i had another realization about gotg vol 2, which coincidentally is further evidence of how hard it slam dunks the rest of the mcu.
i mean i already noticed the film’s themes about arrogance and egotism and how it reflected on peter and rocket, and the bonds of (true) family, but right now i’m realizing the film’s theme about the fragility of family.
yondu telling rocket the other ravager captains and he once formed a group like the guardians themselves isn’t just to illustrate that he and rocket are similar and to elucidate his own tragedy (and eventual redemption). it’s because yondu’s betrayal of the ravager code destroyed the family he had, just like he’s alienated peter from him due to miscommunication, and rocket’s own behaviors threaten to alienate the guardians from him in the same way – just like peter’s own arrogance threatens to do, as his argument with gamora shows. gamora and nebula’s own fight (nearly) to the death ties into this too. just as the story affirms what true family relationships look like (and uses them to highlight what is wrong with Ego’s vision of them, the notion of viewing your children as your possessions and literal extensions of yourself), it also demonstrates that their trueness does not make them invincible, and that good relationships require work and commitment.
as ever, the fact that the protagonists of this franchise are fallible beings who have the same faults as the villains is one of the main things that makes it so good. also, this means that like the first film had the same plot as avengers but made it work, this film had the same theme as civil war but made it work lmao
eta: oh yeah i forgot to mention this is the actual way The Chain is used in this movie, playing first when the film is showing the rift that exists in the Guardians as Rocket refuses to make nice with Peter, when Peter is walking away from Rocket and Gamora is walking away from Nebula, and then again when Peter finds the strength to fight Ego and defy his selfish convictions by reminding himself of the emotional connections he values. it’s not just about those relationships; it’s about their vulnerability, too, and what it takes to protect them.