History Recap / StarWarsRebelsS1E11CallToAction

* BreakingTheFourthWall: Tarkin looks right ''at'' the viewer as The Inquisitor beheads Aresko and Grint.

** Ezra uses his animal control ability to make a loth-cat sabotage the probe droid, which he learned how to do in the "Empire Day"/"Gathering Forces" two-parter.

** Like "Spark of Rebellion", Hera refuses to leave Kanan behind even if it's dangerous. Unlike "Spark of Rebellion", she's left without a choice.
* CantStopTheSignal: After hijacking an Imperial comm tower, the crew has [[HopeBringer Ezra]] give a RousingSpeech to Lothal (and several other neighboring systems; it's a SubspaceAnsible tower). After being unable to enter the control room to pull the plug, Tarkin orders the tower demolished immediately... but it's too late. The missiles hit right as Ezra finishes the broadcast.

** Tarkin mentions having worked with Jedi, which was shown in ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'' a few times. He didn't much like them then, either.
** Tarkin tells Kanan, "You do not know what it takes to win a war, but I do." One of Tarkin's complaints in his first ''Clone Wars'' appearance was that the Jedi were ill-suited to leading a galactic war.

* FreezeFrameBonus: It's incredibly brief, but the lightsaber starts to cut into Aresko and Grint's necks just before the shot switches to Kallus's reaction. Grint can even be seen wincing.

--> '''Hera''': No. It. Isn't.
* RealityEnsues: You didn't think the local garrison's repeated failings to stamp out the Rebels wouldn't go unnoticed by Imperial High Command, did you?

* AmbiguousSituation: Ezra openly wonders if his message actually inspired anyone to fight -- while people on Lothal are shown to react, the reactions of people on other nearby systems are not seen. It's made more ambiguous by the following episode, which seemingly shows life on Lothal proceeding as usual, only with a larger Imperial presence in the streets.

%%* DangerouslyGenreSavvy: Tarkin.

* BreakingTheFourthWall: Tarkington looks right ''at'' the viewer as The Inquisitor beheads Aresko and Grint.

!!Tropes:

* FreezeFrameBonus: It's incredibly brief, but the lightsaber starts to cut into Aresko and Grint's necks just before the shot switches to Kallus's reaction.

* AmbiguousSituation: Ezra openly wonders if his message actually inspired anyone to fight - while people on Lothal are shown to react, the reactions of people on other nearby systems are not seen. It's made more ambiguous by the following episode, which seemingly shows life on Lothal proceeding as usual, only with a larger Imperial presence in the streets.
* BadBoss: One of Tarkin's first acts on Lothal is having The Inquisitor kill Aresko and Grint for their repeated failures in catching the rebels.

* DarkReprise: When Kanan and Ezra are discussing sacrifice on the ''Ghost'''s ramp, the scene ends with "Binary Sunset". When Ezra leaves Kanan behind, a few bars of it play just before the door closes.

* ShooOutTheClowns: Tarkin's first order upon arriving on Lothal? [[YouHaveFailedMe Exec]][[OffWithHisHead ute]] [[GoldfishPoopGang the incompetent comic relief villains]].

* GenreSavvy: Sabine lampshades that their plans rarely go as planned, and this time is no exception.

* TheBadGuyWins: The bad guys capture Kanan, and the Empire destroys the communications tower when they realize it's been hijacked, preventing the crew from sending out anything more than a short message of hope, but it doesn't seem like anyone will rally or respond to it.

* CantStopTheSignal: After hijacking an Imperial comm tower, the crew has [[HopeBringer Ezra]] give a RousingSpeech to Lothal (and several other neighboring systems; it's a SubspaceAnsible tower). After being unable to enter the control room to pull the plug, Tarkin orders the tower demolished immediately... but it's too late. The missiles hit right as Ezra finishes the broadcast. But unfortunately, it doesn't seem like anyone will respond to it.

* TheBadGuyWins: The bad guys capture Kanan, and the Empire destroys the communications tower when they realize it's been hijacked, preventing the crew from sending out anything more than a short message of hope.

* CantStopTheSignal: After hijacking an Imperial comm tower, the crew has [[HopeBringer Ezra]] give a RousingSpeech to Lothal (and several other neighboring systems; it's a SubspaceAnsible tower). After being unable to enter the control room to pull the plug, Tarkin orders the tower demolished immediately... but it's too late. The missiles hit right as Ezra finishes the broadcast.

* TheBadGuyWins: The bad guys capture Kanan, and the Empire destroys the communications tower as the crew of the Ghost try to broadcast a message to all of Lothal. Even though the message does get out, it doesn't seem like anyone will respond to it.

* CantStopTheSignal: After hijacking an Imperial comm tower, the crew has [[HopeBringer Ezra]] give a RousingSpeech to Lothal (and several other neighboring systems; it's a SubspaceAnsible tower). After being unable to enter the control room to pull the plug, Tarkin orders the tower demolished immediately... but it's too late. The charges blow right as Ezra finishes the broadcast.

* DangerouslyGenreSavvy: Tarkin.

* EstablishingCharacterMoment: For newcomers to the Star Wars universe, this episode delivers a perfect introduction for Grand Moff Tarkin, who after walking off his shuttle delivers an epic TheReasonYouSuckSpeech to Minister Tua, Agent Kallus and the freaking ''Inquisitor''. Then in his next scene, he has Aresko and Grint executed for their latest failure in apprehending the Rebels.
* FreezeFrameBonus: It's incredibly brief, but the lightsaber starts to cut into Aresko's and Grint's necks just before the shot switches to Kallus's reaction.

* ShoutOut: An execution much like this one, ordered by a menacing elderly general to the dismay of both his CoDragons - a ruthless male and a more benevolent female subordinate, takes place in [[WesternAnimation/TronUprising another sci-fi dystopian Disney show]].

* WhamEpisode: Kanan is captured, and the crew broadcasts a message to all of Lothal - which is the biggest impact on the Empire that they've left thus far.

* CantStopTheSignal: After hijacking an Imperial comm tower, the crew has [[HopeBringer Ezra]] give a RousingSpeech to Lothal (and several other neighboring systems, it's a SubspaceAnsible tower). After being unable to enter the control room to pull the plug, Tarkin orders the tower demolished immediately... but it's too late. The charges blow right as Ezra finishes the broadcast. But unfortunately, it doesn't seem like anyone will respond to it.

* CantStopTheSignal: After hijacking an Imperial comm tower, the crew has [[HopeBringer Ezra]] give a RousingSpeech to Lothal (and several other neighboring systems, it's a SubspaceAnsible tower). After being unable to enter the control room to pull the plug, Tarkin orders the tower demolished immediately... but it's too late. The charges blow right as Ezra finishes the broadcast.

** Or he might be stating the facts. Stun bolts do exist in this universe, and might even be more effective at getting through armor.

* NoMacGuffinNoWinner: When he learns that the rebels have hijacked the communications tower, Tarkin has the entire thing leveled rather than try to undo the damage. The rebels still get their message out, however.

* TheBadGuyWins

* BadBoss: One of Tarkin's first acts on Lothal is killing Aresko and Grint for their repeated failures in catching the rebels.

* FreezeFrameBonus: It's incredibly brief, but the lightsaber starts to cut into Aresko's and Grint's necks just before the shot switches to Kallus' reaction.

* ShooOutTheClowns: Tarkin's first order upon arriving on Lothal? [[YouHaveFailedMe Execute]] [[GoldfishPoopGang the incompetent comic relief villains]].

* BadBoss: One of Tarkin's first acts in Lothal is killing Aresko and Grint for their repeated failures in catching the rebels.

* MythologyGag: Tarkins arrival in Lothal has his shuttle escorted by a pair of TIE fighters like the beginning of ReturnOfTheJedi, and the troops waiting for him in the hanger are arranged in almost the same way as Emperor's arrival at the second Death Star.

* BadBoss: One of Tarkins first acts in Lothal is killing Aresko and Grint for their repeated failures in catching the rebels.

* RousingSpeech:
** Ezra gives one using the hijacked Imperial communications tower. At the very least, everyone on Lothal heard it. It's said to have enough range to reach several systems.
*** Interestingly, he seems to think that it didn't have any effect. Given that the next two episodes are called "Rebel Resolve" and "Fire Across the Galaxy", it's pretty apparent that it ''did''.