Guardians Of The Galaxy Holiday Special Ending Explained: Drax And Mantis Save Christmas

Spoilers follow.

The next "Marvel Studios Special Presentation" is here. Instead of the terrors and thrills brought by Michael Giacchino with "Werewolf by Night," the Marvel Cinematic Universe is treated to some much-needed holiday cheer. "The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special" is a short and sweet 42 minutes, with a more significant focus on Mantis (Pom Klementieff) and Drax (Dave Bautista). Filled with a lot of heart and humor, the "Holiday Special" has all the Christmas needle drops and Kevin Bacon you could want from a Guardians story that is all about Christmas.  

Despite not having a feature-length runtime, writer and director James Gunn does what he can in terms of character work with the Guardians. There is a limited amount, save for some crucial developments at the end of the special. When looking at the "Holiday Special" and its ending, there's more than just Christmas cheer happening— it feels like the characters are being set up for what looks to be an emotional conclusion of this iteration of the Guardians in the upcoming "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3." In usual James Gunn fashion, hidden underneath all the absurdity and holiday shenanigans is compelling character work that is emotionally engaging while also setting up the future of the Guardians.

Most of "The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special" follows Mantis and Drax, who hear Kraglin tell how Yondu ruined Christmas for Peter as a child (told through rotoscope animation). This heartbreaking story, paired with Mantis' secret she's been keeping that she's Peter's sister, is all that she needs to take Drax to Earth to get Peter the perfect Christmas Present: his childhood hero, Kevin Bacon. Peter is seemingly busy with getting Knowhere in shape, as it's revealed in the special that the Guardians bought the location from the Collector. "The Holiday Special" is a massive lore dump in its first ten minutes, but it's excusable and executed naturally enough to help get Drax and Mantis where they need to go in the story. Their journey to Earth is successful, and they return to Knowhere with Kevin Bacon in tow. 

The ending of "The Holiday Special" initially seems dour, with Peter upset given that Drax and Mantis essentially took part in human trafficking. Kevin Bacon is at first horrified, but after Kraglin explains what the actor meant to Peter and how he inspired Star-Lord,  Bacon has a change of heart, bringing some holiday cheer to Knowhere. A massive Christmas celebration soon takes place, with the Guardians exchanging presents and Mantis tearfully revealing to Peter that she's his sister, all while Bacon is singing a holiday tune. In the grand scheme of the MCU, this is a concise and self-contained story. However, the ending could speak volumes about Peter Quill's mindset going into James Gunn's final story about this iteration of the Guardians in Volume 3.

With an incredibly cheesy tone and holiday spirit, "The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special" cheerfully reinforces the family the Guardians have become that was briefly seen in "Avengers: Infinity War." James Gunn does what he can in 40 minutes, given that it's only Drax and Mantis for most of that runtime. The ending is when we're really able to see bits and pieces of the Guardians together to celebrate Christmas, showing just how much they mean to each other. 

Perhaps the most crucial part of the ending is Mantis finally telling Peter that she is his sister. Pom Klementieff is given so much more to do in this special than in any other MCU project she's been a part of, and her emotional performance in this last scene is phenomenal. Peter's joyous reaction to this news is a much-needed positive development in his life after the series of losses the character has suffered in the films he's been in up to this point. By the end of the special, it feels like it's about more than just Mantis and Drax "saving" Christmas for Peter; we're given a miniature portrait of a found family that is about to go through an emotional journey that involves a key "Guardians" character absent from the special.

Gamora (Zoe Saldana) is absent from the "Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special," which makes sense given that the character went off on her own at the end of "Endgame." Essentially being an entirely different person than the one the Guardians knew, "Vol. 3" will undoubtedly use this development to put Peter Quill through the emotional wringer yet again. Given that context, "The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special" is a fitting companion piece. A wholesome intermission with an ending that gives Peter the best gift he could've gotten — a member of his team that is more family than he thought he had, and something that will no doubt play into the team dynamics of the third "Guardians" film.

Aside from the heavy lore-dumping at the beginning, the ending of the special has more character repercussions than narrative ones for the MCU, setting the stage for the Guardians' next film. This brief reprieve in holiday celebrations helps Peter find some happiness in the harder moments — a feeling best exemplified in the final scene, which is animated. Despite Yondu's supposed "ruining" of Christmas at the beginning of the special, it's revealed that he opened Peter's gift and even gives Peter a gift of his own; his set of quad blasters that he's used throughout all the films. The scene is a nice bookend to the special reinforcing Gunn's character work in the previous two films while getting us excited for the conclusion to the story in "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3."