Gun, it’s Goose. A training flight goes awry, and he strikes the canopy during ejection.

Goose has a wife and child, which brings us the only other significant woman in the movie – Carole Bradshaw, played by Meg Ryan. The difference between the characterisation of Carole and Charlie cannot be overstated. We see Carole three times – when she arrives to visit, when she goes to a bar with Goose, Maverick and Charlie during her visit, and after Goose has died. Each of those appearances revolves around the men. Her arrival sees her simply greeting her husband as she disembarks a plane. Her evening in the bar involves her talking to Maverick and Charlie – telling Charlie that Maverick is a womaniser, but he’s clearly fallen for her. After Goose dies, Carole sets aside her own grief t...

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