‘Top Gun: Maverick’ Ending, Explained: Maverick and Rooster Get Goose Closure After 36 Years

Successful is an understatement when it comes to talking about Top Gun: Maverick. The movie, which just landed on digital earlier this week, is a global sensation, bringing Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer to reprise their roles from the beloved original film.

With several nods to the 1986 movie from Miles Teller’s rendition of “Great Balls of Fire” to Maverick every-so-often dropping a, “Talk to me, Goose,” bomb, the sequel can resonate with old and new fans alike.

What can be confusing, however, is that final flying sequence when we don’t know what the hell is going to happen to our favorite leads. Every time it looks like they may make it, it also looks like they’re going to die. Luckily for you, we have it all broken down:

What is Top Gun: Maverick about? Top Gun: Maverick summary:

At the start of the movie, which takes place over 30 years after its predecessor, Pete “Maverick” Mitchell (Cruise) is a test pilot who risks being grounded after blowing up a prototype while pushing past Mach 10, a hypersonic speed that is 10 times the speed of sound. When this happens, former rival-turned-friend, Admiral Tom “Iceman” Kazansky (Val Kilmer), saves Maverick from being grounded by suggesting he train an elite group of TOPGUN graduates for a dangerous mission that requires them to blow up an unsanctioned uranium tank.

Maverick, who is still grappling with the death of wingman Goose, reluctantly agrees, realizing his late friend’s son, Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw (Teller), is a part of the class in which he must choose who takes the mission. The two have a strained relationship after Maverick pulled Rooster’s application to flight school years earlier, setting him back. What Rooster didn’t know is that Maverick promised his mother before she died that he wouldn’t let Rooster become a pilot, something he reveals upon reuniting with old flame Penny (Jennifer Connelly), not Kelly McGillis’ Charlotte.

Meanwhile, the pilots butt heads, especially Rooster and Hangman (Glen Powell), who’s a bit of an “every man for himself” kind of dude. When Iceman dies and Maverick loses his advocate, he is grounded, before proving that he’s the only one who can successfully complete the mission in the right amount of time.

What is the Top Gun: Maverick ending explained?

With Maverick back as team leader, he ultimately chooses Rooster as his wingman for the mission. The group safely and successfully blows up the tank, though things get a little dicey on the way back. With missiles flying at Rooster, Maverick takes it upon himself to jump in front, blowing up his plane, and leading everyone to believe he’s dead.

He’s not, thanks to that nifty eject button. And against orders, Rooster flies back to the scene, also ejecting from his plane when it comes under fire. The two end up stealing an old school jet, intercepting several enemy planes, but missing one. Just when things look like they’re going downhill, Hangman swoops in for the rescue, shooting down their final target.

In this emotional happy ending for all, Rooster stares at a photo of his and Maverick’s completed mission alongside a photo of his father and Maverick in their prime while Lady Gaga’s “Hold My Hand” plays in the background. And Maverick flies off into the sunset with his girl. Overall, everyone gets the closure they deserve 36 years after Goose’s tragic death.