Score: A

In some ways this episode was even more intense than the last. But there’s no way to truly overcome how intensely emotional the end of the previous episode was. In terms of following up on such an incredible episode, this one did a very solid job. It kept things moving along and has managed to keep a thin thread of hope alive even as events continue to get increasingly hopeless. It’s hard to see the path where they can truly defeat Yhwach and that’s in part to how utterly broken he is!

I’ll take what wins I can

I’m going to be honest and admit that I’m willing to accept most of what happened in this episode because Inoue is back! She might feel like a failure, but her dying would have been a complete disaster. Because while she wants to protect Ichigo more than anything, he wants to protect her as well. Don’t need dialogue or anything else to see where Ichigo’s mind was after it appeared Inoue died. He wasn’t falling apart, but rather looked resolute. If he couldn’t protect someone that precious to him then he was just done. He’d accept the ploy to make him into the replacement for the Soul King. And no one could do more than halfhearted attempts to stop him. Far as they knew Inoue was dead…and there was nothing more for anyone to say.

This does of course bring up the issue to be resolved later. When they do defeat Yhwach there will be that spot left open. The Soul King for this status quo is a necessary part of the foundation. If someone doesn’t take up his position then all the worlds will fall apart even without the maliciousness of Yhwach involved. I think that moment really hit for me. Ichigo is someone that will do whatever it takes to protect those he loves. But what does he do when he feels like he’s failed them and they aren’t there anymore to protect? He’s a protector, but in many ways he is fragile.

This week wasn’t any easier on him

This time I don’t want to disregard Uryu’s efforts. The fight actually got more brutal after he appeared to win it! Haschwalth was a monster with his borrowed version of the Almighty and was arguably just as bad when his Balance ability was back in play. The ability to take misfortune he suffers and send it to his enemies is rough. Ishida was just getting brutalized. Whlie he did get a few good hits in, his schrift really was a bad match for Haschwalth’s balance. In theory they could basically just launch the same injuries back at each other like a twisted game of catch. But it worked against Ishida since he didn’t have the extra gear. Haschwalth’s shield could absorb the damage and leave it so Ishida was the one taking the most hurt.

It’s a wild thing that Ishida wasn’t saved by a clever ploy or even a loved one. He was saved purely by Yhwach being so afraid of Ichigo’s power that he drained the very life out of his most loyal follower. Haschwalth did want to spin it as Yhwach considering him more trustworthy or helpful. But I think in part it’d just be because Yhwach would be worried about Uryu dodging it or resisting it. He went for what was most convenient. I don’t know if Yhwach wants Uryu to make it up there to confront him, but it sure feels that way with how he set things up.

By the end Haschwalth made the right call

I get Ishida looking at Haschwalth with a sense of sadness and pity. They were trying to kill each other certainly, but they didn’t really settle the battle between each other. Haschwalth was treated as disposable as anyone else. Because that’s what Yhwach does. He doesn’t truly care about anyone besides himself and any selfish action is twisted. The man thinks victims should be grateful to have fulfilled their purpose of being used by him. It’s what left Ishida hesitating on dumping his wounds on someone already dying.

It’s a good thing that Haschwalth did convince Uryu. There’s no going to fight Yhwach while in a brutally injured condition. It did surprise me that Haschwalth suggested Ishida do that and was pushy on it as well. Maybe at the end of his life he was pondering his choices and feeling regrets. His path resulted in him killing his best and oldest from in Bazz-B. Haschwalth did that all for someone who casually used him and threw him away after. He held onto that pin even at the end while being unable to verbalize those regrets. He was pissed at Ishida being willing to accept the power boost gained from Yhwach while also not being willing to discard his friends either. It’d be nice if at his core he wanted to see Ishida prove that choosing friendship meant more in the end.

Oh man…poor Renji

Might as well cover the horror show that happened! Yhwach with the Almighty is one of the most broken villains you can get. This is someone that just gets to cheat and pick futures that work out the best for him. Changing the future for the better is something heroes get to do all the time. But this jerk gets to simply ignore that. He gets to change things to a future where the main cast didn’t reach the goal. Changing the future is hard, but preventing there being any possible universe where you didn’t win is just near impossible. So he can just pop around the battlefield sniping anyone that’s about to make a move because he knows they are making a move! He can just pick a future where he’s broken Ichigo’s Bankai. What the hell is Ichigo supposed to do about that!?

Poor Rukia…

I don’t blame him in the slightest for losing it at the end. It’s one thing to get beaten up, it’s one thing to be against difficult odds, but it’s another to deal with an impossible threat while the people he cares about are getting massacred! And massacre is absolutely how I choose to put it. Oh god…what happened to Renji is hard to think about. At least Rukia got to use her Bankai last week! It didn’t work out, but she had a moment of glory. Renji? He got instantly annihilated in the most horrible of ways! Rukia had a pretty horrible position too. Can basically imagine her head getting ripped right off after getting badly mutilated. No one had a good time here. Poor Chad didn’t get an epic Inoue moment that’s for sure…

RIP new Zangetsu

This was another fantastic episode in a truly great arc. Nothing left me with more of a smile than Ishida calling his friends idiots and being happy to be considered the same as them. Uryu doesn’t see himself as an equally good-natured idiot, but I’d say he’s plenty close. Now to see where things go from here. Ichigo is in a bad spot mentally and that’s fair. I think anyone would be after seeing their friends getting ripped apart and their best move getting instantly shut down. Somehow Ichigo will have to pick himself back up and find a way to overcome.