Obsession: Bluey

Rusty and Indy are playing mums and dads (mum with a u, not an o). They end up getting in a small little tiff about who goes to work, the mum or the dad. And when they can’t resolve it, Calypso, in her wisdom, plots and tells them to go play with Bluey and Mackenzie. But those play partners end up being even more miserable and they don’t play the game how Rusty and Indy do. So they meet up again, and resolve their issues with the other person, and then take it one step further, compromising and saying rather than it being a weekday, it’s the weekend and no one has to go to work! Problem solved. The two realize they are destined for each other, and they really just learn about compromise, how to work together, and how some of the gender roles we have in our society are just made up things.

Rusty interrupted Bluey, Indy, and Honey’s game…or did he. Calypso acts as the mediator here as Bluey tells her story of how they were playing early baby and hospitals and Rusty came in with the baby when he shouldn’t have. But Rusty tells his side of the story where he battled a sausage dragon because it was eating villagers, and he bravely fought it to get the princess back for the king. And then did a swap with the baby the girls were playing with and the girls saw it and flipped out! And all it took for both of them to calm down was to understand the story of what each of them were doing. A great little episode about how perspective can change our attitudes toward another person.

It is time for a fun sleepover party. The girls are anxiously awaiting their cousin, Muffin, to come over and they have big plans to stay up later past their bedtime. But when Muffin comes over, they find that she’s skipped her nap and is exhausted. The girls still try to play with her and avoid going to bed early, but when Muffin is barely able to make it, Bluey hatches a plan to get Muffin into bed so that she can get the rest that she needs. The episode is all about consideration and how we should think about others in their need.

Bandit wakes up to find that Bluey is copying him in everything he does. So Bandit gets real funny and weird and tries to get Bluey to do some really funny and weird stuff. But as they are walking like speed walkers down the sidewalk, Bluey stops because she notices a budgie, or a bird, laying in the grass. It’s hurt. And Bandit grabs it and pops it in a shoebox to bring to the vet. Fully expecting the vet to heal them, the viewer is shocked when the doctor comes out and tells Bluey that the little budgie has died. The rest of the afternoon as Bluey goes home, she asks Bingo to help her play a game, and they essentially relive the day, with Bingo acting as the bird here, until they get to the part where the bird has died again. Chilli delivers the news, but Bingo comes popping out of the house and flies around all over the place. It helps to lighten the mood, but the emotional pull of this episode still stays true.

Bluey and Chloe are having an adventure at school. While some of the other kids are playing different games, Chloe and Bluey are playing princesses. But it’s not the kind of princess game you’d think. There is a famine in the land, so the princess needs to go to the outside world to get food. And the adventure begins as the princess battles, rivers, terriers, a sorcerer who freezes things, and many many other obstacles on their way to a farm to find food. The kids employ their imagination and learn to be brave and to persevere through difficult times.

Bluey, Bingo, Muffin and Socks are all hanging out. Not sure where Stripe and Trixie are, but Bandit and Chilli seem to be watching over the whole gang. The kids learn what backpacking is and want to play a game where they are the backpacks and mom and dad are the backpackers. So the game is on, and the parents walk around from the markets, to the hotels and eventually to the bathroom where Bandit really needed to go. The kids look like they are having a blast as they make it more and more difficult for Bandit and Chilli to get stuff and do exactly what they want. Eventually the parents get to their room and are able to take a breather before they go for a hike (with the kids now as their boots) and the kids learn a lesson about what it means to go backpacking and to prepare for any and every circumstance.

It’s time to play zoo. Chilli is the mom, Bingo is the kid, Bluey is the zookeeper, and Bandit is the gorilla. Bandit is less than enthusiastic to play so Bluey prods him with a pool noodle to try to get him to move a little bit for the guests. It doesn’t work too much so they move on. But Bingo is intrigued and climbs into his cage where they develop a relationship. After the zookeeper notices, she grabs the hose and hoses Bandit down to try to stop him, but Bandit grabs Bingo and hops the fence in a beautiful slow motion masterpiece. The two end up on the run before a banana lures Bandit out of hiding and into captivity. The zookeeper recognizes the bond that they share though and while Bingo is sad as she goes to bed, Bluey brings the gorilla back to Bingo so they can share the love they have for each other. A strangely beautiful episode where the kids learn about the beautiful possibilities of what could have happened had Harambe lived.

Bandit needs to go to the dump to throw out some stuff, so Bluey and Bingo join in. On the car ride there, they have a ton of fun, Bandit convincing Bluey that he not only knows everything, but that he’s the best dad in the whole world. When they get to the dump, Bluey discovers that Dad is throwing away Bluey’s drawings, and Bandit quickly falls from being the best dad in the world, to the worst. Bluey is hurt, but Bandit lets her know a lesson about recycling that fixes everything, and when he distracts them by going through the car wash, the girls then change their tune again from worst dad ever, back to best dad ever. The girls learn about recycling, Bandit learns about vulnerability, and this episode had me wishing that my city had a dump like this.

Bluey, Bingo, and Bandit are all on the trampoline for a morning jumping sessions. They’re playing and having fun when Bandit lets them know he has to leave to go to work. He gets out of the trampoline and Bingo and Bluey persuade him to come back on to play another short game. This happens about three more times until Bandit really lets them know he has to go. The girls are super bummed and as Bandit gets ready to leave, Bluey comes up to him letting him know that she doesn’t want him to go to work. Bandit then tells her that her job is just as important as his, her job is to come up with fun games. And this unleashes a lot of creativity for Bluey as she goes back to the trampoline and creates a really fun game with her sister, so fun, in fact, that Chilli stops her gardening to join them. And Bluey learns the wonderful possibilities of creativity.

Bingo is sick in the hospital and Chilli is there with her. She’s super bummed out she has to stay for another night, but then dad sends a video to them. Bluey, Bandit, Stripe, Trixie, Muffin, Socks, Mackenzie, and Lucky all made a video for Bluey to make her feel a little less alone. It’s the tale about finding underpants from someone who has never been sick. This is actually a Buddhist tale and offers some wise advice. Bingo learns that she is not alone in her sickness and frustration and Bluey and the rest of the gang just do an immaculate job at comforting Bingo.