Credit: Marvel StudiosGuardians of the Galaxy Vol.3 is finally out on digital, and with it comes a bevy of special features, mainly the commentary that showcases James Gunn explaining details that fans have missed. One of the biggest pieces of commentary details the tragic connection between Groot (Vin Diesel) and Gamora (Zoe Saldana).
Related: Zoe Saldana Has Officially Announced Her Retirement as Marvel’s Gamora
Everyone knows that when Gamora returned from blip, she was not the same person, mainly because this version was brought back during the time heist in Avengers: Endgame. She was still a mercenary and hanging out with the Ravagers, who initially abducted Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) from Earth. During the events of the third film, Peter tries like crazy to get her to remember that they were once in love.
Though some of the most heart-wrenching moments occurred between Gamora and Peter, there is a connection that should have cut much deeper had fans caught it in time.
During the first film, we saw Groot destroyed, only to save his teammates from destruction. Though James Gunn could have easily killed off everyone’s favorite anthropomorphic tree, we realized he could be brought back, much like a real tree. During the closing moments of Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), Groot begins to regrow. By the time the second film rolled around, Groot was a baby. As such, every baby needs a mother—and Groot thought his mother was Gamora.
How would any child react if their mother did not remember them?
James Gunn Reveals Groot Was Heartbroken Gamora Couldn’t Remember Him
During the commentary on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, James Gunn revealed that Gamora was breaking Groot’s heart throughout the film. According to the commentary:
“This is a scene that I don’t think people necessarily understand. Groot — his mother is Gamora, to him, in his eyes. We’ve seen Baby Groot, and how much Gamora loves him in Volume 2, and how much he loves her. Like…that is his mom. And so there’ a particular sadness here, where she doesn’t remember him. That, to me, is one of the saddest things in the entire movie, that your mother doesn’t know who you are. And it’s such a small moment where she understands him, suddenly.”
Considering Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 contains moments like Rocket being tortured and losing his only captive friends, we have to admit we are a bit surprised that James Gunn has picked the connection between Gamora and Groot being the saddest. However, now that we dissect this connection, that is incredibly heartbreaking.
We imagine Groot is attempting to communicate with his mother this whole time, only for her to give him the cold shoulder. He always seemed to be smiling when replying to her, but she gave him nothing but grief, especially considering she only heard him say: “I am Groot.”
Though this connection seems depressing, it is alleviated by a huge moment at the film’s end when Gamora finally understands him. While back at Knowhere, Groot tells her she has been summoned, leading Gamora to respond with, “I’ll be right there.” She stops herself with a smile, knowing that she finally understands him after all.
Though we imagine no hug or kiss was involved, it could have been the only moment that Groot needed. Though he may have understood his mother was not exactly his mother any longer, he had finally broken down her walls. It also adds more sweetness to Groot’s final line, “I love you guys.”
Fans had speculated that Groot speaking English to the audience meant that we could all understand him, which was precisely what James Gunn was going for. He concluded that since the world spent three films with Groot, only those closest to him could understand his lingo. Let us all let out a collective “awwww.”
Related: James Gunn Reveals Decision Behind Groot’s Major Change in ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’
James Gunn has outdone himself with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and this special moment is just another of his hidden story elements that add more layers of emotionality.
Did you catch on that Groot and Gamora shared this connection? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!