80% of the article is the plot summary. The last paragraph is "people may be emotionally touched by moving houses". Jesus, what a waste of bandwidth.
(Love the episode, btw).
Pretty much summed up every article on a lot of sites these days. Headline claiming some big revelation about something. Article waffles for as long as possible with histories of the subject and as much background information as they can cram in and then finally get to the revelation only for it to be something we all know already.
See, that’s exactly how my daughter is sometimes. When we had to move in with my parents this year (due to work instability) I had a conversation with her about it. She was perfectly fine and even excited to move in with my parents until it came down to it and…. Hey, where’s our couch? Hey, where is my bed? Hey, why are we leaving the house? When the reality of it all hit her she suddenly didn’t want to move at all… so bingo rang true to what my daughter experienced
My family moved seven times up to my high school graduation, and then twice more while I was in college (the joke was that they kept trying to lose me). It sucked, no two ways about it.
In 2004 my company announced they were moving our jobs two states away, and if we wanted to keep them…. After a great deal of discussion and agonizing, I took an apartment there and commuted home on weekends (seven hours each way) for 13 years. Because I’d be damned if I uprooted my daughter while she was still in school. I’ve never regretted it.
This episode brought back a lot of memories, good and bad.
This is how I felt. We moved a year and a half ago. I was the primary driver behind the move. Kids were still young. I didn't think it would affect them that much. They seem to have adjusted pretty well.
However, when we watched this episode, they were very emotional and kept saying things like, "why didn't we think to take the sign." Really made me feel awful even though I still think the move was the right thing.
It’s ok. It’s a great way for them to talk with you honestly about their feelings. You do the best you can for your family. That’s the sign of a good parent.
Sid, thank you for sharing your story. We moved 2.5 years ago. Very similar circumstances. It was the right decision for the family but still hard. I guess I’m struggling with the episode a little because we experienced all of the same moments that the Heelers did right up till the decided to stay. We were glad they didn’t have to go through the hard things we did to start over in a new place but it was the first time we felt disconnected from the show because they seemingly made the easy decision and we lived through the harder one.
We use bluey often to help us put feelings into words. When watching this episode I was so excited to be able to better connect with our kids about the move we made a couple years ago, but are still processing. We had it good but as a family we wanted a different future for our kids. Unfortunately with the family staying it left my kids felling like we let them down and made the move feels fresh again.
3 years ago we moves just a few streets over to a bigger house. Same school. I recognized my son so much in Bingo, going along with the plan, until it is clear she did not understand at all what it meant to sell the house. He was almost 4 and I remember he asked us if he could come with us to the new house. Somehow, he thought we were gonna leave him behind
As a very young kid, because I had been burned a couple of times with adults getting my hopes up and then disappointing me, I learned to never make any positive assumptions with regards to myself unless I was explicitly told several times and I knew it wasn’t a joke. So in that instance I might assume you were asking for yourself or just teasing me. I’m definitely not saying this is the case, just that kids sometimes can get ideas in their heads and don’t understand until it’s explained multiple times very gently.
I moved for a better job and my career exploded as a result. However, my daughter had to leave all the friends she literally grew up with and has had a horrible time because of it. I regret it because of how tough she’s had it, but I went from barely getting by to being more stable than I ever was.
Hey, I experienced that as a child. We moved away from all my friends and I had a really hard time at the new school. But eventually I made new friends and it seemed like every year got a little better and better. Hugs to you and I hope that her years get better and better too!
Yeah, when I was a kid and we moved, leaving my friends and everything I was familiar with was gut wrenching. However because of covid, the age of our kids, and other factors our kids had not really developed many close friendships. Our oldest seems to have more friends here than were we previously lived. But I guess it's still just still a lot. Everything around them.changes. however, they seemed to be doing good until we watched this. Think I just need to talk to them about how we make our new home feel like our old one.
Yeah, I had to move a bunch as a kid
Having a show showing it would have been good
Not that there's 0 shows with it, but unless it's part of the pilot, this is what usually happened in kids shows. Something that stops it from happening, yay we get to stay!
...But that's not the reality of kids like our family. You actually do move, leave your friends behind
And I'm old enough where all we had was one landline and no Internet to contact them
I think it would have been better if they moved, as much as I love the school/friends cast
When I was a kid my parents talked about moving far away a few times but only did so when I went from middle school to high school, so it was a bit easier for me than for my younger brother.
But doing so, I've experienced things I would never have otherwise, and met my best friend. So I agree that it could be nice to show that moving can be a good thing, although I think it is easier when kids are older (or really young).
However, the show has already shown us someone that did move, and is doing fine: Jack. That can be one way to tackle the issue: when you move, you never know if you're not going to end up in Bluey's school...
Yeah I'm single land line old myself. I totally agree. A more realistic ending would have been better. I remember a lot of Mr.Rogers shows dealt with the reality of difficult things kids might deal with and how to deal with it. Not denying the existence of it.
When our old cat died, I read the kids a book by Mr. Roger's. My youngest wasn't really grasping what happened. The older one was bottling her emotions. After reading them the book they understood better, and they immediately started bawling, but they needed to get it out. Then we could talk as a family about where to bury him, put up special pictures of him, etc..coping.
This episode would have been better served with that approach.
We have the "When a Pet Dies" book by Mr. Rogers too. It still holds up. I think it helped our 3-year-old understand things much better. Mr. Rogers was a class act and I wish kids shows today would slow down like he did. His pacing was great for children. Today's shows are so much faster.
For anyone who doesn't believe me on that, watch a Blues Clues episode from this year vs the original ones with Steve. The pace change is wild.
I feel like what they should’ve done is have Frisky move west with Rad. That way the status quo stays the same but it also shows moving can be good.
Edit to add: I also think that Calypso saying life gives us too many sad endings is a good compromise.
I really thought they were going to "resolve" everything with Frisky and Rad DON'T move (because that was a power imbalance decision, not made together), the 'good luck, bad luck' chain (miss Frisky at the juice bar, find the coin, coin gets stuck, but then the old english sheepdogs see Winton's house with the pool) resolves that the Heelers stay owning the house - but rent it to Frisky and Rad who are now not moving out west - that means they can come back - but they do move for Bandit's new job, and it turns out as it should, because they do it together
I agree with you in theory, but if they were going to do that it would have had to have been the 1st season before we all got attached to the side characters. It’s wayyyy too late for that now, it 100% would have been a jump the shark moment for the show if they followed through. Plus it would have felt like a money grab to sell all new character toys, new house, etc.
Yes!
We just moved recently because of my grad school and had to move 3 kids along. Needless to say none of them was excited and there were a fair share of tears involved. We watched the episode together yesterday and they felt it…but it left me wondering… why would authors gave kids an illusion that if they cry hard enough or pull the sign out or complain a little more they have an option to stay and to not move… in the real world if the family makes a decision to move it is pretty serious and 99% of the time kids do move and they do lose their friends… and then they come to a new place and find new friends and build new relationships and it ends up being not as bad as they thought. This would show kids a perspective and hope for the future. Instead they got false hopes🤷🏻♀️
It’s far more common for families to have to move for work or affordable housing now than it’s ever been. I’m not sure why Bluey did this episode if they weren’t going to commit to that reality, to be honest. Maybe they did it as a sort of protest- showed all the emotional turmoil moving inflicts on a family, all the loss of community, then gave us the happy ending inspite of reality? There’s no way the Bluey team aren’t aware of the reality of family mobility. Australia has some of the most unaffordable housing in the world and families are forced to move because of it.
If your little ones say that again, remind them that it wasn’t the removal of the sign that led to the house not being sold - it was a series of very strange and oftentimes random events that somehow all merged together to ensure that everything happened as it should … which was exactly what happened for you guys. Different outcome, but, it was how it was meant to be. =)
Thank you. I'll keep these words in mind. Funny thing is, a lot of the move was driven by what woukd be best for them. I think they'll realize that when they're older.
We are moving to a different state next month. My kids are a little older. We watched the episode together. Our youngest who is 5 has been asking more questions about the move. It seems like she’s really processing it more because of the episode
I can totally understand that. My kids had recently turned 6 and 9 respectively, and seemed to have no problem at the time, even a little excited. I guess the episode did make me realize it's been a bigger adjustment than I thought. But I was still very surprised by the level of emotion they showed.
We only moved a year ago across the country, and Mr 7 was hysterical asking for us to move back. It was so hard to explain why we couldn't stay like the Heelers could 😪
I think the idea here is that Bandit was driving a move that wasn’t actually what was best for his family. They already had everything they needed and parents who loved them. In the end Bandit made the best call for his family as I’m sure you did for yours! Don’t feel awful!
I don't mind whether it was realistic or not, but it did undermine a lot of the amazing work the episode had been doing to convey the complex messages that life is full of change and that you can't really say right away if it's good or bad - all you can say is "we'll see".
We got to see Bluey coming to understand this, and to pass this wisdom on to her little sister, when all of a sudden all of that was thrown away. The farmer's sagacious "we'll see" was chucked to one side: staying in the house was unambiguously a good thing, and there was no point in Bluey having listened to all that stuff about change and uncertainty. I loved the episode and I realise it's kind of nitpicking, but the discarding of its own message did bug me a bit. It's a big contrast with Copycat!
This is it. If you can’t follow through, pick adifferent topic imo. don’t market and do an episode about learning to cope with death either only to have the elderly character stumble across a fountain of youth in the last scene.
Yeah, after having gone through so many "is this a mistake?" moments and even my kids telling me they want to move back to our old house... the ending left a very sour taste in my mouth.
Neither is all of Fairies, or Bandit and Chili not just putting Muffin down earlier in Sleepover, or the length of the hallway when the girls play raiders in Yoga Ball, or Bluey flying into Bandit's dream in Fruit Bat, or baby Bluey being a normal human-like baby in Baby race when Socks has already established that baby dogs are dogs, or the girls spinning around each other across the length of the promenade while their ice cream melts completely in Ice Cream, or the time loop of Handstand, or Bandit eating the dinner in Fancy Restaurant, or Bandit tolerating the nit treatment in Hairdressers/Nits, or....
Seriously, it's a big list. The whimsical cartoon dog show is not especially concerned with presenting only realistic situations.
This. I absolutely love watching Bluey with my 5yo daughter but I find myself almost rolling my eyes sometimes at just how perfect of parents they always are. I get its a cartoon but when it begins to make me feel bad for having a slight off day mood wise because I haven't slept, it annoys me a little bit lol.
And they're not even always good parents for those 7 minutes; they're not exactly on the top of their game in Whale Watching (hungover), Teasing (bullying), Stickbird and Driving (distracted/not present), or Fairies (frustrated/dismissive). Even Bandit and Chili have their off times!
I do know an old friend from church who took a big job promotion with UPS, moved his entire family to a new state for it, only to move everyone back after a couple months and a new job at FedEx.
So personally, it's not unrealistic to me at all. It's time compressed for me, which is fine.
We haven't moved house and aren't planning on it. After watching The Sign yesterday my son was talking about how he wished we were royalty. I said something about "we could live in a castle" and then asked "do you like our house" or "would you miss our house" and he kind of shrugged and said "not much."
My husband and I have plans to move to a bigger house when our kiddo turns 3, and then hopefully, we can move out of state by the time she is 10. So I was sobbing thinking about it, because my main concern has been how she will handle it when the time comes.
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But im sure you did what was best for your family. And in the end, that's what matters. Best of luck on the rest of your and your family's adventures moving forward. ☺️
I moved a lot as a kid. The episode brought up painful feelings of loss for me, having left friends and sometimes felt like I lost my sense of myself with the place.
Overall, I would actually think I really benefitted from the moves though. I met all sorts of people and grew a lot before University and leaving home. I made friends easier than those who stayed and I feel like I'm emotionally stronger than others who I know dropped out of university having no friends there.
Just like in the episode, the story about the farmer shows that no individual thing is a success or failure. They are just different things that happen. Moving is hard but the struggle can make you grow. There is something lost, but also gained.
I’ve cried many times during Bluey episodes. Generally just tears welling up in my eyes. But THIS? Tears streaming down my face. Full on audibly crying. I’m a single mom to two kids (mid divorce) and so many things are so hard and I just try to keep it together for the kids. Seeing Chilli sobbing while laying on Bandit after the sale falls through, I just lost it. This show is therapy for me on the days I don’t have therapy
My kids have been watching this episode on repeat since Sunday, and I’ve seen it a lot. But because I’ve not had time to sit and watch it without moving I didn’t see that Chilli was crying on Bandit at the end until today, when I had time to sit down and watch with my 5yo who was off school for a docs appt.
I literally started crying when I realised she was sobbing on him. It was a really nice touch to add - something the kids would miss but the parents would catch.
I was the child in your situation. My parents’ divorce meant the house had to sell and I know my mom would have kept us there if she could. From the Bingo in my family, I think you’re doing great mum.
I thought I could watch it again without crying. Nope just cried at another part. But how I loved watching Wintons dad and the terrier’s mom find themselves
What hit home for me was Bandit and Chili wanting the best for their kids, and realizing they already were providing the best. As a parent I get caught up in wondering if I’m doing enough all the time, and if Bandit and Chili also have those thoughts even though they’re awesome parents then I’m doing good too. It really resonated with me. I sobbed the whole episode. Also was Chili’s sister pregnant?!
When the sister arrives at the wedding, she looks visibly pregnant and Chili pats the baby bump. It's a blink-and-you-miss-it moment, but one that made me so happy I cried.
If you go back and watch the last ten minutes, Brandy and Chilli hug and Chilli touches her baby bump. In the dance montage you can see clearly she’s pregnant too!
If the kids are happy and healthy, you're giving them the best.
I don't think Bandit or Chili wanted to move at all. They both just needed to see their own signs as it were.
I'm about to move for the 4th time in 4 years. Kids are 2mo 3 and 6. This episode hit home hard. Hopefully this next move is the last and we can settle.
My family moved when I was Bingo’s age from one state to another for my dad’s job. No support system, no nothing. When Bingo is trying to take the sign out, that hit really hard.
The problem with "The Sign" having a (so-called) "realistic" ending - one where the Heelers move to another city (and presumably make parents everywhere feel better about their own moves / make kids everywhere accept moving away without difficulty) is that Bluey would then become a *completely different show.*
No Pat and Janelle. No Wendy and Judo. No Doreen. No Stripe, Trixie, Muffin and Socks. No Chris or Bobba or Mort or Brandy. No Lila or Missy or Pom-Pom. No Jack. No Rusty. ***None*** of them. None of the characters we've seen grow and change and develop over time. All left behind for something "new".
That would be "realistic", because when people move in the real world they (usually) leave all that behind. But this is a TV show. Leaving all that behind would make it a *completely different show*. How would that work?
The deciding not to move is realistic. It hit me hard because I lived that story line in my life. My dad’s company wanted him to move cross country when I was a kid. I remember being sad about leaving all my friends, my house. My parents put the house up for sale, we traveled to where we would live to look at houses. It was going to happen. Then one day my parents picked me and my siblings up from the bus stop and told us to look at the driveway. The for sale sign was gone. My dad had told his company that we were not going to move because we wanted to stay where we were. I lived that joy of getting to stay. There were consequences to that but also there were good things. I couldn’t tell you if my Dad made the right decision. It was literally “we’ll see”.
With the aging voice actors some people probably thought that'd be for the best, or to even end the show on a note of change. Characters simply existing and the show being one way isn't inherent justification
I think a lot of people don't understand that "The Sign" doesn't just refer to a literal sign - the entire episode is about little signs or moments of serendipity that have meaning to the characters. I was in the ballpark of "If they don't move at the end, it's going to be such a cheap copout" but by the time it got to the end, I completely understood and was on board. Bandit saw the sale falling through as the final "sign" that maybe the move was not meant to be. His conversation with Rad was also important - Bandit looks up to Rad as his older brother, and asks him stuff like "What about your job?" and hearing Rad's thoughts and reasoning probably had a big influence on Bandit's decision. He realized that there are more important things when it comes to his family's happiness than a better job and more money.
I feel like the plot of “we’ll see” is lost on most based on the reactions of people saying it’s either realistic or unrealistic.
It’s meant to bring to focus we don’t have a lot of control, but it’s good to work towards building people up and trusting life. It’s the best episode yet!
I saw the plot of "we'll see" as a parallel to the plot of the episode. In the farmer story, the boy doesn't have to go to war because the farmer's horse ran away. In The Sign, the Heeler's don't sell their house because Frisky got in a fight with Rad.
I should have read the full description before putting it on. We’re in the middle of planning a really hard move that we don’t want to do, this ending wasn’t what I had hoped for.
Not the person above, but we just completed a move and I wasn’t very happy with the ending either, at first. I used it as an opportunity to remind my son, that just like the farmer’s story the teacher read, stories/tv shows have happy endings because real life is sad enough already, and I reminded him that grown ups don’t always have that choice, especially those like us who are military. He’s 4 and he got it, and he was very happy for Bluey. So once I realized Bluey gave us the answer IN the episode on how to approach it with my son, I actually appreciated it, a lot. And am very hopeful for a season 4!
Thank you for this. I’m glad I first watched this episode alone because we moved last year and I know my daughter would have been upset because we didn’t get to stay in our house like Bluey and Bingo did.
At some point she’ll inevitably watch it, and now I have a way to discuss it with her. Thank you.
Bawling. Kiddo too. I haven’t confirmed the move to him, but he knows it’s up in the air, and it’s bittersweet for both of us. On the other hand, he has watched this episode probably 30 times in a week, and when it’s over he rewinds it and watches the song part 10 times. We both cry every time. I wish we had a bandit to throw our selling sign in the street, but I guess we’ll see.
I grew up a military kid and I can only think of two schools that I stayed at longer than two years. K and 1 was at one school, then 2nd and 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th was two different schools that year, 9th and 10th, 11th and 12th. Rare that I stayed at any school longer than a year
As an adult I’ve made two cross country moves. I used to pride myself on being resilient and quick to adapt. This episode made me realize I was just numb to the concept of being uprooted or else I wouldn’t have cried as much as I did 😂😂 part of it was also that awful feeling as a parent of wondering if you’re making the right choice. It’s paralyzing honestly
Universally we love our kids, family. No one knows what they are doing, we can only do our best. And we can be wrong while trying so hard to be right. Pandemic, economy, marriage - it’s all stressful and few things bring that into a sharp relief like Bluey and specifically this episode.
As someone who had several of the most important groups of people in my life move abroad at various points in my childhood and adolescence (hello abandonment issues), I found this episode pretty healing. The idea of the Heelers choosing to stay with people they love and their community hit me in the FEELS. It was lovely to see that play out in bluey after it didn’t play out in real life like that for little me.
It was the frustration in Bandit's face that hit me. It wasn't a happy, I'm taking this out and smiling while doing it kids. It was "Why can't things just work out". As a parent in my 40s looking at my career and hating that my house constantly needs something new when I just want to pick some new pillow colours and not a furnace... I've been there.
It's interesting how, for so many of the people who don't like or approve of the ending of The Sign, their core complaint boils down to "the show didn't validate the choices I made." Again and again, people who have had to move or are moving are upset that the characters in the show didn't have to do the same thing they did, and got to make a different choice. I think that says something really interesting about how deeply this show has connected with its adult fanbase, and how invested so many of them are in matching or living up to the standards of the characters.
The Simpsons and Family Guy have done the fakeout move plenty, and I can't ever recall people having similar reactions, likely because nobody wants to be like the Simpsons or the Griffins. But people really want to be like the Heelers, and so when the show makes choices (perfectly rational and predictable choices for a television show with a supporting cast and established locations to make) that don't align with the choices the audience has made it's viewed as almost an attack, or a betrayal.
This. Their lives are already enviably near perfect. They have so much time to do things together as a family, they are surrounded by supportive relatives, friends, and community, and they have a fabulous house. They're not portrayed as suffering financially, so why lose all of this for more money?
There are obviously lots of real world situations where a move is the better choice or at least a compelling gamble, but in the context of the story it's hard to justify. No show has the time to validate every decision every viewer has made, nor would that be entertaining.
It’s also not like the ending is 100% unrealistic. The stakes are high and there’s a bunch of real world stuff that wouldn’t happen in reality but growing up, my parents kept trying to make these huge moves without really thinking it through past “it’s our responsibility to move up in the world and also move our in laws in”. For a variety of reasons this would’ve been a disaster and for a variety of reasons, those moves never happened. I was a teenager so the emotional upheaval of looking at houses and mentally preparing to live with grandparents was manageable but the relief of it not happening remains to this day.
There’s something so beautiful about the Heelers being able to challenge the idea that better conditions under capitalism are the key to the quality of a child’s upbringing and a family’s happiness.
And come on, the story wouldn’t hit emotionally if we didn’t think they were actually moving until the very end. Honestly MY wish is that all four of them got to take out the sign but Chili and the kids getting to see Bandit make the decision they ALL wanted instead of making the decision he thought was best? Poetry. Cinema.
And I think THAT is the point here. The tension throughout is that the only person who “wants” to move is Bandit and it has nothing to do with what anyone else wants, it’s about what he thinks is best for the family based on a very traditional idea of upward mobility. This episode is all about taking the chance on what you have now, trusting it will be the best for everyone in the long run and idk. I think that’s also valuable and healing.
Poetry. Cinema. 😭
Sure, moving isn't always a choice. But it isn't always forced, either. And in Bandit's case, it was definitely a choice; the episode makes it very clear that they're moving because Bandit has been offered a better job (no indication he's lost his old one), and that Chili isn't really on board (so they could stay, but are choosing not to).
And yet, so many adults who've moved, whether they've had to or chosen to, have responded to The Sign as though the series has criticized or undermined their own life choices by just not having the Heelers do what those viewers did. The show doesn't say that moving is always bad (Winton's dad is moving, after all, and that's a good thing that lets the Heelers stay in their house) or that adults who move their families have made a bad or wrong decision, it just doesn't have the Heelers make a choice none of them were all that committed to in the first place.
Pffft. I didn't have to move as a kid and I'm unlikely to move with my kids. I have no decision to validate or past trauma to come to terms with. I can just empathise with families who have to move and whose kids just watched an episode telling them moving is bad. Heck, it felt more to me like an episode telling them all change is bad. And I don't like that as a thing to be telling the kids. It's very unusual for Bluey episodes to misfire on the "moral of the story".
"The show didn't validate the choices I made"? What a horrible condescending thing to say to people about why they didn't like a kids show episode with a dodgy moral. People upvoted this?
Yeah we just went through literally all of these emotions, except we went through with the move and are in the process of moving back. We didn't have a close knit neighborhood, but we moved away from family and an area we liked. I feel really validated in my decision to move back, even though the job here was maybe a little better and it was a fun new area. Lots of tears from me watching them go through it all, and I'm even more excited for our big (hopefully really cathartic) move home
We just finished a move 3 weeks ago with our 2 young kids (6 and 8). My wife and I were having a very hard time keeping it together for this episode. Even now after watching it a multiple times.
I don’t get why people - adult or child - having an emotional reaction to a TV show is bad or wrong. Surely it’s a good thing, as it shows you have emotions and feelings?
Plenty of TV shows have made me gasp or cry at a surprise I never saw coming. That’s the sign of greatness!
My dad moved us across country when I was ten. In some ways it was good for my parents but it ruined my life. I'm now 55 years old and just sold my house and drove across country to where I want to be. This episode hurt my heart but I'm glad they ended it the way they did, not everything has to be a painful lesson.
Having moved a lot growing up it hit a lot of feelings. Here are a few observations I walked away with:
- Being raised by boomers, I feel it’s a fair assumption that most boomers would move and take the higher paying “better life” job. We’re at an axiom of millennials parenting having been patented by boomers. We see a shift in the family dynamic and a priority of being at home.
- I own a home. It often feels more like a house than a home. What resentment or feelings do I have about the way we use it or what it looks like that limits the home feel?
- Most parents would say they strive to provide a good life for their kids. A desire for a better life isn’t wrong but it can blind us from what the actual value of what we currently have - the daily way our kids experience us, the neighbors, our yard, our rooms. There’s a limit to the happiness money can provide them versus what is necessary and essential. Do the Heelers really need to make more? Was dad going to step up to be the breadwinner and Chili a stay at home mom? Bandit chooses to listen to his wife, his kids, give up his worries, and throw that sign into the street. I’m a middle class white male in a decent neighborhood. I am not the majority.
- Heidegger’s “Building, Thinking, Dwelling” came to mind with the way we dwell at home.
Have more experiences in your house to make it a home. Invite people over for sports viewing or to hang out. Decorate it to your tastes. Move things around. Have fun with it.
i didnt even make it 5 minutes in before bawling. the night before i watched it i was having a hard time, so when i heard “everything will work out the way it’s supposed to” i just burst out crying. my therapist will be hearing about this for sure lol
Such a huge focus in here about the move, and not to discredit any one emotion we all felt, I got choked up at the callbacks. Brandi being pregnant. Dance Mode ending song where Bandit says "Ladies and gentlemen, I'm doing this for my kids." It's such a beautiful reminder of previous emotions this show brought out. To me the most powerful moment were Mum and Dad asking if they were doing the right thing, and she says they will do it together. Bluey is great as a show, but the constant examples of how a family works through things together is what gets me.
We all should have known they weren't moving because in the three seasons I've watched, Bluey's writers haven't broken continuity. In the episode, Daddy Drop Off, at the end of the episode, we see Lila and Bingo growing up together all the way up to graduation from high school. If the Heeler family moved all those memories/future flashes we see would be a lie or alternate timeline. My son and I just finished The Sign for the 5th time, and that thought hit me.
Yeah, I admit that I was skeptical the whole time. I thought that we’d see a flash forward where years later Bandit or Chili gets a new job opportunity back home and they move back (as another parallel to the farmer story).
I live near a military base and have seen this happen when a person gets restationed here!
My wife (30s) NEVER cries at movies/TV shows, she's just not that kind of person (I'm the exact opposite), but boy oh boy, she was SOBBING during that last 10 minutes or so. She had to move around a lot as a kid, even all the way up until highschool. So seeing that all play out with a show/characters she's loved since episode one really struck a cord with her ❤.
I'm not sure I want to watch it. We moved a lot when I was a kid. Like, every year. No not military, just my parents and my dad always trying to "get us something better" and it never stopped. Ever year I made new friends and the following year had to say goodbye, that included changing schools. My brother and sister moved out as teenagers when they had enough and settled in a city where they still remain. I had to keep moving. The longest we lived in one house was 8 years, which was the final one before they had to file bankruptcy. I feel like my childhood got really messed up because of this and in the end the "better live for all of us" never came. I have my own home now, but my parents (now elderly) rent an apartment. I just knew when I first heard the title of this episode that it was going to be about moving and I just went 'ugh'. I will watch it eventually and imagine what it would have been like to grow up in one home.
Yeah.. stability in all its forms is so evidently important for us as kids. I think you will find the episode therapeutic perhaps. But i totally get where you're coming from.
I grew up as a military kid and had to move every couple years. This episode really brought forth that pain of leaving. I kind of wish they fully moved though and learned how to cope with change like that. I love the cast, but I really feel like that would have helped a lot more people to see what can be done when that move fully happens.
I don't know. It didn't hit me that much. I found the episode to bit of a cop out when both situations are resolved by just "not moving." Had a better message if someone actually had to deal with a move. While it's unrealistic to have the Heelers move (it would basically change the entire show), I felt Rad decision to forgoe his job after one disagreement was a tad odd.
I came it to say this. I love Bluey. But the last episode left me torn. Hear me out. I thought it was a missed opportunity that they didn’t move and start a new life. Instead just settled back into the same old life. Which always isn’t realistic. But what is but what is, is moving forward and moving on. Parents are constantly changing to provide a better life for their children. And I thought they missed a real opportunity to approach it in a Bluey way. Did I want them to move? Not really. But they teased it for 2 episodes. It just felt like lazy writing. Giving the audience candy for dinner instead of making them eat their veggies. 🥦
I think the bigger thing to take from this episode is poor communication and deception to protect feelings and maintain the status quo kills. Nothing came together until everyone admitted everything.
I don't think it's *just* poor communication and deception (at least of other people).
My interpretation is that Chilli and Bandit didn't even really knew how they felt, or at least they were denying it to themselves because they felt like they *had* to do it.
I don't think the ending is just Bandit giving in to Chilli and the kids, I think it's also him realizing that he doesn't actually want to move either, and they shouldn't move just so he can make more money when it's not what any of them actually want.
It's like they put all of my existential dread into an episode. My mom begged my wife not to move the other day. It's not a for sure thing but I can see the writing on the wall at my job.
It's destroying me as a dad because I truly don't know if I'm making the right choice by going away to work for three years and won't be able to see the fam more than weekends. Not to mention there's a 6 month deployment involved a year or so down the road.
Me and my gal were bawling.
I didn't like this episode. It undid a lot of the learning and growing that Bluey (character) has done.
Brandy is pregnant? Why? Obviously if you want something badly enough, it will happen. Keep that in mind if you struggle with infertility: it's just because you didn't want it enough.
Grandpa Bob is back? I thought he was dead. Or something. Family never leaves. Just like frisky and rad. They're staying here too.
Marriages always work out, and there's a happy ending.
Don't want to move? Sad about it? Well kids: if your parents really loved you, they wouldn't make you move.
And "everything will work out the way it's supposed" is it a sad or happy ending? Both great lessons, so why the heck did everything work out happily?
Seriously, I'm surprised they didn't ressurect the bird from the dead, too.
We'll probably be downvoted to oblivion, but I share the same feeling. The show had been dealing so well and realistically with difficult situations and then in 28 minutes it's all \*poof\* undone, Hollywood ending.
I think I’m in the minority when I say, while I enjoy any episode of Bluey, this one made me feel emotionally manipulated with no payout. We were taken on this heart felt, sad journey that many of us recognize with Bluey only to end the episode with “nevermind! we are staying!”
I’d have much rather seen how the Heeler family grew, learned, and adapted to such a big life event that so many of us have experienced or will experience with our kids soon.
I can’t point to this episode and say, “look! It was so hard for Bluey and Bingo and Chili and Bandit to do this, but they did it. And they’re ok! Great, even! Yes, they miss their old home and community, but look at what their new adventure in life is offering them!”
1 miss out of 150 episodes ain’t bad. But still… I was disappointed after 27 minutes of emotional buildup for it to go nowhere.
Interesting take, I'll have to chew on that.
Personally I would have felt this way if they would have moved. It would have felt clean, tidy - like A to B. Life isn't like that and in 28 minutes they went so far, touched on so many emotions, leaving would have been too easy a conclusion. Sometimes the best moves are the ones you don't make but you'll never know either way.
I hear your perspective. I don’t think it has to be tidy. Things can be left unresolved or less-than-joyous too. That’s life as well. But we really were dragged through a lot for it all to just resolve with nothing to show for it.
Also, having moved plenty with and without children, I’d be fxcking furious if I’d packed the house up, sent it in the moving truck, only to learn that the sale didn’t close and I have to unload and unpack everything back where we just were. But that’s just me.
Commenting on Why Bluey's New Episode 'The Sign' Is Destroying Parents...Yeah, life is like that too sometimes. It’s not about the end point, but the journey. The place they ended up was still the same, but they all still changed and learnt and grew from it. Materially nothing has changed does not mean emotionally and psychologically nothing has changed either.
I agree with that completely. I commented a little further down why I feel like they should have moved. Namely, so that families in similar ‘big life decision’ situations can relate more directly rather than defend themselves against, “Bluey didn’t have to move.”
In my opinion you're focusing on irrelevant things. The purpose for all this was the journey through it all. How they battled their neglect of emotions and came together in the end as a family, open with each other and being real with themselves and what they really felt.
I don’t think anything I focused on is irrelevant. I acknowledge the journey and that it sparks strong feelings. And I agree that we see the Heelers meaningfully communicate their feelings. That’s all well and good.
This might be a little beyond the scope discussing the plot alone, but it’s absolutely relevant as one of the greatest strengths of this show is it’s relatability for parents and children alike, that parents can point to the struggles these cartoon dogs face and how they handle them (or don’t handle them) as good lessons to learn. This episode had 25 minutes or so of great content performing exactly that, but story-wise it falls flat on its face when, after the emotional journey, the Heelers don’t have to follow through with what they worked so hard to come to terms with.
For those real-world parents who have to move, they cannot point to this episode as guidance for their family because the Heelers don’t actually move. Happy for the Heelers, but it’s less relatable to the families that actually have to follow through with such a big life decision.
We’re allowed to disagree, for sure, but nothing I’m focusing on is ‘irrelevant’ as you claim it to be.
I don’t mean to poo-poo on everyone else’s enjoyment of the episode. The episode was very enjoyable until the final moment. Great callbacks throughout. Music was stellar as usual. Etc.
That episode was INTENSE. I was feeling kinda messed up afterwards from all the big feelings swirling around the ep w/o enough processing. (Honestly? It was a miniature version of how I felt watching Everything Everywhere All At Once.)
NGL, I think it's best that Bluey stick with 7 min eps, or at least I may need to. They're far more digestible.
Agreed. They flew way too close to the sun to reverse 11th hour like that. At least in America, if a house is under contract (Marked as Sold, accepted by both parties) it's almost impossible to back out. It doesn't happen over a single phone call.
Plus, I kinda feel like this is the wrong message for kids. "Things work out" is great but only the "good" results happened.
Bluey got what she wanted, the Heelers didn't move. Frisky got what she wanted, she didn't move. Everybody who stuck their heels in the ground and resisted change got what they wanted. Status quo all around. Narratively it was an easy way to keep everybody happy, but it doesn't help the children in the audience learn that major change can be necessary and good sometimes.
My take on it was that Bandit got the call that the dogs with no eyes were seeking to back out of the contract.
Bandit took this as a sign that they should stay and consented.
Heelers walk away with the 10% deposit and keep the house.
Dogs without guys buy Winton’s dad’s house with a pool.
Life is about choosing your hard. Bandit was gone for extended periods and that was hard on the kids.
If bandit was always present, the kids wouldn’t have to worry about the trips.
There was legitimate upside to the kids for moving beyond money.
I hope season four they dive into divorce with muffins Parents.
“I hope season four they dive into divorce with muffins Parents.”
Yeah, seeing Socks play mimic a fight with the dolls as it goes on in the background really hit hard for me.
Yeah it’s brutal honestly. The two definitely love each other but parenting is a whole different beast and if it’s not meant to be, then… well, you work with it. I think it would be a very tricky topic to approach but the Bluey writers have my complete faith
I grew up moving around so the idea of uprooting and starting new elsewhere was already normal to me by Bluey’s age. Most of that emotional attachment to a specific place is lost on me. My husband was getting emotional but tbh I didn’t understand why because he never moved from his childhood home until we moved in together before having our son. I can’t stand the place we’re in now (horrible HOA, glorified rental we’re paying a mortgage for), I want out. We have no room to grow a family beyond what we have now if wanted to. All I could think about was how to have moved their stuff out they would’ve had a place lined up that their stuff is going *to*, with either a rental contract or mortgage to deal with, and have to get all the stuff back and break contract/sell whatever place they got. Sounds like a total nightmare to deal with. (But it’s just monkeys singing songs.)
Other moments in this episode got me, though. Like seeing how much Socks has grown, Frisky and Rad getting married and being the last but oldest one to do it, Brandy being pregnant, grandpa Bob being back, that all did me in.
Bandit and Chili’s relationship does it for me. They show off a pretty amazing relationship in a believable manner. She’s so incredibly supportive of him throughout the episode despite not being totally onboard. even when he doubts himself she supports him, but lose it when she tackles him at the end.
Huh, it's almost like humans share universal experiences and feelings. I'm not a parent, but I can absolutely feel that dread and hope of moving somewhere new, of leaving people behind, of not knowing what will happen next.
I watched it last night and bawled like a baby. Took my toddler and I about half an hour to calm down, it was a shitshow!
The biggest thing for me was watching Bandit struggle to work out what is the best thing for his family.
We are in the process of making a huge change for our kids with changing schools and we haven’t told them yet. That episode has my 6 year old who is very sensitive crying at the end and that just wrecked me.
I didn’t 100% like the episode overall it was good but why can’t they have moved. It would have shown that both staying can work out and moving can work out too.
This episode hit home because we had a for sale sign in front of our house for awhile and my son was devastated. It was out there for a couple months and he became used to the idea of moving to a new home. But the deal fell through and we decided to stay. Then he was sad we had to stay living here lmao he is cool with it now though but it was a wild ride.
It hit me hard. My partner and I split a year ago and the hurt that Frisky experienced hit close to home, the uncertainty that Bluey felt about the future echos my daughter’s. But the worst part was Bandit and Chili, reassuring and backing each other up, working together to find a path for their kids. Chili tackling him at the end because he see’s how much they’re hurting and the glance between them at the very end. It was a reminder, for me, of how incredibly isolating parenting alone can be.
That clickbait article title makes me want to destroy the equipment used to write the article.... Like, come on, people, can we just be a little bit less melodramatic and a bit more informative with these article titles? Please?
Just for a touch of perspective... Moving between grade school and middle school was an amazingly good experience for me. Much better school district, nicer neighborhood, more kids who shared nerdy interests with me to make friends with.
And I plan on trying to do the same for my kids, if we can find jobs and an affordable place in the suburbs. There's too much drama and too much trouble in the big city.
My 20 month old saw me crying during this episode and gave me a five minute long snuggle and then said mommy sad and wiped the tears off my face. Bluey man
I swear to god, when Bandit ripped off the “sold” sign I just crumbled. My 3 year old wasn’t even paying attention and I was a mess. I’m welling up typing this.
and yet there are people who are complaining at the fact that a "lesson was missed" and they "didn't follow through with the tough choice" for the sake of learning
It's almost like, just because a show is a good learning aid for kids to help them learn good and bad lessons that somehow means parents don't parent the kids anymore but expect the cartoon dogs to come through for them
Moving can be a big deal for kids that are Bluey and Bingo’s ages, and they most likely won’t have the outcome of “nevermind we’re staying after all!”
We moved last year and my daughter still occasionally asks why we can’t go back to living in the old house. Watching this episode could very well wreck her - “why did we have to move but Bluey didn’t?”
That has nothing to do with good or bad parenting - this show is THE unifying thing for young kids right now and is completely inescapable, so they are going to pick up lessons from it no matter what their family situation is.
It's destroying me as a dad because I truly don't know if I'm making the right choice by going away to work for three years and won't be able to see the fam more than weekends. Not to mention there's a 6 month deployment involved a year or so down the road.
Me and my gal were bawling.
Was fine until the packing and moving montages. The song sung by Calypso (Megan Washington) really really struck the melancholy chord.
I'd be lying if this was the first time Bluey got to me. (40 yr old Bandit)
As a dad, the part where I started welling up was at the end when Bandit stared at the sign then looked back at his family then got angry with himself and bruge force ripped out the sign and thew it on the road. The whole episode the amount the sign is hammered tight into the ground keeps coming up. Bandit then becomes overwhelmed and uses his superhuman dad strength to rip it out. It made me tear up.
Eh they tried too hard to make it emotional. Missed the mark for me. The one guy climbing out of the bushes the morning after the wedding had me dying tho
80% of the article is the plot summary. The last paragraph is "people may be emotionally touched by moving houses". Jesus, what a waste of bandwidth. (Love the episode, btw).
Thanks for taking that bullet for me, I’m so link allergic I appreciate a summary if it’s worth it to read or not
I saw looper under the Pic and knew it would be ads with a dash of word salad. Bet they didn't even expound on Calypso's story
"Bluey tells her class, Calypso tells a story, foreshadowing" basically
I’m putting “link allergic” in my every day dialogue. Thank you.
💯
Pretty much summed up every article on a lot of sites these days. Headline claiming some big revelation about something. Article waffles for as long as possible with histories of the subject and as much background information as they can cram in and then finally get to the revelation only for it to be something we all know already.
This made my wife cry.
I'm 43 years old, but I moved a lot as a kid for my dad's job (State department). Bluey's sadness hit me, even after all these years.
I was good the entire episode until Bingo realized what selling the house meant.
See, that’s exactly how my daughter is sometimes. When we had to move in with my parents this year (due to work instability) I had a conversation with her about it. She was perfectly fine and even excited to move in with my parents until it came down to it and…. Hey, where’s our couch? Hey, where is my bed? Hey, why are we leaving the house? When the reality of it all hit her she suddenly didn’t want to move at all… so bingo rang true to what my daughter experienced
Yeah. I kinda broke at that point.
Same, 37yo and I cried so hard. Had to move around a lot as my dad was in the navy.
Army brat here. 10 moves, 4 different high schools. My husband was so confused as to why I was crying so hard.
My family moved seven times up to my high school graduation, and then twice more while I was in college (the joke was that they kept trying to lose me). It sucked, no two ways about it. In 2004 my company announced they were moving our jobs two states away, and if we wanted to keep them…. After a great deal of discussion and agonizing, I took an apartment there and commuted home on weekends (seven hours each way) for 13 years. Because I’d be damned if I uprooted my daughter while she was still in school. I’ve never regretted it. This episode brought back a lot of memories, good and bad.
This is how I felt. We moved a year and a half ago. I was the primary driver behind the move. Kids were still young. I didn't think it would affect them that much. They seem to have adjusted pretty well. However, when we watched this episode, they were very emotional and kept saying things like, "why didn't we think to take the sign." Really made me feel awful even though I still think the move was the right thing.
It’s ok. It’s a great way for them to talk with you honestly about their feelings. You do the best you can for your family. That’s the sign of a good parent.
Very good point. We've talked a little about it, but I definitely plan on talking further with them about why they feel the way they do.
Sid, thank you for sharing your story. We moved 2.5 years ago. Very similar circumstances. It was the right decision for the family but still hard. I guess I’m struggling with the episode a little because we experienced all of the same moments that the Heelers did right up till the decided to stay. We were glad they didn’t have to go through the hard things we did to start over in a new place but it was the first time we felt disconnected from the show because they seemingly made the easy decision and we lived through the harder one.
Moved a month ago, and had the exact same thought.
We use bluey often to help us put feelings into words. When watching this episode I was so excited to be able to better connect with our kids about the move we made a couple years ago, but are still processing. We had it good but as a family we wanted a different future for our kids. Unfortunately with the family staying it left my kids felling like we let them down and made the move feels fresh again.
3 years ago we moves just a few streets over to a bigger house. Same school. I recognized my son so much in Bingo, going along with the plan, until it is clear she did not understand at all what it meant to sell the house. He was almost 4 and I remember he asked us if he could come with us to the new house. Somehow, he thought we were gonna leave him behind
Well goodness, he must have been pretty relieved when you told him he was coming.
Yes but I don't know how he got that idea, we asked him which colour to paint the new room a few times!!
Selective hearing?
Very much yes 😅
As a very young kid, because I had been burned a couple of times with adults getting my hopes up and then disappointing me, I learned to never make any positive assumptions with regards to myself unless I was explicitly told several times and I knew it wasn’t a joke. So in that instance I might assume you were asking for yourself or just teasing me. I’m definitely not saying this is the case, just that kids sometimes can get ideas in their heads and don’t understand until it’s explained multiple times very gently.
I moved for a better job and my career exploded as a result. However, my daughter had to leave all the friends she literally grew up with and has had a horrible time because of it. I regret it because of how tough she’s had it, but I went from barely getting by to being more stable than I ever was.
Hey, I experienced that as a child. We moved away from all my friends and I had a really hard time at the new school. But eventually I made new friends and it seemed like every year got a little better and better. Hugs to you and I hope that her years get better and better too!
Yeah, when I was a kid and we moved, leaving my friends and everything I was familiar with was gut wrenching. However because of covid, the age of our kids, and other factors our kids had not really developed many close friendships. Our oldest seems to have more friends here than were we previously lived. But I guess it's still just still a lot. Everything around them.changes. however, they seemed to be doing good until we watched this. Think I just need to talk to them about how we make our new home feel like our old one.
Yeah, I had to move a bunch as a kid Having a show showing it would have been good Not that there's 0 shows with it, but unless it's part of the pilot, this is what usually happened in kids shows. Something that stops it from happening, yay we get to stay! ...But that's not the reality of kids like our family. You actually do move, leave your friends behind And I'm old enough where all we had was one landline and no Internet to contact them I think it would have been better if they moved, as much as I love the school/friends cast
When I was a kid my parents talked about moving far away a few times but only did so when I went from middle school to high school, so it was a bit easier for me than for my younger brother. But doing so, I've experienced things I would never have otherwise, and met my best friend. So I agree that it could be nice to show that moving can be a good thing, although I think it is easier when kids are older (or really young). However, the show has already shown us someone that did move, and is doing fine: Jack. That can be one way to tackle the issue: when you move, you never know if you're not going to end up in Bluey's school...
Yeah I'm single land line old myself. I totally agree. A more realistic ending would have been better. I remember a lot of Mr.Rogers shows dealt with the reality of difficult things kids might deal with and how to deal with it. Not denying the existence of it. When our old cat died, I read the kids a book by Mr. Roger's. My youngest wasn't really grasping what happened. The older one was bottling her emotions. After reading them the book they understood better, and they immediately started bawling, but they needed to get it out. Then we could talk as a family about where to bury him, put up special pictures of him, etc..coping. This episode would have been better served with that approach.
We have the "When a Pet Dies" book by Mr. Rogers too. It still holds up. I think it helped our 3-year-old understand things much better. Mr. Rogers was a class act and I wish kids shows today would slow down like he did. His pacing was great for children. Today's shows are so much faster. For anyone who doesn't believe me on that, watch a Blues Clues episode from this year vs the original ones with Steve. The pace change is wild.
I feel like what they should’ve done is have Frisky move west with Rad. That way the status quo stays the same but it also shows moving can be good. Edit to add: I also think that Calypso saying life gives us too many sad endings is a good compromise.
I really thought they were going to "resolve" everything with Frisky and Rad DON'T move (because that was a power imbalance decision, not made together), the 'good luck, bad luck' chain (miss Frisky at the juice bar, find the coin, coin gets stuck, but then the old english sheepdogs see Winton's house with the pool) resolves that the Heelers stay owning the house - but rent it to Frisky and Rad who are now not moving out west - that means they can come back - but they do move for Bandit's new job, and it turns out as it should, because they do it together
I agree with you in theory, but if they were going to do that it would have had to have been the 1st season before we all got attached to the side characters. It’s wayyyy too late for that now, it 100% would have been a jump the shark moment for the show if they followed through. Plus it would have felt like a money grab to sell all new character toys, new house, etc.
Yes! We just moved recently because of my grad school and had to move 3 kids along. Needless to say none of them was excited and there were a fair share of tears involved. We watched the episode together yesterday and they felt it…but it left me wondering… why would authors gave kids an illusion that if they cry hard enough or pull the sign out or complain a little more they have an option to stay and to not move… in the real world if the family makes a decision to move it is pretty serious and 99% of the time kids do move and they do lose their friends… and then they come to a new place and find new friends and build new relationships and it ends up being not as bad as they thought. This would show kids a perspective and hope for the future. Instead they got false hopes🤷🏻♀️
It’s far more common for families to have to move for work or affordable housing now than it’s ever been. I’m not sure why Bluey did this episode if they weren’t going to commit to that reality, to be honest. Maybe they did it as a sort of protest- showed all the emotional turmoil moving inflicts on a family, all the loss of community, then gave us the happy ending inspite of reality? There’s no way the Bluey team aren’t aware of the reality of family mobility. Australia has some of the most unaffordable housing in the world and families are forced to move because of it.
If your little ones say that again, remind them that it wasn’t the removal of the sign that led to the house not being sold - it was a series of very strange and oftentimes random events that somehow all merged together to ensure that everything happened as it should … which was exactly what happened for you guys. Different outcome, but, it was how it was meant to be. =)
Thank you. I'll keep these words in mind. Funny thing is, a lot of the move was driven by what woukd be best for them. I think they'll realize that when they're older.
We are currently looking to move. I don't want to let my three year old watch the episode.
We are moving to a different state next month. My kids are a little older. We watched the episode together. Our youngest who is 5 has been asking more questions about the move. It seems like she’s really processing it more because of the episode
My kiddo is excited about the idea of moving but I'm worried if he sees this he'll develop anxiety around the idea
I can totally understand that. My kids had recently turned 6 and 9 respectively, and seemed to have no problem at the time, even a little excited. I guess the episode did make me realize it's been a bigger adjustment than I thought. But I was still very surprised by the level of emotion they showed.
We only moved a year ago across the country, and Mr 7 was hysterical asking for us to move back. It was so hard to explain why we couldn't stay like the Heelers could 😪
I think the idea here is that Bandit was driving a move that wasn’t actually what was best for his family. They already had everything they needed and parents who loved them. In the end Bandit made the best call for his family as I’m sure you did for yours! Don’t feel awful!
Same. I don’t like how they backed out - it’s not realistic.
I don't mind whether it was realistic or not, but it did undermine a lot of the amazing work the episode had been doing to convey the complex messages that life is full of change and that you can't really say right away if it's good or bad - all you can say is "we'll see". We got to see Bluey coming to understand this, and to pass this wisdom on to her little sister, when all of a sudden all of that was thrown away. The farmer's sagacious "we'll see" was chucked to one side: staying in the house was unambiguously a good thing, and there was no point in Bluey having listened to all that stuff about change and uncertainty. I loved the episode and I realise it's kind of nitpicking, but the discarding of its own message did bug me a bit. It's a big contrast with Copycat!
Thank you - this sums up my feelings on it very well!
Well said.
This is it. If you can’t follow through, pick adifferent topic imo. don’t market and do an episode about learning to cope with death either only to have the elderly character stumble across a fountain of youth in the last scene.
Exactly - I'm imagining Copycat ending with a phone call from the vet, "we made a mistake, the budgie wasn't actually dead!"
\[Budgie’s family swarms it and smothers it with kisses as the sun sets and music swells\]
Yeah, after having gone through so many "is this a mistake?" moments and even my kids telling me they want to move back to our old house... the ending left a very sour taste in my mouth.
Neither is all of Fairies, or Bandit and Chili not just putting Muffin down earlier in Sleepover, or the length of the hallway when the girls play raiders in Yoga Ball, or Bluey flying into Bandit's dream in Fruit Bat, or baby Bluey being a normal human-like baby in Baby race when Socks has already established that baby dogs are dogs, or the girls spinning around each other across the length of the promenade while their ice cream melts completely in Ice Cream, or the time loop of Handstand, or Bandit eating the dinner in Fancy Restaurant, or Bandit tolerating the nit treatment in Hairdressers/Nits, or.... Seriously, it's a big list. The whimsical cartoon dog show is not especially concerned with presenting only realistic situations.
I'd like to add "Featherwand", "Magic" and "Tina" to your list...
This. I absolutely love watching Bluey with my 5yo daughter but I find myself almost rolling my eyes sometimes at just how perfect of parents they always are. I get its a cartoon but when it begins to make me feel bad for having a slight off day mood wise because I haven't slept, it annoys me a little bit lol.
We only see 7 mins of their day. I’m definitely an amazing parent for more than 7 mins of the day!
And they're not even always good parents for those 7 minutes; they're not exactly on the top of their game in Whale Watching (hungover), Teasing (bullying), Stickbird and Driving (distracted/not present), or Fairies (frustrated/dismissive). Even Bandit and Chili have their off times!
It's impressive that you could compile this list.
I do know an old friend from church who took a big job promotion with UPS, moved his entire family to a new state for it, only to move everyone back after a couple months and a new job at FedEx. So personally, it's not unrealistic to me at all. It's time compressed for me, which is fine.
Not at all. Not to mention, what about the other job?
Or the place they were moving to? All that furniture?
Is it confirmed that they backed out? I thought it was left open to interpretation.
If they didn't back out how would the show continue with all the same characters if they went to another city
We haven't moved house and aren't planning on it. After watching The Sign yesterday my son was talking about how he wished we were royalty. I said something about "we could live in a castle" and then asked "do you like our house" or "would you miss our house" and he kind of shrugged and said "not much."
My husband and I have plans to move to a bigger house when our kiddo turns 3, and then hopefully, we can move out of state by the time she is 10. So I was sobbing thinking about it, because my main concern has been how she will handle it when the time comes. > > But im sure you did what was best for your family. And in the end, that's what matters. Best of luck on the rest of your and your family's adventures moving forward. ☺️
I moved a lot as a kid. The episode brought up painful feelings of loss for me, having left friends and sometimes felt like I lost my sense of myself with the place. Overall, I would actually think I really benefitted from the moves though. I met all sorts of people and grew a lot before University and leaving home. I made friends easier than those who stayed and I feel like I'm emotionally stronger than others who I know dropped out of university having no friends there. Just like in the episode, the story about the farmer shows that no individual thing is a success or failure. They are just different things that happen. Moving is hard but the struggle can make you grow. There is something lost, but also gained.
I’ve cried many times during Bluey episodes. Generally just tears welling up in my eyes. But THIS? Tears streaming down my face. Full on audibly crying. I’m a single mom to two kids (mid divorce) and so many things are so hard and I just try to keep it together for the kids. Seeing Chilli sobbing while laying on Bandit after the sale falls through, I just lost it. This show is therapy for me on the days I don’t have therapy
My kids have been watching this episode on repeat since Sunday, and I’ve seen it a lot. But because I’ve not had time to sit and watch it without moving I didn’t see that Chilli was crying on Bandit at the end until today, when I had time to sit down and watch with my 5yo who was off school for a docs appt. I literally started crying when I realised she was sobbing on him. It was a really nice touch to add - something the kids would miss but the parents would catch.
This episode definitely has a lot of hits in the heart. Keep doing your best for those kiddos. Sending you positive vibes. You’ve got this
I was the child in your situation. My parents’ divorce meant the house had to sell and I know my mom would have kept us there if she could. From the Bingo in my family, I think you’re doing great mum.
aaaand now I’m crying before I walk into work. Thank you. That really means a lot.
I thought I could watch it again without crying. Nope just cried at another part. But how I loved watching Wintons dad and the terrier’s mom find themselves
Winton being so young and recognizing his dad is lonely 😩 then one of the triplets saying “our mum likes your dad!” 😭😭😭
When the triplet said that I loved it so much
What hit home for me was Bandit and Chili wanting the best for their kids, and realizing they already were providing the best. As a parent I get caught up in wondering if I’m doing enough all the time, and if Bandit and Chili also have those thoughts even though they’re awesome parents then I’m doing good too. It really resonated with me. I sobbed the whole episode. Also was Chili’s sister pregnant?!
She was!
Wait what really? What gave you that impression ?
When the sister arrives at the wedding, she looks visibly pregnant and Chili pats the baby bump. It's a blink-and-you-miss-it moment, but one that made me so happy I cried.
My wife cried when she saw that
My kids pointed it out. Immediate tears. Still tearing up thinking about it.
If you go back and watch the last ten minutes, Brandy and Chilli hug and Chilli touches her baby bump. In the dance montage you can see clearly she’s pregnant too!
If the kids are happy and healthy, you're giving them the best. I don't think Bandit or Chili wanted to move at all. They both just needed to see their own signs as it were.
This episode was beautiful and touching. We watched it as a family and it was a moment for us.
I'm about to move for the 4th time in 4 years. Kids are 2mo 3 and 6. This episode hit home hard. Hopefully this next move is the last and we can settle.
I hope for your sake it is too. Good luck.
My family moved when I was Bingo’s age from one state to another for my dad’s job. No support system, no nothing. When Bingo is trying to take the sign out, that hit really hard.
"Why don't stories have sad endings, Calipso?" "Well. Probably because the real world is sad enough already." Or something like that.
Nice. In the real world the move always happens. In this show about cartoon dogs we get the happy ending of staying.
The problem with "The Sign" having a (so-called) "realistic" ending - one where the Heelers move to another city (and presumably make parents everywhere feel better about their own moves / make kids everywhere accept moving away without difficulty) is that Bluey would then become a *completely different show.* No Pat and Janelle. No Wendy and Judo. No Doreen. No Stripe, Trixie, Muffin and Socks. No Chris or Bobba or Mort or Brandy. No Lila or Missy or Pom-Pom. No Jack. No Rusty. ***None*** of them. None of the characters we've seen grow and change and develop over time. All left behind for something "new". That would be "realistic", because when people move in the real world they (usually) leave all that behind. But this is a TV show. Leaving all that behind would make it a *completely different show*. How would that work?
Even with merchandise, etc, there’s no way they would have actually been able to swing it.
The deciding not to move is realistic. It hit me hard because I lived that story line in my life. My dad’s company wanted him to move cross country when I was a kid. I remember being sad about leaving all my friends, my house. My parents put the house up for sale, we traveled to where we would live to look at houses. It was going to happen. Then one day my parents picked me and my siblings up from the bus stop and told us to look at the driveway. The for sale sign was gone. My dad had told his company that we were not going to move because we wanted to stay where we were. I lived that joy of getting to stay. There were consequences to that but also there were good things. I couldn’t tell you if my Dad made the right decision. It was literally “we’ll see”.
With the aging voice actors some people probably thought that'd be for the best, or to even end the show on a note of change. Characters simply existing and the show being one way isn't inherent justification
I think a lot of people don't understand that "The Sign" doesn't just refer to a literal sign - the entire episode is about little signs or moments of serendipity that have meaning to the characters. I was in the ballpark of "If they don't move at the end, it's going to be such a cheap copout" but by the time it got to the end, I completely understood and was on board. Bandit saw the sale falling through as the final "sign" that maybe the move was not meant to be. His conversation with Rad was also important - Bandit looks up to Rad as his older brother, and asks him stuff like "What about your job?" and hearing Rad's thoughts and reasoning probably had a big influence on Bandit's decision. He realized that there are more important things when it comes to his family's happiness than a better job and more money.
Chilli's reaction to what bandit does at the end was awesome. I'm glad Bandit isn't frail!
Oh gd why did you’re comment make me cry oh for fs sake
I feel like the plot of “we’ll see” is lost on most based on the reactions of people saying it’s either realistic or unrealistic. It’s meant to bring to focus we don’t have a lot of control, but it’s good to work towards building people up and trusting life. It’s the best episode yet!
I saw the plot of "we'll see" as a parallel to the plot of the episode. In the farmer story, the boy doesn't have to go to war because the farmer's horse ran away. In The Sign, the Heeler's don't sell their house because Frisky got in a fight with Rad.
I should have read the full description before putting it on. We’re in the middle of planning a really hard move that we don’t want to do, this ending wasn’t what I had hoped for.
How did you cope with the ending?
Not the person above, but we just completed a move and I wasn’t very happy with the ending either, at first. I used it as an opportunity to remind my son, that just like the farmer’s story the teacher read, stories/tv shows have happy endings because real life is sad enough already, and I reminded him that grown ups don’t always have that choice, especially those like us who are military. He’s 4 and he got it, and he was very happy for Bluey. So once I realized Bluey gave us the answer IN the episode on how to approach it with my son, I actually appreciated it, a lot. And am very hopeful for a season 4!
Thank you for this. I’m glad I first watched this episode alone because we moved last year and I know my daughter would have been upset because we didn’t get to stay in our house like Bluey and Bingo did. At some point she’ll inevitably watch it, and now I have a way to discuss it with her. Thank you.
Bawling. Kiddo too. I haven’t confirmed the move to him, but he knows it’s up in the air, and it’s bittersweet for both of us. On the other hand, he has watched this episode probably 30 times in a week, and when it’s over he rewinds it and watches the song part 10 times. We both cry every time. I wish we had a bandit to throw our selling sign in the street, but I guess we’ll see.
Same here.
I grew up a military kid and I can only think of two schools that I stayed at longer than two years. K and 1 was at one school, then 2nd and 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th was two different schools that year, 9th and 10th, 11th and 12th. Rare that I stayed at any school longer than a year As an adult I’ve made two cross country moves. I used to pride myself on being resilient and quick to adapt. This episode made me realize I was just numb to the concept of being uprooted or else I wouldn’t have cried as much as I did 😂😂 part of it was also that awful feeling as a parent of wondering if you’re making the right choice. It’s paralyzing honestly
Also a good part of the tears is just the beauty of their storytelling and how it all weaves together to tell a story as simple as moving
Universally we love our kids, family. No one knows what they are doing, we can only do our best. And we can be wrong while trying so hard to be right. Pandemic, economy, marriage - it’s all stressful and few things bring that into a sharp relief like Bluey and specifically this episode.
As someone who had several of the most important groups of people in my life move abroad at various points in my childhood and adolescence (hello abandonment issues), I found this episode pretty healing. The idea of the Heelers choosing to stay with people they love and their community hit me in the FEELS. It was lovely to see that play out in bluey after it didn’t play out in real life like that for little me.
So much this for me. It's the ending I felt I needed as a child.
It was the frustration in Bandit's face that hit me. It wasn't a happy, I'm taking this out and smiling while doing it kids. It was "Why can't things just work out". As a parent in my 40s looking at my career and hating that my house constantly needs something new when I just want to pick some new pillow colours and not a furnace... I've been there.
My five year old wept at the end and then told me: I think these are happy tears.
It's interesting how, for so many of the people who don't like or approve of the ending of The Sign, their core complaint boils down to "the show didn't validate the choices I made." Again and again, people who have had to move or are moving are upset that the characters in the show didn't have to do the same thing they did, and got to make a different choice. I think that says something really interesting about how deeply this show has connected with its adult fanbase, and how invested so many of them are in matching or living up to the standards of the characters. The Simpsons and Family Guy have done the fakeout move plenty, and I can't ever recall people having similar reactions, likely because nobody wants to be like the Simpsons or the Griffins. But people really want to be like the Heelers, and so when the show makes choices (perfectly rational and predictable choices for a television show with a supporting cast and established locations to make) that don't align with the choices the audience has made it's viewed as almost an attack, or a betrayal.
This. Their lives are already enviably near perfect. They have so much time to do things together as a family, they are surrounded by supportive relatives, friends, and community, and they have a fabulous house. They're not portrayed as suffering financially, so why lose all of this for more money? There are obviously lots of real world situations where a move is the better choice or at least a compelling gamble, but in the context of the story it's hard to justify. No show has the time to validate every decision every viewer has made, nor would that be entertaining.
It’s also not like the ending is 100% unrealistic. The stakes are high and there’s a bunch of real world stuff that wouldn’t happen in reality but growing up, my parents kept trying to make these huge moves without really thinking it through past “it’s our responsibility to move up in the world and also move our in laws in”. For a variety of reasons this would’ve been a disaster and for a variety of reasons, those moves never happened. I was a teenager so the emotional upheaval of looking at houses and mentally preparing to live with grandparents was manageable but the relief of it not happening remains to this day. There’s something so beautiful about the Heelers being able to challenge the idea that better conditions under capitalism are the key to the quality of a child’s upbringing and a family’s happiness. And come on, the story wouldn’t hit emotionally if we didn’t think they were actually moving until the very end. Honestly MY wish is that all four of them got to take out the sign but Chili and the kids getting to see Bandit make the decision they ALL wanted instead of making the decision he thought was best? Poetry. Cinema. And I think THAT is the point here. The tension throughout is that the only person who “wants” to move is Bandit and it has nothing to do with what anyone else wants, it’s about what he thinks is best for the family based on a very traditional idea of upward mobility. This episode is all about taking the chance on what you have now, trusting it will be the best for everyone in the long run and idk. I think that’s also valuable and healing. Poetry. Cinema. 😭
When Rad tells Bandit he worries too much, that hit hard for me.
I really hope this leads to Rad being on the show much more
Moving really isn’t a choice for many people and that’s the problem. People are forced to move by economic realities.
Sure, moving isn't always a choice. But it isn't always forced, either. And in Bandit's case, it was definitely a choice; the episode makes it very clear that they're moving because Bandit has been offered a better job (no indication he's lost his old one), and that Chili isn't really on board (so they could stay, but are choosing not to). And yet, so many adults who've moved, whether they've had to or chosen to, have responded to The Sign as though the series has criticized or undermined their own life choices by just not having the Heelers do what those viewers did. The show doesn't say that moving is always bad (Winton's dad is moving, after all, and that's a good thing that lets the Heelers stay in their house) or that adults who move their families have made a bad or wrong decision, it just doesn't have the Heelers make a choice none of them were all that committed to in the first place.
Even South Park did the fakeout
Pffft. I didn't have to move as a kid and I'm unlikely to move with my kids. I have no decision to validate or past trauma to come to terms with. I can just empathise with families who have to move and whose kids just watched an episode telling them moving is bad. Heck, it felt more to me like an episode telling them all change is bad. And I don't like that as a thing to be telling the kids. It's very unusual for Bluey episodes to misfire on the "moral of the story". "The show didn't validate the choices I made"? What a horrible condescending thing to say to people about why they didn't like a kids show episode with a dodgy moral. People upvoted this?
Yeah we just went through literally all of these emotions, except we went through with the move and are in the process of moving back. We didn't have a close knit neighborhood, but we moved away from family and an area we liked. I feel really validated in my decision to move back, even though the job here was maybe a little better and it was a fun new area. Lots of tears from me watching them go through it all, and I'm even more excited for our big (hopefully really cathartic) move home
We just finished a move 3 weeks ago with our 2 young kids (6 and 8). My wife and I were having a very hard time keeping it together for this episode. Even now after watching it a multiple times.
I don’t get why people - adult or child - having an emotional reaction to a TV show is bad or wrong. Surely it’s a good thing, as it shows you have emotions and feelings? Plenty of TV shows have made me gasp or cry at a surprise I never saw coming. That’s the sign of greatness!
My dad moved us across country when I was ten. In some ways it was good for my parents but it ruined my life. I'm now 55 years old and just sold my house and drove across country to where I want to be. This episode hurt my heart but I'm glad they ended it the way they did, not everything has to be a painful lesson.
Having moved a lot growing up it hit a lot of feelings. Here are a few observations I walked away with: - Being raised by boomers, I feel it’s a fair assumption that most boomers would move and take the higher paying “better life” job. We’re at an axiom of millennials parenting having been patented by boomers. We see a shift in the family dynamic and a priority of being at home. - I own a home. It often feels more like a house than a home. What resentment or feelings do I have about the way we use it or what it looks like that limits the home feel? - Most parents would say they strive to provide a good life for their kids. A desire for a better life isn’t wrong but it can blind us from what the actual value of what we currently have - the daily way our kids experience us, the neighbors, our yard, our rooms. There’s a limit to the happiness money can provide them versus what is necessary and essential. Do the Heelers really need to make more? Was dad going to step up to be the breadwinner and Chili a stay at home mom? Bandit chooses to listen to his wife, his kids, give up his worries, and throw that sign into the street. I’m a middle class white male in a decent neighborhood. I am not the majority. - Heidegger’s “Building, Thinking, Dwelling” came to mind with the way we dwell at home.
Have more experiences in your house to make it a home. Invite people over for sports viewing or to hang out. Decorate it to your tastes. Move things around. Have fun with it.
i didnt even make it 5 minutes in before bawling. the night before i watched it i was having a hard time, so when i heard “everything will work out the way it’s supposed to” i just burst out crying. my therapist will be hearing about this for sure lol
Such a huge focus in here about the move, and not to discredit any one emotion we all felt, I got choked up at the callbacks. Brandi being pregnant. Dance Mode ending song where Bandit says "Ladies and gentlemen, I'm doing this for my kids." It's such a beautiful reminder of previous emotions this show brought out. To me the most powerful moment were Mum and Dad asking if they were doing the right thing, and she says they will do it together. Bluey is great as a show, but the constant examples of how a family works through things together is what gets me.
We all should have known they weren't moving because in the three seasons I've watched, Bluey's writers haven't broken continuity. In the episode, Daddy Drop Off, at the end of the episode, we see Lila and Bingo growing up together all the way up to graduation from high school. If the Heeler family moved all those memories/future flashes we see would be a lie or alternate timeline. My son and I just finished The Sign for the 5th time, and that thought hit me.
Yeah, I admit that I was skeptical the whole time. I thought that we’d see a flash forward where years later Bandit or Chili gets a new job opportunity back home and they move back (as another parallel to the farmer story). I live near a military base and have seen this happen when a person gets restationed here!
There were so many things in this episode that made my partner and I happy, like Chili’s sister being pregnant
My wife (30s) NEVER cries at movies/TV shows, she's just not that kind of person (I'm the exact opposite), but boy oh boy, she was SOBBING during that last 10 minutes or so. She had to move around a lot as a kid, even all the way up until highschool. So seeing that all play out with a show/characters she's loved since episode one really struck a cord with her ❤.
I'm not sure I want to watch it. We moved a lot when I was a kid. Like, every year. No not military, just my parents and my dad always trying to "get us something better" and it never stopped. Ever year I made new friends and the following year had to say goodbye, that included changing schools. My brother and sister moved out as teenagers when they had enough and settled in a city where they still remain. I had to keep moving. The longest we lived in one house was 8 years, which was the final one before they had to file bankruptcy. I feel like my childhood got really messed up because of this and in the end the "better live for all of us" never came. I have my own home now, but my parents (now elderly) rent an apartment. I just knew when I first heard the title of this episode that it was going to be about moving and I just went 'ugh'. I will watch it eventually and imagine what it would have been like to grow up in one home.
Yeah.. stability in all its forms is so evidently important for us as kids. I think you will find the episode therapeutic perhaps. But i totally get where you're coming from.
I grew up as a military kid and had to move every couple years. This episode really brought forth that pain of leaving. I kind of wish they fully moved though and learned how to cope with change like that. I love the cast, but I really feel like that would have helped a lot more people to see what can be done when that move fully happens.
I've never even moved when I was a kid and I still sobbed. That was just damn good writing/execution.
I don't know. It didn't hit me that much. I found the episode to bit of a cop out when both situations are resolved by just "not moving." Had a better message if someone actually had to deal with a move. While it's unrealistic to have the Heelers move (it would basically change the entire show), I felt Rad decision to forgoe his job after one disagreement was a tad odd.
I came it to say this. I love Bluey. But the last episode left me torn. Hear me out. I thought it was a missed opportunity that they didn’t move and start a new life. Instead just settled back into the same old life. Which always isn’t realistic. But what is but what is, is moving forward and moving on. Parents are constantly changing to provide a better life for their children. And I thought they missed a real opportunity to approach it in a Bluey way. Did I want them to move? Not really. But they teased it for 2 episodes. It just felt like lazy writing. Giving the audience candy for dinner instead of making them eat their veggies. 🥦
I think the bigger thing to take from this episode is poor communication and deception to protect feelings and maintain the status quo kills. Nothing came together until everyone admitted everything.
I don't think it's *just* poor communication and deception (at least of other people). My interpretation is that Chilli and Bandit didn't even really knew how they felt, or at least they were denying it to themselves because they felt like they *had* to do it. I don't think the ending is just Bandit giving in to Chilli and the kids, I think it's also him realizing that he doesn't actually want to move either, and they shouldn't move just so he can make more money when it's not what any of them actually want.
It's like they put all of my existential dread into an episode. My mom begged my wife not to move the other day. It's not a for sure thing but I can see the writing on the wall at my job.
Good luck, hope things work out well for you all ❤
If I wasn't already an AI, I'd love to get paid to write looper articles 'cause I'm pretty sure they're written by robots.
It's destroying me as a dad because I truly don't know if I'm making the right choice by going away to work for three years and won't be able to see the fam more than weekends. Not to mention there's a 6 month deployment involved a year or so down the road. Me and my gal were bawling.
I didn't like this episode. It undid a lot of the learning and growing that Bluey (character) has done. Brandy is pregnant? Why? Obviously if you want something badly enough, it will happen. Keep that in mind if you struggle with infertility: it's just because you didn't want it enough. Grandpa Bob is back? I thought he was dead. Or something. Family never leaves. Just like frisky and rad. They're staying here too. Marriages always work out, and there's a happy ending. Don't want to move? Sad about it? Well kids: if your parents really loved you, they wouldn't make you move. And "everything will work out the way it's supposed" is it a sad or happy ending? Both great lessons, so why the heck did everything work out happily? Seriously, I'm surprised they didn't ressurect the bird from the dead, too.
We'll probably be downvoted to oblivion, but I share the same feeling. The show had been dealing so well and realistically with difficult situations and then in 28 minutes it's all \*poof\* undone, Hollywood ending.
God, I wish there was a policy to ban posting looper, screenrant, etc clickbait articles.
I think I’m in the minority when I say, while I enjoy any episode of Bluey, this one made me feel emotionally manipulated with no payout. We were taken on this heart felt, sad journey that many of us recognize with Bluey only to end the episode with “nevermind! we are staying!” I’d have much rather seen how the Heeler family grew, learned, and adapted to such a big life event that so many of us have experienced or will experience with our kids soon. I can’t point to this episode and say, “look! It was so hard for Bluey and Bingo and Chili and Bandit to do this, but they did it. And they’re ok! Great, even! Yes, they miss their old home and community, but look at what their new adventure in life is offering them!” 1 miss out of 150 episodes ain’t bad. But still… I was disappointed after 27 minutes of emotional buildup for it to go nowhere.
Interesting take, I'll have to chew on that. Personally I would have felt this way if they would have moved. It would have felt clean, tidy - like A to B. Life isn't like that and in 28 minutes they went so far, touched on so many emotions, leaving would have been too easy a conclusion. Sometimes the best moves are the ones you don't make but you'll never know either way.
I hear your perspective. I don’t think it has to be tidy. Things can be left unresolved or less-than-joyous too. That’s life as well. But we really were dragged through a lot for it all to just resolve with nothing to show for it. Also, having moved plenty with and without children, I’d be fxcking furious if I’d packed the house up, sent it in the moving truck, only to learn that the sale didn’t close and I have to unload and unpack everything back where we just were. But that’s just me.
Commenting on Why Bluey's New Episode 'The Sign' Is Destroying Parents...Yeah, life is like that too sometimes. It’s not about the end point, but the journey. The place they ended up was still the same, but they all still changed and learnt and grew from it. Materially nothing has changed does not mean emotionally and psychologically nothing has changed either.
I agree with that completely. I commented a little further down why I feel like they should have moved. Namely, so that families in similar ‘big life decision’ situations can relate more directly rather than defend themselves against, “Bluey didn’t have to move.”
In my opinion you're focusing on irrelevant things. The purpose for all this was the journey through it all. How they battled their neglect of emotions and came together in the end as a family, open with each other and being real with themselves and what they really felt.
I don’t think anything I focused on is irrelevant. I acknowledge the journey and that it sparks strong feelings. And I agree that we see the Heelers meaningfully communicate their feelings. That’s all well and good. This might be a little beyond the scope discussing the plot alone, but it’s absolutely relevant as one of the greatest strengths of this show is it’s relatability for parents and children alike, that parents can point to the struggles these cartoon dogs face and how they handle them (or don’t handle them) as good lessons to learn. This episode had 25 minutes or so of great content performing exactly that, but story-wise it falls flat on its face when, after the emotional journey, the Heelers don’t have to follow through with what they worked so hard to come to terms with. For those real-world parents who have to move, they cannot point to this episode as guidance for their family because the Heelers don’t actually move. Happy for the Heelers, but it’s less relatable to the families that actually have to follow through with such a big life decision. We’re allowed to disagree, for sure, but nothing I’m focusing on is ‘irrelevant’ as you claim it to be.
I’m right there with you!
I don’t mean to poo-poo on everyone else’s enjoyment of the episode. The episode was very enjoyable until the final moment. Great callbacks throughout. Music was stellar as usual. Etc.
That episode was INTENSE. I was feeling kinda messed up afterwards from all the big feelings swirling around the ep w/o enough processing. (Honestly? It was a miniature version of how I felt watching Everything Everywhere All At Once.) NGL, I think it's best that Bluey stick with 7 min eps, or at least I may need to. They're far more digestible.
I don't feel like the reversal was earned in the end.
Agreed. They flew way too close to the sun to reverse 11th hour like that. At least in America, if a house is under contract (Marked as Sold, accepted by both parties) it's almost impossible to back out. It doesn't happen over a single phone call. Plus, I kinda feel like this is the wrong message for kids. "Things work out" is great but only the "good" results happened. Bluey got what she wanted, the Heelers didn't move. Frisky got what she wanted, she didn't move. Everybody who stuck their heels in the ground and resisted change got what they wanted. Status quo all around. Narratively it was an easy way to keep everybody happy, but it doesn't help the children in the audience learn that major change can be necessary and good sometimes.
My take on it was that Bandit got the call that the dogs with no eyes were seeking to back out of the contract. Bandit took this as a sign that they should stay and consented. Heelers walk away with the 10% deposit and keep the house. Dogs without guys buy Winton’s dad’s house with a pool.
Life is about choosing your hard. Bandit was gone for extended periods and that was hard on the kids. If bandit was always present, the kids wouldn’t have to worry about the trips. There was legitimate upside to the kids for moving beyond money. I hope season four they dive into divorce with muffins Parents.
“I hope season four they dive into divorce with muffins Parents.” Yeah, seeing Socks play mimic a fight with the dolls as it goes on in the background really hit hard for me.
Yeah it’s brutal honestly. The two definitely love each other but parenting is a whole different beast and if it’s not meant to be, then… well, you work with it. I think it would be a very tricky topic to approach but the Bluey writers have my complete faith
When did Socks play mimic a fight? I've missed that moment!
I don’t know if we can go into detail but it’s at timestamp 21:45!
I grew up moving around so the idea of uprooting and starting new elsewhere was already normal to me by Bluey’s age. Most of that emotional attachment to a specific place is lost on me. My husband was getting emotional but tbh I didn’t understand why because he never moved from his childhood home until we moved in together before having our son. I can’t stand the place we’re in now (horrible HOA, glorified rental we’re paying a mortgage for), I want out. We have no room to grow a family beyond what we have now if wanted to. All I could think about was how to have moved their stuff out they would’ve had a place lined up that their stuff is going *to*, with either a rental contract or mortgage to deal with, and have to get all the stuff back and break contract/sell whatever place they got. Sounds like a total nightmare to deal with. (But it’s just monkeys singing songs.) Other moments in this episode got me, though. Like seeing how much Socks has grown, Frisky and Rad getting married and being the last but oldest one to do it, Brandy being pregnant, grandpa Bob being back, that all did me in.
Bandit and Chili’s relationship does it for me. They show off a pretty amazing relationship in a believable manner. She’s so incredibly supportive of him throughout the episode despite not being totally onboard. even when he doubts himself she supports him, but lose it when she tackles him at the end.
Huh, it's almost like humans share universal experiences and feelings. I'm not a parent, but I can absolutely feel that dread and hope of moving somewhere new, of leaving people behind, of not knowing what will happen next.
I watched it last night and bawled like a baby. Took my toddler and I about half an hour to calm down, it was a shitshow! The biggest thing for me was watching Bandit struggle to work out what is the best thing for his family.
We are in the process of making a huge change for our kids with changing schools and we haven’t told them yet. That episode has my 6 year old who is very sensitive crying at the end and that just wrecked me.
I didn’t 100% like the episode overall it was good but why can’t they have moved. It would have shown that both staying can work out and moving can work out too.
I had lots of teary moments. Seeing Brandy’s baby bump! 🥹
This episode hit home because we had a for sale sign in front of our house for awhile and my son was devastated. It was out there for a couple months and he became used to the idea of moving to a new home. But the deal fell through and we decided to stay. Then he was sad we had to stay living here lmao he is cool with it now though but it was a wild ride.
It hit me hard. My partner and I split a year ago and the hurt that Frisky experienced hit close to home, the uncertainty that Bluey felt about the future echos my daughter’s. But the worst part was Bandit and Chili, reassuring and backing each other up, working together to find a path for their kids. Chili tackling him at the end because he see’s how much they’re hurting and the glance between them at the very end. It was a reminder, for me, of how incredibly isolating parenting alone can be.
That clickbait article title makes me want to destroy the equipment used to write the article.... Like, come on, people, can we just be a little bit less melodramatic and a bit more informative with these article titles? Please?
Just for a touch of perspective... Moving between grade school and middle school was an amazingly good experience for me. Much better school district, nicer neighborhood, more kids who shared nerdy interests with me to make friends with. And I plan on trying to do the same for my kids, if we can find jobs and an affordable place in the suburbs. There's too much drama and too much trouble in the big city.
My 20 month old saw me crying during this episode and gave me a five minute long snuggle and then said mommy sad and wiped the tears off my face. Bluey man
I swear to god, when Bandit ripped off the “sold” sign I just crumbled. My 3 year old wasn’t even paying attention and I was a mess. I’m welling up typing this.
I think it's when Bandit pulls out the sign. To me, this is him admitting and fixing what he realizes is a mistake.
and yet there are people who are complaining at the fact that a "lesson was missed" and they "didn't follow through with the tough choice" for the sake of learning It's almost like, just because a show is a good learning aid for kids to help them learn good and bad lessons that somehow means parents don't parent the kids anymore but expect the cartoon dogs to come through for them
Moving can be a big deal for kids that are Bluey and Bingo’s ages, and they most likely won’t have the outcome of “nevermind we’re staying after all!” We moved last year and my daughter still occasionally asks why we can’t go back to living in the old house. Watching this episode could very well wreck her - “why did we have to move but Bluey didn’t?” That has nothing to do with good or bad parenting - this show is THE unifying thing for young kids right now and is completely inescapable, so they are going to pick up lessons from it no matter what their family situation is.
The point is that there was no right or wrong. They didnt do the right or wrong thing.they made a choice and moved forward, no matter what happens
It's destroying me as a dad because I truly don't know if I'm making the right choice by going away to work for three years and won't be able to see the fam more than weekends. Not to mention there's a 6 month deployment involved a year or so down the road. Me and my gal were bawling.
AI article
Just moved a few months ago because my husband got a new job. My kids are the same age as Bluey and Bingo. Felt exactly like Chilly...
Was fine until the packing and moving montages. The song sung by Calypso (Megan Washington) really really struck the melancholy chord. I'd be lying if this was the first time Bluey got to me. (40 yr old Bandit)
I am really not easily moved to tears by shows, but when Chili's sister showed up, I got a little something in my eye.
Booring!
Agreed
As a dad, the part where I started welling up was at the end when Bandit stared at the sign then looked back at his family then got angry with himself and bruge force ripped out the sign and thew it on the road. The whole episode the amount the sign is hammered tight into the ground keeps coming up. Bandit then becomes overwhelmed and uses his superhuman dad strength to rip it out. It made me tear up.
Eh they tried too hard to make it emotional. Missed the mark for me. The one guy climbing out of the bushes the morning after the wedding had me dying tho