Dragon Ball Super's latest death paid homage to the moment Frieza killed Krillin in the classic series. Dragon Ball Z's Frieza saga is widely considered the pinnacle of Akira Toriyama's anime and manga series, and Krillin's death triggering Goku's first Super Saiyan transformation remains the most memorable scene from that arc. Toying with the far weaker, bald-headed human, Frieza effortlessly lifts Krillin into the air with telekinesis and mercilessly forces him to implode. An outburst of rage from watching his best friend die instigates Goku's fabled Super Saiyan state, which he ultimately uses to defeat Frieza and save the day.
Goku has come a long way since those days, and boasts a much bigger arsenal of transformations to show for it. The current Dragon Ball Super saga sees Goku and the Z-Warriors fighting the evil wizard Moro, who is able to absorb the abilities of his opponents by clutching their necks. Heading into chapter 63, Goku was gravely injured and undergoing treatment from Dende, while his allies weren't faring much better. Despite the angels' code of non-interference, Merus descended onto the battlefield and engaged Dragon Ball's newest big bad.
After Goku's recovery is complete, he joins Merus and reminds the angel not to get involved. Goku reveals that angels aren't merely forbidden from influencing events, but to do so will actually kill them. The Saiyan then apologizes, wishing his training with Merus had unlocked full Ultra Instinct as intended, but Merus replies with a smile, assuring Goku that he can achieve the form, he just needs a little push. Merus then goes all-out against Moro, breaking the angelic rules for the sake of justice. Just as Goku predicted, Merus' involvement in the mortal world causes the angel to slowly fade into thin air. He dies content and leaves the fate of the universe to Goku, but once Merus is gone, Goku begins to glow with a mysterious aura.
This scene is highly reminiscent of Krillin's Dragon Ball Z death. In both cases, Goku was on the verge of a major power-up that could change the tide of battle - he was strong enough, but lacked the necessary emotional trigger. First against Frieza and now against Moro, it's the death of a friend that tips Goku over the edge and provides the spark for transformation, working on the assumption that this is what Merus meant when he said Goku still required a "push." Obviously, there are two major differences between Krillin and Merus' death scenes. Firstly, Merus sacrifices himself, whereas Krillin was very much opposed to being slaughtered by Frieza. And secondly, Merus appears to know that giving his own life will kick Goku into Ultra Instinct mode, whereas no one in the Frieza saga knew that Goku would need to get mad to go golden.
However, the biggest telltale sign that Dragon Ball Super intended Merus' death to evoke memories of Krillin's is the chapter's final panel, which shows Goku from behind, head bowed, sizzling with anger and energy. The stance and framing is almost identical to when Krillin died, where Goku's latent Super Saiyan power began bubbling over uncontrollably. This isn't the first callback that Dragon Ball Super has made to the classic series. Moro's current form is visually very close to Perfect Cell, and a Dragon Ball Super filler episode once perfectly recreated Yamcha's death pose. Using Krillin's (second) demise as a template for Merus' farewell is the latest reference, and while fans aren't going to be quite as upset on this occasion, the nods to Dragon Ball history contribute an extra layer of detail to the death of a relatively new figure.