Page 11 of Fan Favorite

“Now I feel worried that none of this is real,” Edie said. “I mean, I know it’s not real. But some of it is real, right? Or is it not real at all? When Britton and Murphy got engaged last season, was that real? Or not real?”

“I promise you,” Jessa said, hand to heart, “we want to be your friends and help you get everything you want. We believe in your love story.”

Edie Pepper did not look convinced.

“Here’s the deal.” Peter shut his laptop with a snap and leaned forward to look Edie in the eye.

“ The Key is a microcosm that parallels dating in the real world. You encounter all sorts of crazy people in the real world, right? Guys who have to… meditate after sex and so on. And you have to figure out what their intentions are, what they want, what you want, et cetera. The Key is the same—there are just cameras along for the ride. Bennett’s got to figure out who he can trust and what he wants and what’s real .

That’s why millions of people tune in every week—for the tension between what’s real and what’s not. ”

“What Peter means is,” Jessa took over, “it’s as real as you make it.

Sure, we’ve got some gals who will never end up with Bennett, who are just hanging around for some screen time.

We all get that. It’s a symbiotic relationship—we let them be on our show, and they do things normal people would never do, providing meme-able drama for our audience.

But that’s just one side of the show. The other is Bennett Charles passionately looking for the woman that will shape the rest of his life. And we think that could be you.”

“Does Charlie even want me here?” Edie exclaimed, like all the bad possible outcomes of joining The Key had just occurred to her. “Have you even asked him?”

“You’d let that stop you?” Peter asked. “Jessa, call the network. I have an idea for a spinoff—it’s called Alone Forever .”

“You’re hilarious,” Edie said dryly.

“Look, we didn’t ask him, and we’re not going to,” Peter replied.

“I don’t want to put too fine a point on this, but what Wyatt did was lie to millions of people.

He went on TV and told the world he was going to find his wife on The Key and then, whoops, turns out he wasn’t looking for a wife at all.

He made everything look fake. Even the stuff that’s not.

He quite literally shook America’s belief in a fairy-tale love story.

Our job is to regain America’s trust. Make them believe in love again.

Rebuild their faith in this process. And the only storylines I’m interested in are the ones that are about true love.

And the only way I see this season ending is with a fairy-tale engagement.

So, what I’m asking is, do you see yourself on that mountain?

And how hard will you fight to get there? ”

Edie just stared at him, her mouth opening and closing slowly.

Jessa got up and held Edie by the shoulders. “I wouldn’t have brought you here if I didn’t think this could work. We just had to make sure you were for real.”

“We can help you get everything you’ve ever wanted. You just have to trust us,” Peter added.

Edie looked back and forth between them, her face flushed, her eyes filling with tears.

Staring into all of Edie’s hope and need suddenly felt uncomfortable.

It took a certain amount of delusion to believe in love in the first place.

But to believe you could find it on reality TV? That was borderline insane.

“You deserve an epic love story,” said Jessa. “Let us give that to you.”

Edie wiped her eyes and straightened her spine. “Okay, what happens next?”

Peter gave her his own version of a toothy grin. “We get to work.”

TAKE 5 PRODUCTIONS

THE KEY

EDIE PEPPER INTRO PACKAGE [DRAFT FOR EP APPROVAL]

TAPE #47

____________________

00:00:00 ESTABLISHING SHOT / CHICAGO

ADAM FOX: How far would you go for true love?

The Key is about finding that one person, a soulmate, who can truly unlock your heart. There are no rules, which is why tonight we came all the way to Chicago to meet the woman who’s been here all along, waiting for Bennett to come home.

EDIE / CHILDHOOD BEDROOM / SITTING ON BED WITH STUFFED ANIMALS

EDIE: I’m Edie and I’m here to find love with my high school sweetheart! Again!

EDIE SHOWING YEARBOOK TO CAMERA.

EDIE: Here’s Charlie and me our junior year—oh, did you want me to call him Bennett? It’s hard—he’ll always be Charlie to me. Look, here we are in the production of Bye Bye Birdie . He only had one line and he forgot it. How sweet is that?

EDIE AND ALICE PEPPER / MOTHER’S KITCHEN

EDIE: I’ve known Charlie since forever. Kindergarten. He lived right around the block from here.

ALICE: His mother always had such a hard time with him. He was always sick and falling over, so this has come as a real surprise.

EDIE: During our senior year we finally started dating. It was magical for both of us. I still remember our first kiss.

ALICE: Edie wore the ugliest dress to Homecoming. I warned her, but she did it anyway. Let me find a photo.

00:30:00 EDIE / EDIE’S APARTMENT / SITTING ON COUCH WITH CAT

EDIE: Oh god, I’ve dated so many people since Charlie.

There was a guy who said he was a writer but really wrote undergraduate papers for money.

I dated a guy for two months and he never kissed me the entire time, and yes, we were definitely dating.

And then there were all the guys who just—poof—disappeared.

But who needs a man when you have a warm cat to cuddle with, right?

CLOSE UP: CAT

B ROLL OF EDIE STARING AT GROUPS OF MEN WISTFULLY

EDIE: But I never gave up on finding love.

EDIE / CHILDHOOD BEDROOM / LOOKING AT OLD PHOTOS

EDIE: And as soon as I saw Charlie again, I knew he’s who I’m supposed to be with.

01:00:00 EDIE AND BFF LAUREN / EDIE’S APARTMENT / SITTING ON COUCH

LAUREN: Did I always think Edie and Charlie would end up together? I mean, not really.

EDIE: She’s kidding.

EDIE AND ALICE PEPPER / MOTHER’S KITCHEN

EDIE: We never went to prom. I got the stomach flu, and really, he should’ve gone anyway, with our friends.

He had a tuxedo and chipped in on the limo and everything.

But he came over and sat on the couch with me.

We watched Steel Magnolias. And I fell asleep and he still didn’t turn it off—he watched the whole thing.

He used to say to me “Drink your juice, Shelby!”

ALICE: I don’t understand what “adventurer” means. Do “adventurers” have 401Ks?

EDIE AND BFF LAUREN / EDIE’S APARTMENT / SITTING ON COUCH

EDIE: Do you have any advice for me as I embark on this journey?

LAUREN: Well, just be yourself because you are kind and funny and smart and wonderful and we don’t have time for any man who doesn’t see that, ok? And I love you.

CLOSE UP: EDIE AND BFF LAUREN HUGGING

LAUREN: [whispering] And if Charlie Bennett gives you any bleep remind him where he came from. And that I will happily kick his bleep. I don’t give a bleep about his extreme sports bleep, I remember his headgear, ok?

EDIE / CHILDHOOD BEDROOM / SURROUNDED BY OLD PHOTOS

EDIE: A lot of time has passed. But I feel like if there’s a guy you risk it all for, it’s him.

EDIE SKIPPING DOWN CHICAGO STREET

EDIE: I love you, Charlie Bennett!