Facing your demons takes on a whole new meaning in "Kohaku's Shard," episode 19 of Inuyasha The Final Act. Wow, what a cliffhanger! Thank goodness for the scenes from next week, or else I'd be a nervous Nellie waiting to find out how Kohaku fares.

The episode starts off lightly, with another one of Inuyasha's hilarious efforts to participate in Kagome's modern-day life. (Talk about tasting the rainbow…) But quickly we're knee deep in danger on the other side of the well, as Magatsuhi rears his deviously ugly head, Sesshomaru handles a trickster, and Rin and Miroku suffer the consequences. There are a couple more things that I'm not even going to dare to give away, or else I'd suffer the consequences.

Watch the episode. Things are really heating up on Inuyasha The Final Act.

Today's episode "The Day of Days" (episode 18) was a highly enjoyable surprise. I admit that I assumed that this episode, where Kagome goes home to take her entrance exam, would just be a mild respite before more plot advancement. And it sort of was, but it also had some great one liners like Inuyasha's " I heard she has to fight some kind of weak demon called Entrance Exam."

Classic.

And Kagome, who lacks a cell phone, rationalizes, "I can't get a signal in the feudal era anyway."

More importantly, we see the deepened relationship between Inuyasha and Kagome and some slight foreshadowing of difficult decisions to come.

And we end with a new closing theme song. Feels like winter's over.

Jet-propelling the story forward, Inuyasha The Final Act episode 17 "Magatsuhi's Evil Will" pits Sesshomaru against Magatsuhi, the dark side of the Shinkon Jewel. We find out that the Shinkon Jewel has two opposing spirits, the good Naohi and the evil Magatsuhi. The latter appears to be blocking the true power of Kagome, who unfortunately spends a large part of the episode unconscious. Poor girl.

Also in this episode, Sesshomaru comes into his own. He was starting to seem a wee bit sad with neither arm nor sword. I won't spoil that awesome plot point. The only hint I'll give you is that Totosai shows up, which is generally a sign that things are happening.

We always knew that there was more to Kagome than meets the eye, but episode 16 "Hitomiko’s Barrier" starts to reveal Kagome's true power. Lady Hitomiko makes a connection between Kikyo and Kagome, but we're not sure what that's about. The mystery is still unfolding.

In other news, Naraku yet again underestimates the strength of Inuyasha and the gang. If I were him, I'd be worried. This episode is definitely setting us up for something big soon in Inuyasha The Final Act, so stay tuned.

So much for brotherly love. In the episode "True Heir," Inuyasha and Sesshomaru fight each other for control of their father's heirloom sword Tetsusaiga. A little sibling rivalry wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for Naraku pulling the strings, with the help of his weasly (yet witty) lackey Byakuya. Sesshomaru knows he's being played but is so intent on finding out who Tetsusaiga belongs to that he doesn't care.

In this way Sesshomaru seems a bit human, though his words suggest he'd cringe at that description. He's trying so hard to obtain Tetsusaiga that perhaps he's missing the bigger picture.

Watch episode 15 to see how their fight shakes down, with a plot-advancing ending that you won't want to miss. On a lighter note, Master Totosai's three-eyed ride doubling as a movie projector is a nice touch.