Oh cmon, Ishida can't always humor the audience in every single episode. He's gotta take a break every once in a while [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-tongue.gif[/img]
As for the episode, it was a good relaxing one. Quite a bit has been happening lately, so it's good to have a slow paced episode every once in a while, as long as it isn't too slow.
Cal_kashi, what do you mean about the conversation between Gin and Rukia's brother? They already talked in episode 19 or 20, but Gin seemed so calm, so please elaborate on this.