Ranking Every Bluey Episode (48-21)

I originally planned for this ranking of Bluey episodes to be a three-parter, but (a) the best episodes deserve more dedicated space, and (b) there are a lot of Bluey episodes, y’all. Even four parts is pushing it.

Anyway, I’m back at it today ranking episodes 21-48. These are very good. They are not the best-best, but you’ll enjoy watching them.

(Miss the first two parts? Check out Episodes 104-77 and Episodes 76-49).

#48: Queens, Ep. 2.23

Chilli really goes for it with her queen accent. Just all in. I approve.

#47: Copycat, Ep. 1.38

The narrative device of repeating “Copycat” two different ways over the storyline is a bit clunky, but the attempted bird salvation followed by the fake bird salvation was pretty delightful.

#46: Spy Game, Ep. 1.13

This part:

Bandit: “We’re dogs, kid. We all have a part of the pack. Now look what happens when I take the bottom one out. Does that make sense?”
Bluey: “No…”
Bandit: “Okay! Just do your best, kid!”

Makes me laugh 100% of the time. Bandit’s just “Okay, whatever, I tried, I’m out.” It is wonderful. As is Chloe thinking a chip packet will work to control the grown-ups because they’re at a barbecue and “They’re barbecue flavored!” Just lots to like here.

#45: Hammerbarn, Ep. 2.02

This episode is extra cute, because you see the friendship with Bandit and Pat, and I love the “grass is always greener” thing to it as a message about not caring so much about what someone else has. And the surprise of the paint chips is fun. Except … doesn’t it undercut the entire point of the episode? Like, the message is supposed to be “You can’t have everything you want” mixed with “Don’t care so much about what someone else has,” except they literally say the opposite, and Bluey gets what she wants (and it’s the same as what Bingo has), and Bandit gets exactly what Pat has, and it’s perfect for him as well. Cute episode, very mixed message.

#44: Muffin Cone, Ep. 2.43

This and “I can tell I’m happy because my tail is wagging!” from “Duck Cake” are the only two episodes that depend on them being dogs to make sense, right?

#43: The Claw, Ep. 1.19

“Magic Claw has no children. His days are free and easy.” Preach, Magic Claw.

#42: Magic Xylophone, Ep. 1.01

I’ve probably “seen” this episode more than any other, though that’s in quotes because most of my times seeing it were actually just heard. That’s because it was the first episode, and as such it’s the first episode on the first DVD, and the kids like to watch Bluey in the van, so I’ve heard Bandit sing “Rondo Alla Turca” for bajillion times. If I went to a classical concert and they played it, I would probably react like we do when Wagner comes on and we all picture Bugs Bunny.

Also, the kids have a toy xylophone, and every once in a while they want to play Magic Xylophone, and that game is much more fun to watch than to play, let me assure you.

#41: Yoga Ball, Ep. 1.16

So when Bluey first started, I didn’t really pay attention to it and thought it was a maybe-too-cutesy show about a little boy and what I assumed was his brother. But in this episode they refer to Bingo as needing her “Big Girl Bark” and to Bluey as her “sister.” Not that it matters, but it took to this point for me to realize they’re girls. (And truth be told, part of me thinks that’s why they had the “I’m a girl!” part from Bluey in “Double Babysitter,” just to reinforce it for audiences who are used to hearing the Bart Simpsonification of prepubescent boys voices by women and thus assuming women’s voices are or could still be boys.)

#40: Dunny, Ep. 2.48

I know “dunny” isn’t actually a rude word in Australia, but it’s funny to me that the end result of this episode is almost certainly more kids using the word everywhere.

#39: Ice Cream, Ep. 2.47

Listen, you keep your prestige TV, I have an episode on Disney Channel where a 6-year-old and a 4-year-old circle each other with tongues out as their ice creams melt and Tchaikovsky plays. I’m winning here.

#38: Featherwand, Ep. 2.03

I’ve said it before, but I will play with my children and indulge their flights of fancy, but my limit is right up to the bathroom time. I gotta pee, I don’t care if you’ve make-believed my toilet to weigh a million pounds, it’s happening. Sorry.

#37: Bob Bilby, Ep. 1.12

It's weird that they went for a quasi-sex joke when the garage door opens and Bandit’s so stunned by his wife he accidentally clicks the camera, right? That’s weird?

#36: Shops, Ep. 1.23

I guess here is where I point out that Mackenzie is my favorite character. All he wants to do is play. He doesn’t want to mess around with organization or structure or rules, he just wants to play, and play now, dammit. It’s the most consistent characterization and I love him for it.

#35: Sleepytime, Ep. 2.26

My wife is so perplexed by this episode, because it is supremely weird, and that’s doubly true if you’re a parent who has just tossed Bluey on in the background and aren’t really paying attention. But it’s very sweet if you actually pay attention to it.

#34: Sticky Gecko, Ep. 2.12

“I want to leave but my children have no sense of urgency and as such we are stuck in a perpetual state of ‘It’s time to go and we can’t,’ and I am officially going to lose my mind over it” is the most relatable thing ever for every single parent in the world.

#33: Circus, Ep. 2.33

Genuine question: Are elections in Australia like this? The parents take their kids to a park with food and such and just wander off to vote somewhere in the park during the day? I 100% have no idea, but it sounds wonderful and I want to have that be what is here. (Also, making it so the episode about politics can be called “Circus” is so clever.)

#32: Road Trip, Ep. 2.46

As curious and weird as Bluey is, I refuse to believe she had never before noticed the little fold-down armrest in the car, but that’s a tiny issue in an otherwise-flawless episode. I was curious if the Grey Nomads at the end would object to their nickname.

#31: Stumpfest, Ep. 2.06

This is the episode (I guess) that made some people decry Bandit as a larrikin, because while he does agree to wear makeup to amuse Bluey, he isn’t gung-ho about it and gets mocked by Pat and Stripe. But good lord, it’s not that he was forced to wear makeup, it was that he was forced to wear hideous makeup, while working up a sweat outside, and anyone who would be gung-ho about that needs to answer some serious sanity questions.

#30: Dance Mode, Ep. 2.01

For all their willingness to be embarrassed for their kids’ sake, it’s weird Bandit and Chilli drew the line at “dancing in a group of people who would certainly be charmed by it.” Flip side: “Dad snags some of the kid’s food but then the kid is sad about it” is my absolute nightmare.

#29: Charades, Ep. 2.11

For my money, this is the best Muffin-and-Socks episode, and that’s because Nana saves it. Muffin’s still a little punk, though.

#28: Verandah Santa, Ep. 1.52

My favorite Socks episode. And also a pretty decent overall lesson.

#27: Christmas Swim, Ep. 2.51

When Season 2 dropped on Disney+, this episode aired before “Double Babysitter,” which was funny, because “Double Babysitter” featured Frisky and Rad meeting (or at least sober-meeting), and then in “Christmas Swim” they’re living together off somewhere afield. They switched the order not long after, but I thought it was a funny mistake.

#26: Calypso, Ep. 1.17

Calypso is such a good character. She’s arguably too perfect, especially when it comes to coordinating her mess of Little Tinies exactly how she wants, but I don’t even care, I love her and I want her to be my teacher.

#25: Chickenrat, Ep. 1.47

Points up for creative storytelling. Points down for the burping.

#24: The Creek, Ep. 1.29

Seriously, Mackenzie just wants to play. Play with Mackenzie. Don’t make him wait to play. Don’t make him have to play something too juvenile. Just let the kid play.

#23: Octopus, Ep. 2.41

Chloe’s dad is a big tech nerd who lives in a big tech-nerd house and struggles to play imaginatively. It’s a very clever characterization for someone who is in the extended universe of the supremely imaginative Bluey, and I hope we get more of him interacting with his daughter’s crazy friend in the future.

#22: Takeaway, Ep. 1.14

“What are we gonna play?”

“We’re gonna play ‘Dad reads the paper.’”

I know Bandit knew that wasn’t going to work out for him. I know he knew it down deep in his bones. But he still felt he had to try.

#21: Grannies, Ep. 1.28

Whenever shows land on recurring jokes like the girls being the Grannies, I’m curious when the showrunners realized they really had something. Did they know the Grannies were going to be cool and popular when they wrote the episode? Or when the voice actresses had so much fun with it? Or was it once the episode aired and people were all “I slipped on my beans!” about it? I’d love to know when they decided the Grannies were such winners.