I actually preferred some of the fillers to the crap we have now. Basically what they're giving us is filler anyway. They use long pauses and stretch scenes that take up 1 panel of manga into 10 minutes of useless time filler in the anime. It's pretty frustrating. I used to enjoy my weekly dose of Naruto and Bleach. Now it's a chore to download and watch either show. I have little hope for the future of either anime. I'm especially disappointed that the Japanese can't get this right with two landmark high profile shows. They can't budget or pace correctly, and made several poor decisions with these anime.

Back to the topic: this episode was slow and pointless. I hated how they repeated each other's statements about the barrier mechanism, like they had to say it aloud before it could register, even though it was understood and plain to see. Then they spent another 10 minutes telling us how much Sasori hates to wait.

The Gai/Neji stare-down was funny, but out of place considering the urgency of the situation.

Episode rating: C-