You'd think that the universe 7 fighters would stall or take turns in order to run out the clock, but instead, the two saiyans and android 17 decide to charge head first into a direct fight. Even with Vegeta magically conjuring up more stamina to go back into his super blue form, Jiren is able to effortlessly knock the three around.
You'd think that this would be a tense moment, but even though they can't seem to hurt the guy, they still have a distinct advantage due to sheer numbers. It robs the fight of a good deal of tension. It has highlights here and there, but it wasn't as engaging as it probably should have been.
Even Frieza, who had earlier made a point to say that he had no desire to fight Jiren himself, makes an attempt at an attack. It isn't out of any desire to help his team (of course); heck, it isn't even out of a desire to get his wish. Nope, Frieza's assault is driven entirely by wounded ego. He's taken too much of a beating and he's decided that he's going to kill Jiren for it, tournament rules be damned.
You can guess how this goes. Even with his golden form, Frieza is no match for Jiren and easily gets dispatched. He's not eliminated, but he is even more wounded than he already was.
It isn't all bleak, 17 does manage to wound Jiren a little with a surprise sneak blast to the back. The pride trooper does not take this well. It seems like he's more miffed that his uniform got ruined. They try to paint it as Jiren having an ego, but Jiren's taken hits from them before, so I don't get why he's getting so furious about it now. His reference to them being gnats also seems strange as he had previously commended the two saiyans for their efforts.
In any event, the trick only works once and Jiren once again shows that he's more than capable of mopping the floor with the remnants of team universe 7.
With both Goku and Vegeta barely conscious, 17 asks what Jiren wants to do with his wish. A lot of fans were curious, as even the other pride troopers seemed to give Jiren's wish priority. The answer, though, is a tad underwhelming.
It's at this point that Belmod decides to monologue and give us Jiren's back story. It's really odd timing as there isn't a whole lot of time left and universe 7 still has the numbers advantage. I guess you can chalk it up to cockiness or confidence that Jiren only needs a minute or so to end it. He explains why Jiren made strength such a priority....even though Jiren said he sought that which lied beyond strength when Goku asked before.
One of the big theories was that Jiren came from a universe that the omni-king had eliminated. It actually would have been an interesting angle. Sadly, this isn't the case. Instead, Jiren saw his family get killed by a villain*. Jiren trained and even gathered a team of warriors, only to see them fall to said villain. Those who did survive gave up and abandoned him.
As such, Jiren trusts only himself. This seems odd, given that he's part of a team and he generally has them do all the work, but there it is. It explains why Jiren trained, but it doesn't explain how he got to "stronger than god of destruction". I mean, both Goku and Vegeta trained ridiculously hard (not to mention having the whole zenkai boost thing) and even they're dwarfed by Jiren's power. Also, if Jiren is so focused on physical strength, why spend so much time in a meditative state? You'd think that they would want to connect that somehow, but nope.
As to Jiren's wish, it's not clear, but I think he wants to wish those people back? If Jiren wasn't such a flat character before, these new details could have filled in holes, but it seems like too little too late. While I had qualms with the "Goku Black is Zamasu" reveal, at least the pieces fit. Here, it doesn't seem to gel. Even with a blank slate character, they still managed to come up with inconsistencies.
But hey, we finally have his motivation and, if nothing else, chibi Jiren was kind of adorable.
Not surprisingly, Jiren is less than impressed with 17's desire to wish for a boat so that he can take his family on a cruise. It was heartwarming when 17 first said it, but him stating the desire here did seem a tad silly. It was still a good moment, though.
The good moment is followed by the episode's saving grace, as the final moments of the episode ascend to something far more memorable than what had come before.
Jiren launches a blast capable of taking out the remaining fighters. Both Goku and Vegeta are too wounded to do anything, so 17 puts up a series of barriers. Unfortunately, Jiren's power is too much for the android. All 17 can do is cover Goku and Vegeta in a force field and use his own energy to cancel out the attack at the cost of his own life.
Yeah, 17 dies in order to give Goku and Vegeta a chance to rest a bit. It was a pretty intense moment. You had an otherwise nonchalant character willingly accepting a hero death while his sister watched helplessly. Even Goku and Vegeta are somewhat amazed at what 17 did.
Now, you might be thinking that since Jiren's attack caused it, that he would be eliminated. You would be wrong. Because 17 willingly sacrificed himself, Jiren suffers no penalties. Damn, he's lucky. That's the second time he's been able to escape the no kill rule through a circumstantial loophole. It made more sense with Goku, but it would be an anticlimactic way to end things.
Speaking of ending things, this is more or less where the episode ends, as Vegeta says that he's all that's needed to beat Jiren. I know Vegeta's confident and all, but he's been fighting with back up and hasn't done much. The claim just rings a little hollow at this point.
A majority of the episode was lackluster, but that final act really helped salvage it. It was unexpected, emotional, and gave the arc a rather serious personal consequence. It was nice to finally get Jiren's backstory, but it did seem a little underwhelming.
There wasn't as much tension as there should have been, but with 17 out, things are looking worse for our heroes. It might make for more gripping viewing later. If the title for the next episode is any indicator, things won't bode well for universe 7 there either. "Vegeta Falls"? It could be a fake out, but it wouldn't surprise me if the prince was eliminated. Goku and Frieza working together could be interesting to watch. I guess we'll have to see how things play out.
*I'd say that this could be foreshadowing for a future arc, but with the show ending, it seems unlikely. Maybe if a sequel series comes about, it's something they could work with.
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