Original Airdate: December 25, 2018
Trunks now knows more about his father than Bulma ever did...and more about Bulma than he ever wanted to.
With the defeat of Cell, the main timeline is saved. Older, wiser, and finally strong enough to save his own future, Trunks bids farewell to the past to face... his past.
As part of Episode 60, its subtitle is "Die, Robot".
Alright, tropes! I know you're out there!:
- Affectionate Nickname: Trunks uncomfortably learns the reason for one of his mother's.Future Trunks: Before you found out I was your son, in the past... you might've made a pass at me.
Future Bulma: Well, duh!
Future Trunks: MOM!
Future Bulma: Hey, it's not my fault your dad's genetics and mine got along like chocolate and peanut butter.
Future Trunks: Is that why you used to call me your "little peanut butter cup"? - Ain't Too Proud to Beg: After seeing his sister get atomized by Trunks, Future 17 nervously asks if talking it out is still an option. Unfortunately for 17, who never acknowledged Gohan's name, it isn't an option at all.
- Anti-Climax: After effortlessly disintegrating an inexperienced Imperfect Cell in his future, Trunks realizes that his victory felt anti-climatic.
- For the viewer too, as Trunks getting cut off in the middle of this realization is the joke that closes out the series.
- Armor-Piercing Question: Trunks' return to the future comes with a rather pointed question to Bulma.Trunks: Hey Mom, you ever meet Dad?!
Future Bulma: (sigh) Okay, look. Love is complicated. - Audience Participation: Similar to an episode of a kids show, when he’s losing to Trunks, Cell looks at the camera and asks the audience what to do. Apparently they tell him to use the Kamehameha, but Trunks kills him while he’s charging it up.
- Bad "Bad Acting": The performance that Trunks and Bulma put on to lure Cell is blatantly obvious, yet as Trunks predicted, Cell takes the bait anyway.
- Badass Boast:
- Attempted by Trunks to his mother before he goes to fight the Cyborgs, but he and his mother get distracted by the logistics of it.Trunks: Don't worry, mom: I'll be back before that tea gets cold.
(Beat.)
Trunks: Actually, it-it's probably going to take me a little while to get there, so...
Future Bulma: Right, so do you want me to put it in a thermos...? Or make a new pot when you get back...?
Trunks: You can just, uh... Y-you know, I'll just- I'll just finish it now. - When the cyborgs/Androids get confused by the logistics of time travel, Trunks gives another that he more than adequately lives up to (check the video time if you're not convinced).Trunks: Tell you this: if I don't kill you in the next minute, I'll give you an explanation.
- Attempted by Trunks to his mother before he goes to fight the Cyborgs, but he and his mother get distracted by the logistics of it.
- Birds of a Feather: The reason why Bulma fell for Vegeta in the first place.Future Bulma: Honestly, how could I prepare you for a year alone with him? I barely got a week...
Trunks: Mom, you didn't prepare me for a car ride to the grocery store with the man! What did you see in him?!
Future Bulma: A short, stubborn, powerful person desperate for recognition! As a female scientist in her early 30s, I...guess I identified with that. - Bittersweet Ending: With Perfect Cell finally defeated, Trunks says his goodbyes to the rest of the Z-Fighters and returns to his future. Though it remains unaffected for the better, he is strong enough to put an end to the Androids/Cyborgs there once and for all, along with the Imperfect Cell after his time machine, giving his timeline some much-needed level of peace.
- Brick Joke:
- 17 and 18 take offense to Trunks (or anyone else) calling them Androids. He had previously attempted, and failed, to correct Goku in the past that they are actually called Cyborgs and everyone got used to calling them Androids since then.
- 17 starts complimenting Trunk's improved look since their last battle a few weeks ago (their time). Witnessing Trunks gaining the upper hand with 18, he wonders if he should discuss the context of the shirt. When 17 calls Trunks "Wife Beater", 18 notices and responds in disgust.18: Wait a second... That's what you meant by his choice in shirt? Jesus, dude!
- But for Me, It Was Tuesday: Trunks asks 17 what his teacher's name was; the same one he and 18 killed those years ago. Becuase they have been callously slaughtering humans over the years, but programmed about knowing Goku in the past, 17 struggles to remember Gohan's name, and ends up calling the late fighter "Goku Jr." He's killed on the spot.
- Call-Back: As with the main episode, this one has quite a few.
- In "History of Trunks", Future Gohan sucker punches Future 17, eliciting a loud curse as he crashes through a building. Here, Future Trunks sucker punches Future 18, eliciting a loud curse as she crashes through a building.Future 17: You goddamned cheap son of a bitch!
Future 18: Goddamn cheap-shotting asshole! - One of Trunks' Badass Boasts to Cell harkens back to Vegeta's "fight" with Semi-Perfect Cell.
- The way Trunks delivers his line after vaporizing Cell is exactly what Perfect Cell said when he THOUGHT he killed Goku in "Cell Mates". The episode even ends before Trunks finishes his sentence, but he didn't get kicked in the head prior to it. As a bonus, Cell dies attempting to use the Kamehameha like Perfect Cell did against Goku.
- Trunks mentioning to his mother that there's a dead version of him in an alternate timeline due to Cell going back in time to get the Cyborgs/Androids when she asks if he's sure Cell will show up for his time machine. This is also a callback to the conversation Cell had with Trunks where they discuss where Cell came from.Bulma: You really think he's going to take the bait?
Trunks: Pretty sure I have a corpse in another timeline that says "Yes he will". Now stick to the script, mom!
Bulma: Geez, morbid. - Imperfect Cell sings My Way like Perfect Cell in the previous episode, but dies before the first lyric. Granted, he had a shorter life.
- The deleted scene used for The Stinger verbalizes the internal screaming from episode 33.
- In "History of Trunks", Future Gohan sucker punches Future 17, eliciting a loud curse as he crashes through a building. Here, Future Trunks sucker punches Future 18, eliciting a loud curse as she crashes through a building.
- Call-Forward: Cell was originally gonna call himself Jiren.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: After everything Trunks went through, he effortlessly gives these out to the Cyborgs and Cell.
- The Dead Have Names: Trunks demands 17 say the late Gohan's name before he finishes him off. 17 instead guesses "Goku Jr." (he and 18 didn't have much interest in knowing who they kill besides Goku). WRONG ANSWER!
- Death by Adaptation: The old man in the car, though this is actually Zig-Zagged. In the original manga, he is indeed killed by 17. The anime actually rendered him Spared by the Adaptation. DBZA restores the manga version of the events, implying it's because Trunks decided to finish his tea before confronting 17 and 18.
- Defiant to the End: The old man that 17 kills quotes the opening lyrics to "If You're Reading This", as it's likely common knowledge that the Cyborgs hate country music.
- Did You Just Flip Off Cthulhu?: The scene first cuts to the Cyborgs showing 18 going to town on a section of city, because apparently someone in it called her a "hoe-bot".
- Exact Words: Trunks tells the confused Cyborgs that he's willing to explain how his time travel works if he doesn't take them out in the next minute. Luckily for him, it takes less than that to finally put an end of the threat.
- Fake Interactivity: Parodied. Imperfect Cell stops and asks the audience what he should to do defeat Trunks. He is apparently told to use the Kamehameha note , but Trunks kills him before he can.
- Grand Finale: With the Abridged Series being confirmed to be over by TFS, this serves as the ending of the story.
- Insistent Terminology: The Cyborgs are shown to get really annoyed by people identifying them as androids or robots. Trunks, who just got back from the past where everyone called them androids, gets tripped up, but ultimately doesn't care to explain his mistake because he's about to kill them anyway.
- Ironic Echo: When Trunks gets ready to face the Cell of his timeline, he repeats to him what the Cell he fought before said: "Multiverse theory's a bitch". However, Future Cell doesn't understand the reference as he hadn't experienced the moment.
- Killed Mid-Sentence: 18 and Cell.18: Wait-
Cell: OH GODDAMNIT SHIIIIIIII- - Meaningful Echo: Future Cell calling Trunks cute for one of his quips leads Trunks to use a line Vegeta said to Semi-Perfect Cell, per the Page Quote.
- Oh, Crap!: The Cyborgs and Cell have these reactions the instant they realize how outmatched they are. 17 even asks Trunks to reconsider killing him after witnessing Trunks effortlessly destroy 18.
- Parental Sexuality Squick: Trunks is less than enthused to learn the details of Bulma and Vegeta's sexual relationship.
- Pre-Mortem One-Liner: Trunks delivers one to Cell.Trunks: Get out of my f**king timeline!
- Really Dead Montage: Just like Cell from before, the Cell of Trunks' timeline gets one of these. Since he only has two minutes of screentime though, he only gets the first line of the song in.
- Relative Error: Trunks discusses this with his mom that her past self flirted with him. Bulma has no problem admitting the possibility because her son was so handsome.
- Screaming at Squick: The Stinger consists of a "deleted scene" where Bulma explains to poor Trunks the circumstances surrounding his conception. Suffice it to say, he was... not particularly looking forward to that bit of TMI.Bulma: So, truth be told, I never really got to know your father that well. He and I shared one night of passion after he came back to earth.
Trunks: Mom... you...
Bulma: And, unfortunately, he didn't know what protection meant.
Trunks: I really don't need to know this!
Bulma: But after that first time I just thought well, "In for a penny, in for a pounding".
Trunks: Aaaaaah...!
Bulma: And I really was.
Trunks: (EXTERNAL SCREAMING) - Shout-Out:
- The epilogue's subtitle is a reference to the seminal Isaac Asimov story collection, I, Robot.
- Once again, Trunks' time machine makes the noise of the TARDIS.
- The music playing while Trunks and Future Bulma talk about Vegeta is "Cat's in the Cradle".
- When Bulma first sees Imperfect Cell, she remarks that he looks like he "just stepped into a teleporter with Jeff Goldblum".
- So Much for Stealth: Trunks knows Future Cell is waiting in the shadows and tells him to come out. Cell responds that Trunks can't know, because this is an ambush. He sighs as he realizes his mistake.
- Take That!:
- Cell was going to call himself "Jiren", and says that, in hindsight, that name was boring.
- When Trunks demands him Gohan’s name, 17 thinks it was Goku Jr., the name of the protagonist of the GT special, A Hero's Legacy. It was also his last words.
Trunks: Wrong answer! - Talking Is a Free Action: Averted; after Trunks mentions how he went to the past and met 17 and 18 there, the two of them have a small debate about time travel and whether they would remember meeting Trunks in the past or not. While they are not paying attention Trunks simply flies toward 18 and destroys her without another word, cutting their debate short.
- That Came Out Wrong: Invoked verbatim. The Cell in this timeline doesn't seem to delight in grossing out his opponents with innuendo.Cell: Okay, you suck! You are sucking all the fun out of this! I'm the only one who sucks here, boy—that came out wrong.
Trunks: Nah, sounds right to me. - Took a Level in Badass: By now, The Wombat has become a resistance leader against the Cyborgs, while still preserving his radio show (now sans TJ, implied to be dead). He ends up in a "last stand", but it's unknown if he survived to the point Trunks killed 17 and 18.
- Tranquil Fury: Trunks remains calm despite being visibly angry.Trunks: What was my master's name?
- Villainous Breakdown: 17 and 18 both get minor versions of these as Trunks closes in for the kill. For 18, it was less than a second long as she realizes the new power gap between her and Trunks moments before he atomizes her. 17 in turn is reduced to barely concealed terror as he tries, and fails, to get Trunks to spare him.
- Villains Want Mercy: 17 sheepishly asks Trunks if he's willing to reconsider killing him after watching him effortlessly vaporize 18. Trunks shows no mercy.
- Warts and All: By the time he returns to the future, Trunks is completely disillusioned by the dysfunctional relationship of the Z-Fighters, including Goku and especially Vegeta. He at least acknowledges he's probably not the worst off due to this and Bulma raising him right.
- You Are Too Late: Trunks flies in to stop 17 and 18 from killing a guy in an effort to make a Big Damn Heroes moment. By the time he arrives, however, the guy is already dead.Trunks: Oh. Probably could have microwaved that tea.
"It's over. After everything, this feels... this feels... anticlimac—"
