes, he has a ring that magically appears and can do that because shut up.
The writers totally pulled that one from an area where the sun doesn't shine. I'd say that it was plot necessity for the team of good guys to fight the big bad, but given that the heroes were on the verge of going back anyway, it's kind of moot.
Credit where it's due, Black's arrival in the present is appropriately dramatic. It makes for a great way to end the episode as Goku meets face to face with his nefarious doppelganger.
The episode does have a few highlights peppered throughout. The look on Future Trunks' face when he sees the still living Bulma speaks emotional volumes.
The bit where Future Trunks assumes that Whis is the god that the group speaks of was pretty funny, largely due to the look on Beerus' face as Trunks begs.
I also got a kick out of seeing young Trunks cheer on his older self when the latter spars Goku. Given the smirk, it seems like Vegeta got a kick out of that too.
Speaking of the sparring match, it was a little pointless, though I suppose it gives the episode an action beat. It was nice to see that Future Trunks can go super saiyan 2. Granted, it's completely moot given what Goku can do, but still.
Overall, this episode is a mixed bag. The second half is definitely much stronger, but plot progression is minimal. I really could do without Pilaf and his gang. They don't really add anything and are often a detriment. It doesn't seem like they're going anywhere, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. The next episode looks like it's going to be intense, though, so that is something to look forward to.
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