Score: A

We got a different feel this time now that the Yhwach beating everyone up show took a slight pause! It was a great showing of Uryu’s abilities, but also the ability of the various other characters in the show to step up. It’s not all about the main character saving the day. Sometimes everyone needs to gather together and try everything they can to turn the tables.

Ishida’s arrows got way bigger in this arc!

This episode hits home how Haschwalth holding back Ishida was insanely important. If Ishida had been free to go up against Yhwach alongside Ichigo…they straight up win. Yhwach chooses a future where he broke Ichigo’s Bankai? Well how about Uryu swapping in a future where he didn’t do that? Clearly Ichigo’s Bankai was scary enough for Yhwach to see that as a necessity to win. If he wasn’t free to make that move…that’s game. That Uryu fight was in a sense the turning point. If anyone had been able to hold Haschwalth back they could’ve pulled it off. But that’s unfortunately not what happened.

Clear how much of a counter Uryu is to the Almighty. Uryu said it himself when up against Haschwalth he kept it simple. But in this fight in the skies he did so much more. Swapping one attack for another or straight up swapping one future for another! He can’t choose in the same way Yhwach can, but he can predict and swap futures. At that point it becomes a game of trying to out think the other person. In this fight Uryu had the knowledge advantage going in and put the most pain on Yhwach we’ve seen. Well, minus Inoue nuking the guy out of existence! That was still the best move so far. But Ishida pulled off his plan and managed everything. They rescued Ichigo and company, stopped the immediate destruction of the worlds, and got a momentary victory. That’s not bad work.

Ishida getting some good allies for this fight

It was kind of great seeing these various forces come together in a crisis. Soul Reapers, Arrancars, and Quincy all united for the sake of saving the world and stopping a threat that couldn’t be ignored. Almost no one in that room early in the episode really knew each other. Ishida knew Pesche, Dondochakka, and to a degree Nel. But he only knew Nel in her child form and not in her full espada state. He certainly didn’t know Halibel and only vaguely knew Shunsui. But it was a group that were all aiming in the same direction and had some connections through friends like Ichigo. Halibel isn’t much of a negotiator, but thankfully Nel managed to get things on track. Everyone wanted to work to stop the destruction of the three worlds and even if it meant taking on Yhwach in the process.

Kind of wild to find out that Soken was actually quite involved in the creation of that seed of destruction. Man basically created a dimensional nuke and then had no means of dealing with it afterwards. He very much played into Yhwach’s plans before he even made his move. Makes him a much more loaded character at that point.

Brutal for Ichigo

I do feel for Ichigo in this episode. It’s only natural for him to basically lose the will to fight at that point. His Bankai was broken, his friends were brutalized, his powers weren’t effective, and there seemed to be no way to turn things around. And even if there were he was up against someone that could literally change the path they were on into one where Ichigo’s moves failed. Without help there was just nothing Ichigo could do here. Ichigo is a good person that stands up to protect those around him. But if he’s left without any means to protect others that will leave him in a broken state. Thankfully he and the others were rescued. But who knows what state he’s in after all that happened. At minimum they’ll need to be able to repair his Bankai and in a hurry.

Aizen will be next up to face this guy (probably)

What more needs to be said about that preview than…”oh god, Aizen is making a move!” At this point the main antagonist for the majority of the series making a move is almost a good thing! If the Almighty is a power that is so unbelievably broken, then we need someone that is so smart that he makes everything look to be part of his plans. It could end up being a colossal battle between titans. At this point having Aizen keep Yhwach busy could be enough. It’d be nice if he could beat this guy, but it’s hard to imagine anyone defeating Yhwach at this stage. That will almost certainly fall to Ichigo, although it’s hard for me to visualize it right at this moment.

Friends to the end…

This was a fantastic episode and sets up the remainder of the series. It also served as a nice farewell for Ukitake who did everything he could before passing all that he had left to his best friend. This was a bit of a break from the Ichigo vs Yhwach material since honestly Ichigo very much needs that break! The battle isn’t over since Yhwach is still there and still more than powerful enough to move his plans forward. This episode was a much needed win for the protagonists, but one that they need to keep following up with more victories. It’s going to be a wild last few episodes, that’s for sure.