User blog comment:Xilinoc/Ch. 568. Hear. Fear. Here 2/@comment-6657474-20140213051757/@comment-957629-20140213101317

Sort of annoying indeed to see Rukia needing to be saved again but she hasn't fought this power before so I'm trying to get around it, Byakuya has and he almost died!! This is a war and Nodt is not the only one fighting it on the opposing side!! They've already taken damage to their side!! Rukia has plenty of time to showcase her powers and I can see it almost as a tactical decision for Byakuya to step in now!! Rukia might have been able to win but still, I think it might have looked folly for someone without Bankai to defeat another person who quite frankly "killed off" her brother for a lot of us before we realised he could be healed!! Byakuya knows this power he knows what to expect and he can adjust accordingly!! Rukia on the other hand took a shot in the dark, she wasn't immediately affected by these Plot-kai abilities and was able to have some cool scenes and attacks but in the end I think it'd had looked bad if she didn't struggle and Byakuya stepping in makes it look tactical!! Don't get me wrong I want more powerful females so much but Bleach has always been unbalanced in that aspect!! Rukia is evolving as a character, especially for us the viewers/readers!! Her initial appearance was "cool Shinigami" then "wow Rukia was quite weak" during the SS Arc then "Ok Rukia was hiding her powers" and each time we see more from her!! At this point in time she's Lieutenant-level and would have been awesome to see her defeat Nodt but in the end, we know that there has been a very clear bridge or gap between Lieutenant and Captain, Bankai makes all the difference and for that to be removed from the equation against a person we know it takes Bankai to defeat, would have been awesome for her character, but inaccurate overall!!