***The following interview contains spoilers for the season three finale.***

The season three finale of FROM was released to stream at midnight on MGM+. The series takes place in a small town that traps all unsuspecting visitors, forcing them to try to live out a normal life in the town while dealing not only with threats from the surrounding forest, but also with nightmare creatures that emerge and kill at night.

In a recent episode, the character of Donna (Elizabeth Saunders) at first disagrees with Boyd (Harold Perrineau) about hiding the fact from the town that Fatima (Pegah Ghafoori) is the one who murdered Tillie (Deborah Grover). In a recent interview with SciFi Vision, star Saunders spoke to how Donna might handle the situation herself and her potential as a leader in comparison to Boyd. “I think she’s right in that people aren’t believing him,” said the actress, referring to Boyd’s diminishing credibility among the townsfolk. However, she also pointed out that Donna’s judgment is influenced by her personal feelings towards him. “It’s really hard for me to say if Donna would be better [at leading] at this point,” she admitted, acknowledging the immense pressure both characters face. “I think she’s cracking too…So, I don't agree with the decisions he's making, but on the other hand, where would Donna find herself given the circumstances in terms of making the right decisions? Because it's almost impossible to make one right now in this.”

Saunders described how Donna is experiencing significant stress due to ongoing challenges, such as food shortages and increasingly bizarre threats from the monsters. “This season has really taken it out of her,” she explained, noting that despite her strength, Donna is pushed to her limits. “I don’t know how much it takes to actually completely break her down,” she said, suggesting that while Donna may crumble under pressure, she always manages to bounce back.

When it came to the season finale, the actress also discussed the idea that Donna allowed Boyd to hurt Elgin without intervening. Saunders acknowledged the weight of that decision: “I think whether it enters a story or not, it is going to play on Donna.” She recognized that allowing such an unsafe situation could have lasting effects on her character’s psyche.

For more, including what the experience was like for Saunders to film the scene with the body of Dale, played by her real-life husband, Cliff Saunders, embedded in the pool, watch the full interview and read the transcript below.

Be sure to also tune in to our video podcast on 11/26 at 9pm eastern when Saunders will be our special guest and answer your questions live.

FROM will return in 2026.



SCIFI VISION:   Boyd wants Donna to keep the secret about Fatima, and at first she's, you know, not down with that. She's caring more about what's best for the town. A lot of times he's more worried about everything else going on. Do you think that she would make a better leader right now? Because she tells him people aren't believing him like they were. So, how do you think she's handling it?

ELIZABETH SAUNDERS:   I think she's right in that people aren't believing him, but I also think it's colored by her feelings about him, as we do as humans. It's really hard for me to say if Donna would be better at this point, because I think…she's cracking too. I think it's a very difficult situation to be a leader in; we're humans. So, I don't agree with the decisions he's making, but on the other hand, where would Donna find herself given the circumstances in terms of making the right decisions? Because it's almost impossible to make one right now in this.

SCIFI VISION:   Yeah, that was going to be my next question. She is sort of having a really hard time this season. Can you talk about that, her headspace, where she's at? And can she take much more? Because we've seen her cry. You know, she's usually so strong.

ELIZABETH SAUNDERS:   I mean, I think Donna will always come back. Like, I think she can crack and crumble and crack and crumble - Because I think she's just an intense person. So, she'll crack and crumble but always come back. So, I don't know how much it takes to actually completely break her down, but this season has really taken it out of her, because there's the long-term issue of food, and then we've got weirder monsters or more - well, they are weirder, but it's harder to control. So, I think it's normal and inevitable. But it's amazing what human beings can take when they have to take it.

SCIFI VISION:   Yeah, right, definitely. The one thing that really surprised me, especially because she does seem more together than Boyd right now - I mean, she lets him hurt Elgin. She doesn't stop him. She's even kind of standing there, [keeping] watch. Just kind of your own opinion, how do you think that's going to affect her later, the fact that she allowed that to happen, because she didn't step in?

ELIZABETH SAUNDERS:   That's an interesting question. I have not thought of it yet. How will that play on her?

I mean, I don't know that you can. On the spot here, I think whether it enters a story or not, it is going to play on Donna. Then, the outcome of not just what he's going to do, but what ultimately happens, like someone has been allowed to be very unsafe.

SCIFI VISION:   Yeah, I'm not sure how everything's going to affect everybody in this town. It’s going to make them all a bit crazier.

So, let me ask you, I had thought at first it was all digital, and then I saw a picture that I guess they molded your husband's face for the [pool] wall. How was it playing that scene? I mean, obviously it's not real, and you know it's not real, but it had to be really weird playing the scenes with him being stuck in the pool and everything. What was that like acting that scene with him?

ELIZABETH SAUNDERS:   Well, because he actually he's not there. He was not there. Like by the time it was in the pool, that was purely the animatronic molded face in the wall, because they couldn't fit Cliff behind it. So, I knew he wasn't there.

SCIFI VISION:   Right. Still has got to look weird, though.

ELIZABETH SAUNDERS:   It was weird. And it was interesting for me, because I was playing it at a distance from the length of the pool. There was so much at play, because there's that, but then they're seeing Boyd's response, which greatly affected me, too.

So, you've got multiple things playing. So, in a way, it didn't matter that it was my partner in real life. It's the experience of the whole thing together.

And it's such a bizarre way to die. So, that was, I mean, in a way [I] just played the scene.

And I was glad that I - this may sound weird, but I was glad that they had showed me the whole thing. I had seen pictures, just because Patrick, who created it, is just a great guy. He was like, “You want some pictures?” I was like, “yes.” So, he sent them. So, I'd seen everything.

Some people said, you know, “It seemed real. So, did they just surprise you with it?” And they didn't. But I'm like, I would not want to be surprised, because I actually would have laughed.

SCIFI VISION:   I didn't think about it that way.

ELIZABETH SAUNDERS:   I would have found it really funny. My husband's face is stuck in a pool.

SCIFI VISION:   It is quite a bizarre thing, but it was a very creepy scene.

ELIZABETH SAUNDERS:   It's a very creepy scene. But that's why I'm glad they didn't show me, because I was able to say play the scene as Donna, not have a Liz reaction.

SCIFI VISION:   Yeah, I get that. I honestly thought it was digital when I first watched it in the screener. I didn't realize that. That’s cool to know they really [made it].

ELIZABETH SAUNDERS:   Yeah. No, there was a whole construction of it, a lengthy molding process, and then building it into the wall, and then getting the animatronics working. I don't know if they digitized beyond that, but there was a lot going on there.