Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War – Part 3 Episode 2 Review

The second episode of this season of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War has arrived, and things just got very serious. For those of you who read my review of last week’s premiere, you’ll know that I was less than thrilled about how the first episode went down, feeling more like it would have been a great season finale than season premiere. Luckily, this week, things really picked up, and this part feels like it’s getting in motion.

In this review, we’re talking all things Episode 2 of the Thousand-Year Blood War – Part 3. Unlike last week, where we kept things spoiler-free, we will be discussing the events of this week’s episode in detail, so be sure to watch the episode before checking out our review! There’s too much to discuss to avoid spoilers here! With that being said, let’s get into the review.

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The Review

Image by Pierrot

The episode begins where we left off last week, with Yhwach making his move towards the crystallized body of the Soul King, and Ichigo’s gang hot on his heels. It was great to see Ichigo and friends standing together in this episode against such a fearsome villain, even though Chad and Ganju felt strangely unresponsive here. It felt like Orihime was the only person who was actually paying any attention to the situation, aside from Ichigo, for the first chunk of the episode, but still, it was great to see our protagonists standing strong.

For the most part, this episode was such a thrilling watch because it was largely about spectacle. There were certainly major story beats that went down, which we’ll discuss shortly, but for most of the episode, all eyes were on the battle between Ichigo and Yhwach. As confident as I imagine our characters are in Ichigo’s abilities based on his previous accomplishments, someone could have helped him out a little more here. We know that Ichigo’s friends are well-versed in combat themselves, so to watch them staring blankly as he was slammed to the ground felt a little strange – but hey, it meant we got more Ichigo solo action, and who can complain about that?

For the most part, Ichigo does pretty well against Yhwach. That is, at least, until Yhwach begins to use his eyes, the freakish reveal of which we saw in last week’s episode. I really cannot get over how terrifying his new eyes make him come across. Seeing them gave me the same visceral reaction I had the first time we saw Kokushibo’s face in Demon Slayer, except somehow, the multiple pupils within Yhwach’s one eye elevates him even further on the creepiness scale. Combined with the added power they give him, this power is one of the most intimidating we’ve seen in Bleach so far. Yhwach is quite the villain.

Image by Pierrot

Luckily, once Yhwach begins to use his eyes, Ichigo’s friends do begin to come to his aid. At first, when Orihime leaped into action, I began to become genuinely concerned about the rest of the gang’s sentience. Were they just completely unphased by all of this? Luckily, Yoruichi stepped in also and restored my faith. The animation in this episode was a particular standout. This arc of Bleach has seen a lot of the fights turn to huge, colourful beams of light, rather than some of the swordsmanship we saw in the early stages of the show, and Pierrot is doing an excellent job at keeping up with the action.

In many ways, though, despite the modern elements of this season’s action sequences, this episode felt like classic Bleach through and through. People have often criticised Bleach for relying too heavily on flashy fights instead of concrete storytelling and plot development, but when the action looks and plays out this good, it lets the show truly thrive. One of the highest praises I can give this episode is how fast it felt. Not a second dragged, not a moment was wasted. It was a non-stop action fest through and through – just how we like Bleach.

There were still plot developments here though, and they were actually, unlike last week, fairly substantial. We’ve heard since the old days of Bleach that Ichigo possessed Quincy blood within him, but I can’t say I ever expected them to use it in a plot twist like this. Calling on the Quincy blood that would compel him to destroy the Soul Society, Yhwach steps back and lets Ichigo take care of the Soul King for him, in a truly devastating turn of events.

Image by Pierrot

In many ways, this is one of the most dramatic plot twists in the entire show. Bleach has been telling the story of Ichigo protecting his friends and the Soul Society since its inception. That is his sole motivation. Unlike Naruto and Luffy, who strive to achieve high-ranking titles, Ichigo has always simply wanted to protect the people around him, and now, he himself has destroyed the Soul Society with his own hands. I’m almost upset we didn’t get enough time this episode to see his processed reaction to this fact, but that’s all the more reason to tune in next week.

Amidst all the despair and ruin though, I did have to chuckle at Yhwach’s master plan, mainly because it was just so reminiscent of Aizen’s infamous plan from the original show. It kind of makes you wonder just how much time Bleach’s villains have on their hands to constantly plot and plan in the shadows. Who knows, maybe there’s another big bad hiding in the darkness, ready to one up Yhwach’s plan? Jokes aside though, Yhwach’s plan has certainly come to fruition, in a brutal cliffhanger that will lead us into next week’s instalment.

With this episode, Part 3 of the Thousand-Year Blood War found its identity, a storyline which separates it from the first two parts of the arc. In many ways, it feels like the whole arc has been leading us to this point, and I’m now fully confident, after last week’s episode left me a little jaded, that Bleach is showing no signs of slowing down. The stakes have never been higher. What did you think of this week’s episode? Let us know your thoughts in the comments, and thank you for reading!

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Where to Watch Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War?

Image by Pierrot

Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War airs weekly on Disney Plus, every Saturday. You can also catch all previous episodes of the Thousand-Year Blood War on the platform, as well as the original run of Bleach from 2004. Happy watching!

See also: Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War – Part 3 Episode 1 Review

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