Bluey excels in many things, but perhaps the thing it’s best at is promoting an honest, healthy vision of fatherhood.
You see, Bluey spends a lot of time with her father, Bandit, and he’s great at playing games. There’s nothing silly he won’t do if it means keeping Bluey and her sister Bingo entertained. And this makes the Bluey franchise an absolute delight … and an endless source of relatability for many dads out there.
Here are the best Bluey episodes that highlight Bandit’s most charming qualities. (And, occasionally, his failures!)
The Pool
Bandit claims to have it covered in this episode, but he most assuredly does not. He takes Bluey and Bingo to the pool, delighting in being the fun parent, but accidentally forgets all the important swim stuff, including thongs and sunscreen. Facepalm moment. It becomes more and more difficult to have a good time until Chilli shows up with all the equipment they need. Don’t worry, dads, everyone makes mistakes.
Fairytale
In “Fairytale” Bandit tells his daughters a story about his own childhood, and it doesn’t necessarily make him look good. But parents are people, and Bandit picked on his younger brother Stripe when he was younger. Bandit doesn’t sugarcoat the story for Bluey and Bingo and instead makes it clear that no one’s perfect, not even him. And then the fairytale ends with a sweetly romantic moment between Bandit and Chili. Interestingly, you can work out Bandit’s age from this episode!
Takeaway
Bandit really goes through it in this episode. A simple trip to a takeaway results in chaos as the spring rolls are late, Bingo needs to pee in a bush, and Bluey turns on a tap that she can’t turn off again. Fathers everywhere will relate. Poor Bandit doesn’t even get to eat the food he paid for! But in the end, Bandit gets a fortune cookie reminding him of the importance of kids being kids, and he decides to have some fun with his children under the tap.
Octopus
This Bluey dad episode actually doesn’t just focus on Bandit, there’s another dad added to the mix here. That’s Chloe’s dad. Bandit gets Bluey and Chloe entranced by a game of Octopus, and Chloe loves it. In fact, she loves it so much that she tries to get her own father to play it with her, but then she’s disappointed when he doesn’t play it the way she wants to, trying to make the game educational instead. “Bluey’s dad is more fun than you,” she says. Ouch! But in the end, father and daughter reconcile and set their own rules for the game, leaning into Chloe’s dad’s strengths as a father rather than trying to make him into someone else.
Rug Island
Bandit has to work instead of play (“It’s what grownups do, I’m afraid”) and the kids are sad. So they make an island out of some pens, but then Bandit “washes up” on the island, willing to play for a while after all. Even Lucky’s Dad gets some playtime in. It’s a very sweet episode where we see just how far Bandit is willing to go to in order to validate his children. And it has one of the most touching endings of any Bluey episode.
Dance Mode
Bandit eats Bingo’s last chippy and she’s devastated about it. So Bingo and Bluey make their parents go into “dance mode” at any given moment. It’s embarrassing, but Bandit tackles it with the same happy energy he uses to tackle everything. Eventually, though, he bribes Bingo with twenty dollarbucks to stop her from putting him in dance mode, and that proves to be a huge mistake. Bingo gets very sad that people keep taking stuff away from her and as a result, Bandit has to dance in the middle of the street with his family. “Ladies and gentlemen, I’m doing this for my kid,” he announces. Awww.
Copycat
Bandit wakes up to Bluey copying his every move. Adorable! Well, adorable up to a point. Then things take a dark turn (by Bluey standards) when father and daughter find an injured bird on the street. They take it to the vet, but the poor bird dies anyway. Bluey then reenacts the incident as play, but instead of making things so the bird survives, she keeps it dead, having processed the concept. A great episode for dads who aren’t sure how to broach the subject of death with their children.
Chest
No, not chest! Chess! In this episode, Bandit decides to teach Bluey and Bingo how to play chess, but things don’t go as planned. To be fair, chess is a pretty difficult game for a six-year-old to grasp and even Chilli thinks it might be a bit much for Bluey to understand. Bandit starts to get annoyed as the girls don’t quite get it and move all the pieces wrong. It turns out Bandit just really wants the kids to be smart because he knows one day they’ll be living independent lives without him, and Chilli understands. It’s a little glimpse into the innermost thoughts of Bandit Heeler.
Duck Cake
Bandit shows a rare frustrated side in this episode as he tries to make a duck cake for Bingo’s birthday. He keeps getting interrupted by Bluey trying to clean up her toys and making a duck cake turns out to be haaaard. He eventually resorts to bribery, giving Bluey two dollarbucks to tidy up, and things escalate from there until Bandit has sunk in despair to the floor. And yet, Bluey still learns a valuable lesson. Maybe this episode will inspire you to make your own duck cake?
The Dump
Bandit majorly screws up in this episode. During a trip to the dump, he decides to throw away some of Bluey’s drawings, because there are just so many of them, and Bluey soon realizes what he’s doing. Both Bluey and Bingo are horrified and angry, and then Bluey hits him with the worst line ever: “I don’t think you are the best dad in the world.” Oh god! After Bandit explains recycling to Bluey, she actually doesn’t mind having her drawings recycled. But oh, the pain! It’s good to know that this cartoon dog is only human.
