But I'll not get ahead of myself since I want to start with the side fights, which I absolutely loved.
Freeza and Dyspo have a good thing going for them. Surprisingly, they play off well of eachother. Still want Freeza vs Toppo more, but this is good. Loved how Dyspo took the guy for a ride then pummelled his face in that wall, Broly style in a bit of an out-of-universe/meta nod.
Toppo vs Gohan and 17 was surprisingly the highlight for me action-wise. For how little it lasted, Toppo's flips and the gorgeous smoke effects from the Kamehamaha captured my eyes the most. A nice interaction between Gohan and 17 too and another instance of Gohan putting that team leader position to use.
The bleachers thing was kinda dumb, especially since nothing worthile came of it. No one's taking sides, which I'd have liked to see. Sure, bae Vados and bae Marcarita talking finally was cool, but let's see some more.
Also, it has bugged me troughout the whole arc how Universe 7 never seemed in any real danger against anybody but Jiren, with even most eliminations looking pretty avoidable, but I must say the impact of having them so overwhelmed even with their superior numbers is much better felt this way. There really doesn't look like there's a real way to win other than to stay in and hope time runs out quickly, while there's still half of them.
The Jiren fight was amazing, not really due to the fighting, but due to how well everything blended together. We got a bit more insight into Jiren's motives, so it definetley looks like between his wish and his purpose, there is a reason why they're keeping him so mysterious beyond his overwhelming power. Sure he's bland, but it looks more and more like there might be some pay off to it. He geniunely could be the winner of this thing, no drop outs like Hit, no giving up by Goku. Straight up beating everybody. Hell, he seems to be keeping the Saiyan boys in the ring on purpose, to bring out more power from them.
Also, he's holding back. Vegeta notes he was faster and stronger vs Goku, so endless speculations for two weeks now are again proven to be worthless. Previews are misleading, guys! But I digress...
Really, what underwhelmed me the most this episode was the Final Flash. The moment itself was cool, with Vegeta feeling insulted at the core by Jiren's words and the aftermath of it with the amazing fake out, but what seemed to be the highlight of the episode... Just didn't look that great. The best part of it was Jiren standing, with the dust flowing past him. That I could hang up on a wall.
Another thing to point out is that this is probably the first Super episode which brought back something from Z that was missing for the past arcs: The build up, the long stare-downs. The opening scene, with the wind blowing, just set the stageso perfectly for what is the final battle. And, due to Super's quicker pacing, it doesn't feel drown out either.
So yeah, hell of a ride this episode. Lacking in memorability, but very well done on all fronts. A complete package.
Next episode is interesting. Really curious what Vegeta's new form is and excited not necessarily for that, as much as there are still these kind of surprises coming even this late in the game. Hopefully though it's not Ultra Instinct... Not that I mind Vegeta getting it, this arc even, but just because I think it looks too different and it feels a bit too easy. If it's something new, by all means. Having characters get unique forms was always something I wanted and never thought I'd see, but between Rage Trunks, Ultimate Gohan, UI Goku and Blue2 Vegeta, this is turning more and more into a possibility.
Also, some interesting fighting seems to take place. Jiren twisting Goku's arm... That's what excites me
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