"You weren't born to be a destroyer. You were born to be a dad." -Nebula
A line like that cuts straight to the heart.
I'm glad I watched this movie twice the same week. The first by myself, the second with my wife.
This movie, in my opinion, may just be the last of the best things about the MCU.
And it was definitely worth the price of the ticket.
Yes, this heartfelt line was spoken by Nebula to Drax the Destroyer. Drax's whole purpose was to avenge the death of his wife and daughter against Thanos, but in the MCU he was mainly a source of comic relief.
Surprisingly, that effortless comic relief was used dramatically as a means of solving one of the biggest conflicts in the MCU: fatherlessness.
There was a scene where Mantis and Nebula had difficulty communicating with the children prisoners of the High Evolutionary. The children spoke a completely different language. Nebula and Mantis couldn't understand it, and their conflicting personalities made it even more challenging to seek a solution together. Things intensified so much that they began yelling at each other, pointing each other's shortcomings. It was a dead end argument. There was no way to break the language barrier.
That is, until Drax finally stepped up, engaged the crying children, and eased the tension in the room.
He lovingly ridiculed the children while also making a fool of himself. The children laughed, then Mantis laughed, then Nebula--well, she didn't laugh. But the tension in the room was melted and the language barrier was broken.
It turns out Drax spoke the language of the children.
And although Drax was not able to father his own beloved daughter, he was able to be a father-figure to the grieving children who were lost in space.
It was a heartwarming moment.
The language barrier between the Guardians and the children was destroyed by Drax, not because he was Drax the Destroyer, but because he was Drax the Dad. Through his comedy he was able to guide everybody, including the Guardians, back on course.
Comedy was the ark that brought salvation to the children.
Comedy was the donkey that carried gentle hope.
"It really is good to have friends." -Lylla
The musical score that plays when Lylla shares this line with her newly named friends is the same score that plays when Drax connects with the children.
This weaves together the beautiful arching theme of Guardians of the Galaxy: we all need a family.
No matter how wretched we may feel...
No matter how many times others rejected us...
No matter how many times we've been misunderstood...
No matter how hard we try to push others away...
We all need a family.
We all need a place to belong.
We all need our little versions of Guardians of the Galaxy in our circle of friends.
Why?
Because someone needs you.
And you need someone to be your friend, too.
It really is good to have friends. It really is.
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