Episode 123 of Dragon Ball Super, first broadcast in Japan on January 14, 2018 and titled Body, Soul and Power Unleashed! Goku and Vegeta! in Funimation's dub, is the one where Vegeta unveils his new form. While Goku tries to outwit Jiren, the Saiyan prince finds in his promise to Cabba the strength to go beyond Super Saiyan Blue.
Summary
Jiren tells Vegeta to rest, and in the stands Belmod and Khai explain that being called a "warrior" by Jiren is a rare honor: he is acknowledging Vegeta's courage. Vegeta gets back up anyway, sensing that his opponent still has not shown his full power. It is Goku's turn. Elsewhere, Dyspo thinks he has finished Frieza off, but Frieza fires back without a scratch, while Gohan and Android 17 realize they cannot coordinate because they have never fought together. Android 17 proposes a simple plan: he lets Toppo grab him, seals them both in a barrier, and Gohan pushes them out with a Kamehameha. Toppo, however, punches 17 hard enough to break the barrier, and Gohan pulls back to avoid hurting his teammate.
Goku, meanwhile, circles Jiren with Instant Transmission, always backing off after a few moments: he is actually seeding the ground with ki mines, which explode as soon as Jiren steps on them. Jiren leaps into the air and Goku greets him with a volley of Destructo Discs, which Jiren destroys, or nearly all of them. They end up fighting on a large rock jutting out past the edge of the arena, and just as Jiren winds up his finishing blow, the ground gives way: Goku had sliced it with his last disc, the same trick Krillin once used against him while sparring. One kick, and Jiren falls.
It is not enough. Jiren uses the floating rubble as footholds, climbs back up and walks straight at Goku, ignoring the mines. Then he raises his game and buries him under glowing punches: one barely grazes Goku, yet it knocks him back to base form. Khai points out that, for Jiren, those are ordinary punches. Goku and Vegeta get back up. Goku goes Super Saiyan Blue Kaio-ken, while Vegeta thinks of his promise to Cabba and resolves to break his limits his own way. His aura changes: this is Super Saiyan Blue Evolution, and the Grand Minister explains that he has cracked his shell just as Goku did. The two attack together, for once. Their teamwork is far from perfect, Whis notes, but that is exactly what throws Jiren off. Seven minutes remain.
Our take
The episode has two halves, and both work. The first is Goku the strategist, who against a stronger opponent gives up the head-on fight and lays traps: the mines, the discs, the sliced rock. The nod to Krillin's trick is a nice touch, a reminder that Goku learns from everyone, even friends he considers weaker.
The second is Vegeta's transformation, and the series motivates it consistently: it comes not from rage or from imitating Ultra Instinct, but from a promise. It is the payoff of the path he chose in the previous episode. Seeing him fight beside Goku, uncoordinated and therefore unpredictable, is the kind of satisfaction fans had been waiting years for.
Trivia
- Written by Atsuhiro Tomioka and directed by Masanori Satō, with Hiroyuki Itai and Osamu Ishikawa as animation directors. It drew a 4.5% rating in Japan.
- Vegeta's new form is covered on our Super Saiyan transformations page.
- In the manga, Vegeta reaches his evolved form out of a desire to get stronger without following any master, not because of his promise to Cabba.