It's clearly meant to give the episode an action beat. You'd think a 3 way fight between several gods of destruction would be more impressive, but it was a tad underwhelming all things considered. They had some unique attacks, but the fact that nobody really landed a hit means it ended in a stalemate. It was a brief skirmish too, which also hurt it.
They do end up doing significant damage to the ring, though. Considering that the ring is made out of a super-strong material, it shows you what these gods are capable of. You'd think that the grand priest would be upset at having the ring wrecked after all that time and effort was used to construct it, but he's surprisingly upbeat. He notes that the battle exposed weak spots that could use reinforcement and tasks the three gods with fixing it while he tends to other matters.
Back on Earth, the team assembles and doesn't exactly get off to an auspicious start. Frieza's presence angers and unnerves a lot of the other fighters. It's something he's more than happy to exacerbate.
Even when they try to shift the focus to "team strategy" the group can't seem to come to an agreement. Gohan tries to stress teamwork, creating partnerships, and outnumbering opponents to get them out of the ring; but neither Goku or Vegeta really think that way. Their saiyan pride won't allow for such tactics. Oddly enough, the fact that trusting or relying Frieza is a bad idea never really comes up.
The fact that this is less of a team and more of a time bomb exacerbates Beerus to no end. While the stakes are high, it is largely played for laughs and does give the episode a surprising amount of levity. Not only is it entertaining in its own right, but it's a nice breather after the more intense previous episode.
Whis does make a brief attempt to team build, making them believe that they all had to hold hands in a circle to teleport to the ring when it was completely unnecessary. It too is played more for humor, but it was at least something of an effort to bring this disparate group together.
From here, the episode's focus is on other fighters as they enter. We get some nice reunion scenes with Cabba, Hit, and Toppo. We also have some new dynamics as Goku meets Caulifla and Kale; and, of course, Frieza and Frost meeting.
While I commend Goku's chipper and friendly disposition, I can't fault Caulifla's terse attitude when she rebukes him. A lot does hinge on this tournament. Even if you were to sidestep the "their victory means our destruction" thing, there's also the fact that it would likely be a bad idea to form friendships with people who will likely die in the immediate future.
Frieza and Frost take a surprising liking to one another. You'd think Frieza would view him as a cheap imitation, but that's not the case. The two even agree to work together. I'd argue that there's no point to them doing this, as they are from separate universes, but the odds of them actually adhering to this so called alliance is so slim that it's likely a moot point. It will make those two interesting to watch.
While the tournament doesn't begin this episode, the sense of anticipation about it is still quite palpable. You can feel the excitement as more and more fighters show up. It's been a bit of a wait, but we're finally reaching the main attraction of this arc. We need wait only one more week; because next episode...it's on.
This episode may not be as memorable as the one that came before it, but I was entertained for the entire duration. It also did the job it was supposed to in getting us hyped for the tournament. There was a healthy dose of humor, which is always a plus; and a lot of great character moments peppered throughout.
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