Anyone surprised by how Frieza is acting in the ToP?

[gofishus]

Frieza has been strangely calm the entire tournament. I think this is the first time we've seen Frieza with clearly more powerful guys in his vicinity - and not being outraged by it. Everytime we've seen Frieza before he was clearly the most powerful being and was angered and panicking when he realizes that someone is surpassing him in power (SSJ Goku, SSJ Trunks, SSB Goku/Vegeta) but you would think Frieza would be losing his shit over Jiren's power... so far no reaction. Has his personality evolved as well?

[Xeogran]

I knew he would be like that ever since the announcement of him participating. There's no way Freeza would just rage at everyone in a Multiversal Tournament. He's smart, and he knows there are plenty of strong guys over there, but there are other ways to win.

Now we're seeing his calm and serious side again, just as he used to be in his Base Form.

[precita]

Freeza's basically learned his lesson on how he was defeated 4 times in a row due to his arrogance. Once to Goku, once to Future Trunks, in the anime filler to Pikkon in Hell, and then to Super Saiyan Blue Goku again Return of F.

Freeza's actually showing some intelligence this time around. Imagine if he rushed off to fight Jiren? He'd be knocked out instantly.

[Jigurashi]

He's been fantastic this saga. A villain protagonist who is playing a more cunning and calculators game this time around.

[Asura]

This arc has completely redeemed Freeza for me. I had just about all I could take of this fucker by the time RoF came out and I wished he would just stay dead forever for becoming such a blight on the franchise. Now he actually feels like a completely different character with a completely different personality, and the result has been incredible. He's written so damn well, a true wildcard with unclear motivations and full of surprises, and I don't think Freeza could ever have been written this well and this interesting without the concept of being forced to fight alongside Goku instead of against him.

[GodKaio-Ken]

Freeza doesnt care if someone is more powerful so long as he feels he holds the upper hand IMO

So long as he thinks the can outwit, surprise, manipulate or otherwise defeat his opponent hes going to keep calm.

Hes also been trapped in Hell a while....so hes probably happy to be out.

[omaro34]

This arc has completely redeemed Freeza for me. I had just about all I could take of this fucker by the time RoF came out and I wished he would just stay dead forever for becoming such a blight on the franchise. Now he actually feels like a completely different character with a completely different personality, and the result has been incredible. He's written so damn well, a true wildcard with unclear motivations and full of surprises, and I don't think Freeza could ever have been written this well and this interesting without the concept of being forced to fight alongside Goku instead of against him.

Very true. His unclear motivations are what makes him interesting. One moment he's faking his fight with Gohan and betraying Frost, and the next he has a sinister look on his face and threatens Goku.

Any character can have a great impact on the audience as long as they are written well. Freeza has now surpassed Android 17 as the wildcard and dark horse to play a major role in this tournament in my book. He's always watching the events unfold in the background, waiting like a predator to pounce on its prey. We know from how he was written previously that Freeza is a very calculating individual with long term goals in his mind. He's very goal oriented, and the audience for a change not knowing what he really plans on doing adds layers to his character that we haven't seen before; thus making him intriguing.

[KidGoku>3]

What's going on with U4's GOD Kitera ? When every other GOD was shook he had this smirk on him like he knew something.
Both him and Freeza had this ominous look.

[WittyUsername]

The big thing I’m shocked about is the fact that he was willing to give energy to Goku, while Vegeta wasn’t.

[SansrivaaL]

My love for Freeza grows with each passing episode he’s in, he aint full of pride and shit like Vegeta that blinds him from what needs to be done, its times like this that I wish Freeza was Goku’s main rival and not Vegeta, I just hope after all this is done that Freeza becomes a recurring character that pops out every now and then, he’s a lot of fun.

[majinwarman]

I believe this arc has saved the image of Freeza after the shit that was the revival of f. He is so mysterious and full of great dialogue. Plus, he isn't being a pain like Vegeta. I think Freeza is taking notice that if you abtain power beyond the gods than they become like children. Which is whining and crying in disbelief. I think Freeza is one of the great storylines in this arc besides the possible Ultra Instict Goku vs Jiren rematch.

[GreatSaiyaJeff]

I am digging this direction for Freeza. When they first announced he was coming back, I was dissapointed. Sidelined Buu and Yamcha for an over used villian. However, the way he is acting and his fun chemistry with Goku and Vegeta have been a highlight. I am really curious what the direction for this character will be once this arc is done.

[Kanious]

Freeza is the same badass evil villain from before, but i THINK that Toriyama is developing his character. I don't know if he will end as a friend [or frenemy] of the Z Warriors after this arc, or if he will try to destroy everyone, but i like what Toriyama is doing to Freeza.

I was against his participation on ToP, but now i love it. It's like Toriyama is redeeming Freeza from that bad written movie and arc called "Return of F" [it was disappointing, wasn't it?]

[JoeCapricorn]

I'm actually not surprised by Frieza's behavior that much.

Next episode I am almost certain he is going to give Goku some energy to help him recover.

Frieza is still too prideful to admit it, but he is probably extremely thankful that Goku pulled him out of Hell for a day, and for the time being he is playing "nice".

With that being said, he will never be truly "good" or a full ally. He might get his desire and be wished back to life (although I have doubts about him being the ultimate champion of this tournament), and he might continue to play "nice" for a while with Goku getting his wish for Frieza being a sparring partner (as Goku said in Revival of 'F'). And if his power level increases as a result of training with Goku (as opposed to Tagoma), he might play it cool until he knows he is at a point where he can beat Goku.

That is when the irredeemable qualities of Frieza will be made painfully clear. If he is truly as calculating and goal oriented as I think and as others say he is, if he plans for the moment he himself attains Ultra Instinct and is able to surpass the level of Hakaishin, he might wait for his true motives to become clear.

As for exactly what he does, for one it seems he has his eyes set on surpassing even the Omnikings. What stepping stone would be good for him to get to that point? Being a God of Destruction.

I think Frieza might even try and replace Beerus. A future arc then results where Whis is duty bound to Hakaishin Frieza and no longer trains Vegeta and Goku. Our heroes do everything in their power to try and restore Beerus as Hakaishin of Universe 7. This could involve a Multiverse Grand Tour.

Another kind of funny alternative though is that Goku says "Sure, I'll wish you back" but then pulls a King Kai on Frieza.

[Nickolaidas]

I copy-pasted a previous post of mine, because I think it's more relevant here than in the previous thread.

What I’m about to say is clearly my opinion, and it isn’t a fact in any way - despite being written as such. Blame it on my pathos for the character and my fanboyism. Indulge me.

The way I see it, the writers and/or Toriyama changed their minds about what they wanted to do with Frieza. This ‘change’ seems to have occurred sometime between the RoF and the ToP arcs (possibly during Black). But what was the change?

Let’s take into account a couple of things.

Frieza has clearly evolved as a character ever since Goku found him in Hell and told him about the Tournament. All those years he was in hell, even in RoF, he was writhing, hissing and cursing his demise like a madman, spitting bile and anger towards everyone near him. He got resurrected only to growl and hiss once more and rushed to Goku to fight him after a hasty training session, planning be damned.

But when Goku finds him in Hell, he finds a different Frieza. A calm, collected Frieza. A Frieza who is bargaining and naming terms in order to help him with the Tournament.

And that’s where things are getting interesting.

In Dragon Ball tradition, when a villain is calm, he is in complete control of the situation. As long as the Big Bad is calm, the heroes are in trouble. Once the villain loses his cool, he loses his hype. Once he loses his hype, he’s game for Goku and co. While it’s not impossible to turn the tables for a while, a villain who loses his cool in Dragon Ball is a villain whose significance to the plot begins to diminish (Cell is a complicated kinda-exception to this).

So when Goku finds Frieza in Hell, we see a Frieza who wishes to redeem his hype in the eyes of the viewers. We see a Frieza who utterly crushes the assassins U9 sends to kill him, a Frieza who makes Goku gasp with the display of his power.

Frieza: Tranquility that cannot stir water ... combined with the ultimate intensity ... This is Golden Frieza!!
Goku: K-K-k!!!!

We see a Frieza who performs feats that Goku (seemingly) cannot. He broke out of the Hakai sphere while Goku (seemingly) couldn’t. The show is portraying Frieza as a superior to the Hero.

So obviously, the writers wish to make Frieza a legitimate threat again. Why would they want that? Why give a villain such a tremendous power-up if he’s not to do anything significant in the series?

Now let’s observe the tournament of Power. So far, during the Tournament, characters have lost their cool, had sweat running down their chins, got knocked out, got knocked down, lost their power, got panicked, got beaten, got afraid and became unsure of how to deal with a situation. Even Jiren, took a powerful hit from Ultra Goku and gasped in pain. All known characters shown in the tournament so far have experienced pain, fear and lost their cool at times.

All except one. (Jiren is also a lot of the things below, but it is to be expected since he’s the main Antagonist of this arc and his significance to the plot is still strong).

Frieza is portrayed as an incredibly powerful and scheming individual in the Tournament. He has yet to lose his cool. He has yet to be humbled by an opponent. He has yet to experience agony, fear or loss of composure. He has ridiculed every single fighter he tussled with so far.

In Dragon Ball terms, he is a character who is in complete control of the situation.

The mere fact that Goku constantly gulped whenever Jiren did anything on screen, while Frieza casually said that ‘Quite a monster is on the loose’, is really interesting. Frieza is no longer a creature who goes berserk whenever someone surpasses him in power. We see a Frieza who realizes the difference in power between him and Goku/Jiren, and actually smiles. This is a character who is cooking up Xanatos Gambits left and right. This is (seemingly) a character who wins, even if he loses. This is a character who the writers are taking great pains to ensure he remains cool and badass, despite two elephants in the room overpowering him a hundred times.

Why are the writers doing that? Why are they so protective of Frieza’s calm composure? Why do they ensure that he won’t lose hype, if they aren’t planning to do a major event with the character later on?

When Goku becomes Ultra, Frieza refuses to lose his cool, remains calm and collected when at the same time GODS ARE LOSING THEIR SHIT LEFT AND RIGHT.

In a series where keeping your cool = hype and significance, in a plot point where Gods are losing their cool (thus, begin to have their hype diminished), Frieza keeps his cool. In hype terms, at that specific moment, the writers seem to want Frieza to look more badass than the Gods themselves.

And then we have the last 40 seconds of episode 110. Those two shots of Frieza. Seriously, tell me when there was another moment in Dragon Ball history where a villain looked more sinister, more creepy, more chilling-as-fuck as that final shot of Frieza.

This isn’t a character who came back just to come back. This isn’t a character the writers brought back for shits and giggles. This is a character who *matters* to the story. This is a character who *will* have impact, who is in complete control, has a plan, and when his plan comes into fruition, our heroes shall know true despair.

But above all, this is a character the writers are backing. And in Dragon Ball - heck, in almost every form of storytelling - you don’t get any stronger than that.