For over four hundred episodes and a decade of One Piece, Monkey D. Luffy has always been a carefree, fun-loving dork. It's rare that he gets angry, but this episode lets you see a slightly more serious side of Luffy that hides under that grinning rubber skin.
This episode shows just how far Luffy will go to keep others from getting hurt, nearly throwing himself into a pit of spikes to prevent himself from slamming into innocent bystanders. It reminds you of just why Luffy makes One Piece so fun, carrying climactic fight scenes and preserving the light-hearted mood of the series at the same time.
I can't help but smile when I watch Luffy fight, even in a supposedly-grave situation like his "execution" in this episode. This show proves how good One Piece can be, even without much actual story development!