Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is a much different and more emotional movie than the first in many ways, but who dies in the second film in the series?
Spoiler Warning: If you have not seen Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and don’t want to find out major plot points, do not read any further. Obviously anyone who dies in the film will be spoiled, but so too will other key plot points.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is an emotional journey that you most certainly don’t expect to go on going into the theater. Part of that could’ve been expected from the trailers. Considering that Peter Quill/Star Lord is introduced to his father, Ego, there were obviously going to be some emotional moments. However, there’s much more at play than just that, and it’s things you might not expect.
When Star Lord first meets his father, everything goes smoothly for quite some time. Quill is enamored by his father, and even more so by the fact that his lineage makes him immortal. This all quickly changes, though. Though Star Lord is initially corrupted by Ego to try and essentially take over the entire universe, he’s snapped out of it when Ego reveals that he’s the one who gave Quill’s mother the brain tumor that killed her.
Thus starts an epic final battle in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 as the Guardians themselves wage war with an entire planet — which is what Ego actually is (the Kurt Russell version is just his “human” form). As our heroes save the day, Ego is ultimately defeated and killed. So in the first movie where we meet Star Lord’s father, his father also dies — albeit deservedly so.
With that said, there is a much more emotional death in the film that you don’t see coming. Throughout Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Yondu (Michael Rooker) plays a much more pivotal role than anyone realized he would. He begins still searching for the Guardians, but this changes dramatically when he’s the target of a mutiny. With his imprisonment and subsequent escape, we learn a great deal more about who Yondu actually is.
Throughout all of this, it’s exceptionally difficult to not find Yondu endearing as a character. He’s much more redeemable as a character than you would imagine. And after spending so much of the film getting to know him in this light, it makes it that much harder to watch him die.
To save Star Lord, Yondu sacrifices himself at the end of the battle against Ego and dies in space. The final scenes of the movie all center around his funeral and there will be a little bit of dust in your eyes, guaranteed.
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Obviously there are other casualties in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, but none that are truthfully significant on a larger scale. Those slot belong to Ego and Yondu, though you’ll feel remarkably different about each death.