"Merry Christmas, Mantis." "Merry Christmas, Peter."
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- The entire special is all about giving Quill something to cheer him up during Christmas, especially since he is still mourning over losing Gamora.
- It's Kraglin who brings up what Christmas is to the other Guardians, meaning that Quill has talked about this before while growing up. The flashback reveals that he even wanted to celebrate it with Quill before Yondu told them to cut it out.
- Drax and Mantis are still Platonic Life-Partners, with much of the special's plot being driven by their antics together. It's also notable that no one in Los Angeles seems to be bothered by the two of them going around and having fun.
- Drax is wearing a Christmas sweater when it's established that Drax never wears a shirt because he has sensitive nipples. He even hugs Mantis later on once she gifts him an inflatable elf that he wanted to take with him from Earth.
- Turns out the Guardians bought Knowhere from the Collector and are in the process of making it more livable.
- Speaking of: the residents of Nowhere are one hundred percent on board with celebrating Christmas even if they don't understand a thing about it, because they all love Peter so much.
- While Kevin Bacon is understandably freaked to be kidnapped and Quill scolds Mantis and Drax for kidnapping him, Kraglin tells Kevin about how his movies helped inspire Quill to be a hero. Kevin decides to stay and celebrate with them until the holiday is over.
- During Kevin Bacon's song, Peter has his arm around Mantis in a sibling-like manner. And this is before she reveals she's his sister.
- The opening of the special shows Yondu hating Peter and Kraglin trying to celebrate Christmas and demands the two throw everything in the trash. Peter reveals what happened after that to Mantis - Yondu found a present for him — one of the figurines that he'd put on display on his dashboard — and in return, he gifted Peter his iconic dual blasters.
- It's implied that this is the very first little figure Yondu ever received, and the one that kickstarted his collection.
- In the same flashback, it was shown that Peter was even going to give a gift to Taserface.
- When Mantis finally reveals to Quill that they're siblings, Quill is overjoyed to know that he has a sister. The two hug it out as the special ends.Quill: Mantis... that's the greatest Christmas gift I could ever get. (smiles)
- What makes it heartwarming is that Quill doesn't hold that shared parentage against her, something Mantis was terrified of, both before and as she was telling him. He knows Ego may be their father but he isn't their daddy, and that she was just as much a victim of Ego's rampage as he was— her relieved joy at this is something to behold as well.
- Peter's reaction to the christmas decortations in Knowhere. It starts by playing the song "Christmastime" from the Smashing Pumpkins, and then as the lights turn on, Peter is amazed and happy like an 8 year old visitng Christmas shopping. It's also the first time we've seen him joyful in the special.
- Despite deriding Christmas as a "triviality" and generally being her grumpy self, Nebula still takes part in the Christmas reveal on Knowhere for Peter, and even gets Rocket a present - Bucky's vibranium arm. James Gunn confirmed
that Nebula went all the way down to Earth to rip off Bucky's arm as a present for Rocket. It goes to show how strong their bond has grown ever since they had nothing but each other for five whole years.- She even shakes her head when Drax laughs at Kraglin's story!
- Cosmo gives Kraglin a dead Orloni as a Christmas gift. Kraglin is understandably disgusted but nevertheless, pets Cosmo, thanking her for her "gift".
- Groot's present is painted dioramas of the various scenes in the film given to each Guardian, with Nebula even showing a brief smile at being handed it. Kraglin's diorama? A diorama of him holding the diorama.
- Speaking of the gifts, Mantis gives Drax the inflatable elf he got attached to but had to leave early on.
- In general, seeing Drax and Mantis being celebrated as heroes on Earth by the cosplayers in Hollywood is really nice, as it shows that the Guardians are finally recognized by Earth after years of not knowing they existed.
- Judging by Mantis hugging the Captain America cosplayer, it can be assumed that the Guardians and Avengers have become well acquainted with each other after the Battle of Earth. It also says how great of a person Steve is that people who only know him briefly can still fondly remember him.
- It's a small moment, but when they are looking for Kevin Bacon, Drax and Mantis are surprisingly reverent as they look in on a Nativity scene.
- Cosmo happily yells "We love you, Kevin Bacon" as the latter is leaving Knowhere.
- Out-of-universe, this special seems to be a rebuttal to some of the negative reception Peter Quill has gotten over the years.note The special shows the entire Guardians, in particular Mantis, being worried about his happiness to the point they kidnap an actor to try and cheer him up, while everyone at Knowhere likes him so much they help set up a surprise for him, all of which show how loved Peter is by both his closest friends and those he helps. Kraglin even tells Kevin Bacon that Peter's one of the greatest heroes ever and how he once saved the galaxy through dancing, further reinforcing the idea that this was supposed to remind viewers why they liked the character in the first place.
