Koror tried to throw a challenge to get rid of Coby. Do or do not. There is no try. Frankly, the way they did it - getting rid of him immediately post-merge - was a better way to go. Better to deal with the devil you know than with a devil you don't.

That said, everyone knows Russell's game. He's insanely predictable. Zapatera chose to hate him to the point of gambling the entire tribe's future on getting rid of him when there are a million better moves than that. No one knows, say, Ralph's game or Stephanie's game. Russell, based on two seasons, is an open book. So why not deal with him - especially when he's totally useless without idols - and use his strength instead of someone who's less valuable in challenges? Or at the very least, decimate Ometepe a la Ulong, vote Russell out when you get a chance a la Coby, and don't act like a bunch of arrogant jerks about it? Lording power over a minority is usually a very risky idea.

Could Koror have gone farther if they threw the last challenge and bumped off Tom? Maybe. But let's not kid ourselves - Tom was an absolutely dominant force in the game. Koror had two chances postmerge to get rid of him - and he didn't even gather a stray vote, let alone the boot. And it's not as if the rest of the tribe wasn't kicking around the idea of voting him off. They could have done it. They had the numbers. They had Tom right where they wanted him. It would never have worked. Tom's game was too solid.

If someone's against you, get rid of him - but don't ruin your tribe's chances to do so. Bide your time, wait for the tribe to lose a challenge or go to a double TC, and then vote off the bad guy then. Don't create a situation like this, especially when situations like this usually come up anyway.

Zapatera booted Russell because they knew his game. Does anyone really think no one on Ometepe ever watched Survivor? People go to Russell because they need to. It most likely would have been a similar situation - Russell's up a creek without an immunity idol, which Rob and Ralph had.

Russell's not going to win this game. It's that simple. Zapatera wasted a bullet on him. Even worse? Now, to Stephanie and Krista, he's the toppled dictator who was their leader. Zapatera, judging by the previews, has created two new Russells. And his proteges might just be more effective. Worse than that? Rob's playing a Russell game, too. The obvious, popular choice was getting tid of Phillip, who's weak, ineffective, annoying, and lost Ometepe two challenges. If my team were down 3-1 in a best-of-seven because one guy blew it both times, I'd bench him so fast the bench would be dented. But Rob, serving his needs and his needs alone, kept him. The tribe will capsize, and Rob will gain a lot of resentment. No one ever won Survivor being resented, except against someone people resented more. Rob, of all people, should know this.

Russell said he would live on in this game. He may be crazy, but in this case, he's right.