The Guardians Of The Galaxy Holiday Special Finds A Way To Expand The MCU's Most Heart-Shattering Relationship

This post contains spoilers for "The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special."

Michael Rooker has been James Gunn's secret weapon throughout the course of his filmmaking career. Rooker has appeared in just about every film Gunn has ever made, so fans were shocked when his character, Yondu, died at the end of "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2." The tough-love parental figure of Peter Quill aka Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) was an immediate fan-favorite, and his declaration of, "I'm Mary Poppins, y'all!" has become an all-time great line in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Alas, Gunn confirmed that Yondu is dead, dead, and will sadly not be returning for the upcoming "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3."

So imagine our surprise when "The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special" contained some rotoscope-animated vignettes featuring Yondu as told through the perspective of Kraglin (Sean Gunn). Rather than opt for a standard flashback, Gunn is utilizing one of the most common Christmas-special tropes by interspersing animation throughout the live-action special. It gives a quaint, storybook touch, and is a perfect fit for a story centered on trying to give Quill the best possible Christmas.

Rooker returns to voice the character, and the story centers on a memory of Christmas past, with Yondu trying his hardest to be a good father figure and yet again, missing the mark. The animation also works to the special's benefit, as watching a live-action Rooker reprimand a child actor as young Peter Quill would have felt really heavy compared to the light-hearted nature of the rest of the story. Gunn found a way to expand their beautiful, complicated relationship, and "The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special" is better for it.

As we learned from "Guardians of the Galaxy" and "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2," the harda** known as Yondu was actually a life-saving sweetheart. He had abducted a young Peter Quill after the death of his mother and elected to raise Peter and protect him from his father, Ego (Kurt Russell), and the other Ravagers. The problem, of course, is that Yondu was never the most emotionally available father figure, and Quill grew resentful and distanced from him. As tough as he was on Quill, this was his warped way of showing love. He's like Dr. Perry Cox from "Scrubs," but, you know, also a Centaurian leader of an exiled faction of the Ravagers.

Following the destruction of Ego's planet in "Vol 2," Yondu flies away with Peter and tells him that the best decision he ever made was taking him under his wing. Always one to put his money where his mouth is, Yondu proves it by giving him the last space suit, sacrificing himself in order to allow Peter to survive. Quill's heartbroken and horrified reaction to his daddy's death is arguably the strongest performance of Chris Pratt's career, and one of the most painful moments in the entirety of the MCU. Peter then acknowledges Yondu as his "true father" at his funeral, finally accepting that despite his flaws, Yondu really did love him.

The story of Yondu and young Peter at Christmas is told from two perspectives, Kraglin's (Sean Gunn) and Peter's own. Kraglin tells Mantis (Pom Klementieff) that when Peter was young, Yondu dismissed his desire to celebrate Christmas as he had on Earth, which is what sets her off on a mission to give Peter the best Christmas ever (as she's also his half-sister and feels a sense of sibling obligation) to bring him some holiday cheer. Kraglin only knows part of the story, so his retelling paints Yondu as a cruel and contemptuous jerk, which, to be honest, is not a stretch for Yondu. Less than two minutes in, he's already mocking Peter's makeshift Christmas tree and slapping away presents by saying, "What a Ravager gets, he works for. We ain't about no damn handouts!"

However, Peter knows the full story. After throwing all of the Christmas accouterments in the trash, Yondo came across the present Peter had wrapped for him. Inside he found a little green alien figure, which he promptly put on the dashboard of his ship. If you recall, Yondo's ship in the previous "Guardians of the Galaxy" films was always adorned with little trinkets, implying that they were either years' worth of figures gifted by Peter, or the continuation of a collection that all started with Peter's Christmas present. Despite his initial annoyance, Yondu gave Peter a gift as well ... the quad blasters that would become Star-Lord's primary weapon. As he recounts the story to Mantis, she utters, "That's so sweet." Peter can only respond with the matter-of-fact confirmation, "That's Yondu."

I'M NOT CRYING, YOU'RE CRYING!