The eventful finale of the fourth season of Demon Slayer somewhat makes up for the slow-paced, filler-like episodes that tested the patience of the fans for the longest time. The lack of action sequences in the ongoing season has also been a major issue, and the finale makes it seem that it was a deliberate choice, as the entire production budget for the fourth season was probably spent on the breath-taking animated sequences through the 40-minute-long finale.
As viewers might remember, in order to attain immortality, Muzan Kibutsuji, the king of demons, was hell-bent on capturing Nezuko Kamado in order to gain her immunity against sunlight despite having demon heritage. Kagaya Ubuyashiki, the ailing chief of the Demon Slayer Corps, had instructed his Hashiras to prepare to take on Muzan, and their preparation was the focal point of the “Hashira Training Arc.” However, with the help of his fourth Kizuki, Nakime, Muzan was able to track down the Ubuyashiki mansion, and in the penultimate episode, he came face-to-face with the man himself.
Spoilers Ahead
How Did Kagaya Plan to Trap Muzan?
After the first three minutes of the finale are dedicated to Muzan’s entry, the actual conversation begins after Muzan appears right in front of Kagaya and his family. Kagaya has been anticipating Muzan’s arrival, and the king of the demons has nothing but disdain for the Ubuyashiki lineage, who have tried to put him down for the last thousand years. He is eager to settle the score by killing Kagaya, who seems to be unfazed, judging by his Buddha-like, composed demeanor. Muzan is impressed upon hearing that despite his frail and ailing condition, Kagaya has continued to survive up to this day, driven solely by his hatred towards Muzan, whose direct and indirect influence has cost the lives of many innocent people and also members of the corps. Kagaya further reveals a surprising fact: that he and Muzan are related by blood. Due to having the first demon as their ancestors, the Ubuyashiki family was perpetually cursed with ailments and a short lifespan. To free themselves of this burden, the Ubuyashikis consulted priests, who suggested they fight Muzan to get rid of the curse, which was how the Demon Slayer Corps came to be.
Muzan doesn’t seem to pay much attention to Kagaya’s words, but gets irked after Kagaya points out that his desire is to attain immortality, something he will never achieve in this lifetime. Kagaya continues, saying that to truly transcend the limitations of death and time, one needs to leave a legacy—a place in the hearts of people. The Demon Slayer Corps has endured much tragedy through their last thousand years of existence, and still they have continued to persevere. Their survival is a testament to the immortality one can achieve when they are memorialized in the hearts of people, while Muzan has amassed nothing but hatred through the years, never received forgiveness, and will be forgotten by people soon enough. Also, if Muzan dies, all the demons will perish with him as well, which proves the truth of Kagaya’s assessment.
Knowing that his time is limited, Kagaya lastly informs Muzan that his death will not go in vain; it will bolster the morale of the Hashiras to hunt down Muzan. For so long, Kagaya had reserved the last amount of his energy to say all of this to Muzan’s face, and now that he has been able to, he can die in peace. Kagaya thanks Muzan and holds his family closer, while all the Hashiras and Tanjiro rush towards the Ubuyashiki mansion after their crow familiars alert them. With a vicious, devastating explosion, the Ubuyashiki mansion is blown to bits, as the Demon Slayers watch from a distance in horror. Kagaya set the explosive trap anticipating Muzan’s arrival and didn’t even hesitate to sacrifice himself and his family to take down the king of demons. Muzan’s body gets dismembered and burned, his healing gets slowed down by caltrops, but still he survives, while raging about the fierce hatred Kagaya had for him.
Right at that moment, Muzan is shocked to see Lady Tamayo using her blood demon art to immobilize him by riddling his body with giant spikes, and as he tries to free himself by absorbing them, she injects the demon with the human-transforming medicine she had previously concocted. As revealed earlier, Tamayo had found a cure that she had synthesized from Nezuko’s blood, and taking this opportunity, she successfully injected it into Muzan. Muzan tries to provoke Tamayo by mentioning her sordid past, but she isn’t one to fall for his mind tricks, and she signals Gyomei Himejima, the mighty Stone Hashira, to finish the job. Himejima swings his hand flail-axe furiously to decapitate Muzan, and Himejima remembers his past interaction with Kagaya. The chief of Demon Slayers had created this elaborate plan to decimate Muzan, knowing full well that he cannot be killed by ordinary means, and that exposing him to sunlight is going to be their only option.
Where did the Hashiras finally end up?
By now, Tanjiro and the rest of the Hashiras—Sanemi, Iguro, Kanroji, Tokito, and Kanae—have appeared in front of the destroyed Ubuyashiki mansion, and as Himejima instructs them to keep Muzan restrained until the sun arises, all of them spring into action at once. However, it would be wrong to assume that the king of the demons hadn’t planned anything before appearing directly into the enemy base, and as all the Slayers lunge towards him, Muzan’s faint smile hints that something sinister is about to happen.
A gateway to another dimension opens up all of a sudden and pulls Tanjiro and all the Hashiras into it. Eventually, all the remaining Slayers—Inosuke, Genya, Zenitsu, and the novice corps—are pulled into the dimension as well, in a freefall sequence. While most of the Slayers seem surprised as they have no clue what’s happening, Zenitsu seems uncharacteristically resolute and determined, and Tanjiro has his eyes fixed on Muzan, the treacherous demon who turned his sister, Nezuko, into one of their own. The finale ends with Tanjiro promising to avenge the deaths by eliminating Muzan, who seems to be determined to wipe out the entire Demon Slayer Corps within a night.
The place where Tanjiro, his friends, and all the Hashiras have been trapped is Infinity Castle, Muzan’s secret lair founded by Nakime, and in his domain, the Slayers will be out of element for a while. Add to that the dreadful Kizukis at Muzan’s disposal, and it will take something extraordinary for the Hashiras to put an end to Muzan’s tyranny. The “Hashira Training Arc” was a buffer season that prepared the audience for the climactic “Infinity Castle Arc,” where the conflict between demons and slayers will reach its peak. The fifth season will likely overcome the pacing and lack of action drawbacks in a major way, and we cannot wait any longer to get updated about its release.
