Based on a True Story (2023) s02e07 Episode Script

1
[TENSE MUSIC PLAYING]
Look, Livvie
Don't. Don't. Don't.
- [MATT] Easy.
- [NATHAN] Okay.
- Livvie, easy
- Don't call me that.
Even when I loved you, I hated
when you called me Livvie.
Look, even at my worst, you
loved it when I called you Livvie.
- Are you gaslighting me about a fucking nickname?
- No. I'm just reminding you
Hey, maybe it's not a good idea
to argue with the crazy
lady holding a gun.
- Don't call a woman crazy.
- Even when she's pointing a gun at us?
I'm not the crazy one here, okay?
This is a perfectly reasonable
response to what that monster did.
Reasonable for you, yeah.
[NATHAN] We agree completely.
- You are not crazy at all.
- Don't patronize me.
- Looks like I can't win.
- Just shut up.
What is it you want, Olivia?
The same thing I have wanted for years.
To stop you from hurting more people.
But no. Every time I would go to
the cops, they would just dismiss me.
Apparently, a lot of women call them
to say their shitty exes
are the Westside Ripper.
Oh, my God! So that's why
you pretended to be a cop.
You're not crazy. No. I'm just
I'm putting pieces together here, so
- Yes, that's why.
- So you just walked into crime scenes?
- No one questioned you?
- You'd be surprised what you can pull off
with just a blue jacket
and a sense of entitlement.
And still, no one wants to believe me
that this guy is a fucking killer.
I believe you, but since
we've been together,
Matt has done some
incredible healing work.
[LAUGHS WRYLY] Healing?
Aw! Girl, grow up!
Which trauma narrative
did he tell you, hmm?
Uncle's cigarette burns
or mean dead stepmom?
- [MATT] Okay, Olivia.
- [OLIVIA] It was mean dead stepmom, right?
Protecting his little brother.
Of course he used that one on you,
- since you're so pathetically dependent on your sister.
- "Pathetically dependent"?
- Did you say that to her?
- I did not say those words
in that order.
So that hunting trip
with Uncle Stan, that
[OLIVIA] Total bullshit. Made it up.
Maybe the answer is just to put
you down like the dog that you are.
[MATT] Why don't you think
this through? What about Ollie?
[OLIVIA] What about him?
He's with my parents.
[MATT] You're okay with him just
never seeing his father again?
Maybe he's better off without
Hey, hey! What are you doing?
Sorry. Do you still want us here?
We thought you wanted some privacy.
How about we let the
women go? Let the women go.
- They don't need to be a part of this.
- Spare me the fake-ass chivalry.
- Okay? Ava gave me the whole scoop on you.
- What's that mean?
- What did you tell her?
- I didn't say anything. She's obviously crazy.
- Now she's crazy?
- She is crazy.
[MATT] This is what she does. All right?
She manipulates people,
gets in your head,
and then she just makes you fight.
Oh, that's rich, coming from you.
He may say that he loves you,
but that man is incapable of love.
- Don't talk about him like that.
- Tory, stay out of it, please!
It's true. You never loved me,
and you never supported my work!
[LAUGHING] Oh, come on.
What? Your credit card scam?
In my defense, you weren't smart
enough to pull that off anyway, so
Oh, yeah?
How come I got you to kill that cop?
Matt, what is she talking about?
You didn't get me to kill anyone.
I did that all on my own.
Oh, sweetie, that's what
I wanted you to think.
You killed a police officer? When?
I needed him dead, so
I may as well use you
for the one thing
you're actually good at.
- You used me?
- Oh, God! [SCREAMS]
[MATT] Ow! Okay, ow!
Okay, look, Liv Uh
Olivia, come on. What is this?
We used to love each other.
We both know that's not true.
- [GRUNTING]
- [OLIVIA GROANS]
[COUGHS WETLY]
[AVA YELPS]
[MENACING MUSICAL STING]
[GASPS]
[QUIETLY] What did I do?
Oh, no, no. What did I do?
- [KNIFE CLATTERS]
- What did I do?
- [AVA] It's okay. You saved our lives.
- [COUGHS]
- You-you had to.
- You saved us.
- No, no. Wh-wh
- [AVA] No. It's okay. You
- [NATHAN] You needed to.
- You saved us. It's okay. Just Oh, my God!
[BREATHING HEAVILY]
You just killed the mother of my child.
[BREATHING SHAKILY]
Oh, my God.
[NATHAN] Okay. Easy, buddy.
Easy. Just stay calm.
[VIDEO CALL RINGING]
[BEEPS]
Friends, disciples, lovers
I am so honored
to be officiating this sacred event.
In order to get things started,
I will simply need a
valid credit card number.
[DRAMATIC MUSICAL STING]
[TENSE MUSIC PLAYING]
[TORY] I-I
- It's okay, Tory.
- Uh-huh.
We're gonna figure this out.
How?
- [AVA WHIMPERS]
- Uh
- Ava?
- I'm thinking.
Just thinking. Trying to think about
[KNOCKING ON DOOR]
- [NICK] Hey, guys.
- Bring it in.
Some of us really need
to use the bathroom.
- Can you guys take turns going behind the shed?
- Behind the shed? Okay.
All right. Great party.
- Okay. Whoo! Okay.
- Thank you.
Listen to me. I know this is very
sad, and terrifying, and awful,
but we have a dead fucking body
Her name is Olivia.
[CLEARS THROAT] Okay.
We have a dead Olivia
on our floor right now,
and we got a ton of fucking
guests outside ready to party.
We have to do something.
Yeah, okay, I'll , uh I'll
go tell 'em the wedding's off.
No, you can't do that.
- [NATHAN] Tory!
- What?
I just killed somebody.
I need spousal privilege
so Matt can't be compelled
to testify against me.
- [AVA] Wh
- And
unless you wanna go to prison,
you're gonna need that from me too.
She's right.
She's right.
I guess we're getting married.
Oh, my God. [BREATHES DEEPLY]
Okay, all right. Kids, listen up.
Each of you are going to do exactly
what the fuck I say.
I will create a diversion.
- [AVA GRUNTS]
- [WATER SPRAYING]
- Hey.
- [AVA] Tory and Matt,
you get rid of the guests.
Make sure you journal about this, okay?
Thanks.
[AVA] Nathan and I will clear the way.
Are you fucking kidding me?
Jesus Christ! Couldn't you just
say that the house was flooded?
This gives us an excuse
to tear up the floorboards.
You wanna put a rug over the
bloodstain and call it a day?
I gotta say, I marry a lot of people
and animals.
But you two truly have what
it takes to go the distance.
[AVA] I'll handle the
childcare situation.
Hey, Serena, could you
keep Jack a few more hours?
It's really crazy over
here. You're a lifesaver.
And that leaves the body situation.
Well, Matt, if there
was ever a "you" job
[MATT] I don't think I wanna do this.
I don't even know if I can.
You're doing it, and I'm helping you.
Hey, look at that, an extra set
of hands to help you bury a body.
That's gotta feel like a luxury.
Hey. Hey, sweetie, I'm
just, uh checking on you.
How are you feeling?
Like I crossed a line I
can never come back from.
[SIGHS] I know. It's okay.
We're gonna figure this out.
I can't imagine what your
brain is going through now.
But I promise you
- [PHONE DINGS]
- it is gonna be okay. And I Oh, my God.
The Nextdoor mom brigade
just spotted Olivia's car.
" outside some shitty
house in Mar Vista."
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
[GASPS] We're the shitty
house in Mar Vista. Fuck!
Stay right there. It's
gonna be okay. Just hold on.
Should we put her in
the back of your truck?
No. Let's take your Jeep. We're
gonna need the four-wheel drive.
[AVA] Wait. Stop!
Drop her. Unwrap her.
I gotta get something.
You're kidding me, right?
I know you're traumatized,
and I really feel for you.
But right now, I need you to
put on the dead lady's jacket,
drive her car back to her house,
so the neighborhood moms
don't call the cops on us
and send us all to jail.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC CONTINUES]
[ENGINE STARTS]
- [COYOTE YIPS]
- [SHOVEL CLANKS]
[NATHAN PANTING]
[MATT] Hey, uh
Hey, Nathan, I actually
wanna say a few words.
[CLEARS THROAT]
Yeah, so, do you mind?
This hole's gonna take forever to dig.
I think we can spare a minute.
- Okay.
- Thank you.
Um
[EXHALES]
You know, I actually proposed
to her in a park just like this.
She loved nature.
She said it gave her space to think.
Peace, I guess. And
Well, she's gonna have
plenty of that now.
Well said.
Uh, I wasn't actually finished, so
[SHOVEL THUDS FORCEFULLY]
[BREATHLESSLY] Are you kidding me?
All the shit you said about her?
All the horrible things
you said about her,
and now you wanna you wanna
act like the grieving widower?
I am the grieving widower.
- Fuck you!
- Fuck you!
All right, look, buddy,
let's just cool off, okay?
Let's just back off.
No. I'm not scared of you anymore.
Because this is all a lie.
Everything you do is a lie.
- You manipulated me.
- Sure.
You manipulated Ava.
You manipulated Tory.
It's all bullshit. I'm fucking done.
Fuck you. Fuck you!
You're fucking done?
You're fucking done?
[PANTING]
Fuck, Nathan.
Stay the-stay the fuck down.
I don't wanna hurt you.
Nathan, I'm fucking warning you.
- [GRUNTS]
- Nathan!
[GRUNTS]
You think I wanted to do that?
What the fuck is this?
I'm calling you on all your bullshit.
Where are you right now?
What are you doing?
You're burying a body.
["NIGHT" BY DANIEL SPALENIAK PLAYING]
You're right.
I'm done with you.
I'm done with all this.
Where are you going?
Nathan, you're just as
fucking guilty as I am.
What are you gonna do, turn me in?
[DEJECTED] Do whatever you want.
I don't care anymore.
[ENGINE STARTS]
[SONG CONTINUES]
Quiet ♪
How quiet is the night? ♪
[PHONE LINE RINGING]
- [TORY ON PHONE] Hey.
- Hey. How's it going with the car? You okay?
[TORY] Yeah, it's done.
I got an Uber back home.
Wow. You're home already?
That was really fast.
[TORY] Just wanted to get it done.
Know what? You should
not be alone tonight.
So can you come back here and
- I'm good.
- [AVA] Okay, listen,
I know tonight was scary,
and awful, and all the things,
but it's gonna be okay. Matt
and Nathan are taking care
of everything right now.
And, um, soon, life's gonna
go back to normal, all right?
Normal life. We're gonna put all
this behind us. It's gonna be okay.
Normal life is over for me now.
I don't like your tone. Are [SIGHS]
You're really freaking me out.
[TORY] I'm just tired.
Um, th-thank you for
looking out for me tonight.
Of course. I will always
look out for you, okay?
And I I am so proud of you.
I mean, you were so brave and
I saw a side of you I've never
seen before. It was like
Ave, hey, look, you really
gotta let me go, okay?
I'm exhausted. Um
Good night.
[PHONE DISCONNECTS]
[SIGHS]
["NIGHT" CONTINUES]
[BOARDS CLATTERING]
[AVA SIGHS]
Oh, my God. What happened?
- [DOOR SLAMS SHUT]
- I did it.
I told Matt off. We got into a fight.
I called him out on all his bullshit.
Wait. What? Really? You got in a fight?
- Holy shit! Are you okay?
- I feel great.
Wow, babe. If our lives weren't in
total shambles and pretty much over,
I'd be really turned on right now.
Sidenote, Tory is not doing
well. I'm very concerned.
Of course not. She's been
under his spell for so long.
You shoulda heard him out there,
the way he was talking about Olivia,
like-like he actually cared.
He was a regular Gary Oldman.
Yeah, but Wait. Gary Oldman?
Yeah. He was putting
on a great performance.
You don't like Gary Oldman?
No. He's my favorite. I
fucking love Gary Oldman.
- "Dracula." Yeah.
- "Air Force One." Geez.
- "Sid and Nancy."
- Oh, my God.
Then he did an episode of "Friends."
The drama, the comedy. What
can't Gary Oldman do? Oh!
That's my point. I don't think Matt
was actually putting on a performance.
I think he's upset about Olivia.
That was the mother of his
child, don't forget. [SPLUTTERS]
And Tory I mean, she killed someone.
This is heavy shit.
She just needs time to process it.
She needs time away from Matt.
- We all do.
- No shit.
That's why I left him there to
clean up his own fucking mess.
That's good. Wait. What? You did what?
You left Matt alone in
the woods with a dead body?
- Yeah.
- You left a corpse in the woods, covered in our DNA,
and the only person that can take
care of shit is a sociopathic killer,
who you told to fuck off?
And punched in the face.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
[HELICOPTER BLADES WHIRRING]
[INDISTINCT CHATTER IN DISTANCE]
Fuck.
- Fuck!
- Just stop pacing around. You look really obvious.
- What are we gonna do?
- You need to calm down.
I'm calm.
What are we gonna do?
- Just let me think.
- Yeah. Think.
- You know what? Give me your jacket.
- What? Why?
Because Olivia got away with
anything and walked in anywhere
in a windbreaker, and they believed
her. I'm gonna do the same thing.
Walk down there with confidence,
wear your windbreaker, look like
No, absolutely not. You
are not going down there
and impersonating a fucking cop.
Are you out of your mind?
You got a better idea?
[POLICE CHATTER IN DISTANCE]
[SIGHS]
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
- [CHATTER]
- [POLICE RADIO CHATTER]
[HELICOPTER BLADES THUMPING]
Shit.
[CLEARS THROAT]
[SIGHS]
[SIGHS]
Doesn't get easier no matter
how many times you see it.
Yep.
[SIGHS]
They ID the vic yet?
Not yet.
But, uh
we know. It's another
Copycat Killer victim.
Yes, this is obviously
the Copycat Killer.
- That's right. That's very for sure.
- Mm-hmm.
Especially since they found
another cipher surrounding the body.
- Cipher?
- Mm-hmm.
- A cipher here? Around this body?
- Yeah.
[QUIETLY] Oh, my God. You fucking
asshole. Are you kidding me?
Mmm.
What agency are you with?
Oh. That's a That's a good question.
Special Victims Unit Mountain Division.
[GRUNTS] I solve a
lot of mountain crimes.
They call me in for this
sort of thing. This is my
[SPLUTTERS] Yeah. God, my boss
is actually calling. Yes, sir?
Oh, my God. Another hiker fell off
the mountain. I'm gonna have to go.
Yeah, okay, sir. I'm coming in now.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
[NATHAN] So, Matt's communicating
with the Copycat Killer?
- Why?
- I have no idea.
But you were right. We have
to wash our hands of him.
We've been given a gift. They're
gonna pin this on the Copycat Killer,
and we're gonna be off the hook again.
We can't worry about Matt's next move.
We gotta worry about ours.
- [PHONE DINGS]
- [AVA] Hi, Fluffle
[SIGHS] if there are
any of you left out there.
I know most of you hate
me or think I'm a fraud.
The truth is you're not
wrong. I'm not Murder-Bunny.
I mean, I am,
but I it's not what defines me.
I have a murder-baby and a murder-hubby.
I mean, I have a family,
a family that loves me,
despite the danger I put 'em in
with this addiction. [SIGHS]
'Cause that's what true crime is,
right, for people like you and me.
[SIGHS] I claim to be
about exposing the truth,
righting wrongs, solving
crime, blah, blah,
but this was about
wanting to feel special
[VOICE BREAKING] to
feel like I was somebody.
But to the people that
matter most [SNIFFS]
I already was. [SNIFFS]
Anyway, thanks for
coming along for the ride.
Signing off now.
Forever.
[PHONE BEEPS]
[NATHAN] That was brave.
Well, I had to do something.
I'm proud of you.
And now, we can focus on
our family, our marriage.
How about starting right now?
I-is that
kinda disrespectful?
Oh, after all the things we've done,
is that where you wanna
draw the line in the sand?
- I do not.
- Hmm.
Come here.
So you're friends with my mom?
[TORY] Yep. She's
She is my good friend.
That's why you have her car?
Mm-hmm. Yep, she leant it to me.
For today.
That's weird. I thought my
grandma was picking me up.
Well, maybe she just
wanted to surprise you.
Well, I do like surprises.
[LAUGHING] Yeah, me too.
Me too.
[NATHAN CHUCKLING]
That was nice.
Yeah, it was.
[PHONE DINGS REPEATEDLY]
- You need to get that?
- It's the Fluffle.
You know, I put a mirror up to
their own bullshit addiction,
so they're freaking out.
- It's gonna be fine. It'll go away soon.
- [DINGING CONTINUES]
That's impressive, babe.
- But they're really blowing you up.
- Yeah, I know.
- Okay.
- [PHONE DINGS]
[GASPS]
[DRAMATIC MUSICAL STING]
- Oh, my God.
- Hmm?
The-the filter must have
glitched. They saw my face.
Now they're doxing me.
What? They can't dox
you. I won't let them.
What's doxing again?
Trolls are leaking our information.
Oh, my God. "Ava Bartlett,
37. Married to Nathan."
Oh, my God. They
Google Mapped our house.
Shit. "Ava Bartlett, we
know this is where you live
with your baby and
your douchey husband."
- [AVA GASPS]
- "Good luck sleeping tonight."
No. This isn't trolling.
It's a death threat.
We have to get out of here. Now.
[AVA] Serena, you are such
a lifesaver. Thank you.
We will be there to
get Jack in 20, okay?
[SERENA] Ava, they're saying
you're Murder-Bunny on TikTok.
TikTok? I don't No, I don't think so.
- We're going through the mountains.
- [SERENA] Ava?
- [IMITATES STATIC] I gotta go. Bye.
- [BEEPS]
[SIGHS] God, I hate lying.
What's going on at Airbnb?
Did you find anything?
- How come all these places have billiard rooms?
- All right, babe,
- it's a temporary safe house. Nothing flashy. Come on.
- Right.
Although, Bing Crosby's place
in Palm Springs is listed here.
It's kind of a steal.
How long has he been there?
Bing? I'm pretty sure he's dead.
Not Bing. This Range Rover behind us.
I saw it, like, 10 blocks
ago, and now it's back.
It's fine. That's how traffic works.
Oh, thank you. Really. But
no, I think he's following us.
Babe, I love you. I think you're
being paranoid. Everything's cool.
- No one's following us.
- You're right. Who could be following us?
Oh, I know. Matt, the Copycat Killer,
thousands of angry TikTok fans,
- anyone that knows what we did to Olivia.
- You're right. You're right.
Someone could be following us.
You know what? I'm gonna find out.
- [TIRES SCREECH]
- [SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
Shit. Someone's definitely following us.
Okay, hang on.
- [TIRES SCREECH]
- [EXCLAIMS]
- [TIRES SCREECHING]
- [BOTH SCREAMING]
[TIRES SCREECHING]
- Whoa. Oh, my God. Okay.
- Okay. Okay, turn in here.
- Turn. Turn.
- Okay. Hold on.
[TIRES SCREECHING]
- Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!
- Oh, my God!
[TIRES SCREECH]
- Yes!
- I can't believe I just did that!
- Fuckers!
- Holy shit!
- Whoa! Stop! Stop! Stop!
- Okay. Okay, okay.
[TIRES SCREECH]
- Back it up. Back the car up.
- Okay, I'm trying.
- Back it up. Back it up.
- Oh, my God. I can't. They're coming right at us.
Oh, shit.
[GENTLE MUSIC PLAYING OVER SOUND SYSTEM]
[OLLIE] Daddy!
[MATT] Ollie?
Hey, buddy.
I'm happy to see you.
But, uh, what are you doing here?
Mom's friend wanted to surprise you.
Did it work? Are you surprised?
Y-yeah. Yeah, I'm
really surprised, buddy.
She did not tell me anything.
[TORY] Ollie, you hungry?
Wanna get something?
Order whatever you want.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
Who the hell is that? Stalkers,
FBI, your psycho TikTok fans?
[GASPS] Worse.
Podcasters.
Ava and Nathan Bartlett?
It's so funny running into you two here!
Hey, do you guys wanna
come on our podcast?
'Cause we're such huge fans.
Well, then send a fruit basket.
Don't roll up on us down an alleyway.
Okay, just hold on. Normally,
in any other circumstance,
I would literally die to be on
a "Sisters in Crime" podcast.
I mean, this is blowing my mind.
I am I am a huge fan.
But seriously, what the
hell? But big fan.
Oh, really? Because you haven't
purchased any of our bumper stickers.
I don't see our hoodies
or our travel mugs.
Listen, I know you're
after Murder-Bunny.
Guess what. That's not me
anymore. I've put that behind me.
- It's behind her. It's done.
- So, it's over. It's done. We've moved on.
Honey, we don't give a
shit about Murder-Bunny.
Yeah, by the way, terrible name.
- Really?
- [ROMY] So first-thought.
We're here to talk about
"Based on a True Story."
[DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING]
- Based on a
- Based on what?
- a True
- "Based on a True Story" is you.
One of our many fans is
a linguistics professor.
And he found undeniable similarities
between their intro and
Murder-Bunny's speech patterns.
This is "Based on a True Story."
[DISTORTED VOICE] "Get a
life. Don't take a life."
Good advice in general.
And here is Murder-Bunny.
[AVA] Get a life. Don't take a
life. Find a hobby or something.
[AVA GROANS]
Okay. [SIGHS] So what do you want?
What everyone wants, content.
Record a voice-distorted interview
with us as "Based on a True Story"
and remain anonymous,
or we'll reveal your identities
and let the police deal with you.
Fine. Where do you wanna do this?
Get in the Rover.
Let's roll.
- [NATHAN] Is this necessary?
- [AVA] Come on!
We just want you guys
to feel comfortable
and know that nobody's going
anywhere. You guys look like runners.
We'll play your little game with
your little zip ties, all right?
But first, can you give me my
phone? I need to call my sitter.
- Can you take these off for a second?
- I'm so sorry. No.
[ROMY] So we're gonna
go ahead and get set up,
but do you guys want anything while
you wait? Topo Chico with a straw?
How 'bout you let us go
and stop blackmailing us?
No can do-skies. Mama needs
a new hot tub. [GIGGLES]
- Okay, BRB.
- See you guys soon.
- Let's have fun out there.
- Yeah, just stay loose.
- It's a conversation. That's all.
- Yeah. Between friends.
[DOOR CLOSES]
- Joke's on them.
- [AVA] Why?
There's a pound of
shit in every hot tub.
You might wanna get serious here,
'cause this could be the
end of us as we know it.
[NATHAN] They don't care about
us. All they care about is likes.
We'll give 'em a couple soundbites
and get the fuck outta here.
You're right. It's just
a life-and-death podcast.
It's not real. It's not
really life and death.
- Although, these feel real. They're really tight.
- They are real.
- Are yours tight?
- They're zip ties.
They didn't really put 'em on there.
We're just gonna give 'em the
greatest hits, Westside Ripper,
- and then they'll let us go before you know it.
- All right. Yeah.
- We're gonna get 'em focused on Matt.
- Exactly.
Get 'em off our fucking backs.
Then we can lay low for a while.
Get this shit behind us.
I have to say, they're
being a bit dramatic,
but we're in the "Sisters
in Crime" recording studio!
Bucket list moment!
- Can we get on with it?
- Yeah.
- Okay, are you ready?
- Yeah.
All right, guys. We're ready.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
[DISTORTED VOICE] Hello,
"Based on a True Story."
I've been dying to meet you.
Or should I say "killing to meet you"?
This is the Copycat Killer.
And in case you haven't
figured it out yet
you're my next victims.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC INTENSIFIES]
["HOWL" BY LUCY KRUGER
& THE LOST BOYS PLAYING]
Technically, I don't have the truth ♪
I don't know what to tell you ♪
I don't know what to tell you ♪
I'm on the fence ♪
Of everything I've done ♪
And everything I've ever said ♪
I don't wanna regret ♪
Never making a mess ♪
Of this Sunday dress ♪
I'm on the fence ♪
I'm on the fence ♪
I wanna scream ♪
You're beautiful ♪
I wanna be useful ♪
[SONG ENDS]