Dragon Ball Z could have solved the problems of several complex villains much easier, if the warriors put some will. Future Trunks demonstrates this with his story, when he appears in the Goku Black arc. The warrior knew how to meet the requirements of the Supreme Kaiosama and prevented Babidi from waking up Majin Buu.
It’s kind of boring, because maybe we wouldn’t have had the exciting stories that we lived through all these years. But what happened with Cell is just crazy stuff. The Z Fighters had the opportunity to take down the Red Patrol cell on several occasions, and almost every time the villain managed to get away with it.
In fact, there is a theory reviewed by Alfa Beta Juega, which states that Krillin had the key to defeat Cell in his hands, without us having to wait for the brutal moment of Gohan transforming into Super Saiyan 2.
Krillin had it in his hands
Obviously, everyone thinks about control to destroy android Number 18. And yes, that is one of the three opportunities that Krillin had to prevent that Cell reached his perfect form. It’s understandable, since at that time he was already in love with the humanoid. But there were more chances that our bald friend, distracted, let go.
As the bioandroid attempted to absorb Number 17 and Number 18 he had to sneak away from the Z Fighters, since he did not have the necessary strength to defeat them. And on two occasions he resorted to a technique well known to Goku and Krillin: The Taiyuken.
It is unacceptable that Krillin has been surprised twice by Cell, with the same technique that he himself uses.
He first did it when he was in his first form and then repeated the dose when he was trying to absorb Number 18. Goku managed to mitigate Ten Shin Han’s Taiyiuken during the Martial Arts Tournament, simply by putting on a pair of sunglasses.
This is something Krillin saw first hand and didn’t take the forecasts the first time Cell did it to him. He could have prepared for the second time he did it. It’s one thing to be underdog, but with some cunning, he could have prevented the bio-android’s onslaught.