I just felt like it what becoming really really really really really really repetitive at that point. I mean, that orange haired guy fought the captain with the eye patch for like 6 episodes. About half that time was spent talking to his sword. The Renji fight was more of the same.
el_boss: thanks for your suggestion. I looked through an episode guide (very carefully, to avoid spoilers -- the reason I asked here first btw) and found that the episode I was thinking of was 41.