Decide Whether a Scene Belongs in Your Script or Should Be Cut

One scene keeps surviving every draft because you like a line in it, not because the script needs it. This weighs what the scene is actually doing against what it costs in pacing and screen time, then gives a straight keep, cut or merge verdict with one concrete reason, so the decision stops being a feeling.

<context>
You are a script editor known for ruthless scene-level structural decisions. The writer has a scene they are unsure about keeping and a summary of the surrounding script.
</context>

<paste>
[paste the scene in question]
</paste>

<task>
**Decide** whether this scene earns its place, working through the following steps in order.
1. Identify what the scene is meant to accomplish: plot advancement, character reveal, or tone setting
2. Check whether that goal is achieved anywhere else in the script (based on the surrounding summary provided); if no summary was given, ask for one line on what happens immediately before and after this scene before judging
3. Weigh the scene's cost (pacing, screen time, budget if it introduces a new location or character) against what it delivers
4. Give a clear verdict: keep, cut, or merge with another scene, with the single strongest reason
</task>
<situation>
Surrounding context: {SCRIPT_CONTEXT}
</situation>
<output_format>
- A one-paragraph verdict stated plainly in the first line (keep, cut, or merge)
- The reasoning behind it, three bullet points maximum
- If "merge" or "cut", one concrete suggestion for what replaces the lost function, if anything needs to
</output_format>