2x13 The Call

7.2/10. Ahhhh space whales! (Trek did it! Twice!) This was pretty paint by number Rebels, but in an enjoyable way. I like that we're learning that part of Ezra's force sensitivity includes being particularly attuned to animals. Whether it's the gundarks or lothcats or these purgills, it's interesting to see him develop his force abilities to where he can be on their wavelength.

That said, the whole episode was pretty predictable. We've played the "animal pals" save the day game before with Hera and those bat creatures that thought The Ghost's homing beacon was a mating call. We've played the "attack Empire installation for suppliers and things get hairy" game several times. And we've certainly played the "one character likes something, another character hates it, but then they come around to the good POV" game before.

Still, it's all done well enough. The space whales themselves are well designed and move through the air with an elephantine grace that makes them endearing, even and perhaps especially when Ezra is surfing on them. The action is done well enough with some decent mcguffins. (The whole low on fuel conceit feels like yet another Firefly throwback to "Out of Gas," but it's a much older trope, and it's deployed nicely here.)

Again, there's beauty in the episode, with much of the interactions with the purgills feeling like a grand interstellar ballet, even amid the fire fight. And the reveal that the space whales can travel through space is another one of those details that makes it feel like there's still some mystery and surprise within the Star Wars Universe, even forty years or so after we were first introduced to it. I appreciate the novelty and the grace of the episode, even if it feels a bit inconsequential.