The adventures of the Guardians of the Galaxy have always held a special place in my heart, as well as those of other Marvel fanatics. Stakes were high when the trilogy finale was announced — in light of recent Marvel productions, many raised concerns that the quality of the movie wouldn’t be the same as its predecessors. However, our doubts were soon put to rest as we embarked on our last encounter with the Guardians. 

Whether or not you are an avid fan, you probably have grown on the comical debate over Rocket’s identity (Is he a skunk? A rabbit? A rodent?) and became emotionally invested in the love saga between Starlord and Gamora. “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” was a brilliant ending to these household comfort characters, and provided viewers with nothing short of a rollercoaster of emotions ranging from exhilaration to sadness. 

You wouldn’t think that animal abuse would find a place in the jovial world of the Guardians, but through Rocket’s backstory it was prominent. Featuring flashbacks of Rocket’s childhood, Rocket endured numerous “enhancements” that led him to look different and seem more intelligent than his other racoon family members. He wasn’t the only one who suffered — countless animals were taken and altered in efforts to create the perfect species by the High Evolutionary, the main antagonist in the movie.  

Regardless, Rocket’s past trauma brought up concerning relations to animal rights issues in reality. The vivid depiction and viewpoint from an animal provided insight into a part of animal abuse that is often neglected. Rocket has always been seen as a closed off character when it came to his past, but as his story continued to unravel throughout the movie, you realize that Rocket is more emotionally distraught than you ever thought. Similar experiences can be drawn in parallel to animal testing and abuse that revolves around in our world today. It was certainly an interesting touch by Marvel — known for their ties to the real world, they never cease to address difficult issues. Personally, I think they tackled this one with perfection, providing it with the amount of attention it deserves. 

Don’t worry, the movie isn’t just all sadness — Starlord is still lovesick for a Gamora, who isn’t really his Gamora? In the first leg of the movie, Starlord drinks his way through his days, mourning for his loss. Listen, all of us who’ve dealt with heartbreak have been there — but he was desperate enough to keep making moves even when he knew he wouldn’t succeed. Take notes: Don’t pull a Starlord. Eventually he realized that he had to move on and then started eyeing Nebula… Way to move on to the other sister.

It didn’t go anywhere, thankfully, as Nebula continued to successfully shut him down with a plethora of snide comments. Soon enough, Gamora and Nebula were back at it again with their hateful (but lovable) relationship. From their bickering interactions in moments of panic to their hilarious attacks on Starlord, the iconic duo’s appearance was surely a rightful end to their story. But what about Groot, Mantis, and Drax?

Groot’s existence never ceases to bring joy to the screen, which makes it hard to see his cameos come to an end. From being a small little groot, to taller than Drax, he’s grown not only physically, but mentally as well. Knowing that he only speaks in sentences of “I am Groot,” it was shocking to hear him say, “I love you guys” near the end of the movie. It’s based on the principle that we, the audience, are now part of Groot’s family, so we can now understand him too — an emotional touch and sentiment for avid analyzers of the trilogy. 

Mantis and Drax, often seen together, have also undergone their own journeys. Drax, though attached to Mantis, decides to finally let her go explore her own passions and interests when she treks the galaxy alone. At the very start of the trilogy Mantis was painted as a timid character, often having trouble communicating emotions and finding her own individuality. The disbandment of the Guardians of the Galaxy created an opportunity for her to continue to explore her identity without the influence of the Guardians — a beautiful moment of self reflection on her part.

Drax, bloodthirsty as ever, did find his passion in the end – being a father to the children they rescued from the High Evolutionary’s ship. His fatherly instincts shouldn’t entirely be surprising, as he, in a sense, has always been the father of the group, and was once a dad to a little girl. Mentioned in the first “Guardians of the Galaxy”, Drax only became bitter after Ronan the Accuser and Thanos took his family away from him. Though Drax couldn’t save the ones he loved, he saved countless others — forever being a guardian in their hearts. 

“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” was an eventful, fantastic end to the trilogy. At first, I was wary of the quality of the movie given Marvel’s hit-or-miss productions recently. With productions such as “Eternals” and “She-Hulk” released, the standard quality of Marvel productions have dropped to an unsatisfactory level. Though Marvel has been putting quantity over quality with recent releases,  “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” was very much the opposite, offering a truly well thought-out closing to the characters we were bound to say farewell to. So with that, farewell, Guardians — it was a wonderful journey through the galaxy you protected.