If you’re a parent with young kids and a Disney+ subscription, it’s probably safe to assume that the Australian animated seriesBlueyis a big part of your household life. And considering how often kids like to rewatch their favorite shows, it likely comes as a relief thatBlueyis such an excellent program. SomeBlueyepisodes are absolutely hilarious, while others are way deeper than they have any right to be. One of the best things about the show ishow the show depicts Bandit and Chilli Heeler, the parents of Bluey and Bingo.
While many kids’ shows feature parents that are downright incompetent (or simply not present),Blueypresents a realistic approach to parenthood with characters who are flawed yet can still be looked up to. For example,Bingo and Bluey’s dad Banditis caring and fun, and does his best for his family.That doesn’t mean he is perfect, however, or that he doesn’t sometimes get emotional.One perfect example is inBlueyseason 3, episode 41, “Stickbird,” which had me wondering just why Bandit was so upset.
What Happened In The Stickbird Episode
Bandit Is Distracted By Something Bothering Him
In “Stickbird,”the Heeler familydecides to have a family day at the beach. Bingo and Bluey are having fun playing with sticks when Chilli decides to join in.Bandit, however, appears to be a bit distracted, and Chilli tells him he needs to “let it go,” and that he’s “missing all this.” Eventually, Bandit goes with Bingo to find the perfect stick, and they find one that looks like the head of a bird. Bingo gets the idea to make a “stickbird” using sand and beach debris, and Bandit helps her out.
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When Bandit and Bingo step away from the sculpture to find more sticks, a group of kids runs by. One of them unwittingly takes the stickbird’s head, ruining it. Naturally,Bingo is upset when she finds the sculpture destroyed and the stick taken. Bluey sees that Bingo is upset, and helps her through it by showing her a method taught to her by her friend, Mya. She tells Bingo to collect all of the negative emotions wherever she feels them, then wad them into a ball and throw them away. Bingo feels better, and the girls go back to having fun.
After the sisters run off, Bandit takes a moment alone, pensively looking out at the water.He then starts to copy the movements that Bluey taught Bingo, gathering all the negative emotions before throwing them far away into the ocean.His worry seems to vanish, and he goes to rejoin the family.
Bluey Fans Have Their Own Theories On Why Bandit Was Upset
Fans Think It’s Tied To Bandit’s Career Or A Possible Family Move
As beautiful as theBluey“Stickbird” episode is, we have to wonder: what is Bandit thinking about? What has him so tied up in knots? Fans had their own thoughts, and a few theories.
In aReddit postfrom 2023, manyBlueyfans suggested thatBandit’s sadness has to do with his work as an archeologist.User timtamsforbreakfast pointed out the line from the episode when Bandit said,“When you put something beautiful into the word, it’s no longer yours, really,”followed by the statement:
“My theory is that he wrote an archaeology book, and it got panned by the critics, and he can’t get the negative reviews out of his head.”
Another theory from Toowiggly suggested:
“Perhaps Bandit made an archaeological discovery where someone else came along and ruined for their own purposes. They didn’t know they ruined what Bandit just made and they weren’t trying to ruin it out of spite, they just wanted to re-purpose what Bandit did for their own work.”
The idea of Bingo’s disappointment mirroring Bandit’s own is a very poignant one, and could be a possibility. However, we should also consider the new information we learned fromthe longerBlueyepisode, “The Sign,” which came out later in the season. In “The Sign,”the Heeler family is selling their house because Bandit has decided to take a new job in a different city. It would make a lot of sense if, in “Stickbird,” Bandit may have been stressed out over whether he should accept the position, which would be a huge life change for him and his family.
What Joe Brumm Says About Bandit In “Stickbird”
The Bluey Creator Was Inspired By His Own Experience
As we speculate why Bandit might be feeling sad in “Stickbird,” it only feels right to ask the brains behind the show to find the real answer. Not long after the episode was released,the series creator ofBluey, Joe Brumm, appeared on the Australian podcastBehindBluey.When asked about the episode, Brumm said (viaThe Mary Sue):
“It’s not important what [Bandit’s] worrying about. I mean, take your pick, right? … it could be a health thing, it could be a work thing, it could be a relationship thing, it could be something with the kids, any number of things. So it wasn’t really important that we ever got into what his issue was.It was more about not even solving what his issue is, but at least stopping the rumination.”
Although Brumm purposely chose to keep the source of Bandit’s anxiety vague, he did share that the inspiration behind “Stickbird” was related to his personal experience as the show’s head writer.
“That line [about putting something out into the world] happened right at a time when, with Bluey, I was getting a lot of notes about particular episodes. I was finding it a little difficult with some of the notes to really do what I wanted to do with certain episodes, and eventually, [letting it go] was the only thing that helped me. It’s like, look, once I make it, and I attempt to make it as beautiful as I can, it doesn’t belong to me. But yeah, it’s interesting putting something into the world. Some episodes work for some people and some episodes don’t, and you kind of have to detach from all that.”
Why It’s Better That We Don’t Know Why Bandit is Upset
The Lesson Is More About Bandit Learning To Deal With His Emotions
Although it may be fun to guess what Bandit was thinking about in “Stickbird,” I have to agree with Joe Brumm’s point.In the end, it doesn’t matter why Bandit is feeling upset. What matters istheBlueylesson that he learns, which is finding healthy way to deal with his feelings in the moment so that he can go back to spending quality time with his family.
It’s a wonderful reminder that parents can learn from their children just as much as kids learn from them.
Another thing I love is the moment when Bandit follows Bluey’s advice by gathering all his worries together and throwing them away. It’s a wonderful reminder that parents can learn from their children just as much as kids learn from them. As a parent, I can relate to what it’s like to be distracted by responsibilities and forget to have fun with your kids. What’s great aboutBlueyis not onlyhow it helps kids to understand what adults go through, but it also helps parents remember how important it is to be present with their childrenwhile they can.
