The Actress Who Played Max’s Mom In Stranger Things Had A Great Take About Her Character Not Being In Season 5

by

Warning: SPOILERS for Stranger Things’ final season are ahead!

Sadie Sink was a key part of Stranger Things for most of the show, appearing as Max Mayfield in four out of five seasons. However, her character’s mother, Susan Hargrove, played by Jennifer Marshall, had a much smaller role. Marshall only appeared in a few episodes across seasons 2 and 4, and wasn’t in the final season at all. Given all the challenges Max faced in the show’s last season, Marshall jokingly addressed why Susan wasn’t around.

At the end of Stranger Things Season 4, Max was left in a coma due to the injuries she sustained from Vecna that she initially died from before Eleven brought her back to life. Max remained in that coma when Season 5 picked back up 18 months later, but we only ever saw Caleb McLaughlin’s Lucas repeatedly visiting her at the hospital. Her mother was nowhere to be seen, so Jennifer Marshall went on Instagram to give her thoughts about that:

Look, I was dealing with cancer, but thankfully I was in remission while we were filming season five. Honestly, getting to work would have been a lifesaver because it meant I could keep my health insurance through the union. The whole thing was a bit messy, maybe they just had too many people to juggle, but seriously, Susan Hargrove? Talk about the worst mother ever – I was cringing! It was just…a lot.

Related Stories
  • Sadie Sink Broke Down The Complex Way School Worked On Stranger Things, And My Brain Hurts
  • ‘Oh God, We Knew This Was Coming’: Sadie Sink Opens Up About Her Last Day Filming Stranger Things

I’m not sure it’s my place to judge, but it’s strange Susan wasn’t with Max at the hospital, and then missed her daughter’s graduation. Honestly, I have even less respect for her than I do for Ted Wheeler. He didn’t always seem to pay attention to his kids, but he did try to protect them from the Demogorgon, and Karen Wheeler also repeatedly tried to help her children.

In a later Instagram post, Jennifer Marshall took issue with how her previous comment was blown “out of proportion for clicks” by another outlet. While the actress (who’s also appeared on shows like Sugar, For All Mankind and Reacher) would have liked to participate in Stranger Things Season 5, she’s just giving her lighthearted commentary on how Susan Hargrove won’t be awarded Mother of the Year. Honestly, maybe we should cut her slack. She could have had plenty of shining mother moments offscreen on Stranger Things (let’s not forget she was working two jobs to keep a roof over their heads in Seasons 3 and 4), and maybe she was just sitting somewhere out of view during the high school graduation.

Honestly, it doesn’t really matter now that Stranger Things has finished. I know Stranger Things: Tales from ’85 is coming out eventually, but I don’t think we’ll see my favorite character, Susan, in that animated spin-off set before Season 3. It’s a shame, because she deserves better than the bad reputation she’s stuck with!

Read More

2026-01-09 21:08