Tear Jerker / Top Gun: Maverick

To fallen comrades.

• Even thirty-five years after it happened, Goose's death still lingers on heavily, which we get our first hint of in Maverick's hangar workshop where, in the place where some pilots might have an "I love me" wall, Mav instead has an "I miss Goose" shrine; it runs through the whole movie, from Maverick's Survival Mantra and need to protect Rooster, Carole's Dying Wish for her son to not die like her husband did, Rooster's borderline unhealthy obsession with being just like his father, to the implication that Maverick, at some level, still blames himself for his death. It really underscores just how tragic and life-defining that moment was for everyone who was affected by it.
• Maverick seeing Bradley sing "Great Balls of Fire" at the piano at the bar as Goose (Bradley's father) did back in the day and having memory flashes of Goose, including his death. Penny, who had just spent most of her reunion with Maverick messing with him before having him kicked out of the bar, sees him going through his Heroic BSoD through the window and her entire demeanor changes.
  • The hurt comes full burn where upon closer look to Maverick's face in the very end of the scene before he turns away from sight, you can see his face is welling up clearly on the verge of completely breaking down in tears.
  • It's not even only about Rooster. The scene also cuts to the other TOPGUN candidates: Phoenix, Bob, Payback and Fanboy, before cutting back to Rooster. All of them are young and bright pilots with a great future ahead of them... just like Goose, and Maverick is about to train them to send them on a mission that could most likely cut their lives short. It drives home just how Goose's death affected Maverick and he really, really doesn't want to be responsible for someone else's death ever again.
  • The scene only becomes worse after The Reveal the night before the pilots begin their mission: as Maverick reveals to Penny, Goose's wife was the one who didn't want him to fly. It's one thing for Maverick to see Rooster on a screen and know she's failed; it's completely heartbreaking to see him watch Rooster mimicking what Goose did.
  • Another one by Fridge Logic; Maverick's fondest memory is of Goose playing Great Balls of Fire with his wife in his lap, while Maverick fondly touches Goose's shoulder. Given how this was one of the last times Rooster ever saw his father, the song must be bond to dredge up painful memories for Rooster, but he never reacts that way at all. It raises the question of whether Rooster actually even remembers that day at all.
• When Maverick first tries talking to Rooster alone, he has to resort to invoking rank just to get him to acknowledge him.
  "Rooster. Bradley. Lt. Bradshaw."
  • And when Rooster does turn around and only addresses him as "sir", Maverick pleads with him that he doesn't want it to be this way during the entire training. Rooster just coldly asks if Maverick is going to wash him out before then asking to be dismissed.
  • Rooster's What the Hell, Hero? to Maverick later in the film doesn't help much either.
  Rooster: Why'd you pull my papers at the academy? Why did you STAND IN MY WAY?!
  Maverick: You weren't ready.
  Rooster: Ready for what? Huh? Ready to fly like you?
  Maverick: No, ready to forget the book. Trust your instincts! Don't think, just do. You think up there, you're dead. Believe me.
  Rooster: My dad believed in you. I'm not gonna make the same mistake.
• During training, every time the students 'failed' the test and got 'shot down,' Maverick makes a point to his students to explain their failures not as if they're talking to their superiors, but to the families of the pilots who died, clearly talking from his own experience when he lost Goose and having to bear the bad news to his wife and child, the latter who he's teaching to. The fact that none of the trainees, not even the haughty Hangman can come up with a suitable way to reply makes it clear how heavy that question weighs.
• Two scenes involving Iceman:
  • The first one is when Maverick pays a visit to his home and is greeted by his wife, who tells Maverick of Iceman's terminal condition, and the intense pain on her face is palpable. Afterward, the two men have a conversation about the past, forgiveness, and good memories. It is heartwarming, but Maverick is clearly in pain over losing Goose, guilt over Rooster losing his father, and saddened over Iceman's worsening condition. What makes the last one even worse is the Reality Subtext of Val Kilmer actually battling throat cancer. Those horrible struggles were not made up for the character (though Kilmer recovered in Real Life after the filming, eventually).
    • What makes the whole scene so tearful is the fact that Iceman at first uses his computer's text to talk to Maverick. As the latter is still largely haunted by Goose's death, and due to his own fears refuses to take up the job of flight instructor once again, Iceman uses his rasp of a voice, or rather what's left of it, to better convey his message and get his friend to accept.
    • Near the end of the conversation, Ice asks again who's the better fighter pilot between them. Maverick jokingly tells him not to ruin the atmosphere, but it's no less sad, for both knowing this is probably the last time they'll meet in life.
  • After Ice finishes encouraging Maverick, the two hug with close ups of their expressions making it clear they both know this is the last time they'll ever see each other.
  • The second one is Iceman's funeral. Not a word is said, but there is no need for words to convey the colossal sense of loss that both Maverick and Cyclone feel, the fighters doing a flypast in the "missing man" formation.
• While Maverick failing to pull a Lover's Ledge is funny, Penny's daughter Amelia telling him not to break Penny's heart again isn't, implying that he did it at least once already.
• Goose's wife Carole is mentioned to have died of cancer at one point before the film.
  • Worse, her last words are really the reason why Maverick pulled away Rooster's application for flying in the first place (to make sure he won't die like his dad), showing that Goose's death really haunted her throughout the years.
  • Maverick reveals to Penny Benjamin that he's never told Rooster that it was Carole's idea because "there's no need for him to resent her too," but it only delayed him for 4 years, while Mav unnecessarily becomes his Hate Sink until they reconcile later in the movie.
• The night before he departs for the final mission, Maverick and Penny share a tender moment of silence together out on the beach, then simply hold each other. Without saying anything at all, they are both painfully aware that Maverick might not come home, and that this could very well be their last goodbye.
• When Maverick's plane gets shot down by shielding Rooster's and appears to have died, everyone from the carrier crew to his wingmen shares the shock of disbelief, with Rooster on the verge of tears as he realizes that Maverick has always been protecting him. They even suggest to go for a search and rescue mission immediately, with Hangman practically begging to be given permission to launch so he can assist the others, only to be reminded that the strike team needs to come back to base ASAP or risk getting shot down by the nearby enemy 5th Gen. fighters. It really shows that despite all of his flaws, Mav is genuinely respected and loved by his fellows.
  • Cyclone's reactions really demonstrate this in spades. The pain in his voice when he orders Dagger Flight back, keeps Hangman from launching & refuses to send search & rescue assets in shows that Maverick's (assumed) death affects him greatly - but no one else is dying on his watch.
    Hondo: Look, sir - Maverick is still out there-
    Cyclone: We are NOT losing anyone else today-!
  • Even the controller on the E-2D Hawkeye sounds choked up as she reminds Dagger Squad that the enemy fighters are still inbound and that they need to get out of there.
• After Rooster saves Maverick and goes down, Maverick calls him out for doing something so dangerous once they reunite. While it's clearly out of concern, Rooster looks incredibly hurt by Maverick's words. Thankfully, the two reconcile a moment later when Maverick admits that he's glad Rooster came back.
• When the F-14 has run out of weapons and defenses, without working ejection seats and facing impending death by an enemy plane, Rooster yells out to Maverick like a frightened child calling out for their parent. Meanwhile, all Maverick can do is quietly mutter, "I'm sorry, Goose," thinking that despite all of his efforts up till now, he's still failed to protect his best friend's only son.
• Maverick's Survival Mantra: "Talk to me, Goose." Leads to a Meaningful Echo when Rooster pulls out a "Talk to me, Dad" near the end.
• The music video for Lady Gaga's "Hold My Hand" shows the flameout scene from the first movie which took Goose's life as well as Maverick tearfully saluting at the aforementioned funeral for Iceman (which provides the page image).
• The fact that this movie feels like an End of an Age for not only Maverick but for TOPGUN and the days of Old-School Dogfighting. By the end of it all, Iceman has succumbed to cancer, Maverick's career appears to be officially over and the old days of TOPGUN are long gone due to switching from planes to drones.

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