Goose’s Death in ‘Top Gun’ Is Maverick’s Fault

1986’s Top Gun is one of today’s most well-loved films. Starring Tom Cruise and Van Kilmer, the action drama follows naval aviators training at Top Gun. The action-packed ’80s blockbuster sucked in audiences with its heartthrob lead, cool planes, and high (sexual) tension between characters competing against each other to get to the top of their class. Audiences even got a sequel in 2022, titled Top Gun: Maverick which brought back our old favorites who starred alongside new faces like Miles Teller and Glen Powell – managing to pull off a great follow-up to the iconic original film. Top Gun: Maverick introduces Miles Teller’s character as the son of Maverick’s late best friend Goose (Anthony Edwards), Rooster. This is the crux of the second film – the difficult and strained relationship between Maverick and his best friend’s son who brings up Maverick’s painful past, and ultimately his guilt.

How Does Goose Die in ‘Top Gun’?

In Top Gun, Goose is tragically killed during a training exercise. However, it is virtually unclear who is to blame. In the fateful scene, teammates Maverick and Iceman (Van Kilmer) battle it out in a training exercise to take down the practice enemy, in order to secure personal points. Iceman overtakes Maverick in an attempt to take the shot, despite needing more time to lock it in. He asks for 20 more seconds, ignoring Maverick and Goose who are asking him to move as they are in a better position. Eventually, he realizes that he won’t be able to get the shot and retreats out of the way, only for Maverick and Goose to be caught in the jetwash. The jetwash causes both engines to fail, leaving Maverick and Goose to have to eject. However, as they do so, Goose collides with the canopy and is killed instantaneously. Maverick heartbreakingly finds his lifeless body floating beside him in the sea. Those who have seen the film, understand the devastation, even more so with his wife and son waiting for him on the ground. Maverick who went into the sky with his best friend was left to return as one.

Here then begs the question: who is at fault for this horrific accident? Blame often gets sent Iceman’s way, Maverick’s number one rival and antagonist. His big ego and stubbornness gave him that false sense of confidence to be able to get the shot. Despite being on the same team, he was greedy for personal points and held everyone back for 20 seconds despite Maverick potentially being able to win it for their team. While blame could potentially go to Iceman’s for not moving when initially asked, why hadn’t Maverick anticipated the jetwash he was to fly right into?

Goose’s Death Is Maverick’s Fault

Maverick and Goose asked Iceman repeatedly to move, confident in their position. However, as the front pilot, it is difficult to justify the lack of anticipation from Maverick surrounding the jetwash. We also have to consider that if Iceman had moved when initially asked, would Goose have met the same fate? Who is to say that Maverick and Goose would not have been caught in the jetwash those 20 seconds prior? Even though it sure is upsetting, it becomes clear that it had been Maverick’s shortcomings that premeditated the turn of events that killed Goose.

Maverick and Goose had been the epitome of what it meant to have a best friend. Their relationship was a highlight, their loyalty and support were an endearing part of the film. Goose steadily became a fan favorite, his optimism and humor refreshing to see, but most importantly his love and commitment to his friends and family the most captivating part about him. He loved his wife and son more than anything – his death was all the more tragic and heartbreaking as a result.

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How Does Goose’s Death Impact ‘Top Gun: Maverick’?

Maverick harbors a deep sense of guilt throughout the rest of the film and into the sequel. It shapes the Maverick that we see in Top Gun: Maverick, and also sets off the tension and conflict with Goose’s son Rooster, who is all grown up and a recent Top Gun graduate. We learn that Maverick actually pulled Rooster’s application papers which set him back a whole 4 years, on the basis of his late mother’s wishes. Portrayed by Meg Ryan in the first film, it is revealed that she didn’t want her son to become a pilot like his father. Here, Maverick finds himself in a difficult position, posed between two sides of the coin and bearing the brunt of Rooster’s mother’s wishes. It seems like his motivation was rooted in his deep sense of innate guilt, feeling that he owes Goose’s family. He would rather let the son of his best friend hate him than sit by and watch Rooster potentially walk into the same fate as his father.

Even if we don’t believe that Maverick is at fault, the film virtually confirms it for us. Goose’s death impacts Maverick further than just in grief for a best friend but instead in responsibility. He recognizes his role in the events that played out on that fateful day, it weighing heavily on his shoulders throughout the rest of his career and then coming to a head when he finds himself face-to-face with Rooster. As if Goose coming back from the dead, Maverick is forced to stop running (or flying) from his past and accept. He accepts both his best friend’s death but also that he cannot prevent Rooster from fulfilling his destiny because of a mistake that he had made all those years ago.

Top Gun: Maverick is a great sequel as it is, but through the perspective of grief it is actually quite profound. It is a story of Maverick facing his ghosts and through his guilt, learning to move on and support his late friend’s son. It sure is painful, watching flashbacks of Goose as Rooster repeats history, singing his heart out on the piano, but it is perhaps the only way that Maverick could have found the sense of closure he was longing for. Inside Rooster somewhere, is Goose, and he isn’t blaming anyone. Even though we as the audience can understand that Maverick was logically at fault, we can also perhaps realize that Goose wouldn’t have blamed Maverick for his death, or in fat anyone at all – and when you think of it like that, it doesn’t hurt quite so bad.