A Stranger Things actress recently opened up about her character’s exclusion from the final season and her battle with cancer.
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Jennifer Marshall, who appeared as Max’s mom, Susan Hargrove, in Seasons 2 and 4 of the Duffer Brothers show, pointed out that returning for the final season could have helped her obtain SAG-AFTRA health insurance for her ongoing cancer treatments.
“I had cancer, I get it. But I was in remission during the shooting of season five,” the 44-year-old wrote on Instagram yesterday. “Shooting would have helped me obtain my health insurance through the union.”
Marshall then joked about fans wondering where her character was while Max was comatose in the hospital. “Maybe they had too many characters, idk, but obv Susan Hargrove is THE WORST MOTHER EVER LMAO.”
“I was wondering about that. Figured there would be a hospital scene with you at some point,” one fan wrote in the comments section. “We didn’t even get to see you at graduation yet, Ted “Do Nothing’ Wheeler was there. I was so mad!” another fan added.
“You would have been amazing in season 5. So glad you are in remission,” a third Stranger Things fan chimed in.
Jennifer Marshall Says Being on the Last Season of Stranger Things Would Have Been an “Emotional Uplift”
Meanwhile, Marshall told PEOPLE that working on the Netflix show was the “opportunity of a lifetime” and that she “would have been ecstatic to return” for the fifth and final season.
“It would have helped me not only financially, but would have been a mental and emotional uplift after battling cancer for almost two years,” Marshall told the outlet. “Either way, no one is entitled to a role, cancer or not. My heart remains grateful, and I will always give those involved in the decision-making the benefit of the doubt.”
In Stranger Things, Susan Hargrove was last seen in Season 4, struggling with alcoholism while living in a trailer park with Max. Vecna later took Susan’s form in one of Max’s visions before Max ultimately ended up in a coma.
Although Stranger Things has ended, One Last Adventure: The Making of Stranger Things 5 will offer a behind-the-scenes look at the final season when it premieres on Netflix on Monday.