QFT
Naruto REALLY needs to give up on chasing Sasuke once and for all. I mean, what does Sasuke have to do to get it through Naruto's thick stupid head that he DOESN'T WANT TO BE SAVED AT ALL?! Also how does Naruto still think of Sasuke as a friend worth his valuable time when he should CLEARLY be viewed as a self-entitled little kitten who only cares about himself and no one else?! If Kishi is trying to make a point about friendship by going with the whole Darth Vader redemption thing then he is simply trying too hard at making Sasuke's redemption seem slightly plausible (or even convincing fans to like him enough to actually want to see him saved) and failing miserably at it.
As for the episode, well I didn't see it yet. I'll probably watch it if I can actually motivate myself to do so (which probably won't be too much trouble since the anime is apperently back in canon territory again). :True: