Vegeta was one of the most powerful villains that Goku and the other heroes of Earth had to face during the Saiyan Saga. Nappa and Vegeta unleash hell upon Earth and the latter turns into a giant ape that basically destroys the planet. However, when the time comes to kill him, Goku decides to spare his life instead.
This decision of Goku might have seemed weird to many people, especially since Vegeta and Nappa caused too much destruction that the planet was barely able to survive. But in the end, this proved to be one of the best decisions ever made by the Saiyan.
Goku fights for the joy of fighting and wants to set people on the path of redemption
Goku is one of those heroes that fight solely for the joy of fighting. Goku gets extremely happy when he finds a worthy opponent that he gets to fight against and does not really think about killing them. Even if he fights the strongest being on the universe, it is not because he wants to take the title for himself, but because he just wants to fight against the strongest. His love for martial arts and fighting strong opponents is not tainted by rage, pride, or greed. This affects Vegeta greatly, who was brought up on these values and functioned on them until he met Goku and saw that Saiyans can live in another way.
Another reason why Goku forgave Vegeta was because Goku is someone who likes to set villains up on the path to redemption. He does not believe in punishment through killing, but instead tries to save their lives and make them see reason and light. In doing so, he has made long-term connections with many former villains, including Vegeta, who sees what a Saiyan can be when he sees Goku. In all his life, Vegeta has only seen a patriarchal society that functioned on ego, pride, punishment, and other negative notions. Coming to Earth and seeing what Goku has become opens a path up for him after his home planet is destroyed. Later we also see him settle down with his wife and kid just like Goku.
Goku forgiving Vegeta had a positive impact on his son Gohan
Much like Goku, his son Gohan has been an extremely powerful individual since childhood. However, Goku never had much of a positive role model to look up to when he was a child. This resulted in some mistakes and deaths that put blood on Goku’s hands. However, later in his life, Goku corrected his behavior by trying to be extremely careful during his fights and did not kill anybody unless absolutely necessary.
When he had his son Gohan, Goku needed to be extra careful about this as he wanted to be a positive role model in Gohan’s life. Vegeta is someone who not only threatened the planet but also threatened the life of Gohan. However, by choosing to forgive Vegeta and giving him another chance, Goku shows Gohan that there is always another way. Later in life, when Gohan is alone during fights and does not have his father’s guidance, he can look back onto these moments to remember how to be a good and strong man capable of forgiveness.
Vegeta’s survival protects Goku and the Earth from more attacks
We have often seen in fiction that the death of an extra-terrestrial being brings about even more pushback, chaos, and destruction onto the planet from the pieces that the first being belonged to. Being Saiyans, both Vegeta, and Nappa actually come to earth to not only claim it but also to avenge the death of Raditz. The world could barely survive and come back from the chaos that they unleashed.
However, by forgiving Vegeta, Goku squashed the chances of more pushback from the planet. This way, he ensured that nobody came to Earth to avenge Vegeta as he was not sure if the Earth could survive another attack of a similar scale or if a group of Saiyans attacked the planet together. It could be seen as a strategy to save the planet as well.
But most importantly, Goku forgiving the Saiyan showed him what he could become if he lets go of his anger and resentment. Before meeting Goku and see how he lives a peaceful life, Vegeta would not have believed something like that is even possible for a Saiyan. But thanks to Goku’s unending kindness and compassion, Vegeta’s heart was swayed. His later decision to come to Earth and build a family here was also influenced by Goku.
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