I wonder how far in advance Kubo plans these things out XD It seems that from the start he had this idea for Yammy, but I dont think anyone could have put the hints together. He certainly is the master of surprises!
The only thing I didn't like, was the transition from the beautiful scene with Ulquiorra to the WTFery of Yammy being 0. I was touched that Orihime continued to reach out for Ulquiorra even after his hand had disappeared ;_; Kubo can write shoujo too DX This scene paralleled the Kaien/Rukie hearts scene quite a bit, which is interesting.
http://www.onemanga.com/Bleach/268/12/I'm still hopeful Ulquiorra will be back. I feel there must be unfinished business between him and Aizen, and perhaps even Grimmjow. Not to mention, I find it unlikely Kubo would stain Ichigo's hands with his death when Ulquiorra was not evil to begin with.
I'd kinda like to see Hitsu lose, he has had quite a bit of manga time as it is XD It sort of looks like the wave might be part of Halibels release, since if it was a surprise attack, I would expect the !!! look from her at the bottom, but she instead just looks very calm. But I do really hope it is Ukitake! Whitey-kun saving Whitey-chan! GO. *dumps candy*