Top 5 Episodes Of 'Bluey'

TV & Film

Jul 31

It’s no overstatement to say that the Australian mega-hit Bluey has been one of the most successful childrens’ shows of all time. It’s gone on to touch the lives of not only countless children worldwide, but their parents as well.

It turns out that when you have engaging stories, well-written, engaging characters, top tier writing, charm and humor, you can have a big hit on your hands. While there aren’t any bad episodes (I would know, I’ve seen the series all the way through about fifty times with my four kids) there are some that have almost entrenched themselves in culture as some of the best TV of all time. We’re here to look at those episodes. In no particular order…

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5: Flat Pack

In this one, the Heeler parents are attempting to set up a porch swing from the Australian dog version of IKEA. It’s going about as easily as anything from any version of IKEA, but Bluey and Bingo entertain themselves with the discarded trash. While that’s hardly remarkable on face value, what sets this apart is 1. the music and 2. the two of them play out the theory of evolution with the discarded materials, starting as tadpoles and ending with Bingo exploring space.

Bluey plays the mother and Bingo the daughter throughout every stage. Meanwhile we get depth added to Bandit and Chili’s relationship as well, seeing them butt head slightly over how best to set it up, but ultimately coming together as a team, even putting the last screw in together. It makes their relationship feel real. The evolution theme is also taken up a notch, with the parents making comments that put them in a deity sort of role. It’s a ton of complexity to fit into a seven minute episode of a preschool show, but you could write a long shot-by-shot analysis essay about this episode just as easily as one could for an Oscar-winning Hollywood film.

4: Camping

Looking back at childhood, especially early childhood, you realize just how fast two children can form a friendship. This episode isn’t the only one that touches on that subject, but it’s unique in that there’s a language barrier, but that doesn’t affect things in the slightest for them. Bluey goes camping and meets a French speaking Canadian dog (noted by a bottle of Canadian maple syrup on their dinner table and the fact that Labradors are Canadian dogs) named Jean-Luc.

The two of them play together as if they’ve known each other for years, even though they’ve just met. However, it doesn’t last, as Jean-Luc’s vacation ends, leaving Bluey sad and alone in the spot where they played together, saddened by the loss of her friend. A highlight of the episode is Chili’s words of wisdom to Bluey. Sometimes special people come into our lives, stay a while, then have to go. Great stuff for any TV show. Fun fact: if you’re ever wondering what Jean-Luc is saying to Bluey, you can 1. learn French or 2: change the language to French, and Jean-Luc will now be named Johnny and speak in English. Also, the last episode of the series (so far) shows that Bluey grows up and has a daughter of her own. Fans are split on whether or not the father is Bluey’s New Zealander friend Mackenzie or Jean-Juc. I am firmly in the Jean-Luc camp. No pun intended.

3: The Sign

Clocking in at 28 minutes, this is by far the longest episode of the show, and boy do they make the most of it, giving us one of the highest rated episodes of TV ever. #61 on IMDB’s top 1000 TV episodes of all time. Super impressive for any show. With the overwhelming success of Bluey as a whole, there were a ton of expectations going into a long form episode, and The Sign blew them all out of the water.

The episode has two storylines: in the first, the Heelers are getting their house ready to host the wedding of Chili’s best friend Frisky to Bandit’s older brother Radley, but when Stripe lets it slip that the couple will move out of Queensland after the wedding for a new job, Frisky storms off, deciding to call off the wedding. At the same time, the Heelers are getting ready to move themselves, as Bandit has secured a much higher paying job in another city himself. Bingo doesn’t really understand what that will mean, but Bluey thinks that if she just removes the For Sale sign from their front lawn, they won’t have to move anymore. The writing on this episode is top notch, stuffed with callbacks to previous episode, great character moments, and numerous setups and payoffs. While some might see the ending as slightly unrealistic, it doesn’t matter. You feel the joy with them.

2: Baby Race

As the father of four children, this is one of those episodes that was made for my wife and I, not our kids. As they’ve each grown, you find out quickly that their development phases are not uniform, and what one child gets down fast, another might take longer to grasp. Case in point, my youngest took the longest out of any of my kids to start walking, and you eventually hit a point where you wonder if there’s something wrong. Then one day he decided that walking was for him, and now he walks around like he’s never done anything else. First time mother Chili is going through the same thing. Bluey is the first baby in her mother’s group to roll over, but neighbor Wendy’s daughter Judo sits first. Chili is determined to have Bluey be the first to walk.

She feels like a failure as a mother because no matter how many times she tries to get Bluey developing at a faster pace, it never works. Frequent trips to a dismissive doctor don’t help either, something I’m sure resonated with countless parents in the audience. Such as my wife. Finally an excellent scene with another mother helps Chili in a moment that’s one of the top five defining moments of the entire series. Chili finally lets Bluey develop at her own pace, ending the episode on a perfect note.

1: Sleepytime

Ah, you all knew.

This episode peaked on IMDB’s list at #26. A seven minute, largely wordless episode of a preschool show found itself in the company of the highest rated episodes of such shows as Breaking Bad, Succession, Game of Thrones, and Avatar: The Last Airbender. It’s a super simple setup. Bingo wants to spend the night in her own bed, as opposed to waking up in her parents’ bed. She dreams that she is floating in the cosmos with her stuffed rabbit Floppy (mustn’t forget Floppy) to the music of The Planets, Op. 32. mov. IV Jupiter by Gustav Holst. Whoever decided on that music… chef’s kiss. It’s perfect to portray the wonder of the galaxy as Bingo shoots to different planets. Outside of her dream, the other members of the family are trying to get to sleep themselves. The fun is that the events outside of Bingo’s dream are affecting the dream itself, culminating in Bingo basking in the warmth of the sun in her dream, as her mother holds her. It’s a tearjerking moment in an episode that’s about as perfect an episode of TV that’s ever been written.

Bluey is without a doubt one of the best TV shows period, regardless of genre. It will doubtlessly be the defining show for countless kids growing up, and we’re all looking forward to more. A movie is in the works due for 2027, and season 4 is coming out… at some point. Whatever comes out next, there is a legion of fans eagerly waiting for more adventures from the Heelers.
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