Top 5 Underrated ‘Bluey’ Episodes

TV & Film

Jul 23

Every so often, a cartoon comes along that just speaks to everybody. Whether you have kids that are the target audience, grown kids, or no kids at all, you can get something enjoyable from the show. The Australian mega-hit Bluey is one such show. Featuring the adventures of the titular six-year-old blue heeler and her family, parents Bandit and Chili, and younger sister Bingo, the imagination, depth, humor, and endless charm have captivated audiences all around the world since episode one.

If you go onto the internet, you’ll see a pretty consistent consensus about which episodes are the best, or at least the most classic. Baby Race, The Sign, Sleepytime, Flat Pack, Camping, Stumpfest, Cricket... the show has put out some bangers. But what about the episodes that don’t get talked about as much? I for one think that they deserve mention, and that’s what I’m going to do. This list is, of course, completely subjective and in no particular order.

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5. Bus

My wife, kids, and I watched this one by accident for the first time. It’s the episode after Flat Pack, which we were trying to watch. Suffice to say, it’s one of our household’s favorites. It centers around Bandit as a pretend bus driver, who picks up Chili, a passenger who is secretly in love with him, and the always excellent “granny” characters, Rita and Janet. Things get steadily more insane from there. The setup is pretty simple, just a bus driver and passengers, but it’s actually one of the Heelers’ wilder games. This is easily one of the more hilarious episodes, and it’s one that my family and I frequently go back to.

4. Octopus

This is one of the episodes featuring one of Bluey’s classmates, in this case her dalmatian friend Chloe. The episode starts with Bluey teaching Chloe how to play Octopus, where they pretend to be fish trying to steal the treasure of a dim-witted octopus, played by Bandit. When Chloe goes home, she wants to play the same game with her own father, Frank. Things don’t quite go as she imagined when her dad doesn’t get as immersed in the game as Bandit, nor does he really understand what she wants in the game.

This episode is great, because not only do we get a look at one of Bluey’s classmates, but we see them develop the game in their own way. Families play together in different ways, and even though Frank may not play Octopus in the same way as Bandit, with some online research, they can make their own version that’s meaningful to them. Plus, the blink-and-you'll-miss-it detail of the dalmations’ house number being 101 is great.

3. Copycat

Death isn’t a topic that a lot of kids’ shows will touch upon, regardless of age. However, Bluey handles it with a better touch than most adult media. The episode starts typically enough. Bandit wakes up to find Bluey copying his every move and word, and as he tries to escape from her, the pair come across an injured budgie. They rush it to the vet, but they’re too late to save it.

Most shows would just have Bluey talking to her parents about death and why people need to die and so on. Instead, Bluey accepts the trauma and processes it through play with her mother and sister. It’s an episode that makes you wonder how they pack so much drama, humor, charm, character complexity, depth, and heart into just nine minutes. Bluey is saddened by the death of the budgie, but maturely comes to accept that it’s out of her hands.

2. Sheepdog

A common setup for a game in the Heeler household is Bandit asking the girls what they should play, the girls excitedly picking a game, and Bandit saying, “Oh no, not (insert game here). This episode is probably the best example of that. It’s another episode that delves into an idea that I’ve never seen done before: parental alone time. Bluey has to learn that while her mother loves her and wants to spend time with her, she needs time alone to recharge. It starts with Chili completely frazzled by the enormous task of taking care of the household, so once dinner is set in the crock pot, she tells Bandit that she just needs twenty minutes where nobody comes near her.

As a parent myself, my wife and I have often been overwhelmed by the task that is life, and just need some time to ourselves to get our heads on straight. What sets this one apart is that it’s probably the best utilization of the Heelers’ English neighbor, Wendy. As Bandit pretends to be a sheep to keep the kids entertained, he manages to find his way into Wendy’s backyard, and shenanigans ensue. Bluey finally understands why her mother would want a little time alone after she needs a bit of a break after taking care of her rambunctious sheep father. There are several episodes where it seems like it was made more for the parents than the kids. This is definitely one of them.

1. Ragdoll

As silly as Bandit often is with his children, there are episodes where he performs his duties as a father and tries to impart wisdom and life experiences to his daughters. Ragdoll is probably the best example of that. In it, Bluey finds a ten dollar bill (about 7 USD) on the laundry room (but we never see them wear clothes?!) floor, and Bandit takes it back, realizing that it must have fallen out of his… hammerspace? Whenever he keeps his wallet, keys, and phone. When Bluey and Bingo say they wanted to use the money to buy ice cream, he agrees, on the condition that they play Ragdoll. He flops on the floor as if boneless, and it’s up to the girls to carry him to the car if they want any hope of ice cream. As the girls struggle to get him out of the house and to the car, Bandit keeps providing words of wisdom to them, much to their chagrin.

This one is interesting because we see Bandit in the role of the wise father, which is not something that happens in every episode. He’s usually playing with his daughters on their level. It also shows that Bandit is avoiding the trap that a lot of parents fall into: having your child be your friend first instead of a child. He’s more than happy to play with them (and make us other dads feel inadequate, I might add), but he still wants to instill good values in them that will help them succeed in life. Like the previous episode, the addition of Wendy is great, and her addition ties the whole thing together nicely. It’s just a fun episode that sees Bandit messing with his daughters while still trying to instill wisdom in them.

This list was difficult to make. Bluey has so many good episodes that could have made the list, and very, very few that I would say that I don’t enjoy. If you don’t see your favorite episode on here, that’s okay. The great thing about Bluey is that there are so many great episodes to enjoy even beyond the classic, iconic ones. Here’s hoping that season 4 and the movie bring us a ton more great stories, adventures, and play from everybody’s favorite Australian family.

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