User blog comment:Xilinoc/Ch. 554 - Desperate Lights/@comment-5551986-20131023163303/@comment-5551986-20131025231247

@IamJakuhoRaikoben Well. Having the "final" villain, be anything less than Aizen would be a little silly wouldn't it? It would be like finishing DBZ with the Raditz Fight after Goku just defeated Majin Buu, also if he wasn't a decent strategist, he wouldn't be in the situation he is now, and would have instead most likely died before the series began or died during the first invasion. In my experience, the anime always gives someone more powerful to fight. I was of course speaking of Yhwach's Intelligence in a hypothetical and jovial manner, hence the holmes reference. But besides, speaking speculatively, he is undoubtedly highly intelligent.

@Sternritter M - His surprise was no doubt for the audience, anyway it would be slightly ludicrous if he went "Mhhhmmmmhmmm hahaha I was expecting that"

@Tekkphreke Considering he made the Quincy, it wouldn't be surprising if he could bend the Vollstandig inhibiting rules.