The story reaches its conclusion as the crew of the Ghost make their ultimate stand to fend off the Empire and Thrawn on Lothal.
Tropes in this episode include:
- Acoustic License: The crew is able to hear the cheering of the Lothal citizens while in the Ghost and at a significant altitude. Unless they were flying with the windows open, this would be rather unlikely.
- Always a Bigger Fish: Invoked by Sabine in the epilogue; after Thrawn's defeat and Ezra's disappearance, the rebels of Lothal battened down the hatches and prepared for an Imperial counterattack... which never came, because shortly afterwards, the Battle of Yavin, the destruction of the Death Star and Luke Skywalker's rise to prominence caused the Empire to shift its priorities.
- Ambiguous Situation: Whatever happened with Ezra and Thrawn after the purrgil pulled them into hyperspace is a complete mystery, although Ezra believes he will be coming home someday. Ahsoka and Sabine are shown heading off to find him some time after the Battle of Endor. As of The Mandalorian it is revealed that Thrawn has gone into hiding and is being searched for by both his own allies and Ahsoka, the latter in keeping with her promise to Ezra.
- And This Is for...: Sabine says "For Kanan and Ezra" before blowing up the Imperial dome.
- Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other : The friends variant. When Hondo thinks that Melch is dead, he starts to sincerely mourn him. He stops and pretends to have not been affected when Melch wakes up.
- Babies Ever After: Downplayed a bit. It turns out Hera has been pregnant with Kanan's son for almost half of the latter season, as the epilogue shows her with their child.
- Back for the Finale: Ahsoka returns for a cameo in the series' final scene, evidently having escaped Malachor either before or after the war; she and Sabine, now Ahsoka’s Padawan, set off into the Unknown Regions to locate Ezra and Thrawn.
- Beat Them at Their Own Game: In canon, Thrawn's "super power" is that he studies people's art in order to understand them and develop a strategy they can't cope with. He anticipates their responses and exploits their weaknesses. In this fight, Ezra outplays him and comes up with a strategy Thrawn can't respond to.
- Big "NO!": Palpatine says one when he realizes Ezra intends to reject the chance to be with his family again, wrecking the Emperor's plans.
- Bittersweet Ending: On the sweet side, Lothal is saved and ultimately freed; Zeb returns to Lira San with Kallus treated as one of their own; Hera, Chopper, Rex, and the rest of the cast continue to fight for the Rebel Alliance and survive the events of the Original Trilogy (with an implication that a large chunk of the cast, if not the ''entire'' remaining cast, survived, since Sabine seems relatively happy and omits their fates during the epilogue), and Hera has Kanan's son (which he sadly doesn't get to see). Unfortunately, they could not prevent the threat of the Death Star, nor the destruction of Alderaan (though Rogue One and Luke Skywalker set things right), and Gregor is killed along with a substantial amount of the city's populace. Ezra has also left to unknown places with Thrawn in tow in order to keep his family and people safe, but Ahsoka and Sabine embark on a journey to find him once the Empire is defeated at Jakku and finally bring him home and stop Thrawn from returning.
- Book Ends:
- The last few minutes of the finale start with a shot of a 25-26 years old Sabine looking out from Ezra's old tower at the liberated Lothal, just like how "Spark of Rebellion" opened up with. That is, a shot of Ezra looking out from the tower at Capital City when it was under Imperial control and just before he met the Ghost crew.
- Ezra began the series being awed that he got to be in space, having grown tired of his life on Lothal due to the Empire. At the end, Ezra goes missing in space, but can't wait to return to Lothal, especially since his new family will have liberated it.
- In contrast to "Spark of Rebellion", where Sabine was unwilling to rescue a captured Ezra because she didn't want to risk getting caught or suffer worse by the Empire, especially if Ezra was killed in captivity, Sabine sets out with Ahsoka to look for Ezra and bring him home, even though they have little to go off of and he may very well be dead. (Although Sabine firmly believes Ezra is still alive and waiting for them.)
- Boyish Short Hair: As a 25-26 years old woman, Sabine has cut her hair shorter, similar in style to Ezra's, albeit colored purple.
- Brick Joke: Ezra's final recorded message tells Hera he left a meiloorun in her cabin, hopes it's still her favorite.
- Call-Back:
- Before he was killed, Kanan told Hera that he has to tell her something. Fans initially believed he was going to tell her he loved her, but now it's possible he sensed that she was pregnant and wanted to tell her he knows about their baby.
- Hera seemed strangely concerned that she took so long to tell Kanan that she loved him (at least by what audiences concluded at the time) back in "DUME". It turns out that she was mourning the fact that she took so long to tell him about something else...
- Ahsoka returns after her last appearance in "A World Between Worlds", having promised to find and reunite with Ezra.
- An army of purrgil aid the rebellion for Ezra, making "The Call" an Innocuously Important Episode regarding his connection to them.
- In "Zero Hour", Bendu described Thrawn's defeat as "like many arms surrounding you in a cold embrace." While "cold embrace" doesn't necessarily have the connotation of death that some had assumed, Thrawn's defeat involves him being grabbed by multiple tentacles from a purgill just before he and his ship are yanked into hyperspace.
- After the war, Lothal looks as it did in Ezra's vision in "Legacy".
- Zeb introduces Kallus to Lira San, in its first appearance since "Legends of the Lasat". And Gron and Chava are there to forgive him.
- When Palpatine appears to Ezra in his prequel trilogy era appearance, Ezra scoffs and remarks that they've already met in "A World Between Worlds" and thus Ezra knows what Palpatine really looks like.
- Palpatine once again says "you must choose" to a reckless young Jedi whom he tempts with the promise of saving his loved ones.
- The floating glass shards as Ezra uses the Force had happened before in "Gathering Forces" (when he was using the Darkside and lost control of his desperation to protect his family). But, now, Ezra's fully in control and has succeeded in protecting his family and homeworld.
- Ezra's stance as he traps both Thrawn and the Stormtroopers is exactly the same stance that Kanan used in "Jedi Night" when he contained the explosion and saved the rest of the group. Audiences immediately saw the direct parallel between the two scenes; a powerful Jedi determined to protect their family, even if it costs them their life.
- The Imps get smashed by the Purrgill; the Ghost flies with them.
- Call-Forward: Ezra throwing Palpatine's offer to be reunited with his family back in the Emperor's face, combined with Palpatine's subdued reaction evokes Luke Skywalker spurning Palpatine's offer to take his father's place as the Emperor's apprentice. Ezra's dialogue even has similarities to Luke. In both cases, Palpatine reacts to their refusal by trying to kill them.Ezra Bridger: You're wrong. I have a family. I don't need anything from you.
Palpatine: [seething] Unfortunate. [to his guards] Destroy him!
[...]
Luke Skywalker: You've failed, Your Highness. I am a Jedi, like my father before me.
Palpatine: [furious] So be it, Jedi. If you will not be turned, you will be destroyed! [attacks Luke with Force lightning] - Canon Immigrant: Pellaeon returns in a voice-only cameo, something that was incredibly well-received by fans.
- Character as Himself: Defied. Chopper's voice actor is finally revealed to have been series creator Dave Filoni.
- Charles Atlas Superpower: The Emperor's Royal Guards are somewhat resistant to Ezra's Force push. Since they themselves are not Force-sensitive, their immunity is best described as this.
- Chekhov's Gun: Sabine's lightsaber skills that she had to learn in order to use the Darksaber come in handy when she needs to safely slice open a window using Ezra's lightsaber, along with the implication that she kept his lightsaber as her own for the rest of the war.
- Chekhov's Gunman: "The Call" ends up being an Innocuously Important Episode, the purrgil arrive as The Cavalry, destroying the Imperial ships and then taking Ezra and Thrawn somewhere.
- Continuity Nod:
- In his recording, Ezra jokingly says to Zeb that he can have the top bunk back now that he's gone.
- The rebels use Imperial Protocol 13, the mass evacuation of Imperial forces from an occupied planet, to trap them in the headquarters building in Capital City. The protocol was first namedropped by Mon Mothma in In the Name of the Rebellion, and would later be used on Jedha in Rogue One.
- Crazy Enough to Work:
- Pinned down in the shield generator room and running out of time, Gregor suggests something crazy needs to be done to break the stalemate. Zeb runs with it and jumps from cover to tackle Rukh, which even Gregor thinks is crazy. Kallus is quick to remind Gregor that he suggested it in the first place.
- When Ezra's plan to summon the purrgill is revealed, Wolffe comments that it's "got Ezra written all over it." Vizago cheerfully adds, "That's why it's going to work!"
- Crazy-Prepared: Ezra left Mart with special instructions in case Thrawn came back before their plan was executed. Fly into high orbit and signal on frequency zero to summon the Purrgil.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: Zeb pins Rukh to one of the shield generator relays and leaves him to die. It's not an immediate or painless death either thanks to a Scream Discretion Shot and seeing Zeb's disturbed face as he watches Rukh be electrocuted to death.
- Dead Man Writing: Ezra left a final recording for the crew, in case he wouldn't make it back.
- Defiant to the End: Even when caught in the grasp of the purrgill, Thrawn manages to momentarily break out and shoots Ezra in the shoulder. Not like it did him any good, though.
- Didn't See That Coming: For all his tactical and strategic savviness due to his uncanny abilities of inductive reasoning, Thrawn simply can't compare to the true clairvoyance powers of a practiced Force adept with a past as a wily Satisfied Street Rat, as Ezra resoundingly demonstrated. It's why Ezra summoning the Purrgil was such an effective checkmate move against Thrawn. No way Thrawn could've known about the purrgil. Even if he'd known about their existence, he could never have guessed that Ezra would be able to summon them to take part in the battle.
- Didn't Think This Through: As Zeb pointed out, the plan to trap all the Imperial forces in the dome meant that the Ghost crew was trapped in the dome with them.
- Distant Finale: In contrast to the rest of the series which acts as a prequel, the very final scene is set after the events of the Original Trilogy, showing that the Ghost crew's efforts to liberate Lothal weren't in vain. It also shows that Hera had Kanan's child after his death, Zeb took Kallus back to his homeworld as a member of his family and Sabine stayed behind on Lothal (living in Ezra's old tower) to ensure its safety in memory of Ezra.
- Dramatic Irony: Thrawn claimed in the last episode that the Jedi had power, but lacked the vision to wield it properly. Ezra has in fact foreseen every outcome of this battle and planned contingencies accordingly, including having Mart call in the purrgil in case Thrawn arrived ahead of schedule.
- Evil Is Petty: A very rare instance of Thrawn invoking this trope. He orders a ceasefire when Ezra agrees to turn himself in, but orders the whole city destroyed anyway after he has him in custody.
- Exact Words: "I see your defeat. Like many arms surrounding you in a cold embrace." Turns out Bendu meant that literally.
- Faux Affably Evil: Naturally, the Emperor puts on his "kind old man" persona for Ezra, but he ups his game by masking himself with his Clone Wars-era appearance.
- Face Death with Dignity: Ryder offers Pryce a chance to defect, but she refuses, even though she's going to be left on the command center as it explodes. After the rebels have escaped, she calmly walks up to the viewport and waits for the end. It is also possible she clung to the belief that the Rebellion would ultimately fail and chose to die on her own terms rather than face the Empire's wrath for her failure to keep Lothal subjugated.
- The Fellowship Has Ended: After Kanan's death and Ezra's disappearance into hyperspace after the final battle for Lothal, Sabine and Ahsoka journey together to find him after the war has truly ended while Hera continues to fight for the Rebel Alliance along with Zeb, Chopper, Rex and Kallus. Hera also bears Kanan's child, who takes on the title of Spectre 7.
- The Final Temptation: Just as he tempted Anakin that his wife can be saved from death, Palpatine gives Ezra the chance for happiness by living in a reality where his parents are alive. Unlike the former, which was to tempt Anakin to the Dark Side, this was more of a means to quietly get rid of the remaining Jedi threat and gain access to the World Between Worlds. Ezra rejects the offer.
- Fire-Forged Friends: Kallus and Zeb, originally bitter enemies, wind up at the end of the series as close friends.
- A Form You Are Comfortable With: Palpatine projects a hologram of his younger, unscarred self when he speaks to Ezra.
- Foreshadowing: While Ezra's message seems like Dead Man Writing, especially while mentioning his sacrifice is "the only way", his tone suggests he's not actually planning on dying. He even finishes his recording with "I can't wait to come home", foreshadowing the reveal that he's simply lost in space, still alive and waiting to be found.
- Giant Space Flea from Nowhere: Befitting his unstoppable badassness, the only way Thrawn could lose is if the Rebels called up frickin star-whales to teleport him to the other side of the galaxy.
- Glamour Failure: Palpatine's holo-image is that of his pre-Emperor self, presumably to help play up the 'kind old man' act. However, when Ezra destroys the remnants of the Lothal temple, the hologram falters and eventually switches to Palpatine's true self.
- Going Down with the Ship: With her career no doubt in tatters and everything she's built on Lothal going down in flames, Pryce refuses the chance to flee with the rebels and remains on the command center as it self-destructs.
- Grand Finale: For Star Wars: Rebels, setting in motion the next chapter that is Rogue One.
- He's Just Hiding: An In-Universe case of this with Ezra, as Sabine believes Ezra is somewhere out there in the galaxy.
- I Choose to Stay:
- Pryce, despite being given the chance to go with the rebels and live another day, rejects Azadi's offer out of stubbornness and remains on the dome's bridge to die among the rest of the Imperials.
- Sabine chooses to stay on Lothal, only leaving after the end of the war when Ahsoka shows up with the goal to find Ezra.
- I Die Free: A variation. After being born and bred for the Clone Wars, Gregor's only thought when dying is gratitude for the opportunity to fight for a cause he actually chose to believe in.
- Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy: Par for the course, the troopers on the Chimaera can't hit Ezra in the temple chamber, even when he's suspended and restrained in midair directly in front of them by the Emperor's Royal Guard!
-
Inferred Holocaust: The Rebels free Lothal by recalling and trapping the entire Imperial garrison in their headquarters building, launching it into the air and detonating its reactor, killing who knows how many troopers and officers trapped aboard. Not to mention the crews of Thrawn's fleet of Star Destroyers (tens of thousands of men per ship) who are killed offscreen by the purrgils (although they may have just been towed to parts unknown like the Chimera). - Instantly Proven Wrong: Thrawn gets word of several unidentified objects approaching the surface and says the blockade will stop them. The lieutenant checks and then says the objects destroyed the blockade.
- It Has Been an Honor: Gregor's last words to Rex:Gregor: It was an honor to serve with you, Rex. It was an honor to fight with you, for something we chose to believe in.
- I Shall Return: The recording Ezra leaves for the crew ends with him saying he can't wait to come home, though it seems he doesn't want to be found just yet. Then inverted, as Sabine and Ahsoka have to seek him out.
- I Will Find You: Ahsoka and Sabine leave to look for Ezra after the end of the war, firmly believing Ezra is still out there waiting for them.
- Last Breath Bullet: Downplayed. After Gregor and Kallus gun down the Death Troopers guarding the shield generator, one of them gets back up and shoots Gregor in the chest. The trooper survives long enough to be thrown to his death, and Gregor survives long enough for he and Rex to exchange a final goodbye.
- Light Is Not Good: Palpatine shows up as a heavily edited hologram, showing himself as he was before his Force use scarred him, wearing long white robes.
- Manly Tears: Ezra sheds a few right before turning down Palpatine's offer.
- Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: It's strongly implied that the Lothal vision of Ezra's family is an illusion by Palpatine, but the fact that his parents tell him they love him and agree with his decision implies that Palpatine wasn't just trying to corrupt Ezra, but was actually hoping to take the Temple's Time-Warping powers for himself.
- Mythology Gag:
- Thrawn namedrops Captain Pellaeon... who is then attacked by a purrgil on the other end of the comm.
- Hera and Kanan's son is named Jacen, the same name given to Han and Leia's firstborn son in Legends.
- No Endor Holocaust: While Sabine deliberately waits to self-destruct the dome over the ocean, an explosion from a structure of that size would cause severe damage to the local ecosystem. And like the Trope Namer, everything is perfectly fine at the end.
- No-Sell: Palpatine calls in the Royal Guard to deal with Ezra. Specially trained and armed against Jedi, they withstand his Jedi powers and respond with special tactics of their own.
- Not So Stoic:
- Thrawn briefly panics when Rukh stops answering his calls (due to being busy, you know, dying). He quickly reverts to his more-usual Tranquil Fury after Zeb mocks Rukh's death, though.
- He's also clearly terrified when the purrgil grab him and pull his fleet into hyperspace.
- Offscreen Moment of Awesome: Besides the beginning with him burying the Royal Guard in a rockslide and the very end when we see him take out the Death Troopers, Ezra getting to Thrawn is entirely offscreen. The trail of bodies behind him heavily implies he fought his way through the entire ship.
- Oh, Crap!: Hera and Sabine when they realize that the Purgil are about to drag the Star Destroyer into hyperspace... with Ezra onboard.
- Outside-Context Problem: This is ultimately how Thrawn is defeated. He had no way of knowing about Ezra's ability to connect with animals, as he had no cause to use it during his conflict with Thrawn. So a sudden purrgil assault was something he never even dreamed could be possible.
- Praetorian Guard: We find out the Emperor has ninja variants of his Royal Guard, wielding staves that immobilize their opponents.
- Put on a Bus: The events of the episode take both Thrawn and Ezra out of the Galactic Civil War, ironically just as it was about to heat up.
- "Ray of Hope" Ending: Though Ezra has been missing for years, the cast has been continuing the good fight and survive the events of the civil war. The series closes with Sabine joining Ahsoka on a journey to search for Ezra.
- Ramming Always Works: The purrgil ram their foes and smash right through them. As Hera said in their introduction, they are tough enough to damage starships. The big ones tear apart Star Destroyers with ease.
- Redemption Rejection: Ryder offers Pryce a chance to defect, but she'd rather die in the command center (which will be much more instantaneous than being torn apart by loth-wolves) than betray the Empire.
- Rule of Symbolism:
- The skies of Lothal begin to clear up and become blue as the Imperial Dome lifts off.
- Ezra entrusts Sabine to take care of Lothal and look for him, and he leaves his lightsaber behind, which she takes up. "This lightsaber is your life," after all.
- Scream Discretion Shot: We only hear Rukh's screams as he is electrocuted to death by the shield's power generator.
- Sequel Hook: Sabine and Ahsoka head off in search of Ezra after the Battle of Endor.
- Shout-Out:
- Ahsoka's outfit is reminiscent of Gandalf the White in The Lord of the Rings.
- Pryce dies in a manner similar to Beckett in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, both calmly walking through the remnants of the symbol of their empire's power as it explodes around them, before finally being engulfed in flames. On the other hand, Pryce is fully conscious of her choice while Beckett is unresponsive and clearly in shock.
- An evil Emperor who appears in a "friendly light" image tries to tempt someone who fought for a Rebellion with promises of something they desire. Sound familiar? note
- Someone to Remember Him By: In the present day, Hera is revealed to be pregnant with Kanan's son. The Time Skip shows their child at around an elementary age.
- Special Edition Title: The episode closes with "Binary Sunset" playing, with the credits playing the main theme just like the movies.
- Stunned Silence: No one expected Ezra's plan to summon the purrgil. After Ezra and Thrawn's disappearance, the rebels, and Governor Pryce, were absolutely flabbergasted over what has just happened.
- Subtext: In his final message, Ezra tells Hera that he left a meiloorun in her cabin and tells Zeb that he can have the top bunk back "...for now." Given that we saw Hera put her hand on her womb earlier and that the Distant Finale shows that Hera had Jacen at some point after liberating Lothal, it's implied that Ezra knew that Hera was pregnant at the time — leaving a meiloorun was a nod towards hunger pangs and Zeb may have to share his room with Jacen later.
- Summon Bigger Fish: As a backup in case Thrawn returns before they can completely eliminate the ground forces on Lothal, Ezra has Mart send a signal which calls the purrgil. Turns out there's a lot more of them and some a lot bigger.
- Swirling Dust: When Ezra is protecting the bridge, glass shards float around him.
- Take Up My Sword: Ezra's last words (not counting his recording) to the rest of the crew are entrusting Lothal to them, and specifically telling Sabine that he's counting on her. Also applies literally, as Sabine inherits Ezra's lightsaber after he disappears.
- Taking You with Me:
- Gregor gets shot, but throws the shooter to his death before succumbing.
- When Thrawn sees that Ezra has summoned the purrgil, he says that he and Ezra will share the same fate. Unfortunately for Thrawn, that was exactly Ezra's plan.Thrawn: Whatever happens next... happens to both of us.
Ezra: That's the idea.
- Time Skip: The epilogue takes place after the events of the Original Trilogy.
- Threat Backfire: Ryder asks Gov. Pryce to come with them. This won't end well...Pryce: I serve the Empire. To the end.
Ryder: So... not much longer then. - Tranquil Fury:
- Thrawn is clearly furious at the curveball Ezra threw by summoning the purrgil, but he keeps his composure and makes sure he'll at least bring down Ezra with him.
- Also the Emperor's reaction when Ezra throws Palpatine's offer to be reunited with his family back in his face.Ezra: You're wrong. I have a family. I don't need anything from you.
Palpatine: Unfortunate. [to his guards] Destroy him.
- The Unfought: The Emperor may be the Big Bad, but Ezra never gets to actually fight him due to him being far away at Coruscant. In lieu of a battle, Ezra's confrontation with Palpatine is treated as more a final test of character.
- Unspoken Plan Guarantee:
- Ezra entrusted the purrgil backup plan solely to Mart and Mart refuses to share the details because it sounds so unbelievable. So of course it works.Ezra: Pretty good, huh?
Sabine: Well, you could've told the rest of us!
Ezra: I wanted it to be a surprise. - Up to eleven. Ezra and Sabine look at each other. He asks permission to escape from his friends, she grants permission. She distracts Phoenix Squad so Ezra can surrender himself. He buys them time to raise the planetary shield, they buy him time to Indy Ploy out the ass.
- Ezra entrusted the purrgil backup plan solely to Mart and Mart refuses to share the details because it sounds so unbelievable. So of course it works.
- Wham Line: Oh crap, Thrawn delivers.Thrawn: Who deserves what is irrelevant. What matters is who has power. But that is something the Jedi won't teach you. So I'll take you to someone who will. [cut] My emperor, I have brought you Ezra Bridger.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: The fates of the other rebels besides the Ghost crew (Ketsu, Mart, Ryder, and (for a given definition of "rebel") Vizago, Hondo, and Melch) are not elaborated on during Sabine's epilogue speech. We find out in Ahsoka that Ryder remains the governor of Lothal.
- "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue: The final scene shows what became of the members of the Ghost crew following the end of the Empire.
- Xanatos Speed Chess: Despite failing to reach the Lothal Temple in "A World Between Worlds", Palpatine had part of the temple disassembled and relocated, giving him a chance to manipulate Ezra into helping him wield it.
- You Wouldn't Believe Me If I Told You: When Mart tells Wolffe about Ezra's plan, he refuses to mention the purrgil because Wolffe wouldn't believe him. Once it happens, Wolffe has to concede the point.
- Ezra: And remember — the Force will be with you. Always.
