Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 ending, explained

While the rest of the MCU brought a more serious tone to the franchise, James Gunn brought something fresh and fun with Guardians of the Galaxy. The first volume in the franchise introduced us to an unlikely team of heroes, led by one Peter Quill, aka Star-Lord.

We spent the movie watching as each team member looked to betray each other. The only two on the same side were Groot and Rocket, and of course, they became the fan-favorites of the entire franchise. In the end, the team knew that they needed to be a team if they wanted to save the universe and even get what they wanted from the beginning.

Guardians of the Galaxy ends with a dance-off

Ronan the Accuser wanted to decimate Xandar throughout Guardians of the Galaxy. Of course, the Guardians could not allow that. Ronan even gets the Power Stone, but he still isn’t able to defeat the Ravagers and the Nova Corps working with the Guardians to stop it all.

However, it takes a moment that you wouldn’t expect in any sort of action movie, especially not a superhero movie. Star-Lord decides that the best way to decide on the fate of Xandar is to have a dance-off. The way everyone looks at Star-Lord as he does it is perfect. Even Gamora is like “WTF?,” but it’s clear that this is all a distraction.

Drax is able to destroy the Kree’s war hammer, unleashing the Infinity Stones within it. Peter catches it, but it does mean that he sustains some damage. This is where we see the beautiful moment for the Guardians. They come together to share the pain of the stone. Their unity and their willingness to sacrifice to save others allow them to defeat Ronan.

The Xandarian government can do only one thing to show their thanks. They absolve the Guardians of all past crimes. This allows the Guardians to set off and face any other challenges that await them.

Groot makes the ultimate sacrifice for his family

Before the dance-off, the Guardians face the threat of death. The Kree warship plummets toward the surface, and there is no way for any of them to survive. That is until Groot makes the ultimate sacrifice.

While up to this point, he and Rocket had planned on betraying Star-Lord, the journey together led to everyone realizing that chosen family is a good thing. Groot grows his tree-like limbs around the group to protect them as the ship goes down. He can’t survive, and it’s a heartbreaking moment as we see the end of him.

Rocket is devastated the most, and he isn’t about to just let his best friend die without a chance. With Groot’s limbs and branches scattered everywhere, Rocket takes one and puts it in a pot. Fortunately, it works, and Baby Groot sprouts from the pot.

It’s clear from the subsequent movies that Baby Groot remembers nothing of his adult predecessor. This isn’t the same Groot, but it is a version of Groot that Rocket can latch onto and love. The best thing about this is that it doesn’t backtrack on the sacrifice that Groot made during Guardians of the Galaxy. That Groot did make that ultimate sacrifice, making that moment still devastating.

Setting the path for Yondu’s return

Despite Star Lord running away from the Ravagers, they do end up working with the Guardians to protect Xandar. However, Yondu has one request. He wants the Power Stone in the orb. Star-Lord agrees to this, but in the end, Yondu doesn’t get his hands on it.

Instead, Star-Lord gives Nova Corps the Power stone to protect it. If that stone ends up in the wrong hands, the whole of the universe could be destroyed—as we eventually see in Avengers: Infinity War.

Yondu is both angry and impressed with Star-Lord. We get that sense that it’s not over with the Ravagers, beautifully setting up the second movie.

Of course, Guardians of the Galaxy brought us more Thanos as we got to see his relationship with both Gamora and Nebula. There wasn’t that much time with him as he wasn’t the main villain, but his inclusion certainly made it clear that Thanos was dangerous and consistently planning ahead. The movie starts with him “working with” Ronan to get his hands on the Power stone, and it ends with him failing. That wouldn’t be for long, though.