I was genuinely taken aback by Sode no Shirayuki's sheer power, freezing everything and even trapping Ichigo without breaking a sweat; it makes me think she might just be more formidable than Hyorinmaru after all. But seeing Rukia make the truly desperate and drastic choice to use her own kido to blow them both up, effectively sacrificing herself to prevent her power from being twisted for evil, that just solidified how fiercely loyal she is.