In recent years I’ve gone into New Year’s Eve with a specific plan on what I wanted to watch to ring in the New Year. Taking inspiration from those viral posts that say things like “If you start Star Wars at such-and-such a time, then the Death Star will explode at midnight,” I frequently try to time my viewing in a similar way. Last year it was the musical episode of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, “Subspace Rhapsody,” and its climactic destruction of the rift at episode’s end. Before that it was the explosion of The Monitor in Tomorrowland, and prior to that it was the line “My turn,” in Serenity. Last year I went in a different direction, opting for a marathon of the insanely popular children’s show Bluey to bring my 2024 to a close.
That may seem like a strange choice for a 40 year old adult to watch by himself while waiting for midnight, especially when you consider that we have a 6 year old in our house and Bluey is on pretty much constantly anyway. But after one of the hardest and most exhausting years, the kindness and goodness of Bluey is like a balm to my weary soul. There’s a reason it’s beloved by parents and kids alike, but also a comfort show to people of all ages whether they have children or not. Its 8 minute episodes are heart-warming, hilarious, adorable, and touching, and you can watch 32 of them in an evening with no problem. But beyond all of that is the episode “The Sign,” the climax of my marathon that I timed for midnight. It’s a special, 28 minute masterpiece episode, the penultimate one of the latest third season of the show, and quite possibly one of the greatest works of animation, television, and visual storytelling ever crafted.
They say the sign of a good work of art is when it sticks with you long after you’ve seen it. “The Sign” is that for me. I haven’t been able to get it out of my head since it debuted in April of 2024. I’ve watched those 28 minutes dozens and dozens of times, many times with my son at his request, but frequently early in the morning before work or late at night before bed. It’s become a palate cleanser after a hard day, or it helps me on mornings I need some extra strength to get through the day, or even just when I need a way to refocus. “The Sign” works on on so many levels. It’s perfect on its own, hitting the themes of the story it’s telling, but it also works as the culmination of the 150 or so episodes that came before. It’s filled with cameos, appearances, and references from throughout the series and it brings together and ties up multiple storylines that have carried through the seasons. But also, like the series as a whole, it has profound things to say about childhood, parenthood, and family, and it does it without ever needing to spell out its specific messages. Instead, it lets its meaning sink in over time, as it is watched over and over, and thoughts and feelings are digested and reexamined to grow deeper and more meaningful.
It’s easy to imagine that “The Sign” was conceived as a series finale (minus the epilogue episode, “Surprise”), as it is replete with talk of endings. The Heelers’ life as they know it is ending in favor of a new and “better” one. But it’s not just their lives that are ending, with Frisky and Rad potentially moving as well, but the lives of all the others who are intertwined with this family. Friends, neighbors, classmates, cousins, grandparents, and more will be affected by this end. The fear, anger, and sadness over this ending sets the emotional groundwork, drives the story, and amplifies the themes of “The Sign.”
“The Sign” picks up right where the previous episode, “Ghost basket,” left us, with its surprising cliffhanger reveal that a game of realtor turned out to be a way for the Heelers to process the very real “For Sale” sign in front of their home. Bluey isn’t known for cliffhangers, or even connected episodes, even while it will occasionally call back to earlier events. Characters come and go, and there is a sense of the passage of time, but you couldn’t genuinely say that Bluey has story arcs. Needless to say, the revelation that the Heelers are selling their home and will be moving was as much of a shock to audiences as it probably was to Bluey and Bingo.
At the start of “The Sign” we see how this upcoming change has impacted the Heeler family, not only disrupting their playtime and routines but dominating their thoughts and conversations. The younger Bingo seems blissfully ok with everything, not minding whatever happens, but the elder Blue can’t seem to stop either worrying about what lies ahead or lamenting what she imagines will be lost. Meanwhile, parents Bandit and Chilli try to reassure Bluey while struggling with their own mixed feelings on the decision they have made in the open of creating a better life for their girls.
At school Bluey’s teacher, the ever-wise Calypso, responds to the class’s despair over losing Bluey by telling the story of The Farmer. With its repeated refrain of “We’ll see,” it offers a lesson in the dangers of assuming the best or the worst outcome of any event, big or small. It illustrates for the children that the future can’t be guessed and that current events aren’t a guarantee of what will come. It shows how small events can have large consequences, for good or bad, and that the complex causality of the world requires an understanding that to find peace requires a willingness to accept whatever future is to come.
Here is where the brilliance of “The Sign” starts to shine, from the very start of this quadruple-sized episode, but to start to understand why you need to understand the show as a whole. The secret success of Bluey is that it’s the direct opposite of other shows for children, even and especially those that are loved by both parents and kids in the same way Bluey is. The most overall successful shows for young children are those that are made for kids but which provide enough humor, references, or entertainment aimed at parents to keep parents engaged and amused while they still craft their stories around the children. I think what makes Bluey stand out is that it’s actually made for parents with its messages, morals, and storylines, while aiming to keep children entertained.
One of the most common praises of Bluey is that it’s about the power of play, particularly imaginative play, for children. This is not a lesson kids need to learn, because they already innately know it. Bluey‘s mission is to teach parents this lesson, to show them how to play with their children, to show them why that play is important and how it can teach children the lessons parents seem so eager to squeeze into children’s brains. In the vast majority of the episodes it’s Bandit and Chilli who learn a lesson in how to relate to their kids, even and especially when the kids also learn a lesson. The lessons of Bluey for parents are the importance of setting aside adult cares and concerns and connecting with kids on their level, the need to join in with kids in whatever it is they want to do, how it feels to be a kid and experience things through the lens of play and how that can help a parent to connect to a kid. Bluey does everything differently than other kids shows, because it aims itself squarely at the parents watching alongside, knowing that parents need these examples spelled out for them while kids will learn things naturally through play, connection, and experience the way all kids do.
So while Calypso’s lesson to Bluey feels like it’s the main arc of the story, as Bluey learns to let go of worrying and embrace the random but interconnected nature of the universe in order to find peace in an uncertain future, it’s actually Chilli who really needs to learn that lesson, and she in fact learns it from Bluey. As she and the four cousins chase down Aunt Frisky, we see what seems like a series of unconnected events that culminates in tracking her down at the lookout. For every development that gets them closer to Frisky another obstacle pops up in their path, and it feels like a real life lesson out of The Farmer for Bluey’s benefit. Here’s the list of what they encounter on their hunt for Frisky:
On the face of it, this feels straight out of The Farmer and it, along with a heart-to-heart with Chilli, Frisky, and Bluey, leads the trio to embrace the idea of “We’ll see.” Chilli learns the importance of being honest with Bluey about her feelings, about the fear and sadness she feels, and that connection helps them both grow to a position to support each other through this upcoming change. As with all things Bluey, it’s the parents that need to be explicitly taught the lesson that the kids will come to grips with more naturally through their experiences. Cue the wedding, the party, and all the joy of this last celebration at the Heeler house.
On any other show, that would be the end of it. This series finale-esque episode would end with the family ready to accept a new, uncertain future, and they would move to a new city ready to start a new adventure together. After all, that’s the lesson Calypso was trying to teach Bluey, right? But “The Sign” is not a normal episode of TV, and Bluey is not any other show. Because the lessons for the Bandit and Chilli are not over yet, and the list of events above were not what they appeared.
Before I go on, I have to go back. The episode of Bluey that first cemented its enduring importance to me was “Dance Mode,” an early episode of season 2. We didn’t start watching Bluey when it first became available in the US, but hopped on the bandwagon once season 2 was at least partially out. I enjoyed the first season and revealed in its humor and its heart, but it didn’t imprint on me fully until “Dance Mode.” That classic episode has the family learning that they’re all pushing Bingo to suppress what she wants in order to get what they want, and that Bandit and Chilli are just as guilty of this as elder sister Bluey. So in the end, to make it up to Bingo, they all agree to go into Dance Mode in front of a big crowd watching a street musician. And before they go wild in only the way the Heelers can, Bandit makes the announcement, “Ladies and gentlemen, I’m doing this for my kid!”
That, to me, is what Bluey is all about: what we do for our kids. Sometimes episodes are just an example of what parenthood is like, with its frustrations, delays, messes, distractions, and needs. It’s that constant feeling that all we do all day is do things for our kids. But other episodes are examples of what we can do for our kids, the experiences, support, and encouragement we can give them, the example we can provide, the understanding and connection we can foster. As parents, we don’t just do things for our kids in the sense that they have demands we’re meeting, but we do things for our kids because it brings us and them joy, because we love them, and because it gives meaning to all of our lives. That’s what Bluey is.
So to really get to the heart of “The Sign” we have to go to Bandit, who is largely absent from the plot of the episode. He is left behind on the chase after Frisky, and he’s not a part of the “We’ll see” lesson learned by the girls. But if the moral of the show as whole is “I’m doing this for my kid,” then for “The Sign” it has to come back to Bandit. It’s Bandit who articulates the pressure of providing Bluey and Bingo with a better life, even as he and Chilli clearly made the decision to move together. His refrain in the face of Chilli and Bluey’s despair is that it’s a movie that will make things better, even if it means giving up what they have. “I’m doing this for my kid,” are the words you can imagine him saying in his head over and over. So much so that you can go back to the episode “Stickbird” and watch Bandit’s struggle with something weighing him down and make the connection that he might have gotten the job offer before their beach trip and was trying to figure out what he was willing to do for his kids.
So with Bandit’s turmoil in mind, let’s look back at that list of events that seemed to alternately bring them closer to Frisky and farther from Frisky with each turn. Knowing the momentous ending of “The Sign,” we can view those events in a different light. Because while they seem like random obstacles and coincidences on the path to Frisky, they’re actually something more. Because the ultimate consequence of those events, that even Bluey will probably never know, is not to end of up at Frisky but instead to get a coin stuck in the slot of that particular pair of binoculars at that particular moment, so that a pair of dogs with no eyes can use it to spot another house for sale.
When viewed in that light, the list of events contains no obstacles at all, but is instead the universe (and writer Joe Brumm) making all of the precise moves required to get that coin to that slot. If they had caught Frisky any sooner or if they had lost her completely they never would have made it to the lookout. Things happened the only way they could have to get the coin into that slot. And then when you think about that, you have to think about what else had to happen to reach that outcome, including the chaos that is Muffin. Someone had to drop a coin in that exact spot for Bluey to find. Rad had to tell Stripe his plans for Frisky to move and Stripe had to blurt it out to Frisky and cause her to run away. Frisky had to get a speeding ticket in order for Chilli to track her to the juice shop so Bluey could find the coin.
But there’s more, and here’s where the “The Sign” grows to encompass 150 episodes of this series. If Rad and Frisky had not accidentally been double booked as babysitters, no coin in the slot. If Bingo and Lila hadn’t saved the caterpillar that became Flappy the butterfly that caused Chilli to pull over at that exact spot by the Lookout sign, no coin in the slot. But take another step further back and it’s not even about the coin in the slot, as that’s only one half of the picture. What do the dogs with no eyes look at through the binoculars with Bluey’s coin? They spot a house for sale with a pool. Whose house? Winton and his dad. Why are they moving? Because Winton’s dad is moving in with the Terrier’s mom. How did they get together? Because the kids were running around and dancing together in the “TV Shop” looking for Coco at the pharmacy, where she has bum worms. There’s a line that has stuck with me for decades from the book The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. “When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.” The Bluey universe conspires, even beyond the Heeler family, all to lead to one fateful phone call.
So here we are at the finale, the real lesson of “The Sign,” and what ties the entire series together. We know what happens. The Heelers are moving out, ready to pull away from the house they love into an uncertain future, when that phone rings one last time. No words are exchanged, there’s no dialogue, nothing has to be spelled out. Meg Washington’s gorgeous “Lazarus Drug” plays as Bandit takes the call, hears the news from Bucky the realtor, and makes a choice. That’s the lesson of “The Sign,” and it’s one that complements and almost contradicts “We’ll see.” If the center of the episode is about the importance of finding peace with whatever the future offers, the final moments are about the power of choice. And in true Bluey style, it’s a lesson for the parents.
The universe has conspired to put the family in that one particular moment. Having faced the future, as ready as they can be to embark on a new adventure together, the universe presents them with a moment of choice. And with a year now since the episode first aired to reflect on the weight of that choice, there are so many questions we can ask about the factors weighing in Bandit’s mind. On the one hand there’s a job with more money to provide the traditional “better life” he seeks for the kids. Chilli is on board, they’ve made plans together, and this is the path they’re on, but you can feel in the air and in the music that it’s not the future they want, it’s the one they think they’re supposed to have. So the universe gives them, gives Bandit, one final moment to make a choice.
While it seems obvious that he would choose the happiness of their home over more money, what don’t we see that he might also be giving up? Does he give up the career path he wants? Is he having to return to a job he doesn’t like? We know it’s one that has sent him away for weeks at a time, that has him having to work from home at times instead of play with the kids, and that forces him to leave when the kids want him to stay. Maybe the new job would have better hours, less travel, or provide more family time. Maybe he won’t be able to return to his old job at all, and will have to find a new one. Maybe the new job would have allowed Chilli to not have to work her airport security job, allowing her more time with Bluey and Bingo, or more time for her own pursuits, letting her play hockey or travel or do the other things she wants to do with her life. Maybe Bandit and Chilli would have been happier in the new city in spite of what they gave up in their own life, even if it meant forcing the kids to rebuild their lives as well.
With all of that potential running through his mind, and with the universe providing the opportunity, Bandit makes a choice. It’s ultimately the choice they all wanted, but we can feel how hard that choice is in the strength it takes to pull that sign out of the ground and toss it into the street. We’ll never know what the Heelers gave up in order to stay at home, what Bandit and Chilli are giving up, but we know through the very power of that moment that the consequences are as heavy as that sign. “Ladies and gentlemen, I’m doing this for my kid.”
It’s no coincidence that at the wedding the same music from “Dance Mode” played. That theme of sacrifice, of work, of burden that comes with being a parent is ever present in Bluey, alongside the joy that those things bring from connecting with your kids. Because no matter how hard it was for Bandit to pull out that sign, no matter what he sacrificed to keep the life the family knows and loves, the joy that immediately comes over everyone makes it worth it. The tackle of Chilli, the rush of Bluey and Bingo to join the hug, the way the music swells with ecstasy as Bluey and Bingo rush through their new home, filled with a new appreciation of what they have and understanding that there’s a cost to keep it even if they don’t fully know that cost. It’s what makes it all worth it. (Also, seriously, how good is the arrangement of “Lazarus Drug” the music team and Joff Bush have concocted? Meg Washington’s song is amazing, but the orchestration of this version and the way it amplifies the emotion is absolute perfection.) “I’m doing this for my kid.” So much weight, pain, struggle, joy, and love in that phrase, and in this show.
I saw a comment from someone when the episode came out that said that the meal the Heelers share in the final moments of the episode is probably the greatest meal of their entire lives, and that thought hasn’t left me since I read it. You can imagine the feeling of that meal, with the family free to play and imagine again with the fear and uncertainty gone, gathered around a cardboard box table on the famous kiwi rug. Those fries, which make great mustaches, probably tasted perfect, as the sun sets and the tails start to wag. While Bluey and Bingo are already back to normal, as kids bounce back so quickly, you can feel the tension ease in Bandit and Chilli as tails start to wag and you know the family will be alright.
Just to hammer the point home, “The Sign” is not the final episode of the season (or series, as it is yet to be seen if the show will return, although we know a movie has been announced). There’s one more “Surprise” still to come, whose message is almost literally “I’m doing this for my kid.” This is one where Bluey does learn a lesson, having asked what it’s like being a parent and seeing firsthand through play what Bandit is willing to do for Bingo’s (or Otarya’s) pretend children. But Bandit and we adults in the audience learn a lesson as well, that our kids do see and understand what we do for them, the sacrifices we make, the burdens we carry, and the help we provide. And when we let them see that, they’ll be prepared for the journey of parenthood one day themselves as well.
When I say that “The Sign” is not only my favorite episode of Bluey, my favorite episode of television, but also perhaps my favorite work of narrative fiction of all time, I hope this gives you an idea of why. It is a masterpiece of course, but it’s so thematically resonant, not only for parents but especially if you happen to be a parent. It encapsulates the heart of the show, “I’m doing this for my kid,” but also hammers home the power of choice in that statement. When you become a parent, every choice you make, consciously or unconsciously, is about what you’re doing for your kid. Some choices are easy. We choose to feed our kid and provide them a bed and take them to school. Some choices are hard. What school we send them to, what activities we sign them up for, what values we teach them and what kind of environment we provide for them. Some are big, one time choices we make that affect the course of their lives. Some choices are small ones we make every day, but those can often be the hardest. We choose to get up and go to work every day to support them. We choose to set aside our anger or frustration or exhaustion or sadness to play with them, to encourage them, to support them, to give them attention. They may not understand the weight behind those choices, or how hard they can be, but they know we’re making them and they see them every day, and that’s how they learn to make their own choices. Bluey teaches parents that, among many other things. And hey, the kids enjoy it too.
The Love Pirate 