Highlights
- Ichigo's resolve is tested as he grapples with Uryū's betrayal and the destruction caused by their departure to the Reiōkyu.
- Urahara unveils a secret weapon and plans to use the energy from spatial rifts to reach the Reiōkyu and confront the Quincy invasion.
- The clash between Giselle Gewelle and Mayuri Kurotsuchi intensifies as they each control their own army of zombies, leading to unexpected alliances and confrontations.
The following contains spoilers for BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War Part 2, Episode 9, "Marching Out The Zombies", available on Hulu and Disney+.
In the 9th episode of BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War Part 2, "Marching Out The Zombies", Ichigo is forced to reckon with Uryū's betrayal, but Urahara has a plan. The episode's main focus is the Quincy known as Giselle Gewelle, who is first confronted by the 11th Squad's 3rd and 4th Seats Ikkaku Madarame and Yumichika Ayasegawa before the main event: 12th Squad Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi.
A number of Arrancar make an appearance as Kurotsuchi flaunts his superior intellect once more; however, a secret weapon was tucked away in Giselle's sleeve. The episode is aptly named – this is the clash of two distinctly and viscerally twisted puppet masters.
Rapture
The episode begins with a quick recap of the last moments of "The Headless Star", as Uryū departs to the Reiōkyu with Yhwach. Ichigo is distraught, and without any answers from the man himself, Ichigo's resolve is shaken up a little. The sheer amount of energy it took to propel the Quincies up to the Reiōkyu through the hole in the Shakonmaku creates violent shockwaves that destroy nearby buildings, sending debris all over the place as the various Shinigami and Quincies in the area scramble for cover. Orihime uses her Santen Keshun to shield herself, Ichigo, and Chad from the destruction and attempts her usual cheery recovery in tough situations.
Chad and Orihime try to reassure Ichigo that Uryū would not join Yhwach without just cause; however, it's beyond any of them what that could be. Orihime's ability to cheer up Ichigo in these moments comes in clutch once again as she asks him what he's going to do should Uryu not have a good reason for his betrayal. For Ichigo, who can be very simplistic in moments like this, there's nothing else to do but to knock some sense into him, a sentiment that lets Orihime know that his resolve is steeled. The remaining Quincies engage the Shinigami, with NaNaNa Najahkoop and Candice Catnipp going up against Byakuya, and a battle of red-haired delinquents is set up between Bazz-B (who thinks Renji's eyebrow tattoos are cool) and Renji (who thinks Bazz-B's mohawk makes him look like a chicken).
Shooting Star Project, Reprise
Urahara arrives conveniently and takes the group to Kurotsuchi's special laboratory where he reveals a cannon similar to the one at Kūkaku Shiba's house, built under the 12th Squad barracks because Kurotsuchi foresaw a situation in which such a thing would be needed. There, Yoruichi arrives with several jars of a strange substance that Urahara explains is the energy collected from the spatial rifts that have been popping up all across the world of the living, which will be used to propel them up to the Reiōkyu.
In an earlier episode of BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War Part 2, 5th Squad Captain Shinji Hirako asks Hiyori Sarugaki to patch up these rifts. According to Urahara, the rifts are related to the invasion of the Wandenreich upon the Seireitei, and are effectively evidence of the encroachment and eventual merging of Soul Society and the World of the Living. The purpose of such a merging is not yet clear.
Night of the Living Dead
Ikkaku and Yumichika arrive on the scene where Giselle "Gigi" Gewelle zombified their 11th Squad colleagues, and unlike their unfortunate squadmates, they're both able to figure out that Giselle is inviting them to attack for a reason. Yumichika dishes out a huge insult by scoffing at Giselle calling herself a girl. She brings out her former fellow teammate: Bambietta Basterbine, who is now a zombiefied weapon of mass destruction and Ikkaku and Yumichika have their hands full countering the special property of Bambi's bombs, but Yumichika is quick on the uptake and informs his friend of their nature. Now aware that he can't just swat them away, the reckless Ikkaku dives headfirst into action, and Yumichika covers him brilliantly by sending huge chunks of debris upwards towards the incoming projectile rain. Ikakku uses the flying chunks as stepping stones in the carnage while the distance between himself and Bambi closes.
He stabs her in the head, mistakenly believing that to be a killing blow, but then Bambi shoves her hand directly onto Ikkaku's face and loads up a bomb at point-blank range, but Yumichika slices off the offending arm before the bomb can detonate, however, all of these attacks aren't great deterrents, and they are quickly subdued by Bambi's destructive power. Giselle tells them that they can't kill what is already dead, detailing how her power is less effective on Quincies and can only work if one is already dead – effectively, Giselle killed Bambi after her loss to Komamura and turned her into a mindless drone, and despite the fact that Giselle denies being a sadist, she takes pleasure in Bambi's desperate pleas for something that isn't explained, but readers of the manga know of the dependency on her blood that Giselle's zombies develop.
Karakuri
Kurotsuchi appears just in time to save Ikkaku and Yumichika from zombification, and he even has a countermeasure for Bambi's reishi bombs: Reishi Locking Devices. These contraptions that are reminiscent of pokeballs are able to halt the reishi activity of whatever is contained within for a set amount of time, and with these, the bombs that Bambi dishes out are used against her. With Bambi incapacitated, Giselle unleashes her zombified 11th Squad, prompting Kurotsuchi to reveal zombies of his own: the Arrancars Cirucci Thunderwitch, Luppi Antenor, Charlotte Chuhlhourne and Dordoni Alessandro Del Socaccio, each sporting tell-tale stitching somewhere on their bodies. A humorous bit featuring Charlotte, who was killed by Yumichika cuts the tension of the earlier encounter and the disturbing dynamic between Giselle and Zom-Bambi. Recognizing his killer, Charlotte calls out to the "collapsed ugly" which infuriates Yumichika who may deny it but is quite similar to the Arrancar in his emphasis on what he deems beautiful and "righteous condemnation" of all things ugly.
Kurotsuchi has them on a tight leash (or a shocking collar?) so they cannot refuse to cooperate lest they want to experience death a second time. Kurotsuchi sends them into action against Squad 11. While Cirucci, Luppi and Dordoni fight the Shinigami, Charlotte accosts Giselle on the pretext that "they are similar", which aggravates Giselle. She sends Bambi, but she's easily thrown around by Charlotte who unleashes the hilariously named "Beautiful Charlotte Chuhlhourne's Final Holy Wonderful Pretty Super Magnum Sexy Sexy Glamorous Cero Revived", a powerful attack that felt as funny as it was serious with Charlotte's voice echoing after the long attack name. With all of her zombies incapacitated, Giselle brings out her real trump card: a zombified Toshiro Hitsugaya.