Episode 137 of Dragon Ball Z, first aired in Japan on April 29, 1992 and titled Last Ditch Effort in Funimation's dub, is the morning-after episode. The fighters lick their wounds, Vegeta leaves without a word, and Piccolo makes the heaviest decision of his life: to become one being with Kami again.
Summary
With 18's kiss still on his cheek, Krillin watches the Androids fly off, then hands out senzu beans. Everyone is back on their feet, but morale is on the floor. Humiliated, Vegeta takes off without so much as a glance at anyone. Trunks wants to go after him, but Piccolo stops him: ever since becoming a Super Saiyan the prince's pride has grown enormously, and right now he needs to be alone.
Piccolo tells the others to move Goku somewhere safe and says he has business to take care of by himself. Before leaving, he warns Krillin not to get the wrong idea: they are not friends, and once the Androids are dealt with he'll go back to his old goal of conquering Earth. Then he fires a blast at their feet and flies off. Krillin smiles, knowing it's only frustration talking, and explains where Piccolo is headed: Kami's Lookout, to merge with Kami and become the single Namekian they once were. He learned it from Grand Elder Guru on Namek: together, the two would be unbeatable. Tien points out the cost, since without Kami the Dragon Balls would cease to exist.
As Krillin, Trunks and Tien fly to Goku's house, the story scatters. At Kame House, Master Roshi and Maron tear up over a TV melodrama, but Maron gets bored and calls some of her many admirers, who come to collect her, luggage and all. At Capsule Corporation, Bulma's mother greets Gohan and marvels at how much he has grown, but he soon heads home. Chi-Chi and Yamcha tend to the feverish Goku, and Vegeta, mid-flight, swears the Androids will regret leaving him alive.
Piccolo reaches the Lookout, where Kami and Mr. Popo are waiting. Kami thinks back on his past: the day he purged the evil from his heart, King Piccolo's rampage, Goku's victory and the egg that hatched the Piccolo of today. When his visitor announces that he wants something from him, Kami already knows what it is.
Our take
After two episodes of one-sided beatings the show needed a breather, and this is a smart one, because it hinges on a character choice. Merging with Kami is the most radical thing Piccolo could do. The son of King Piccolo, born to avenge his father, agrees to give up his own identity to protect Earth, and his threat to Krillin is a clumsy way of hiding how much he has changed.
The anime pads the chapter with plenty of additions: the blast at his friends' feet, Vegeta vowing revenge untransformed (he was a Super Saiyan in the manga), the stop at Capsule Corporation and Kami's flashback, which skips King Piccolo's battle with Mutaito and puts Goku in its place. Maron's farewell is another invention, and it's her last appearance in the series, closing out a character created for the Garlic Jr. arc.
Trivia
- It adapts chapter 355 from page five to the end. Written by Hiroshi Toda and directed by Kazuhito Kikuchi, with animation direction by Tadayoshi Yamamuro; it drew a 20.5% share.
- In Italy it aired on Italia 1 on September 10, 2000, the same day as episode 138.
- In the English versions, Krillin says Master Roshi told him about the power of a united Piccolo and Kami. In Japanese the source is Guru, and Dragon Ball Kai fixed the line.
Did you know? In Funimation's original dub, Piccolo's threat was replaced with a vaguer "This is something that I must do." Later versions and Dragon Ball Kai restored the intended line.