Angel Clarification in TOP

[GreatSaiyaJeff]

Now I never can find an answer and I apologize if this was brought up before, but after TOP wrapped up, I remember reading somewhere that the original plan at the end of TOP was to have the Grand Priest be a villain. Was this true or was it speculation that fans ran with and it just somehow made it sound like it was true?

[TobyS]

Now I never can find an answer and I apologize if this was brought up before, but after TOP wrapped up, I remember reading somewhere that the original plan at the end of TOP was to have the Grand Priest be a villain. Was this true or was it speculation that fans ran with and it just somehow made it sound like it was true?

Pure fan speculation that was repeated so much you might have assumed it was canon/an abandoned plot point

[theherodjl]

Nope, its something that I hoped would happen but didn't. The Angels seemed uncaring or even in amusement over their respective universes disappearing, but I think they all knew that they would end up being wished back again. Knowing their sense of humor, the Angels were just trolling. If they wanted to truly turn evil & take over, they probably wouldn't hide it.

[SupremeKai25]

I'd say there was some heavy foreshadowing for this to happen, with how the Grand Priest was clearly framed in an ominous and dark way when Universe 9 was erased:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sx25xMNoTMg


I mean, even Beerus was shocked that they just erased an entire universe, but the Grand Priest was either casual with it or even actively smiled at it. The background OST was also very ominous. The Grand Priest was clearly being framed in a dark, borderline villainous way.

Having the power of hindsight, I see why the Grand Priest was ultimately not going to become a villain. He would be far too similar to the villain of the previous arc, Zamasu. Rogue, Genocidal God who wants to erase mortals (and smile creepily)? That's just Zamasu, and Dragon Ball villains usually vary between each arc, so that no two consecutive villains are too similar to each other.


But a Villain Grand Priest would be identical to Zamasu, and this is why, in hindsight, those scenes were just a red herring.



So why the Grand Priest was smiling at the end? I suppose that the Grand Priest wasn't smiling out of malice or hatred, but he just wanted to show Goku and the rest that the Gods are being serious with that tournament.

[Zephyr]

I think the speculation came about because a lot of people expected/wanted things to go down similarly to the 25th Tenkaichi Budokai, where the tournament was just a set up to get subverted and derailed by the actual plot and story.