Eventually Bluey asks her mum Chilli why her aunt is so sad. She wonders why she’s only come to see them once before. The mother tells Bluey that similar to her desire for the cheetah costume, aunt Brandy had badly wished for something that no one could make fit, tackling the issue of infertility carefully and beautifully.
Subtle
In one of the final scenes, the two sisters lie on their backs in the grass and take hands and the moment is devastating in its simplicity.
In another episode in Season Two called “The Show,” it’s Mother’s Day. Bluey and her younger sister, Bingo bring their mother breakfast in bed. When Bingo trips and drops the tray she cries. But her mother explains the importance of having a cry but then picking yourself up and dusting yourself off so you can carry on.
“The show must go on,” Chilli says.
Later in this episode, the children put on a Mother’s Day show performing parts of how their parents met. Stuffing a balloon under Bingo’s shirt to pretend she’s pregnant with Bluey, the balloon accidentally pops.
The pups’ dad, Bandit, immediately reaches out to grab Chilli’s hand and comfort her, as both shift from looks of happiness to heartbreak. You can picture the mother crying and then having to pick herself up and get on with the show just like she’s taught her daughter. The devastating moments of motherhood that are rarely portrayed with such sensitivity.
It’s a fleeting mood shift that children watching would never notice, but for the parents watching it’s incredibly poignant.
Touching
The creator and writer of Bluey, Joe Brumm later confirmed that the episode was referring to miscarriage. Having big ticket issues like this represented in a show for children and families is incredibly important. We all know parents are the ones watching too.
The beauty here is in making parents feel seen, especially when they are struggling. In the midst of all that lovely colourful innocence, they feel represented.
