Despite the fact that Bardock recognised his family in Granolah and his mother, the comic tries to make him a better hero as compared to the already in the manga. During the most recent episode of Dragon Ball Super, viewers learnt how Goku’s father Bardock saved his son’s current foe, Granolah the Cerealian. The revelation nearly brought the internet to a grinding halt. And the cause for Bardock’s actions can be traced back to the events in the film Dragon Ball Super: Broly, which prompted his acts. He does it for love for his son and wife, as well as out of a sense of responsibility.
A Saiyan assault that was orchestrated by none other than Frieza has left Granolah as the solitary survivor of the Cerealian resistance movement. Granolah has been living with the mystery of how he and his Namekian guardian Monaito have lived for decades, until Monaito finally reveals him the truth at the eleventh hour. Granolah is on his way to killing Goku and Vegeta in order to avenge his people’s genocide, as is depicted in Chapter 77.
And because of the likeness between Goku and Bardock, Monaito is concerned that Granolah may accidently murder the son of his rescuer, whom he believes to be Goku’s father. A young Granolah is discovered by the Saiyan Bardock, who is being sheltered by his mother at the tail end of the Cerealian holocaust, in a scene that has garnered widespread attention. In their place, he sees his own wife Gine and son Kakarot, rather as the two foes he must eliminate (later known as Goku).
Bardock then recounts the first time he saw his son for the first time in his life. He had just returned from mission that had taken him away for several months, and he’d missed Kakarot’s birth, much to Gine’s chagrin. Moreover, when Bardock is attempting to defend himself from his enraged wife, he notices his son, who is so taken aback that Gine can’t help but make a joke about it.
Bardock’s emotional attachment to his Cerealian victims is so deep that when a Saiyan comrade approaches him, Bardock takes the opportunity to shield them from the Saiyan comrade. Despite the fact that Bardock first saves the little Granolah and his mother, it is clear that he is dissatisfied with his actions. He is unable to keep his displeasure from expressing itself out loud, and he subsequently wonders whether there is anything wrong with him.
But he continues to defend them despite this. It’s clear from Bardock’s reaction that this isn’t regular behaviour for him, and that if he didn’t have a family of his own, he would have killed Granolah and his mother without a second thought. Given the emotional toll that seeing Kakarot took on him, it’s not surprising that Bardock would feel obligated to defend another child, even if it’s the child of an enemy. Having Granolah’s father absent from the scene, forcing his mother to perform alone, isn’t helping matters either, as it most likely reminds Bardock of his own absence.
Considering that Bardock may still be haunted by guilt from missing Kakarot’s birth, it’s not unreasonable to believe that he would want to make up for not being there for his family by protecting this one. Without a doubt, even before his retcon, Bardock cherished his son to the point of going out of his way to secure his survival just before his own death in Dragon Ball Super: Broly (which was a retcon).
Due to his strong affection for Goku, it is not out of the question that his feelings for him would influence and cause him to act in ways other than simply attempting to save him from harm. And it is for this reason that Bardock is now protecting Granolah and his mother.