Call to Action

"Call to Action" is the eleventh episode of the Disney XD series Star Wars Rebels, which premiered on February 2, 2015 on WatchDisneyXD.com before making its television debut on February 9, 2015.

Plot
Grand Moff Tarkin, governor of the Outer Rim, arrives on Lothal and despite the warm welcomes by Minister Tua, Agent Kallus and The Inquisitor; Tarkin immediately reprimanded them for their ongoing failure to put an end to the ongoing Rebel cell, which is the main reason why he has arrived on Lothal. Kallus and Tua both admit they have exhausted every resource to capture them but have come to find the Rebels quite elusive. When Minister Tua claims the leader of the Rebels is a Jedi, Tarkin chastises her for this belief as from his point of view, the Jedi are all dead and he intends to seek out this “criminal” and prove that he is not what he appears to be.

Meanwhile, Ezra, Kanan and Sabine are being pursued by Imperials speeder with Commandant Aresko and Taskmaster Grint leading the pursue. The chase leads them to a small town where the Rebels race through the streets while the Imperials split up in an attempt to box them in. However another attempt to capture them fails after the Rebels take them out one at a time and Return to the Ghost. Upon arriving, they find Hera and Zeb watching the holonet news reporting on Gall Trayvis recommitting with the Imperial Senate. The Rebels are disgusted about the fact that Trayvis was working for the Empire the whole time and the Empire continues to spread lies about them, which gives Kanan an idea that could even the score. He plans to use an Imperial communications tower to send out a message that will speak the truth to all the people in the outer rim. Meanwhile back at Capital City, Commandant Aresko and Taskmaster Grint are called to Governor Tarkin’s office where they report on their recent and past encounters with the Rebels and admit their failed attempts to capture them. Tarkin shows to be concerned about their ongoing failures and because of this, he feels this could possibly threaten the security of the Empire if citizens began to see what the Rebels were representing, something which Tarkin cannot accept. Then without warning, he has the Inquisitor execute Aresko and Grint right in front of Minister Tua and Agent Kallus as a grim warning that from now on failure will have consequences. Tarkin then instructed Kallus to despatch Probe Droids to every known location of insurgent activity on Lothal where they will seek out and discover the location of the Rebels.

The next day, Kanan, Ezra and Sabine are observing an Imperial communications tower. While discussing over a rough plan on how to accomplish this daring mission they spot an Imperial Transport deploy a Probe Droid. Luckily it doesn’t spot them but they can see it heading straight for where they hid their speeder bikes which will no doubt reveal their presence. Through the force, Ezra connects with a Loth-Cat and commands it to attack the Probe Droid, knocking it down onto its side. With the droid down, Kanan, Ezra and Sabine get to their bikes and head back to the Ghost. Even though down, the Probe Droid still manages to catch a glimpse of the Rebels which Agent Kallus reports back to Tarkin. Upon returning to the Ghost, the Rebels prepare everything they will need to transmit their message. So far they are good to go but Ezra all the sudden feels unsure about going ahead with this plan. Because his parents spoke out against the Empire they were taken away from him and now Ezra is afraid that he might lose Kanan and everyone else. Kanan reminds him that he is not the only one who has had many loses in his past but they cannot let the worry of taking more loses stop them from taking risks. He tells Ezra they need to move forward and when the time comes they have to be ready to sacrifice something bigger. Ezra still finds making sacrifices is not easy which Kanan agrees, as his own master tried teach him that but could never understand it until now, trying to teach it to Ezra.

After the evening turns to night, the Rebels proceed with their mission and take out security patrolling the communications tower. With security down, they enter the tower and begin hacking into the system. However they find out the Imperials are onto them and spot transports heading in their direction. With very little time, Kanan changes the escape plan and has Ezra, Zeb, Chopper and Sabine head for the top of the tower while he remains behind to hold off the Imperials. Agent Kallus, the Inquisitor and the Imperials corner Kanan and have Ezra, Sabine, Chopper and Zeb trapped at the top of the tower. Kanan engages the Inquisitor in a Lightsaber duel just then Hera shows up with the Phantom and picks up Ezra, Chopper, Sabine and Zeb. Kanan puts up the best fight but is quickly beaten. Knowing he isn’t going to make it with the others he orders Hera to retreat without him, despite her objections.

As the sun begins to rise, Governor Tarkin arrives at the communications to take Kanan into custody. As they depart from the tower, the Imperials hear the Rebels hacked transmission. Spoken by Ezra, he gives everyone in the outer rim the truth about their Rebellion and helps them see what the Empire is really doing to their lives. As Ezra continues to encourage everyone to make a stand against the Empire, the Imperials destroy the tower ending their transmission. Despite losing the transmission, the Rebels strongly believe every citizen in the outer rim heard them and Ezra declares this fight isn't over.

Cast

 * Taylor Gray as Ezra Bridger
 * Freddie Prinze, Jr. as Kanan Jarrus
 * Steven Blum as Garazeb Orrelios
 * Tiya Sircar as Sabine Wren
 * Vanessa Marshall as Hera Syndulla
 * Stephen Stanton as Grand Moff Tarkin
 * Jason Isaacs as The Inquisitor
 * David Shaughnessy as Cumberlayne Aresko / Myles Grint
 * Kath Soucie as Maketh Tua

Trivia

 * Stephen Stanton respires his roll as Tarkin, now holding the role of Grand Moff. He was last heard in the role in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, when Tarkin was an admiral.
 * This is the first time Tarkin is seen in action on the field as an Imperial. He wears armor similar to General Veers from The Empire Strikes Back.
 * The opening sequence shares similarities to the opening scene of Return of the Jedi where Darth Vader arrives at the second Death Star.
 * The Viper Probe Droid from The Empire Strikes Back makes an appearance in this episode.
 * Commandant Aresko and Taskmaster Grint are killed off in this episode.
 * This episode marks the first on-screen appearance of Alton Kastle. Kastle wears a grey-blue Imperial uniform, and wears an Imperial media badge rather a military rank badge.
 * Computer spikes have long been part of Star Wars lore. They were first introduce as a computer countermeasure device in 1990 roleplaying game supplement Cracken's Rebel Field Guide, and were heavily featured as a consumable device in Knights of the Old Republic game.
 * The gunnery stations outside the Imperial communications centre use the same seat and control array as the TIE Fighters seen in the series.
 * The Imperial Patrol Transport is a monochromatic makeover of the Republic police helicopter seen in The Clone Wars.