Summary
The following contains spoilers fromBLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War Part 2, Episode 12, “The Master”, available onHuluandDisney+.
The battle between the Zero Squad and Yhwach reaches a critical point as the Quincy King activates one of his most fearsome abilities to tip the scales of victory in his favor. On the ground, Kisuke Urahara, Hiyori Sarugaki and othersurviving members of the Visoredfaction start their own preparations for the arrival of Ichigo’s group at the Soul King’s Palace, while a certain Quincy is revealed to have survived her clash against a Shinigami Captain.
Packed with awesome action, the first half of theBLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War Part 2finale, “The Master” shows just how serious a final stand this battle.
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Justification
One of the aspects that has been echoing throughout theBLEACHnarrative is how the institution that is Soul Society, and its proponents and defenders are not necessarily “good”, but act in accordance with that which they believe to be just. For that reason, the very construction of theBLEACHuniverse is in and of itself a crime justified through the construction and maintenance of a particular kind of peace. To protect order within Soul Society and the three worlds as a whole, the Shinigami have committed all manner of atrocity, includingthe extermination of the Quincies1000 years prior to the events of the series. In the first scene of “The Master”, Urahara is met by Hiyori Sarugaki and the other Visored, as well as Yūshirō Shihōin, Yoruichi’s younger brother. In his usual flippant way, Urahara tells them that Ichigo’s group has already gone ahead. Hiyori’s tone gains an accusatory affectation as she asks Urahara why he let them go before she and the others could arrive.
Evidently, the plan to send Ichigo and the rest up there was actually a plan to send all of them together was changed at the last minute, and Hiyori’s suspects that Urahara knows that they’re at some kind of disadvantage. The only reasoning that makes sense to her is that Urahara sent them up there knowing that they could fully die, but knowing him, he probably thinks it’s fine if they die as long as they’re able to impede the enemy. Urahara’s tendency to do things “for the sake of the Seireitei”, is something that Hiyori is familiar with and for which she carries a deep resentment, and evidence of his guilt is that his face is never seen close up at any point in the conversation. Kisuke is depicted as a far more palatable “mad” scientist than Kurotsuchi; however, there’s a reason why Urahara’s successor isa man as abhorrent as Kurotsuchi– they’re both men who will do whatever necessary to achieve the goal. Beyond Urahara, Ichibē Hyōsube, the leader of the Royal Guard, is another individual who will sacrifice whomever necessary to maintain the world as it is – which is why Ichigo underwent his training at the Soul King’s Palace. The very sentiment that “the end justifies the means” has continually enabled a number of atrocities across time withinBLEACH.
Battle Commence
Hyōsube and Yhwach’s battle is intense from the jump as the monk sends him flying with a number of attacks. Yhwach releases a number of giant arrows from his Sankt Bogen, none of which reach the target; however, Yhwach redirects one of the arrows which grazes Hyōsube. The monk turns around and reveals a deeply unsettling look in his eyes as he decides to kill Yhwach. In the Cage of Life created by Kirio, Oh-Etsu prepares to engage Haschwalth, while Shutara and Uryū battle each other. When the cage is destroyed, Kirio swiftly replaces it, and Kirinji separates the two closest underlings of the Quincy King with a torrent of water so Oh-Etsu can leave Haschwalth to him and advance to Yhwach; however,Askin Nakk Le Vaar’s power activates, turning Oh-Etsu’s very blood into a toxic substance through his Schrift D – The Deathdealing.
Kirinji and Haschwalth’s bout comes to a close as the Quincy takes a major hit. After listening to Nakk Le Vaar’s explanation about the nature of his ability, Oh-Etsu cuts his own throat for the sake of bloodletting. The tactic is basically fatal as he can’t maintain a living body with that much blood loss; however, with help from Kirinji’s red waters that replace blood, Oh-Etsu is restored to his full potential and quickly slashes through Nakk Le Vaar again. Back with Yhwach and Hyōsube, the monk reveals that his Zanpakutō doesn’t cut things, it cuts names and therefore halves the potential of everything it cuts. With Yhwach himself painted with Ichimonji’s blade, it looks like he’ll lose the battle, but it only leads to the activation of the Auswählen.
Ritual of Sacrifice
Sternritter Z – The Zombie, Giselle Gewelleis seen in a dark cave, feeding on the blood that she gave to her deceased comrade, Bambi. When Bambi tries to beg Giselle to leave enough blood for her to live, Giselle viciously bashes her head into a nearby rock before swooning at the view of her dead friend. Liltotto finds them and explains the situation; however, the Auswählen’s light rains down on the battlefield, forcibly removing the powers of all those that Yhwach deemed unnecessary. For the first time ever, Liltotto shows genuine emotion as she questions what she and her friends were in Yhwach’s eyes all this time, and despite not being directly in a beam of light, bothher and Giselle’s Vollständig formsare forcibly removed. Determined to survive, she and Bazz-B are juxtaposed as they exclaim that they will not die in such a place, which is an important visual marker as the journeys of those Quincies aren’t quite finished yet. The Quincies who were taken out at the fake Soul King Palace reawakened with their full powers as each of them assume their respective Quincy: Vollständig.
The post-credits scene has Kyōraku meeting up with13th Squad Captain Jushiro Ukitake, who hasn’t been seen since his brief moment in episode 2, “Peace From Shadows”. He is aware of the invasion of the Soul King Palace, and Kyōraku observes that the “Kamikake” must have been successful. Kamikake (“Divine Possession”) is a ritual that can be performed by someone who has had a body part taken by the god known as “Mimihagi”, which was worshiped in parts of the Rukongai. Ukitake’s shadow takes on an extremely ominous appearance as a huge eye materializes in the center of the shadow. This scene is the culmination of what Ukitake was seen doing in his brief appearance when he was seen seated in front of a strange statue while shirtless – he will give his body, which had been a vessel of one of the sentient body parts of the Soul King, and become a replacement should the worst come to pass. The build-up to the third part ofBLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War, particularly with the centering of Mimihagi in the Part 3 reveal trailer, indicates that this upcoming cours might be the series' darkest yet.
