Peyton List's character, Maddie Nears, faces relentless challenges in School Spirits, from solving her own death in Season 1 to retrieving her body in Season 2. Now, in Season 3, the stakes are even higher as she endeavors to rescue Simon from the spirit realm and prevent her spirit friends from joining The Forgotten if Split River High is demolished. Amidst these monumental tasks, Maddie endures an especially heartbreaking realization in Season 3, Episode 7, titled “Midsomester”: her friend Wally has crossed over.

As School Spirits Season 3 nears its conclusion, Peyton List, who is also making her Off-Broadway debut in Heathers: The Musical, reflected on these intense developments during a Collider Ladies Night interview. List delved into the profound emotional demands of playing Maddie, particularly highlighting a pivotal confession scene with her mother, Sandra Nears.

From the outset of her supernatural ordeal, Maddie and her friends have deliberately kept Sandra Nears in the dark about Maddie's true experiences. While Xavier eventually confided in his father, Maddie had not yet revealed her otherworldly journey to her mom. However, the crushing departure of Wally pushes Maddie to a breaking point, creating an urgent need for her mother's support. In a powerfully devastating performance, List portrays Maddie finally baring her soul to Sandra upon her return from rehab. Maddie confesses, “I was really scared to tell you because I was worried you wouldn’t believe me. And I can’t do it anymore, mom.”

Maddie recounts her death, explains that Janet temporarily inhabited her body, and introduces Sandra to the other spirits she has befriended, including Rhonda, Yuri, Quinn, and even Charlie, who had passed while Sandra herself was a student at Split River High. She then shares the profound grief of potentially never seeing Wally again and the loss of Simon. When Sandra initially struggles to believe her, Maddie reveals a deeply personal detail her mother couldn't possibly know: that Sandra, not her father, was the one who bought her necklace. This revelation serves as the crucial key, leading to a heartfelt embrace and Sandra’s tearful assurance, “I believe you.”

This scene, a monumental turning point for Maddie's character, brought immense pressure for List. She admitted, “Knowing that scene was coming up was just taking over my entire being.” List emphasized the emotional toll of preparing for such an intense moment, stating, “Having to go into that energy, it takes over everything. But it just felt like such an important moment. So much is coming up and there's so much honesty with a character that Maddie really hasn't been very honest with, and so to go there, the stakes felt so high.” Navigating such a high-stakes scene required leaning heavily on her colleagues, including the showrunners and her co-star Maria Dizzia, who was dedicated to giving a strong performance for List’s coverage. List described it as “one of the most heartbreaking scenes to do.”

Despite the apparent reconciliation, List hinted at a further