If there's Werewolf by Night for Halloween, there's The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special for Christmas as Marvel's presentation for the holiday season and it stands as the prologue between Phases Four and Five of the MCU. Here's a quick recap and ending explained for it!
Warning: This article contains spoilers for The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. Read at your own risk!
The Ending of The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special Explained
The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special is a breath of fresh air, to say the least, and it is probably one of those things that you could watch when you want to put a smile on your face. It's hilarious and heartfelt, light, in fact. Here's a quick recap, first.
At Knowhere, it starts with Kraglin sharing the story of how Yondu ruined Christmas for Peter Quill because surprisingly, Yondu hates Christmas, and he ruined the Christmas decorations that Peter and Kraglin made. Mantis approached Drax because she wants to save Christmas for Peter because of her big secret.
Drax got the bright idea of getting Kevin Bacon as their gift for Peter Quill because Kevin Bacon is the hero of Peter when he was a child, so they went to Earth, earned a few bucks from some picture taking in Hollywood, and they drank the night away hoping that someone may know where Kevin Bacon is.
READ MORE: Fans are Losing it Over Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special's DC Reference
Trashed and drunk, a lady from a souvenir shop told Mantis and Drax where Kevin Bacon is through a map of Hollywood where the biggest actors live. They get to Kevin Bacon's home and the actor immediately rejected them at first. They infiltrated his house and Drax gets an elf while Mantis gets a cane.
It was troublesome as they barge into Kevin Bacon's house and the actor calls the help of 911 as he runs away. When the cops arrive, they tried to settle it as peaceful but in the end, Mantis uses her powers to convince Kevin Bacon to come with them and they even raid a Christmas shop.
Upon learning that Kevin Bacon is just an actor, Mantis convinces him to play the part of being a hero for Peter Quill. While Peter is alone, they set up Knowhere as a huge Christmas wonderland but when peter found out that they abducted Kevin Bacon, he immediately ordered them to take Kevin Bacon back to Earth.
Kevin Bacon freaked out about basically everything and when in the ship with Kraglin, Kevin Bacon learns from Kraglin that Peter Quill looked up to him as a hero who saved the town through dancing, and how Peter grew up with nothing much but saved the universe through dancing, too.
Kevin Bacon personally decides to go back and give a Christmas show, and everyone is happy exchanging gifts with each other, they even made Nebula dance! In the end, Kevin Bacon gets to go back home and it turns out Peter got his Quad Blasters from Yondu as a Christmas present, Kraglin got it wrong.
Peter asks Mantis why go through all those trouble to give him a Christmas celebration. Mantis reveals to Peter Quill that Ego is her father, too, and that makes them siblings, and Peter tells Mantis that having a sister is the best Christmas gift he could ever ask for.
The post-credits scene is a fun tag, see, Groot is a tree, right? Rocket and Cosmo the Spacedog decorated Groot to be a Christmas tree, and when Groot is bummed, he ruins the design. thus, Rocket breaks the fourth wall and tells everyone they'll make another Christmas special because Groot ruined Christmas.
It is short and sweet, to be fair, but it is something new in the MCU. It doesn't have an elaborate plot, it just shows how Mantis loves her brother. Also, it reveals that the Guardians are now living in Knowhere, thus, they have Cosmo the Spacedog being trained by Rocket because she has telekinesis.
The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special just sets up that Peter Quill and Mantis are siblings, that Peter still has a family left, and it's a fun way to celebrate Christmas in its truest form -- with family and the people you love.
The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special is now streaming on Disney Plus.