“Don’t Be Seen as Weak” — FROM’s Elizabeth Saunders on Donna’s Health Scare, Boyd, and the Road Ahead

In many ways, Donna is the glue that keeps FROMville together.

She and Boyd have been the town’s leaders, helping guide and protect its residents while inexplicable horrors pop up seemingly every day, hellbent on breaking their spirits and capturing their souls.

She’s an essential piece of that town.

When Donna suffered a heart attack on FROM Season 4 Episode 6, it was like the town stopped in a lot of ways.

With Boyd sitting at her bedside and demanding she wake up, it became even more apparent the role she’s played in Boyd’s life and in the lives of so many others she’s come into contact with.

After such a pivotal moment for the character, we chatted with Elizabeth Saunders about Donna’s shocking heart attack, her relationship with Boyd, and what may lie ahead as the series races toward its conclusion.

Enjoy our chat with the lovely and candid actress!

TV Fanatic: Like most people in town, Donna has seen many unbelievable things so far. But where do the life-size dolls emerging from the water rank on the “nothing surprises you anymore” scale?

Elizabeth Saunders: It’s high. Yeah, I’d put it up at a 9.

That was one of my favorite horror-ish things that has happened throughout all the seasons because I really didn’t expect it, and it played so well.

Yeah. When I read it, I didn’t know if it would be sellable. I was like, “Is this our jump the shark?” And so I was very pleased when I saw that it works.

FROM is full of these supernatural horrors, but Donna having a heart attack, it almost feels shocking in a different way because it’s human and real. What were you thinking when you saw that Donna was going to suffer a heart attack in this episode?

Well, I was forewarned by John (Griffin), the head writer, which was really good because I would’ve had a heart attack if I had just read it. It’s something I really never want. It’s a fear of mine.

So, I was like, “Wow, did you read my diaries?” I don’t write; I don’t have diaries. But he picked the thing I most don’t want to do. To spend a day worrying about what my heart is doing, if it’s breaking. I’m old enough now that it’s something I have to think about.

So, I was terrified when I did get it. He did warn me I’d get through it. I had to just go to everybody and say, “Look, I’m just going to need support” through that day. And everybody was fantastic.

We got it done really smoothly. I literally was like, “What if I actually have a heart attack because I’m acting like I’m having a heart attack?” Because that’s how my brain works. It was sort of a great relief to get it done, but it was also an incredible team day for me.

It was actually surprisingly filled with laughter. It was this incredible day that I left going, “Wow, I feel really well cared for.”

I really liked the scene where Boyd’s talking to Donna about their dynamic from their first meeting and its trajectory.

From Donna’s perspective, what do you think her thoughts are of that early dynamic and how their relationship has progressed?

It’s sort of like a long-term marriage that you have the thoughts, but in a way, they’re less distinct than when you have a short-term punch of a relationship with someone because it’s all really kind of subtle, and you’re like, “Oh, that’s crept up,” and that’s happening.

And in a way, the playing of it works the same way for me, too. I occasionally have to reflect on what the relationship is between the two of us because he’s changing as a person.

I’m changing as a person. How do we keep the dynamic going, letting it flow organically? And actually, with Harold, that is really easy.

Actually, with so many people on our show, it’s really easy. So I don’t have a clear, distinct answer to that because it’s kind of like how you reflect in life.

Like, you don’t always look at things really hard until the really hard shit happens.

Very true.

Mind you, there’s a lot of hardship in this show.

We saw Boyd in the season premiere have a few moments where he was really questioning how much longer he could keep going under the weight of the town.

Do you think Donna has reached a point like that yet, where she’s completely bogged down by everything?

I think she feels it, but I don’t think she’s addressed it as clearly as Boyd with herself, let alone that we haven’t seen it on screen.

But I think it’s really hard for her to admit that she’s having resiliency problems because that’s really her MO to be there for everybody else. So don’t question it. Just do it.

Yes, which was kind of my next question. She’s somebody that people lean on for emotional support and practicality, right?

Do you think she ever allows herself the space to fully process her own fears and grief in there, or is she always in that survival mode for everybody else?

I think when other people are aroundshe’s’s absolutely in survival mode. I think there are those moments, and we saw one with Boyd last season when she just broke down in his arms.

My thoughts are that Donna does go into her room, and the fact that the picture of her sister is up makes me think she keeps her reflections really private, but that she has them deeply. Don’t be seen as weak.

I really liked the scene in the episode where Ethan gets to say goodbye to Donna, even though it obviously wasn’t actually a goodbye; it was really touching.

And I also thought it was really touching when Tabitha was considering going into the bottle tree that she went to Donna, and she was essentially like, “If something happens to me, I want you to look after my children.”

What do you think that trust means to Donna on a deeper emotional level?

I think that, whether Donna’s aware of it or not, it has opened a gateway to realizing how important connection and love are, because it was unexpected.

But I think, as a protective character, seeing Tabitha willing to risk herself, while her children still need protecting, that step towards Donna had great meaning for her. Well, she wouldn’t have seen it coming.

With only a few episodes left this season and then one final season to go, how do you think this season starts preparing viewers for the end of the series, now that it’s really coming into focus?

Well, I don’t have a great answer for this, other than I think the stones are being put in place to start opening the doors to what’s going on.

I mean, I hope there is no way to prepare you guys for whatever the ending is. To me, that’s the most exciting ending, the one that no one could have seen happening.

I agree too. And I feel like you hear a lot of people saying, “They want answers, they want answers,” but it’s like, “Do you really want the answers?” That means it’s over, right?

That’s the thing. I’ve said this a few times, it’s like life doesn’t work that way. You don’t go through life with the answers. And when you do get answers, sometimes they’re not what you want, or they come with another question, another conundrum.

I think the show has had the reaction it has because the vulnerability all the characters in FROMville portray is the vulnerability everybody has in this world.

We’re vulnerable creatures on a big planet in a bigger, bigger universe. We’re nothing. We don’t know anything in the scheme of stuff.

Yeah. I totally agree.

That’s what I love about the show.

Interviews like this take time and care — and we hope it shows.

If you enjoyed this interview, please leave a comment or share the article. That’s how we keep conversations like this going.

Stay tuned for more FROM coverage, interviews, and episode reviews.

You can watch FROM on Sundays at 9/8 on MGM+.