I wasn't sure about that change, but my goal with that code was this:

If the cell (specified using the identifier) in the Storyboard is valid then it will be returned. Otherwise, a cell will be created and returned. During testing I noticed that warnings would sometimes print in the log stating that, "cell with ID 'CellIdentifier' could not be found" (or something to that effect). 

This piece of code was used to alleviate that issue. However, if you think it is unnecessary or incorrect - let me know and I'll fix it.