The latest episode of “Jujutsu Kaisen” was phenomenal, as always! But since this one was a dialogue-heavy episode, there was a lot to take in.
Below is a recap of some of the biggest plot points that were revealed. Let us know in the comments if we missed anything that should be included!
(If you need to look over The Culling Game rules again, we’ve got you covered.)
NOTE: There are major spoilers below for the newest episode. However, this article is manga-spoiler-free.
Two Sorcerers Are Staying Behind to Guard Tengen
Gege Akutami/Shueisha, JUJUTSU KAISEN ProjectIn this episod, we learned that Kenjaku is assimilating all of mankind (in Japan) with Tengen. He can’t just use idle transfiguration to turn everyone because he doesn’t have enough cursed energy, so he has to use Tengen instead.
Tengen has been evolving ever since the Star Vessel’s death 12 years ago. So now their soul is everywhere. As they told the group: “The world itself is who I am.”
But assimilating everyone at once is risky, and if something goes wrong, then evil could spread instantly to every person at once. (Tengen is able to retain their individuality due to their barrier technique, but individuals who are assimilated can’t do the same.)
There’s another big catch.
Because of their evolution over the past 12 years, Tengen’s nature is closer to being a cursed spirit than a human. This means that Kenjaku could use Geto’s Cursed Spirit Manipulation technique to absorb Tengen if he breaks into the tomb. That’s why Tengen needs two people to guard them.
Choso and Yuti are staying behind to guard Tengen.
They Need to End The Culling Game to Stop Assimilation
Gege Akutami/Shueisha, JUJUTSU KAISEN ProjectThe Culling Game is a warm-up to assimilation. But Kenjaku had to accept some pacts in order to put the game in place. One of those is that he won’t be the game master. Instead, they’re supposed to consider The Culling Game system itself as the game master. This means it will be fair to them when following the rules (whereas Kenjaku would twist everything and look for loopholes, of course.)
This also means killing Kenjaku won’t end the game. Instead, the team has two possible ways to stop the game:
- Work within the rules to gather enough points to add a new rule that can create a way out of the game.
- Free Gojo from the prison realm, and he would be able to find a way to end the game.
They Need the Angel Sorcerer to Free Gojo
They can free Gojo with the Back of the Prison Realm that Tengen gave them in this episode. But to open the Back Door, they’ll need Hana Kurus, an Angel sorcerer who’s in the Culling Game and has a technique that can extinguish any other cursed technique.
The other options (the Black Rope and the Inverted Spear of Heaven) are no longer viable choices. The spear was either sealed or destroyed by Gojo 12 years ago, and the Black Rope was completely expended against Gojo during his fight with Miguel. Miguel and Yuta went looking abroad for another piece of the rope, but it doesn’t exist.
In the meantime:
- Maki is going to retrieve the cursed tools from the Zenin clan, and Juzo Kumiya’s Atelier.
- Yuta is joining the Culling Game right away to gather information. (Sadly, this means Yuta is going off on his own again for a bit.)
- Megumi and Yuji will go to see Kinji Hakari, the suspended third year, and try to recruit him back.
While this episode was dialogue heavy, it was vital for understanding the rest of the season. According to the schedule, it looks like we’ll get 12 episodes in cour 1.
