Star Wars: Rebels (TV Series) The Call (2016) User Reviews

Not so bad.

[wms-92741 · 8/10 · 25 October 2020]

There has been much criticism of this episode, not all of which is fair. Ezra claims to "hear" the space whales, but aside from that line of dialogue there is absolutely nothing to suggest that there is actual sound coming from them. Note that if the whales were in fact producing sound, then everyone would be able to "hear" them. Only Ezra was able to do so. This means Ezra's communication with the creatures was a manifestation of the force. Just because he claims to "hear" them doesn't mean he actually can.

Next, from the beginning of season one there has been a necessary suspension of disbelief if you want to enjoy the show. The rebels entered an abandoned base in "Always Two There Are", which should have been frozen and without any atmosphere. No one complained about that. In "Out of Darkness" Hera and Sabine are on an asteroid with apparently normal gravity and an atmosphere. I didn't see anyone complaining about that, either. Yes, the characters on the show are able to move about in space with nothing but their clothing and helmets, but in Guardians of the Galaxy we see the same thing. My point: if you're looking for scientific accuracy and completely believable stories, don't watch science fantasy cartoons.

I watched this episode and had a good time. Open your mind and you may do so as well.

Lack of realism loses points

[mr_who_42 · 6/10 · 28 February 2017]

I don't mind a good space whale story but I do mind the lack of realism. I suspend a fair amount of disbelief in star wars type shows but riding around in space without a pressure suit is a but much. They had open skin, neck and hands all unprotected as they road around the asteroid field surfing on ships and whales. They would have frozen and the lack of pressure would have killed them. Come on. You can do better than that. A simple pressure suit would have fixed this episode.

The Call

[MrFilmAndTelevisionShow · 8/10 · 5 September 2021]

What a neat little episode, sometimes episodes that don't drive the main storyline forward can feel a little underwelming but this one was great, Doctor Who has had giant space whales before and I enjoyed that episode just as I enjoyed this one.

Calling...

[Trey_Trebuchet · 7/10 · 25 May 2022]

For a filler, this isn't actually half bad. I thought all of the weird space whale stuff was pretty convincing and the plot ended up being a retry decent little Ezra-centered adventure. All of this hate about logic and scientific evidence is mostly bs. I don't live in the star wars universe so I don't know how much of the criticism is justified. Who is to say space and everything else works like real life? I don't need a telescope to know the moon is out there and I don't need to read up on everything to know it's right in front of me.

This was a sweet, fun time killer.

Oh dear!

[mdking-49244 · 24 July 2017]

I've been a late starter to Rebels, I've only just gotten in to it this last month (July 2017) by binge watching it, and until now I've really enjoyed it, but this episode really lets the side down. It's totally unrealistic and Bill Wolkoff (who wrote the episode) needs to hang up his sci fi writing boots and go and hang his head in shame somewhere.

Spoiler...

Space Whales who can jump in hyperspace, and Ezra can survive in space riding one of them without a space suit, really? Utterly shocking, avoid at all costs!!!

The Call

[lassegalsgaard · 6/10 · 16 December 2019]

Yet another episode that seems to put the storyline aside for a weird adventure for our crew. I get the reason behind the mission, but it didn't have any real connection to anything else going on, and instead it decided to focus on some mysterious space whales. The things I did like included Ezra's awe of these creatures and his development as a character, but I think that the episode used a lot of its resources to make an unclear task a little more important than it actually was. This was dangerous, but it doesn't feel like it should have been, and I have an issue when the writers try to bring a little bit too much life into these not-so-important pieces of the puzzle. Hera also had a weird arc in this episode, and I never got a full understanding of why she didn't particularly like these whales that much, but she ended up having a soft spot for them after all. This was another episode that I didn't necessarily need. It wasn't completely useless as it probably evolved Ezra a little bit, but for it was worth, I didn't get a full satisfactory journey and I don't know if that many people will.

Traversing the cosmic abyss in pyjamas

[Ar_Pharazon_the_golden · 6/10 · 10 March 2023]

There is a lot I can tolerate in Star Wars. Space wizards, instantaneous communication across light years, etc. I get it, it's not the Arthur Clarke school of science fiction. But when Ezra was in the vacuum of space in his pyjamas (yeah yeah, "jumpsuit") and a bicycle helmet (which he lost for a while), I was shouting at the screen. Granted, the bad guy lived on an asteroid wearing a t shirt, like some kind of disturbing insect Little Prince. It cannot be that hard to have the characters wear space suits once in a while. How hospitable (or existing) can the atmosphere of an asteroid be?

It's a pity because otherwise the space whales were cute, and the message nice despite being too obvious.

A thoughtful episode.

[danielmbyers · 9/10 · 19 August 2018]

While I understand the others reviewers issues about being in space without a proper suit, this is one of the most thoughtful episodes so far in the series.

Ezra's understanding of the space orcas and how all creatures are connected, via the force, shows the growth of his character. While the ep is not critical to the story arc, it is an uplifting story showing the importance of the Jedi mindset.

Beautiful Episode

[Colorscheme · 9/10 · 20 May 2023]

I know the best is yet to come. I know there are two more seasons. Every time I come to IMDb to learn more about these episodes, though, I'm continually shocked by the mediocre scores and use of "filler" in the reviews. My friends, if this is filler to you then you don't understand the beauty of a television series.

Especially in retrospect, after seeing the excitement in reaction videos from people seeing the purrgil in The Mandalorian, I got super excited as soon as I heard the whale song. The visuals, character moments, and actions scenes were fantastic. The purrgil retrieving Ezra's helmet was touching.

Other episodes to come may be the true 10-star entries, but this one for me earns 10-stars for providing the wonder and quiet moments that stick to the ribs and make this series so special.

Star Whales

[A_Kind_Of_CineMagic · 5/10 · 13 October 2020]

This episode goes off into a different kind of fantasy world that is more like mythical magic you find in anime. It is pleasant to look at and has some nice sentiments but it is very different to usual Star Wars so feels a bit jarring.

Transporting two Lasat refugees to a new home the crew find a gas mining operation and giant whale like creatures which live in deep space.

At one point we see Ezra, Kanan and Sabine jumping out of a ship and falling through what looks like space with space whales flying around them. If it is space how do they fall with gravity, how do they breathe with no airtight headgear or clothing? If it isn't space how are asteroids suspended up there and where does the atmosphere begin and end? It really is weird looking and seems silly even within a fantasy setting.

Then we hear the space whales (purgills) supposedly travel through hyperspace which again seems far fetched but to be fair it is inferred this is due to the power of the force. In the movies the force is only explored so far but in the context of force powers that we see in this series which go much further I suppose the purgills powers are not that unreasonable. Not my favourite idea at all though and the people jumpng in what looks like space is more of an issue as it looks wrong and isn't explained.

My rating: 5/10.

In space no one can hear you scream - but you can hear whale song?

[junk-mail-me-here · 1/10 · 12 January 2020]

Space whales. Who cares about the plot or anything else, 5 minutes in the crew are hearing whale song from space creatures that look an awful lot like Earth whales. But THERE IS NO SOUND IN A VACUUM! So incredibly dumb.

This episode kinda drives home the quality of the writing in Rebels. Its terrible. Clone Wars was sooooo much better.

A whale of a dull episode

[Fluke_Skywalker · 5/10 · 15 October 2016]

Plot; Desperate to acquire fuel for the rebel fleet, the crew of the Ghost attempt to infiltrate an Imperial mining operation while also trying to protect the lives of creatures who have a connection to the fuel they seek.

Two words; Space Whales. The uneven second season of Rebels continues with this weak shrug of an episode. I get that not every episode can focus on the big picture, larger story stuff, but these little sidetracks have become tiresome affairs with absolutely no consequence. It would be forgivable if they were more fun and slipped in a little character development for good measure, but these are flat, ham-fisted stories that just creep along with all of the excitement of waiting in line at the grocery store.

Nano-review: eyeroll

[tmcd-3 · 2/10 · 25 February 2016]

The IMDb summary is currently "the crew protects space creatures from the mining operation that threatens the creatures' lives." I love protection of nature and of endangered animals. The creatures here had features that I really like in Earth animals. Nevertheless, (1) this episode hammered the protection theme into dust, (2) they didn't even bother to file the serial numbers off Earth-animal features, and (3) the way the crew came around was cloying. This was an episode built not to entertain, not to interest, not to provoke thought, but to preach, and despite my agreeing with much of the message (or maybe because I agree with it), I found it annoying and low-quality.