Warning: This article contains spoilers for I Am Groot season two.
Out of the 10 Marvel Disney Plus series released to date, I Am Groot is definitely the most forgotten and overlooked of the bunch, mostly by dint of the fact its episodes are so short. Even with five new animated shorts debuting this Sep. 6, you can watch the entire series in just about 30 minutes. And yet, as the amount of mischief Baby Groot manages to get himself into every time proves, being short doesn’t mean it should be discounted.
For instance, I Am Groot is peppered with MCU Easter eggs, crossovers, and even the occasional cameo, with season two being a must-watch for fans hungrily awaiting the longer-form Marvel content to come later this year (e.g. Loki season two and The Marvels). With connections to everything from Thor: Love and Thunder to What If…?, IAG might be more important to the wider franchise than we were expecting. Even if James Gunn doesn’t think it’s canon.
Episode 1: “Are You My Groot?”
I Am Groot season two’s first episode sees the trouble-seeking sapling find a Groot of his own as he takes a newborn alien bird under his wing branch. While it’s not spoken on screen, the planet this adventure occurs on is Terma, a world previously namechecked in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 as one of the wormhole jump points that the Guardians’ ship hops through when trying to find Ego. In the comics, it was where Quasar and Moondragon discovered Adam Warlock in stasis.
Episode 2: “Groot Noses Around”
Speaking of the Guardians’ ship, the action relocates there for episode two, in which Groot finds himself an artificial nose from a box of Rocket’s old odds and ends. Note that the box contains a bionic eye similar to the one Rocket lends Thor in Avengers: Infinity War. Remember, the Guardians’ ship at this point in the timeline was Star-Lord’s second vessel, the Benatar, as opposed to the Milano (as seen in Vol. 1) and the Bowie (introduced in Vol. 3).
Episode 3: “Groot’s Snow Day”
In episode three, Groot builds an unexpectedly deadly snowman-robot on an ice planet. Again, although not stated on screen, this planet is designated as Falligar. Presumably, then, this is the same world that’s home to the felled corpse of Falligar the Behemoth, killed by Gorr the God-Butcher in Thor: Love and Thunder. Make sure to stick around for the post-credits scene of this one as Bradley Cooper turns up for the briefest cameo as Rocket Raccoon.
Episode 4: “Groot’s Sweet Treat”
Before he’s distracted by an outer-space ice cream truck in episode four, Groot is playing with a Drax action figure, which may tell us that the Guardians have merchandise, probably hailing from Xandar, where they are planet-saving heroes. Speaking of, at the end of this short, Baby Groot is apprehended by Nova Corps ships for destroying the ice cream truck. This is the Nova Corps’ first appearance in the MCU — somehow! — since the first Guardians movie.
Episode 5: “Groot and the Great Prophecy”
Yes, as given away by the trailer, Jeffrey Wright reprises the Watcher from What If…? for the season two finale, in which we learn Groot is a prophecized Chosen One destined to make a great impact on the universe. Although whether this foreshadows his role in Avengers: Endgame or something still yet to come is unclear. The planet it’s set on is Drez-Lar, another jump point world mentioned in Guardians 2 that has its roots in the comics, as a planet destroyed by Annihilus’ Annihilation Wave.
All of I Am Groot season two is streaming now on Disney Plus.