Dawn Meehan

ciriefan

Insider odcinek 2

I'm Used To Leading:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-3W0kjO7f8

Dawn reveals she has a strained relationship with Ozzy

"I have 6 kids, and I work. I teach. I'm used to having almost every minute of my day spent busy. So it's really hard for me, because I want to keep doing something like the fishing or the shelter, but I think I'll step on Ozzy's toes. I don't know how to do that. I'm used to leading. This is really different. Bringing in the returning player, I don't see how I can be the leader. We're on a tribe where, in my opinion, they're aligned with Ozzy. He's gonna get them there, he's told them he will. I think most of them trust him, with a Plan B, but most of them are going with Ozzy as the Plan A. We'll stick with Ozzy. He's the strength and he knows so much about the game, I can see where that makes sense, even if you're planning on cutting him later, letting him go loose. I can see staying with him. I'm not sure why I'm not trying to, you know, 'OK, me too!' There's a part of me that really thinks Ozzy knows I'm more skeptical of how he's playing."

(cut)

"I would say my relationship with Ozzy is strained. I really appreciate how he helped me when I was struggling day 1, day 2. I think he's been honest with me as far as saying, 'You're not going home,' and he really meant it. 'You don't have to worry, you're strong, you're a part of the tribe'. I think he's mindful of me, too. I don't think he sees me as someone he'll be able to carry along and say, 'Do this, do that.' So he's not talking strategy with me. I tried to, to get a sense of how do you play, how are you playing? But from his perspective, I think he's thinking, 'If we can keep Dawn, great. If not, let's let her go,' because I think I probably stir the pot for him."

tombak90

"I don't think he sees me as someone he'll be able to carry along and say, 'Do this, do that.' So he's not talking strategy with me. " Ja bym to odebrał jako zły znak:D

ciriefan

Don't Want to Say Goodbye

After losing the Immunity challenge, Dawn dreads going to Tribal Council

"I wish that I would have done better in today's challenge, running across the floating bridge with the 450-pound board. I wish I would have done better. I fell once. I definitely am all banged up; I have scrapes on my hips from being pulled and things. I wish I would have done better and had us come out in the lead when that last board came across. I felt vulnerable for that reason, because if I'd created this big advantage, I would have been seen as an asset to the tribe. I'm hoping it wasn't that I performed so poorly that I was seen as a liability to the tribe. That wasn't the impression I got. I got the impression there wasn't anyone else we could have put there. We couldn't put the other 2 women there. We couldn't put Keith there. We couldn't have put Jim there, or Papa Bear, or Cochran. It's the best we could do for the tribe we have today. It's the best you could do for the tribe we have today, and you didn't screw it up, so we're OK."

(cut)

"I wanted those cookies so badly. The idea of going to Tribal Council tonight is exhausting. I don't want to go. I don't want to walk there. I don't want to sit through and hear the different points and arguments. It's just painful. There's nothing about it at all that's appealing. It really is. I don't want to say goodbye to another person on the tribe. I know the game's not supposed to be personal, but you're sleeping next to a person every night, and eating with them, and spending time with them, and hearing about their children and their family, and hearing about the things they've done to prepare for the game. It is personal. The irony in this game is that. I don't know how you walk that tightrope the whole 39 days of it's personal, it's not personal."

ciriefan

Insider odcinek 4 (2 filmiki):

Cochran vs Ozzy

Dawn compares and contrasts Cochran and Ozzy's value to the tribe.

"Cochran's an interesting addition to the tribe, because he's such a character, he's so fun to listen to, and he's really agreable. I think he genuinely loves the game so much, that you can ask him anything the night before we have a challenge, and he'll rattle off 5 potential challenges, and who the winners were. It's like he's Survivor Wikipedia. In that way, he's an asset, because he always knows something. When we get a clue, he's like, 'It could be this kind of challenge,' and we begin to strategize. I think he's an asset too because he's probably more loyal at his core. I know he wants to win the game, but I think he's more loyal at his core than someone who's played the game two times before, like Ozzy. I think you become al little jaded if you've played before, especially if you've gone to the end and not won. I think you will see everyone as, 'You're in my way. Let me knock you down.' At least my experience, the conversations I've had with Cochran, it's a little more about family, a little more about what life is like. Ozzy does that, but you also get the impression he's more like, 'Huh? You were speaking?' He's just going, 'Hmm, I better give the impression I know something about you.'"

(cut)

"My feeling about Ozzy is he does have a kind of superstar status or strength in the tribe. With that long hair all I keep thinking is he's a modern-day Samson. I keep hoping someone's gonna come up and cut that hair, and and he's going to lose his power. It's a mane for him. It's his source of kind of attitude and confidence and strength. It's a whole vibe. I keep thinking, (motions cutting hair) is it gonna be me that's Delilah or am I gonna get one of these young women to do it, because he needs to have it cut off. I'm DYING to have it cut."

EW Deleted Scene

(day 10; most of the tribe is asleep; Dawn is washing in the ocean)

Dawn (solo): I like to get up early here in the South Pacific, because it's kind of the most quiet time of the day. The ocean almost blends into the sky, so if you come out and see, we're still on the island here that kind of curves around. This is our view. It's about a 180 degree view. The South Pacific. It's pretty miraculous.

(Ozzy waking up>)

Dawn (solo): I've been waiting a long time to come on and play the game, so it is surreal, and I don't want to take for granted the beauty all around. There is a game always going on, but part of it is being stranded on a deserted island. You get that feeling when you come out and there's no one. It's just you. I appreciate it a lot.

(sun rising as rooster crows)

ciriefan

Insider odcinek 6:

The Best Feeling

Dawn enjoys the food, swimming, and team bonding on the Slippery Rocks reward

"To win immunity and reward was the best feeling I've ever had, I can honestly say. I felt great the day I got to carry the weight in that challenge, I felt so great. This tops it tenfold."

(cut)

"Then to think of what the reward would be and have hours together in this - it was amazing. It was beautiful. It was nothing I've ever seen. It was slippery rocks, and sliding, and watching the guys making really silly chicken and squirrel dives. Ozzy's a complete hot dog. I really have a newfound respect for him, based on seeing him play, just play, and be himself, and have fun. The food was amazing. I had this tunafish, I think because we've been eating fish, I couldn't even think of eating any other, and there was this tunafish that was so, so good. There was a sandwich this large <spreads>. Right before we were leaving, I was so hungry, I'd had about this much <smaller> of one, and there was a full one left. I thought, if I could, I'd stay and eat this whole thing until I was sick. It was great. "

(cut)

"I did go down some of the slides. I didn't have the same gut Ozzy did to climb high, but in the back of my mind I'm always thinking, there's six people that need you to drop them off at school in a few months, and there's people that need you to pick up their dry-cleaning, so I feel like the risks for me I have to moderate. But I went down those slides, and it was so fun. It was an epic Survivor experience. I looked at Jim and said, you guys pulling through at the end like that is why I love this game. It's never over. People give their last two ounces, whether it's pork or coconuts, for moments like this. To stay in the game to experience things like this. I would never do that in my daily life. The biggest thing I would do in my daily life is run to the grocery store and splurge on some kind of cookie while everybody's at school. To have time with friends like that was amazing. I really believe at this point. From the time we checked out from the game, I enjoyed everyone. I think that was part of me having this kind of reconciliation in my mind that I actually appreciate lots of qualities about all these people, and I'm gonna make sure that's what I remember about this experience."

ciriefan

Insider odcinek 7:

It Was Miserable

Dawn reveals how awful she and her tribe felt after losing the challenge.

"So we had a challenge for immunity and reward. The reward was the winning tribe would get to have an evening away from the game and see a sneak peek of the movie Jack and Jill, with Adam Sandler, who I love, and have all the movie treats and popcorn and candy and hot dogs that go with it. And not have to go to Tribal Council, which was the best part of the reward."

(cut)

"We left that challenge, that was probably - I mean, this game is crazy. 12 hours before, highest high I've ever felt. Sliding on rocks and getting to know everybody, I really have a newfound appreciation for Ozzy and how we'd done that last challenge. So high. 12 hours later, the tempers and the frustration, and you could see all the energy we put into winning, being deflated. It's like a champagne bottle, when you win, you just pop. You feel so good. Not only that you won, but to know you're going to be in the game still. It was everything in reverse. It was awful. Everyone. You could see immediately. We almost took steps apart from each other. That's what I felt like. I felt like the group distanced themselves as we were answering questions from Jeff about what happened. We were at least 3 or 4 feet away another tribe member, and trying to regroup. It was miserable, and it meant someone was going home. We lost our lead. We could have won that. We could have gone into, hopefully, a merge, with more numbers than Opulu."

(cut)

"Walking back into camp after losing was probably the most angry I've felt. I know this was a team loss, like it's a team win when we win, but because I was blindfolded, the whole time I kept hearing Cochran's voice fumbling, so I think I was raging. Normally we're his eyes, because he fumbles a lot when we're in the challenges, like, 'I can't untie the knot.' Usually we're there to talk him through or to step in. And we couldn't. I think that might be why I was more frustrated, because I felt like we were depending on two people's eyes, and that's it."

(cut)

"We got back to camp, and everybody was still...I would say, probably angry. Cochran went over by the fire; we're always trying to keep that fire going. No one was saying anything. Ozzy started working on the fire, Jim and I started putting kindling on it. That's when Cochran said, I'll take responsibility if someone wants to vent. You can yell at me, tell me what you're mad about. I cried the whole trip home, getting back to camp. I feel horrible, it's all my fault, tell me what you want me to do. Ozzy did vent. He's got a lot of competition in him, and I think for Ozzy, losing is just never really an option. He had a hard time calming down after our loss. He really let Cochran know how frustrated he was and that he held him responsible."

(cut)

"At that point we started talking about team strategy and where we lie as a tribe. Are we going to try to stay unified and try to kick on, which is what we've been doing every time. It's been so close. Win. Lose. Win. Lose. I think this to me is an example of where the tribe really comes together in a game like this. I realize there's a sole survivor, but this is an example where maybe doing this together and making this decision about who the next to go, that may really benefit us and keep us in the game."

ciriefan

Insider odcinek 8

He's From Utah

Dawn is thrilled to learn that Rick is a fellow Mormon from Utah.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zyv6yWBdFlU&list=SL&feature=sh_e_se

"I've told everyone, since day 1, when the game began, and we were in the Redemption Arena. Rick mentioned he tried out 14 times; I've tried out since I was 30. I'm 40 now, so I kind of felt the similar (operatic voice) fan, desire to be in this game, that has shaped our lives in a lot of ways. I just had this feeling, listening to him at challenges, and hearing words of encouragement, I thought, he's from Utah. I've said all along to our tribe, "He's from Utah, I know it." They thought Texas, because of the big cowboy hat, and the belt buckle, but I just knew it. As soon as we sat down yesterday at the feast, and he said, 'I'm from Utah,' I just thought, the heavens have opened. This is meant to be for me. I know it. It was absolutely exciting. So we share the same religion (operatic voice) - how often does that happen? Not very. I told him, there's a little phrase we jokingly say, stormin' Mormon, and I told him, two Mormons, out of the 12? There's a purpose here, my friend. I don't want to exploit that, but it's absolutely super-valuable for me to have someone with the same background, same community. I can speak to him and he knows what I'm talking about. He doesn't think I'm loopy for having six children. There's a very common foundation that would be very helpful to both of us in the game."

(cut)

"The ideal option at the first Tribal Council, post-merge, would be to get someone like Rick to vote with us. If we're just deadlocked 6 and 6, it would be really to encourage one of their players..."

(cut)

"In order to get this first vote in our favor. The first goal would be to get someone like Rick to vote our way."

ciriefan

Insider odcinek 10:

Talked To Albert

Dawn reveals the details of her conversation with Albert

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yhc5NNg-cqY

"I have talked to Albert. His feeling is that, he let me know Edna wasn't a part of their original alliance. She kind of came in late to their decision-making, by default. He wants to play the game with people he feels are deserving, who have played - in that way he doesn't know if Edna has earned her spot as a final 6 or a final 7. He said, I'd like to see you and Whitney play, I feel like you've each won immunity and you've played in all the challenges, whereas Edna sat out. He said if it was up to me, I'd get one other person, we'd have Whitney, myself, Albert, and Cochran to vote out Edna at the next Tribal Council."

(cut)

"Rick doesn't wanna do it, because he gave his word, I don't know, probably 10 months ago (laughs), that he wasn't gonna betray anything he said he was gonna do. So Rick doesn't wanna do it, Brandon doesn't wanna do it, so that leaves Sophie or Coach. Coach has got everybody pretty well committed to the idea that solidarity is the only way to win the game, so I don't think Coach is flipping his vote. So Sophie is the only option, and there's some work to do there."

(cut)

"What I'd like to know is why the Upolu tribe doesn't want to take Coach out now while they have the numbers. I have no idea."

(cut)

"To me, this isn't the time to take out Edna, it's the time to take off the head of the snake. I don't understand it. It seems to me there's a lot of fear in taking out Coach."

(cut)

"My only caution in the plan to take out Coach, because we could use Cochran, myself, Albert, Whitney, and potentially Sophie to take out Coach and really change the game. My only caution is that Cochran seems to have a great following, leader, loyalty to Coach. They did tai chi yesterday, and I think that's Coach's whole plan, to have an apprentice."

(cut)

"There's a lot to think about. Right now I have the immunity challenge on my mind, and then I'm gonna use some time thinking and working today. Whitney and I are all guns loaded. There's nothing to lose."

ciriefan

Insider odcinek 11 - 3 filmiki:

We Can't Lose

Dawn is proud that a Savaii member will still be on Redemption no matter who wins the duel.

"I'm actually proud to represent the loyal part of the Savaii tribe here. I think one of us has a really good chance of playing the back end of this game and making the final 3. If any 3 can do it, I actually think one of us can win this duel, win another duel, and re-enter the game. I'm proud to do it. It would be a lot easier to duel against an Upolu member, because you'd have a little more fire in your belly, but I don't feel like we can lose today. I really believe we can't lose. I may go home, Whitney may go home, Ozzy may go home, but one of us is staying. That was important to us in the beginning. I always said, I really believe a Savaii member is gonna win this million dollars, and I still feel that way today."

(cut)

"I have a lot of peace with where I'm at in the game today. I think my feeling is I've learned so much from the Savaii tribe experience, and staying loyal to that group of people, and seeing how much Ozzy did sacrifice by exiting the game early to go to Redemption and then re-enter the game so we'd have the upper hand and have a majority - his first exit to Redemption, I respect that so much. I feel like he needs encouragement today too, because he does have the ability to play the backside of this game and probably win the men in the challenges, more than Whitney or myself. In some ways I feel like he sacrificed for the tribe, and if I can't win this today, I need him to know he can do it. I need him to have the courage and the strength and the faith we have in him. I want him to feel that everything we feel he did was worth it."

Secret Scene: Dawn

Dawn is feeling very vulnerable now that Savaii is a minority in the Te Tuna tribe.

(day 25)

(Dawn is sitting in the shelter, crying, as Whitney gets coconuts)

Cochran: You OK? (sits down next to her)

Dawn Yeah. It's just...(sticks her tongue out) I feel like in some ways, I feel like oh, I've tried so hard at every challenge, and I've pushed myself further than I ever thought, and I'm like, yeah, I've done OK, and then I have all this doubt when I get to the vote and all these things and how people are affected. Who's at fault, and...

Cochran: You're not at fault for anything. You've been nothing but poised and strong.

Dawn: No, I'm falling apart. Which has been a constant theme for me in this game. (laughs)

(Whitney sits on Dawn's other side)

Whitney: You're not falling apart.

Cochran: You're showing emotion, which is healthy, in an unhealthy game. (Dawn laughs) It is! It's unhealthy in several ways. But you're showing healthy emotion and... (Dawn keeps laughing)

Dawn (solo): I feel like the Cochran switch affected me more than maybe other people because he had been one of the main people I had voted in agreement with. I feel like it leaves me at this weird bridge, because the Savaii tribe became a minority in the merged Te Tuna tribe. I might get myself in with the Upolu tribe and see if there's some wiggle room there.

Dawn: The hard part is we're playing against a united tribe.

Whitney: It's no longer all tribe. It's not possible. Where we stay all tribe and get voted off one by one. There's no tribe anymore. I had 100% confidence in our tribe and...you know, that's not the way it went down.

(Cochran looks on a bit awkwardly)

Cochran (solo): I like Dawn a lot. I think Upolu likes Dawn a lot, because she's another very spiritual person, and that seems to resonate a lot with the Upolu tribe. She's a very sweet woman. She wasn't criticizing me like some of my other tribe members were, and Upolu took note of that.

Cochran: I just wanted to make sure you're OK.

Dawn: I feel better. I was just...

Cochran: Everybody here loves you. I sincerely mean that.

Dawn (solo): This game is really teaching me in a real real way, that the impossible happens all the time, and when you're on top, you can fall right back flat on your face. So I think I'm trying to keep a steady head and trust that I'm going to play my heart out, I'm going to give everything I can at the challenges, and hopefully win favor from people, because ultimately, someone's gonna have to break from the 6. Just try to stay as long as I can, and if I get sent to Redemption, I think I can play hard there.

Dawn: The Day After

Dawn reflects on her time in the game the day after she lost the duel on Redemption Island

"My Survivor experience really has been like having a dream come true. It was a dream for me 10 years ago - I worked on it on and off 10 years, the last year non-stop, every day, to prepare. I would say for me this experience is gonna be, I got to live one of my dreams. It's like my Olympics (laughing while crying)."

(cut)

"I think the whole process of actually getting into the game was life-changing. There were several points along the way where I had to decide whether this would really happen and I had to keep pursuing it. In that way it's given me this courage to hang onto a dream even when it's not happening (laughs). Having it happen has completely redefined how I see my life and possibilities. As I've thought about it these last few days outside the game, I've already been thinking, what's next, what's the next dream. And I believe that it's doable. I think it's really going to shape the way I parent and the way I am as a wife. I've been really fortunate that my family was behind me and excited all the way to do this, and I think it's time for me to be a support to one of their dreams, too. In that way I know it's going to change me, because I'm excited to see what they want to do and what's next for the whole family, not just me."

(cut)

"My first big turning point in the game came at the strength challenge that we had where the tribes had to shoulder the load. Leading up to that I thought it was time to make a move and show the tribe I had something to contribute. I still kind of felt on the outs with our tribe. Right before the challenge I knew there was going to be one female in it. Jim looked at me and said, 'You have this. You've prepared 10 years for this.' Because they've all heard me say my routine that I've done. He's like, 'You have this.' I believed him. (starts to cry) Probably for the first time in the game, I really felt it. I think I do. I can do this."

(cut)

"The moment that challenge was over - I was still listening to Keith, I didn't know it had ended - and he actually came up and kind of knocked it off of me to let me know, and picked me up, and my little legs were dangling. I keep saying Olympic, but it really was my Olympic moment. My legs were dangling, I couldn't breathe because Jim was crushing me so hard. I just felt the best that I've ever felt. All of that work was right then. 10 years was that moment right then."

(cut)

"The other moment for me came...in the early part of the game, I couldn't understand Ozzy. He was the person that was more difficult for me to read. I felt like I had a good read of people on the tribe, but having watched previous returning players, I didn't want to trust Ozzy at all. And he's so confident and so capable, I probably held back from getting to know him. We had a challenge, the wheelbarrow challenge, where I really struggled. It was heavy, and I wasn't orienting the wheelbarrow right. He was so kind, and got us through that, not obstacle course, but through our side. I just gained this immediate sense of appreciation for him, that he's really just playing his heart out, and he's a good guy. He's playing, it's a game, but I saw all that kindness in him, and I had an immediate affection for him. Up until then, I wasn't sure how I felt about him, but from that point on, all I could see was that I have a lot to learn from him about how to give everything you have, every minute. I feel like I learned the most from Ozzy about challenging yourself and staying calm when there's stress."

(cut)

"I think the biggest lesson I learned is how to prepare for something and how to have courage. You can be so, so prepared for something, and then still lose confidence when it comes down to it, when you have these big obstacles or a challenge. The biggest thing I learned is how important challenges are, and how you have to challenge yourself every day in life. My biggest thought is if you would do all this prep for a game for a million dollars (starts to cry again), you should do it for your life, which has just as many possibilities. That's the biggest thing I've learned. If you're gonna go big for a game, you should go big for life itself."

(cut)

"I think the nicest thing about Redemption Island, the arena itself, it's like a closing ceremony. I think when your torch is snuffed, it's so personal, and you're alone, and you just get sent down the stairs. This felt like almost a closing ceremony. It was kind of cathartic. I didn't want to let it go, I wanted that buff, but I wanted to be in the game, I didn't want the buff. That was what it was. It was emotional because it was the end of this really long journey and dream for me. But more than anything, I felt grateful. I felt an appreciation. I was happy to do it. I'm lucky to be someone who got to do that."

(cut)

"I'm so thankful. It's changed my life. It's been a complete adventure. It's been a thrill. I can honestly say I loved every day out there. It was hard, there were days I cried and cried and wondered if I could stay any longer, because it was so physically hard or emotionally hard, but I loved it. I think I'm a bigger fan than I was before. I'm excited to tell other people about it, and I'm excited to tell people what my experience was like. I really was that woman sitting on the couch, season 1, saying, 'This is incredible. Do you wanna do this? I wanna do this?'"