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 Val Kilmer, the action drama follows naval aviators training at Top Gun, the Naval Fighter Weapons School. 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 Rooster as the son of Maverick’s late best friend, Goose (Anthony Edwards). 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 unclear who is to blame. In the fateful scene, teammates Maverick and Iceman (played by 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 jet wash. The jet wash 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 instantly, leaving a heartbroken Maverick to find his lifeless body floating beside him in the sea. Those who have seen the film understand the devastation, made even sadder by Goose’s wife (Meg Ryan) and son waiting for him on the ground. Maverick, who went into the sky with his best friend, was left to return alone.

Herein lies the question: who is at fault for this horrific accident? Blame often gets sent Iceman’s way, given that he’s Maverick’s number-one rival and antagonist. Iceman’s stubbornness and big ego gave him a 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 them all. While blame could potentially go to Iceman for not moving when initially asked, shouldn’t Maverick have anticipated the jet wash he flew right into?

Goose’s Death Is Maverick’s Fault

It’s worth noting that Maverick and Goose repeatedly ask Iceman to move, confident in their position to hit the target. Furthermore, we also have to consider that if Iceman had moved when initially asked, Goose may not have met the same fate. Who’s to say that Maverick and Goose would not have been caught in the jet wash those 20 seconds prior? However, with Maverick as the front pilot, it is difficult to justify his lack of anticipation surrounding the jet wash — and surrounding Iceman’s arrogance, for that matter. Even though it’s deeply upsetting, it becomes clear that Maverick’s shortcomings premeditated the turn of events that killed Goose.

Prior to Goose’s tragic death, Maverick and Goose had been an iconic movie duo, and epitomized what it means to be a best friend. Their relationship was a highlight, and their loyalty and support for one another were an endearing part of Top Gun. Goose steadily became a fan favorite and his optimism and humor were refreshing to see, but most importantly, his love and commitment to his friends and family were the most captivating part about him. He loved his wife and son more than anything, making his death all the more heartbreaking as a result.

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

Maverick harbors a deep sense of guilt throughout the rest of Top Gun and this carries 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 for the program, which set the latter back a whole 4 years. It is revealed that Maverick did this to honor Rooster’s mother’s dying wish that her son not become a pilot like his father. Here, Maverick finds himself in a difficult position, posed between two sides of the coin and feeling responsible for his late friend’s son. It seems like his motivation is rooted in his deep sense of guilt, feeling that he owes Goose’s family. Maverick would rather let his best friend’s son hate him than sit by and watch Rooster potentially meet the same fate as his father.

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Even if we don’t believe that Maverick is at fault, the film virtually confirms it for us. Goose’s death affects Maverick further than just in grief for a best friend, but instead in his sense of culpability. He recognizes his role in the events that played out on that fateful day, and it weighs heavily on his shoulders throughout the rest of his career and then comes to a head when he finds himself face-to-face with Rooster. As if Goose has returned from the dead, Maverick is forced to stop running (or flying) from his past and accept it. He accepts both his best friend’s death but also the fact that he cannot prevent Rooster from fulfilling his destiny (something we will hopefully see more of in Top Gun 3) because of a mistake that was made all those years ago.

Top Gun: Maverick is a great sequel as it is, but through its exploration of grief, it is also quite profound. It is a story of Maverick facing his ghosts and, through his guilt, learning to move on and support his friend’s son. It’s 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 realize that Goose wouldn’t have blamed Maverick for his death, or in fact anyone at all – and when you think of it like that, it doesn’t hurt quite so badly.

Top Gun is available to rent or buy on Prime Video in the U.S.

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