Ichinose coming back was certainly a totally useless thing. It didn't advance the plot to any direction, more like broke Kariya and Ichigo's fight. And there's no sense to not make a fellow like Kenpachi kill his opponent. He's probably the one who has killed most people of all the shinigami, so what's one more? Especially since they didn't even use Ichinose for anything but cheaply and in vain trying to make Kariya look a little more evil.

Well, it wasn't a bad episode otherwise. Good to see Rukia also woke up, even if I doubt she can do much. But I'm always glad to see her in episodes.