Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 ending explained: The ultimate sacrifice

For all his life, Peter Quill had never known about his biological father. He learned more than he thought possible in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, but how did the movie come to an end?

The second installment of the Guardians of the Galaxy movies brought us more of Quill’s backstory. We learned that his father was actually a Celestial being who took on a human form and fell in love with Quill’s mother, Meredith. After her death, Ego ordered Yondu to collect Quill and bring the boy to him, but that never happened.

Of course, Quill wants to believe that his dad is a good guy. The man even starts to show Quill his own celestial powers and he learns how to control them. Since when are the powerful Celestial beings the good guys, though?

Ego's goal in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, explained

As Mantis grows closer to Drax, she explains that Ego is up to something in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. Ego needs two Celestial beings to carry out the plan that he had been planting for the last few decades. He planted seedlings on multiple planets, needing two Celestial beings to activate them. They will become an extension of himself.

He also admits that he impregnated multiple women across the universe. Yondu would bring the babies, and Ego admits that he killed them all after they failed to inherit Ego’s powers. It’s no wonder that Yondu decided not to carry out the mission to bring Quill to Ego. Yes, Yondu admits to Quill that he chose to save Quill after finding out what Ego was doing.

To Quill’s surprise and anger, Ego also admits that he caused Meredith’s brain tumor that killed her. With this information, Quill is able to break out of the brainwashing that Ego has done to him, but in a way, that’s what Ego wants. He can now drain Quill of his Celestial powers to activate the seedlings across the universe.

Nebula arrives to attack Gamora

While all of this is going on, Nebula comes to the planet for revenge. The reason she is craving it is down to the events of the first movie.

The two do end up coming to an uneasy alliance as Nebula realizes just how much she was brainwashed by Thanos. The two agree to work together, along with Drax, Mantis, Rocket, Groot, Yondu, and Kraglin, to save Quill.

They all make their way to the core of the planet, which was where Ego’s brain resided. Killing the brain would be the only way to stop the seedlings from taking over every planet they were on, and the only way to do this would be with a bomb.

Like with so many Marvel movies, we get the reminder that saving the world (or the universe) is all about teamwork. Just like the first movie, each member of the Guardians had skills they could use to save the day. There was the hilarious moment with Rocket, Baby Groot, and the bomb, while Quill used his Celestial powers to distract Ego for the rest of the Guardians to get to work.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 ends in one of the most heartbreaking ways

Despite all the bad Yondu had done, saving Quill made it clear that he had a heart. He used that heart at the end of the movie. Everyone else made it off the planet, but as it exploded and killed Ego, Quill’s powers disappeared.

There is a moment where we think that Quill is going to be the one to die. Rocket and Groot return to the ship without Quill. Rocket is sure that Quill is going to die, too. There isn’t the time to save him before the bomb explodes. Gamora wants to go back, but Rocket stuns her sharing he can “only afford to lose one friend today.” It’s a heartfelt moment as Rocket makes it clear that this rag-tag team has become his family.

Well, Yondu wasn’t about to let Quill die. He uses a rocket to get to Star-Lord and get him back to the ship. The ship has already taken off, but Yondu places one of the suits on Quill to ensure he can breathe in the atmosphere. He wants to do one thing right, and that means sacrificing himself to save Quill.

Yondu succumbs to the atmosphere of space in one of the most heartbreaking moments of all of Marvel.

The Guardians come back for Quill, allowing Yondu to get the funeral that he deserves. Having heard of Yondu's sacrifice, the Ravagers return to make it clear that they accept him as a Ravager again. He made up for the events in the first movie.

To finish it all off, Nebula decides to leave the Guardians to head out on a mission to kill Thanos, while Mantis joins the team. We also see Kraglin take up Yondu’s fin and arrow in the mid-credit scene, while Ayesha creates Adam, who is created to kill the Guardians. Nothing quite allows us to get over the heartbreak of losing Yondu, though.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is available to stream on Disney+.