Night vision photography: It's not just for Paris Hilton's home movies anymore.

Thursday evening's (Dec. 11) episode of "Survivor: Pearl Islands" begins with the remaining members of Balboa walking back from Tribal Council under the cover of night. Bully Burton cackles and celebrates yet another successfully rigged eviction.

The next morning, Sandra is plotting her revenge. She's intent on hiding the tribe's equipment -- their water buckets, their knives, their nets. She'd determined that if she's the next to go, everybody's going to suffer first.

Sandra may be overestimating her own worth. Jon and Burton are figuring that the suddenly invincible Darrah needs to get voted off first.

This rubs Lill the wrong way. She suddenly comes to the realization that her allies, Jon and Burton haven't been entirely truthful with her.

The Reward Challenge is called "Second Chances" and it means that the "Survivor" producers were too lazy to think of a new challenge. Knots, slingshots, puzzles and digging are all repurposed in this tossed salad of previous challenges. The winner is heading to Old Panama City for a night camping out in antique splendor.

Bragging Burton wins the reward and selects Jon for his overnight feast, because who would you rather share a suckling pig with than, well, a suckling pig. Jon literally jumps into his benefactor's arms.

Jon and Burton are off on the motorboat to land, discussing their reward as if it's a first date. As they get into port, host Jeff Probst introduces Burton to his other prize (Even better than a date with Jon? For shame...). It's a GMC Envoy. A GMC Envoy? Yes. A GMC Envoy. Surely, you might ask, not a GMC Envoy, the Crown Prince of SUVs? Oh yes, that very same GMC Envoy. It's a very, um, dignified and graceful product plug. Fortunately, Jon and Burton don't even notice. They're so busy telling each other how much they enjoy being together and staring into the vacuum of each other's eyes.

Their dinner is an orgy of food, including the aforementioned suckling pig. They toast the poor girls starving back in camp, where the buzzards are literally hovering. But while the men are away, the women have finally had enough and formulate a plan to take back the night.

Strategy in place, the ladies are pleased with themselves.

The guys, though, are even more pleased. They're aware that the girls might plot against them, but Jon makes a point of discussing their "intellectual advantage." Blustery Burton is of the somewhat confusing opinion that he and Jon have been running things for the past 20 days and that they should be able to hold onto that power. Even if Burton doesn't know the meaning of the word "hubris" you can be sure that the show's editors do.

Lill is in pain. It may be insomnia. It may be bug bites. It may be menopause. It may be her continued inability to understand the rules of the game. Regardless, Scoutmaster Lill is wandering around camp in her underwear scratching herself and making pinched faces. Some images need no further editorializing.

When the men return, Lill and Darrah approach and whisper that Sandra is ready to go. They find her curled up in her blanket. Buzzard Burton eyes Sandra like she's a carcass, but he's not buying the act.

The Immunity Challenge involves lowering and walking a long series of planks. Each plank can only be unlocked with a key that rests at the bottom of a thin tube of water. Because Darrah's arms are just as spindly as the tubes, she has a huge advantage. Blundering Burton has lock problems and falls behind early. Jon puts up a challenge, but fades. It's all Darrah for the third straight Immunity Challenge. The Mississippi Mortician is on fire.

"Lill is a basketcase," Burton insists. Despite all evidence to the contrary, he feels no fear. He thinks that Lill can be removed and that Sandra will be the swing vote.

Just in case anybody still likes or admires Jon, here's the full text of his thoughtful deconstruction of the remaining "Survivor" women:

"All three girls are as dumb. They share a brain collectively. I don't even think they share a whole brain or obviously they would have figured out, 'Hey, we can get rid of these guys.' They're foolish. I mean, uh, the girls in this game have done nothing to, uh, nothing for women's rights or anything like that. I mean like, uh, they'd be better off, you know, scrubbing potatoes and mopping floors to get bills passed at this point. They've showed they're nothing more than followers in this game. I think it's downright foolish that they didn't talk, but, uh, I felt and will continue to feel that I'm much smarter than them anyways, so I guess that's kinda par for the course."

It's Tribal Council and a sneering Jeff asks Jon if he's impressed with the remaining women. Jon insists he is.

"I feel awful when people get blindsided," says Blowhard Burton before the ballots are cast.

Jeff reads Lill's two votes first and Burton looks smug. He immediately senses something is wrong when the next vote goes against him. His brow furrows. As the next two votes go against Burton, even Jon looks concerned. For the second time, Burton's torch is extinguished. The women are all smiles.

"Lill, I hope you can live with yourself," Bilious Burton tells the camera as the credits roll. "We had an alliance and you broke it."

And yes, he utters these final words without an iota of irony.