A Stranger Things actress who was missing from the show’s final season has said that an appearance would have helped fund her fight against cancer.
Jennifer Marshall, who played Max’s mum, Susan, on the hit Netflix series, has taken to social media to question her character’s absence in the recent release of season five.
The military veteran announced back in 2022 in a Facebook post that she had been diagnosed with stage 3 cancer after stage 1 foot cancer spread to her lymph nodes.
At the time, she was still able to complete filming season four of Stranger Things while undergoing treatment.
Now, however, she has explained that if she participated in season five, it would have secured her union health insurance amid her health battle.
Get personalised updates on all things Netflix
Wake up to find news on your TV shows in your inbox every morning with Metro’s TV Newsletter.
Sign up to our newsletter and then select your show in the link we’ll send you so we can get TV news tailored to you.
The former military veteran, who is in remission, posted on Instagram in a video on Tuesday: ‘I had cancer, I get it. But I was in remission during the shooting of season five. Shooting would have helped me obtain my health insurance through the union.’
Responding to fan’s comments on her post, Marshall added that the show might have ‘had too many characters’, but ‘Susan Hargrove is THE WORST MOTHER EVER LMAO’.
She went on to tag the video: ‘#cancersucks #butwhy.’
Elsewhere in the post, Jennifer expressed her curiosity as to why Susan, unlike other Stranger Things parents, was noticeably absent during Max’s stint in the hospital and at her high school graduation.
She wrote on the video: ‘How often I think about where TF Max’s mom was during season five lmao. Every day. Not all day, every day, but every day.’
Previously, Marshall called out her character’s absence in an earlier post when the Stranger Things finale aired on New Year’s Day.
She wrote: ‘Okay, folks! It’s over…but where was she? What kind of mother isn’t there for her child while she’s in the hospital? Give me all your theories…’
Even Sadie Sink, who plays Susan’s daughter Max, has offered her own theory as to where she could be, after she told Vulture: ‘It’s kind of common for the parents on the show.
‘You just don’t know where they are except for Karen Wheeler.
‘My theory is that Max’s mom must have disappeared or died at some point in the rift at the end of season 4, because it goes through the trailer park.’
This comes after Netflix fans claimed that there is a secret episode nine to come.
Many fans felt that the episode was rushed, with too many unanswered questions, and even accused the ending of being riddled with plot holes.
But the Conformity Gate theory suggests the epilogue at the end of season five is not the true ending, but an illusion crafted by Vecna, who’s alive and kicking.
Stranger Things is available to watch on Netflix.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us [email protected], calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.
