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To all the unsuspecting parents who fired up Disney+ on Sunday, hoping to chill out with the family and laugh along to the new Bluey special… how are you holding up?
The Australian ‘toon has always been more substantive than many of its contemporaries (we’re looking at you, Peppa Pig!), but this latest special is on another level. It’s a thrilling half hour of television — a fast-paced, sharply-written, deeply thoughtful examination of the human spirit. Also, two dogs get married!
“The Sign” exists at the intersection of two potentially life-altering developments for the Heeler family. Not only is Uncle Rad finally making an honest English Cocker Spaniel out of his longtime girlfriend Frisky, but Bluey’s parents also explain that they’re selling the house and moving to a new city. The former is a cause for celebration, while the latter is an existential crisis waiting to happen. And it happens big time.
While Bluey’s younger sister Bingo remains blissfully ignorant of what “selling the house” really means, seven-year-old Bluey is painfully aware of how things are about to change — as are Bluey’s classmates, who erupt in an adorable group howl when she breaks the news of her impending departure.
What unfolds next is sheer chaos from start to finish. Frisky calls off the wedding because she finds out that Radley is already planning their future without consulting her, sending Chilli and the flower girls on a wild goose chase to track down the runaway bride. A run-in with the police, a harrowing butterfly attack and an emergency pee break later, Chilli finally realizes where Frisky must be hiding: “the lookout where Frisky and I used to come as teenagers to… um… think!” (That one was just for the grown-ups.)
In a moment of brutal honesty, Chilli admits that she doesn’t want to move either, but she believes that it could be good for their family. When Bluey suggests that it could also be bad for them, she concedes that it’s impossible to know either way. All she can tell her daughter is, “I guess we’ll see.”
This is a callback to the story that Calypso reads to Bluey’s class earlier in the episode. It’s also a recurring theme in the special, which stresses the importance of accepting life’s unknowns and trusting that things will work out however they’re supposed to.
Speaking of Calypso, teaching Bluey that fairytales have happy endings “because life will give us enough sad ones” was real as hell. Was that lesson part of her school-approved curriculum? Probably not. But it’s a literal dog-eat-dog world out there, and she’ll be damned if she doesn’t prepare these puppies for it.
Anyway, we’re fully invested in (and deeply concerned about) every bit of developing doggy drama at this point. Is Frisky seriously calling off her wedding? And are the Heelers really moving to a new city?! As it turns out, the stress rash we’ve acquired has been for naught. Not only do Rad and Frisky tie the knot after reconciling, but Bluey’s family also doesn’t follow through with their big move. The sheepdogs who bought the Heelers’ house stumble upon another property they like better, a discovery they only made because the kids got Bluey’s “lucky coin” stuck in a binocular machine at the park earlier in the episode. You have to admit, it’s a fun twist.
While this ultimately gives Bluey the happy ending she wanted, the timing couldn’t be less convenient. Think about it: The Heelers spent hours (days?) packing up every last piece of furniture in their house, then loaded it all into a moving truck, only to find out mid-move that the buyers changed their mind. After all that time, energy and expense wasted, we aren’t surprised when Bandit dramatically rips the “For Sale” sign out of the ground. Moving is a pain!
All told, the Heelers’ lives will remain largely unchanged, but we do have a few questions concerning the future of the Bluey-verse: Can Bandit easily get his old job back now that he’s decided to stay, or did his company already hire a replacement archaeologist when he accepted his new gig out of town? Will those two puppies’ lonely single parents end up getting together? And we totally echo Nana’s gasp of excitement — when are Rad and Frisky going to give us more grand-puppies already?!
It’s a lot to process, we know. But that’s what comment sections are for, so drop your thoughts about Bluey’s latest special after grading it in the poll below.
Winton and the Terries parents do end up together! That was Winston’s dads house that the sheepdogs see at the end
Dissapointing ending.
All that emotional build up, for nothing. Nothing changed, nothing happened, it was basically a dream episode where nothing that happened matters.
Not to mention, the house was sold, you can’t just back out at that point. Kinda dumb.
Yeah! I expect more realistic situations in my talking dog cartoons!
So you feel nothing watching Bluey? Why are you even reading this article?
The shows emotional impact is the whole point of the show.
You definitely missed her point.
This is a show that is ultimately made for kids. Chill out, stop overthinking it, and just enjoy yourself.
I do get where you are coming from. It does feel like a bit of a copout.
However I do think it is very subjective to each of our own experiences in this matter.
We experienced both ends of this story(line) in that our first planned move failed as we decided to not go through with it, and eventually 3 years later we did end up moving.
So a part of me also wanted them to go through with it and deal with that side of the story – as we did, but only because it was closer to my own story.
But maybe they still do :)
I think in the end Sunny is right – we should remember it’s just a cartoon in the end.
Also, dude, Australian real estate law generally includes a “cooling-off” period allowing for buyer’s remorse where a property sale can be cancelled even after signing. 10-14 is standard, depending on the state or territory, but private realtors can write in significantly longer ones if they so choose. So, yeah, the dogs that can’t see totally could decide to buy a different house.
Brandy is pregnant. All is right in the world.
The lookout: that’s where Chilli and Frisky used to… hang out.
Did Chilli and Frisky date as teens? We all know what high schoolers do “at the lookout” lol
My guess is that they went there to either 🍃🍃 and/or 🍻
Seriously…. *facepalm* Not everything has to be sexual.
She was literally talking about getting high… that is what most teenagers do at a high traffic area like that.
hello hru
Good gravy, how is this so fetching great! I was crying.
I was sure it would end up with Rad and Frisky buying their house to keep the family history there going. Little disappointed.
Clearly the author wasn’t paying attention when you could see that it was Winton’s dad who was selling the second house to move in with the Terriers.
And frankly, the move falling through was foreshadowed in Daddy Dropoff, as it would’ve shattered Bingo and Lila’s friendship, which was meant to last to their graduation.
Biggest question for me though: what’s with Brandy getting pregnant after the implication she couldnt?!
See who she was dancing with at the wedding? Chattermax! A nod that daddy is IVF (via technology)
It was lovely, the song at the end was beautiful and the group howl had me in tears. I like the ending, it really drives home the “everything is up to uncertainty, but in that uncertainty there is still love to be shared” point that came through the whole of the episode. I just hope it’s not the end of the show, as it felt a lot like a goodbye from the creators of Bluey 😭
Was that Socks walking and talking? I love it. Every moment. Chili rubbing Brandy’s belly was such a sweet real moment.
My niece loves Bluey, so I will try to get her to watch this particular episode.
After prepping everyone to move on gracefully when changes take place in your life – the show abruptly cancels the move to another town. This was unrealistic AND undermined the important life lesson.
Absolutely agree. What a horrible “lesson” to teach kids, that you might not really have to move even after the moving van is packed, jobs are changed, schools are notified, etc. This has done so much harm to kids everywhere who will hold out hope no move is real, when most parents responsibly wait until it’s a sure thing to share with their kids the changes that are coming up to give them appropriate time to make peace with saying goodbye to their current circumstances, friends, schools, and neighbors.
Could buyers back out? Sure, but that just means the home goes back on the market for a different buyer – not that you quit your new job, get your old job back on a whim, and cancel your move!
Just because you have never experienced something like this does not mean it cannot happen. My family and I were all set to move out of state when something unexpected happened which kept us in our home.
The whole episode was about things changing but life always working out.
I started watching Bluey only because of my 3 year old granddaughter. I was amazed at the content. Really, it’s a wonderful, thoughtful show. Everything about it is based on occurrences in everyday life. From the interactions between Bluey’s family members and Bluey and her friends, the show is so wholesome. The show is so funny and heartwarming. I watch it myself, sometimes alone when my granddaughter is busy elsewhere. Great television is hard to come by, but this good stuff!
I was today years old when I found out that Bandit is an archaeologist because of this story!
My 10yr old and 5yr old Grandchildren were crying and said they will never watch that episode again! They were very sensitive to the subject matter because their Dad has moved away to another state for 6 months for work.🫤
This whole roller coaster of a ride shows that, end the end, the memories made through the years in their Blue Heeler home are much more important to them in money. Money isn’t everything. Family IS, which much of society still hasn’t come to the realization of.
Above this current “controversy “, Bluey is a cartoon that ranks above the rest of the cartoons I’ve watched with my grandchildren, including the poor quality Disney now televises.. Most of today’s animated TV productions make me cringe- lousy voices and computer generated action. I like Bluey.
In the end of the episode, who crawled out of Wendy’s hedges? “The Sign” episode?