This is so... last decade!

"It was one big mistake that permeated his whole game. Namely, his ego did him in. He was too boastful and aggressive. That, and he played a shallow social game."

The other players lived with that ego for 20 days after the merge so it often hurt him. Every laugh he had at someone's expense was a mistake.

"Everything else was either pretty darn good or misguided but not destructive"

Sorry but it was destructive if we're talking about winning the title of Sole Survivor.

"What does it matter if you "rub their faces in" (by which I suppose you mean "vote against them despite") F2 deals before the merge? What does it matter, for that matter, if you throw around F2 deals apparently without people finding out? It helped him with Natalie, so far as I can tell, and didn't hurt him at all with anyone else. So where's the big mistake?"

I'm not talking Marisa or Ashley but Laura, John, Monica, Dave, Shambo, Jaison and Brett. He made deals with all of them and laughed when he voted most of them out = D.U.M.B.

The biggest thing about telling Mick he was a millionnaire is that it showed he wasn't smart enough to stick to his plan. It was more important to be seen as smart than being smart.

"I don't remember him mixing up lies, unless you're referring to telling different lies to John and Laura."

He told Laura not to look for the idol because Ben had left with it then he played it at the next TC. Laura knew he was full of BS.

"We didn't see what he did after he found it. It didn't hurt him...And at no point thereafter could the idol be safely "flushed out"

We saw him relaxing in the hammock. He comes back from reward, starts running around immediately then he stops and never goes out again??? He didn't even bid for the clue at the auction. We didn't hear anyone mention it because we were supposed to forget that Russell was dumb but Galu knew he had it.
The idol can always be safely flushed out.

"The problem we have with Russell is that we constantly want to argue whether he should have won (endless though that argument is) or whether he is the greatest of all time"

LOL! He shouldn't have won. Argument over. He isn't the greatest of all time. Except for Ali, greatest of all time doesn't exist. Anyway, the creep isn't even in contention because HE DIDN'T WIN!

"Getting to the final four was easy as pie for Rich"

Revisionist history. He worked hard to keep things in line. Do you know what Hatch did that most have not realized: He made an alliance yes, but with people he could beat. Hantz didn't.