Survivor South Pacific: Dawn & Whitney
Dawn Meehan, 41
English professor
South Jordan, Utah
Whitney Duncan, 27
Country singer
Nashville, Tennessee
And then there were none. The only remaining loyal members of the Savaii tribe in the merged Te Tuna team – Dawn Meehan and Whitney Duncan - were booted from the game, having lost their Redemption Island battle with Ozzy Lusth. Of course, they would arguably still be around if Cochran hadn’t flipped to the Upolu tribe. Still, Cochran has now been voted out – so much for his brilliant move, right? Here’s what they had to say about their time on the show and the dreaded c-word – Cochran!
Firstly, away from all the politics of the game, did you have a good time out there?
Dawn: It was amazing. If you watch the show you see a lot of deception, a lot of stress and tension. One thing which surprised me was there were so much kindness and there friendships that were formed that were long-lasting. For myself and Whitney, being on the same tribe, rowing in together on the first day – the tribe becomes your family.
Prior to the merge, did you ever get to know any of the Upolu members?
Whitney: No. We’d learn a little bit after a challenge. You could tell Coach was running things. You could tell he was their leader.
But you would have had no idea how much sway Coach had over his tribe?
Dawn: I was thinking, you guys have to be aware of what is going on. This man (Coach) is cashing in a million dollar cheque pretty soon.
There does seem to be a few Upolu tribe members along for the ride – who are prepared to shut up and say nothing, rather than rock the boat.
Whitney: They’re not playing for the win, though, that’s the problem. Somebody needs to step up. They should have worked with Dawn and I to try and get Coach out of that, they had an out. It would have been a whole new ball game. But they were scared.
OK, let’s get on to Cochran – when he flipped to the other tribe he cost both of you your games.
Dawn: He cost us a million dollars. There is no question, it seemed to be our game once we got to the merge. We had immunity and an immunity idol.
Whitney: The odds were in our favour. I feel sorry for him (Cochran) that he was so gullible as to believe Coach. Cochran himself said it best when he said, “If the debt’s not repaid it’s going to go down as one of the most idiotic moves in Survivor history.” And he hit the nail on the head. It was a super dumb move. It cost him his game as well.
It’s interesting that Cochran, as a student of the game, fell so easily for Coach.
Dawn: I think being a fan was a disadvantage in this case because Cochran is kind of smitten when he finally gets to meet Coach. My feeling was always that Coach had superstar status for Cochran. Doing “Coach-chi”, that was something Cochran probably dreamed about.
Whitney: He was in awe of Coach. He didn’t have that towards Ozzy.
Dawn: Coach speaks to him in a way that makes him think he’s a big player. That’s music to his ears because he’s thinking, “Ever since the first tribal council I’ve been told I’m the weakest link.”
So, any lingering animosity towards Cochran?
Dawn: I feel sorry for him. It’s been painful to watch, especially with the family seeing it for the first time. I’ve had a little more time to come to terms with it. But my children are like, Mum, that person ruined it for you.” To me, what Cochran did was a betrayal and it hurt.
Whitney: I felt hurt in the game when he flipped and watching it back now and seeing how smug his interviews are. When he said, “I should play a double agent really, I’ve pretended to like these people.” Really?
OK, so, why did he flip?
Dawn: He comes into the game wanting to be recognised as a character, he asks to be called Cochran and not by his first name. He was looking to make a mark. I saw him light up when he got to meet Coach. His whole kind of attitude shifted. I think he just loved being around Coach.
It’s funny, watching Coach he really does seem like a false idol.
Whitney: Ever time he opened his mouth I was either rolling my eyes or yawning. It was really hard to take.
Who do you think is going to the end?
Whitney: We’re both rooting for Ozzy.
Dawn: It would be a great turnaround. I want satisfaction. I want to say this person deserved to be the winner, not because they were carried along to the end. I’m hoping, no matter who it is, they’re deserving of their place in the game.
Survivor: South Pacific, 9.30pm, Tues, Nine