#buuuuuut say. in a TV series. where a similar character dies as 'redemption'.... that would've worked so much better lol

[bougiebutchbitch]

After watching GOTG 2 again I am struck by how it IS possible to kill a beloved character in a meaningful and hard-hitting way

Yondu was my favourite trashbag pirate dad. Like, it 100% made me sad to see him go, and I'm so tired of the 'death as redemption' trope that I immediately wrote a dozen fix-it fics.

But narratively? It was perfect.

It was a big character moment that brought his arc together. A guy who hid all his fear and trauma behind this act of being the biggest toughest badass around, who pretended he didn't care about anyone but himself, was finally fucking honest about his love for his son and had a really soft, touching, heartfelt moment where he was trying to comfort him while he died.

It was a horrific situation with no other way out. Yondu and Peter had to choose one of them to die, and of course Yondu chose himself, not his kid. It didn't feel contrived, or like a disservice to the characters' intelligence. There really was no other option.

It was dramatic. It was heart-rending. It felt impactful, not least because the film ended with a massive funeral where Yondu's whole adopted family (who Yondu thought he'd pushed away and who hated him forever) showed up to say goodbye.

We had Peter resolving to be a better parental figure to Groot while listening to the music Yondu left him. We had Rocket reflecting on his big 'I see you, you're me' moment with Yondu. We had Peter telling Rocket the Guardians will always love him, even if he - like Yondu - does that Typical Abused Kid Thing and pushes the boundaries of everyone who cares for him to test when they'll snap. We had poor widower Kraglin inheriting Yondu's arrow (and absolutely sucking ass at using it, lmao). Hell, we even had Gamora and Nebula sharing that beautiful, awkward, unpracticed hug.

In short, it was so much better than A Certain Other Death, and rewatching made me grateful for how it was handled

#yondu udonta #gotg #guardians of the galaxy #just some thots #obviously I would've preferred 'the idiot survives and now has to actually WORK on repairing his relationship with Peter' #but I can see that wasn't The Big Film Vibe they wanted #buuuuuut say. in a TV series. where a similar character dies as 'redemption'.... that would've worked so much better lol