The twenty-sixth episode of Dragon Ball Super, broadcast in Japan on January 10, 2016 after the New Year break, is the turnaround. Goku realizes that Frieza's golden form has a fatal flaw and uses it to take control of the duel. But the tyrant's revenge came with a backup plan, and Goku makes the very mistake Whis had been scolding him for for months.
Summary
Golden Frieza seems to have won: he squeezes Goku with his tail and savors the moment. Bulma fears for Earth, but Beerus and Whis urge calm: Goku still has a chance, and if he and Vegeta teamed up they would surely beat Frieza. Bulma orders her husband to step in, he does not budge, and Whis explains that the two Saiyans would rather lose than join forces: they are too proud. Beerus calls them idiots, and Whis adds that they are as stupid as he is.
Goku breaks free of the tail, but Frieza soon has the upper hand again. Sorbet rejoices, convinced that with the emperor alive the army can reconquer the universe. With Goku on the ground, Frieza recalls the humiliation he suffered on Namek: if he had won immortality with the Dragon Balls back then, he would rule the universe today. Then he fires a huge blast to finish things.
When the smoke clears, only Jaco can see that Goku is alive, though hurt. The Saiyan admits that blast nearly did him in. Suddenly Vegeta fires at him from below: he accuses Goku of still not catching on and threatens to kill Frieza himself. Goku seems to get the message, but asks for a little more time, because the fun is just beginning. He advises Frieza to leave while he is ahead: his golden form has a weakness that will soon become obvious. The tyrant laughs, and both power up to the max.
The next exchange is even, then Frieza seems to regain the upper hand: Goku ends up in the water and then on the ground. But when Frieza punches him in the head to finish him, the blow does nothing. His "time limit" is up, Goku says, and he starts to dominate. Frieza came to Earth right after his evolution, without getting used to the new form, which burns through too much energy; had he waited, he would probably have won. Beerus and Whis compliment Goku on using his head. The tyrant refuses to accept defeat, and Goku, back in his base form, tells him to leave and come back anytime. Before he can finish the sentence, a beam from Sorbet's ring pierces his chest.
Frieza congratulates his commander on the contingency plan. Beerus finds the move dirty but effective; Whis notes that he warned Goku about his habit of dropping his guard. Frieza kicks him and charges a Death Beam, but has to dodge a surprise attack: Vegeta announces it is time to switch opponents.
Our take
The idea of a golden form that burns through too much energy comes from the film, and it remains debatable: the villain loses to a technical flaw more than to a real fight. The episode makes better use of it, though, showing Goku figuring it out and Vegeta understanding it before him. Sorbet's shot is the true thematic center: Goku is strong, but his kindness remains his weak spot, and Frieza has always known it.
Trivia
- Written by Makoto Koyama and directed by Kōhei Hatano, with Naoki Tate as animation director. Its 4.9% rating makes it one of the least-watched episodes of the saga.
- Golden Frieza's stamina flaw comes from the film Resurrection 'F'.
- Whis had already scolded Goku for dropping his guard back in episode 19.