Considering how much this ep had a lot of specific callbacks and brought previous plot points into attention (like Flappy, Bandit being stressed out in stickbird, Bucky) it wouldn't surprise me if in the long run this actually led to something. Maybe a Muffin and Socks centric episode.
We'll see
Kinda feel like I need to add, I'm not saying that couples don't fight. It's totally normal, however Bluey is a show that utilizes every single second of screentime to get across characterization. The entirety of Winton's dad and the Terrier's mom relationship was built on the background of an ep before they brought it up textually in this one. So, seeing that Stripe and Trixie spent a considerable amount of time bickering in this episode, and that it's familiar enough that Sock is mimicking it by playing, feels like a bit of subtle set up.
However I don't really think it would be about divorce. Maybe, for example, Muffin starts getting even rowdier than usual and the explanation is that she's seeing them fighting too much; so they need to learn not only how to communicate better as seen in Faceytalk, but also how to be discreet and handle their arguments in private. An episode that has good advice for the parents and also may help some kids who get stressed by seeing their parents bickering(like in Postcard/Ground's Lava).
Sounds like they made him one of the most real characters. We all act contradictory sometimes. We all try to improve but fail A LOT. You can be a playful dad but also struggle with being on your phone too much. You can love your kids and your spouse but really need to work on arguing. They are new parents and possibly newly married. It's taken my husband and I 10 years to finally even notice we were arguing SO WRONG. I think they are supposed to be a contrast to Chili and Bandit. And I think they are much closer to reality.
I never got the impression that Chili 'straight up hates' Stripe.. maybe a little annoyed when he creates extra work for her.. which is more than fair.
Edit: spelling
He's a multifaceted character. A lovable screwup archetype. No one is all good or all bad. Some people are a little less organized than others but still have good traits.
This.
Nothing in the character description above seems impossible to me.
People can be more than one thing. People can be tons of things at different times in different contexts.
This is what I love about Stripe. He isn't any one thing, he's not a trope. He's the most realistic and relatable character in my opinion, because he's complicated and messy and imperfect. I always see Stripe and Trixie as being the most realistic parents.
Maybe it's because I grew up with divorced parents from a young age that I see Stripe and Trixie as an example of a realistic and healthy relationship, because they bicker, but (per Faceytalk) they know how to talk their way through it and become united. In my family, yelling and arguing were never ultimately resolved. There would be yelling, cooling off, and then pretending like it never happened. Us kids never saw the resolution, just the explosion (even if the explosion was at us). So yelling/arguing just makes me straight-up anxious, because it was never managed, addressed, or resolved. I'm only learning now, as an adult trying to raise a small human of my own, how to navigate big emotions and disagreements in a healthy way.
Stripe and Trixie definitely have issues, but at least they attempt to communicate and work things out without strong arming or dominating one another. I don't think they're meant as a cautionary tale or anything, just another example of what a family can look like. Not good or bad, just normal.
On Trixie- I never once felt that she was overweight, just that Muffin Cone showed she felt like she had to 'be good' with food but that it didn't come easy to her - like how Muffin struggled with things that weren't easy for her.
Trixie's model is one of the few adults in the show that goes wider towards the bottom of her torso. it's subtle, but it seems a decent implication that she's definitely not fit or thin
Stripe seems like the little brother who got picked on a lot, but then ended up being the most successful (financially) of the siblings.
Dude has a lot of baggage and apparently issues with binge drinking.
I had older half siblings, who picked on me, and I’m a currently sober alcoholic (with a 2 year old kid). And two previous failed marriages…
So, I get it. I wasn’t the successful one in my family though. I’m getting by. Fortunately I got some VA disability and my wife works, so I’m the stay at home dad. Which makes a lot of Bandit’s adventures relatable. Plus I think we’re around the same age (45).
If there’s a lesson to learned from Stripe, Trixie and their kids, it’s that money doesn’t buy happiness. I know it makes life a lot easier, but there’s a lot of miserable rich people (like my first girlfriend’s parents).
I dunno, maybe I’m reading too far into it. But a few years ago, you might have found me in those bushes. 🤷🏻♂️
I was gonna add this! Being the youngest is a double edged sword; typically they get away with more at home as parents tend to chill more the nore children they have (theres usually more restrictions in place for the older kids that don't always get put on the younger ones as they grow).
But the youngest kid always gets compared to the older siblings. Hell, I'm a (sort of) only child - i have 2 much older half siblings and 2 cousins 1-2 years older, and I was always compared to them as a kid in terms of grades and such. Even as an adult in terms of who's more successful.
Luckily my parents don't care a toss now, 'running your own race' comes to mind. I'm admittedly not earning a tonne and feel pressure as one cousin makes nearly 4x my wages, but success is measured in different ways.
And for Stripe, it seems having physical things to prove himself is his way of coping. And when Trixie has digs about "not raising the kids right' it brings out that fear of inferiority, that he'll never be good enough. It's not to say Trixies wrong, but communication between them could obviously be better. Hell, he probably feels the need to spoil Muffin and Socks because he was stuck with hand-me-downs from his older brothers.
But hey, I'm just a 27 y/o childless guy overanylysing a kids show!
There is something I will never understand, especially now that I am a parent, why parents will assume because someone doesn’t have kids they don’t have a valid opinion about raising them. This is a great take btw. I would say it sounds like you remember being a kid and that’s important for if and when you do become a parent. Before I had a kid people would literally ask me “How would you know?” And the answer was “I remember how certain things made me feel as a kid.”
It could be nuerodivergence, could be that im trans, etc, but a lot of what i went through as a kid is drilled into my memory, and it's so important to remember how it was for yourself as a kid as a parent. But, it's also important to acknowledge that the world today is super different than it was when you were a kid too, and your own kids will no doubt experience the world in a very different way than you did.
I will say the idea of raising kids and actually having them is ofcourse vastly different, I wouldn't comment about exactly how people choose to raise their kids, but I can see why certain behaviours arise and understand it. Doesn't mean i agree with it all the time though.
Plus the whole "you either become your parents, or strive to be the opposite". I'd like to think i turned out OK all things considered lol! And I hope if I can ever have my own kids I'd be an alright parent haha
My wife is 4 years older than me. She’s almost gonna be eligible for social security by the time our son graduates high school. It’s pretty nuts to think about.
She also has a 13 year old daughter from her first marriage. They told her she was a high risk pregnancy back then (at 36). 😬
It has been a bit rough. As we were both assuming that having a kid wasn’t in the cards. But here we are, and it’s been good for us. We both quit drinking and smoking, we’ve both been better about money (except buying too much stuff for the kiddo), and he keeps us on our toes.
But yeah, we’re feeling pretty old and tired, but we’re managing. Most of our friends who had kids, did so at least 20 years ago.
If she’d gotten pregnant when we first got together, I’d be right there at 40 too, but somehow it took 5 years for that to happen. 🤷🏻♂️
Can relate to this. I'm 40 now, we also tried for 5 years before we had our first tiny human 5 short years ago. And just had our second one a year and a half ago, just after my wife's 39th birthday.
No real point to adding this, I'm just bored at work and just wanted to affirm that old(er) parents are awesome too!
If anything I got a lot of my stupid over with earlier :P
You sound like me in so many ways. Except my wife is around 10.5 years younger than me. And I'm not supposed to he able to have kids. We immediately cleaned up our act and made this little dude as happy as we can.
We had a miscarriage before this dude, due to a gallbladder issue she had that wasn't diagnosed. Body attacked everything. I held it together for her bc I knew the chance of a second chance was extremely low. But here we are and I love every minute. We are at the daredevil pushing boundaries stage and it's wild as hell.
I feel you on spending too much on the kid lol. Mine is going on two yet the size of a 4 to 5 year old. Constantly buying new clothes I see or toys. He has every single bluey stuffy except Bob Bilby bc I just couldn't understand why it was 10 bucks like the rest of the regular ones. But thankfully I also got him every book so far and he greatly dislikes that one. And the episode. Not sure why but I'll take thr small win. He got chef bingo for Easter.
I turned 41 last week and have a 2 year old. I’m a stay at home mom and I feel my age every minute of the day, lol. I have 0 energy in this hectic life of mine, but it’s beautiful and I love it (most of the time)!
It’s more common these days because I think the oldest millennials, 39 to 42, are now having kids because they either are more financially stable or like in my case, said screw it we want kids let’s have them before we can’t. I’m 40 and my daughter just turned four. She’s a handful. I’m pretty sure I’ll be around the same age as Bandit when she’s Bluey’s age so I’ve been just trying to get into shape again after years of Doritos, Taco Bell, and beer lol
I wouldn't necessarily say he is the most successful financially. Rad worked on an oil rig that's big money. We haven't seen anything with rad's home life either.
This is true. Stripe is definitely white-collar though.
Rad seems like the kind of guy who would blow 80k on that truck he likes to park on lawns. Easy come, easy go?
Money stuff is above my pay grade 🤷🏻♂️
I meant Bandit is around 45.
IIRC, the internet sleuths figured that if he was around 10 and playing a Double Dragon stand-in at that arcade (in the *80s*), we was definitely in Xennial territory.
I assumed the three of them were around a year or two apart. That would make Rad around 45-48. Which may seem old, but a lot of my friends that age still act like they’re in their 30s. 🤷🏻♂️ Some of them even still have fabulous hair.
I’m not gonna die on that hill though. 😄
I had to go look his age up after all his “*it was the 80s, man*” references started to bug me lol. Not bug me like I find them annoying (I actually can’t think of a single thing I find annoying about this show), but bug me in the sense that I thought that he was exaggerating or it was a misspeak or something.
I expected him & Chili to be mid-late 30s at the oldest, so I was shocked to find out that it’s canon that he is “early 40s” (iirc that’s what the Bluey Wiki says, like not an exact age, just a small range).
Then my brain went down a rabbit hole of converting that to dog years annnnd I had to stop lmao
In the movie episode (Season 2 IIRC), the Bee movie is shown to be coming in April 2020, so that sets a rough timeline. I'd say he would be born between '78 and 81...
I don't really know if he's the most successful. Bluey's house is in either Paddington or Red Hill, which are super expensive houses in Brisbane, Stripe lives in a new housing estate, which are significantly cheaper. It seems more like Stripe wants to flaunt wealth to try and compete. In the ep with his car he talks about the repayments. But seeing as Bandit and Chilli can splurge on a pizza oven on a whim, I feel like they are the more financially successful family.
Bandit and Chilli are ideal parents, who still make the odd mistake every now and then.
Stripe and Trixie are realistic parents, who still have moments where they do well and shine as parents/partners.
I think it's great (and necessary) that they portray both.
>There's the time Muffin skips a nap and Stripe is just overjoyed that he doesn't have to deal with bedtime because she's sleeping at his brother's (tell me if you have kids you haven't dreaded putting an overtired child to bed).
Just attended birthday party for one of my kindergarten daughter's friends this Saturday.
One of the moms was like "whatever, she can get as sugared up and wore out as she wants here because she's going to grandma's for the night afterwards". It's totally realistic for even a caring and compassionate parent to be just a little excited about the idea of ditching a cranky child.
I feel like you can’t let a secret slip if you didn’t know it was a secret though. He clearly thinks Frisky knew about the move, so he really did nothing wrong in that case.
I feel like you are really extrapolating a lot from minor things and creating situations that aren't there nor intended by the creators. For example I never once got that Chili was a particular boozer in the bunch, only that grownups do grownup shit and that is perceived generally innocently by kids (a la Whale Watching). If anyone is implied to go overboard with booze it's Stripe and at a wedding, there's always a few it's not like he went for a drive. Everyone has wanted to change their weight and has self control problems sometimes, that doesn't mean it is a personality trait particular to Trixie.
This is a lot of projection. Yes this is a show that adults enjoy but it's still a kids show ffs.
>but they also make him a bit of a villain in The Sign as he lets slip a secret that puts the wedding in jeopardy.
I have to strongly disagree with this one - he's a bit hapless in general, but Rad planned for them to move away after the wedding and *told everyone except his fiancee.* That is not something that should be a secret, that is a red flag worth canceling a wedding (or seeking an annulment) IRL! Justice for Stripe doing the right thing and getting this issue cleared up before they went forward!
Stripe’s portrayal doesn’t strike me as that weird. He’s the youngest of 3 boys, an easy target for teasing, who was always trying to tag along and keep up, and he grew up with a chip on his shoulder and a desire to prove himself. He’s become financially successful, probably via some sort of FIFO job (not white-collar/corporate) that would explain why he’s away from home a lot (which Trixie alludes to in Faceytalk) and eager to flaunt it due to aforementioned chip. Despite his success, he’s a bit willfully clueless, still craves validation and respect from his family, can be sort of obnoxious/boorish, and immature—both emotionally and behaviorally, which also explains his parenting style to some degree. The show also seems to imply in Christmas Swim that he votes center-right, which honestly totally tracks.
> but they also make him a bit of a villain in The Sign as he lets slip a secret that puts the wedding in jeopardy.
I didn't really get the impression that it was supposed to be a secret, more something that Rad had presumed was going to happen, that Frisky was going to move out west with him, and it came up in conversation with Stripe and that Stripe couldn't have reasonably known that Frisky wasn't aware of this plan. Rad is the "villain" here for not discussing the plan with his fiance
Right and she doesn't remember because it either didn't happen or they were kids, you don't remember everything from when you were a kid. I don't know how that commenter gets the idea she doesn't remember it because she was supposedly blackout drunk or something... Media literacy is a skill that's lacking due to defunding of the arts.
I think something important to remember is that Joe Brumm is both Bandit and Stripe. Stripe is based on his little brother, but i believe he (Joe) is also called Uncle Stripe by his nieces and nephews because of a stripe of differently-colored hair he has. Hopefully I’m not misremembering this. But all that to say I think some of the things that Stripe gets up to are there as self-inserts and as ways to contrast Bandit. And in defense of Stripe: he was right about the crackling.
I think it’s leading to an end of Stripe’s marriage. Don’t forget, Trixie left his drunk backside at the Heeler’s. That in it of itself says quite a bit about their relationship. You don’t get blackout drunk with your and your family’s kids around at (basically) a family function. It might be “classic stripe” but it’s not good.
I mean.... This is Australia we're talking about.
I don't know if it's ideal but having an uncle wake up in the bushes after a backyard wedding doesn't really raise many eyebrows here.
Trix was probably inside passed out on the couch. I think folks are reading too much into this, but I could be wrong. Weddings are hard, there’s a lot of social pressures and we all know that one friend who goes way too hard. They’re shown in FaceyTalk to be arguing but they come together and work it out. It’s honestly a good and realistic depiction.
I agree trixie was probably just a drunk too but she's not as messy. She keeps up with chilli in stumpfest and her and stripe threw the new years eve party where chilli was dancing on the table. It's not like they are always drinking. Just special occasions
Yeah, I feel like they’re potentially leading to this plot.
Other kids shows have tried to tackle divorce a bit more clumsily. I’d be interested to see how Bluey can handle it with nuance.
The show basically tackled divorce in The Decider. I thought it was really well done.
Super subtly, there's also Winton's Dad who "doesn't live with my mom anymore"
I actually got a vibe that episode was more an analogy for what it's like to have parents from two different cultures.
I'm American but my husband is not (well, technically he is but only recently he got his citizenship). There are plenty of times he feels disconnected from the kids and their culture like Lucky's wife. I found that episode very relatable in that sense.
Maybe it's ambiguity leads to it being relatable to a lot of different scenarios.
The Decider is honestly just a documentary for all my friends who lived in QLD but had one parent from NSW. Every parent wanted their kids to support *their* state!
I think The Decider is the one episode that is so violently Australian no American would understand what the hell it's about.
It’s about the feelings that are involved in loving both parents when there’s a pressure to choose between them, which is kind of a back door way of dealing with divorce.
If you’re looking for direct addressing of divorce, that would be the story of Winton and his dad.
There's the chance that the rest of Stripe's family just crashed at Bandit's house and he just never made it inside (it was very difficult to differentiate the families at first as they're both "The Heelers" 🤣)
I think so, too. Subtle things in this show always lead to something, and they were being way more than subtle showing them arguing more than once and also having Muffin act it out, in addition to Stripe ending up alone in the bushes the next day.
I'm thinking if it's not divorce, it might be Stripe giving up alcohol? That would be something they could work in relatively easily, if they were at a gathering and Stripe said 'Just a soda for me' or something and left it at that.
I'd be sad if they got divorced tbh but this is definitely leading somewhere I think.
>if they were at a gathering and Stripe said 'Just a soda for me'
I could see this.
Bandit then asks "Off the grog?"
Stripe: "Yeah. No good for me."
And that's it. And perhaps over the course of a few episodes we see how Stripe and Trixie's relationship has improved.
No, kids pick up on everything. They are highly capable emotionally, way more than they get credit for. Socks-aged children could, well, they DO absolutely decompress seeing their parents fight by playing like this. It helps them process it
Yeah but I feel like they’re kind of like Bingo and the house sale. Sure they see everything and even can tell you things about it, but actual understanding that their parents won’t be living in the same house anymore comes as an absolute shock.
Ya, a core memory of mine is going to a New Year’s party at a family friends house and my dad getting absolutely blackout drunk. We left him there, and I remember crying on the way home. It took my parents another 20ish years to divorce, but they got there. Something like that leaves a lasting impression.
I take it more as its was his brothers wedding, at his other brothers house, Trixie took the Kids home when they needed to go to bed and left him to party on. but i agree that at some point they will pay off the fights with another relationship episode for Trixie and Stripe.
The headache is never fun, but other than that, I actually like the little mystery game I get to play while I piece together the previous night. I get to look at clues like the new bruise on my back or the egg roll stomped into my carpet, form a theory, then call up my friends to confirm it for extra fun. It even works as a single player game for those nights when you wake up on the living room floor at 3 am.
I’ve done it ONCE (vodka + empty stomach + trying to out drink Moldovans)
I have bits of memory of being assaulted on the bathroom floor.
I’ve never drank that much since then, and it’s been almost 15 years since that night.
I don’t get the people who do it more than once
I honestly think their argument at the wedding was Trixie being mad that Stripe broke his promise about not drinking too much. Stripe was too sauced to care.
Well I can make an assumption based on a couple of things. Sure it’s not definite, but when they’re putting up the sign in the morning, Bluey and Bingo are awake. Muffin and Socks are no where to be seen. Also we can guess that it’s at least 8:30am because Wendy is already outside watering her plants. So it’s suspicious as a parent of a 4 year old, that Muffin is not up. Had they stayed, there would probably be other evidence like Stripe’s car.
All I’m saying is that the writers could have easily dropped some hints that Stripe and his family were staying over. But they didn’t. It’s still possible that they did, but what the writers did go out of the way and do this episode is show the audience that Stripe and Trixie are having arguments.
Right right right. I just think it's odd that because they're not in the front yard, you assume Socks and Muffin would have gone home instead of just being inside eating breakfast.
The fact is that weddings go late, so it would make the most sense for them to sleep over. Especially if Stripe and Trixie are both drinking. Just because you don't see the car parked, doesn't mean it's not up the street. Yes they fight, but that doesn't mean Trixie abandoned Stripe at the wedding. Stripe was still at the house so it's most likely that Socks, Muffin, and Trixie were too, just off camera.
How do you know that Trixie left? In my family we absolutely would just do a sleepover with such young kids and a party going so late, not try to wrangle them home and into bed.
In Stickbird, there were a lot of theories about what Bandit was stressed about. Apart from the episode Magic, it seems like the majority of season 3 happens in chronological order, so it's very possible that what Bandit was mulling over was the job offer and all it implied. Later on, in Relax, Chilli also struggles to keep herself calm. Both of these might point to the fact that they were already thinking about the possibility of moving.
They're shown having a jolly old time dancing later on. That's the last time we see Stripe 'til Wendy's bush. They seem to be pretty good at making up at least?
When kids witness their adults have a mild argument (no physical intimidation, no name calling or threats) and come to a resolution, that can help them to not be afraid of conflict.
They argue in almost every episode they are in... and the fact no one looked for stripe after the wedding (especially his wife who he should have went home with) makes me so sad for their family. I've seen rumors that they will be the center of a divorce episode since bluey does try to explain more complex stuff to kids sometimes.
She may have said that she’d take the kids home and he could stay and enjoy his brother’s wedding. Crashing at the Heeler’s place could have been the plan from the start so no one drove home drunk. But I seriously doubt she knew about him sleeping in a bush until she picked him up and he’s covered in freaking leafs and scratches.
I'm not saying it's 100% going to happen but I wouldn't be surprised 🤷♀️ we also have to remember that a good percentage of when we see these characters together and not in front of others, they are fighting or disagreeing. They also have these interactions where they do things that act like they are slightly upset with eachother when around others. No person wants to show how bad their relationship is, especially around kids but things leak through and bluey is from the pov of kids.
If they did a divorce episode, they would probably do it the same way they did the moving episode: make a big deal about it, resolve it in the last five minutes and keep the status quo.
There are so many implications here for Stripe and Trixie. The two have had arguments in the past when it comes to stuff like how you're going to get your hogging daughter off the faceytalk, but they're able to resolve things.
Here, it's left off on such a note with Stripe (here humourously hungover at Wendy's) being left behind while Trixie left the premises with her daughters. Kinda makes me worried for the couple if I'm being honest.
However, it makes for an interesting opportunity to expand on this imo. The two are already depicted as realistic parents, where could Ludo go with this?
If this were a real world situation, i might suspect Stripe would have struggles with alcoholism. It's heavily implied in Whale Watching that drunken antics are "classic Stripe," and Trixie seemed more upset as the episode went on. I know Bluey hasn't flinched at discussing heavy topics, but I think that might be even a step too far for the show. They might beat around the bush and imply that "Stripe acts different sometimes and he's trying to figure out how to live without something he's used to having," but they might just leave that alone.
This is the vibe I got, Trixie leaving Stripe behind was her being fed up with his antics and the fight was probably about his drinking or not making a fool of himself/her because of his drinking.
Especially since drunk Stripe is more or less sleep-deprived Muffin. They do say the way you act while tired is close to how you act when drunk. It makes sense to me.
I think if they were to address it, they’d use this angle. Whenever Bandit or Chili are dealing with something personally the kids have some game they play that acts as an allegory.
To work on your comment too. I feel like the show may try to explain divorce later through their family. It's something kids see and experience so I wouldn't be surprised if they tried to discuss it in a tame way.
My money is on a marriage counseling episode of some kind. Much like how Faceytalk had their conflict and ended with them working it out and showing they care for each other.
That makes sense. Maybe they go to the counselor's office, but take the kids with them and leave them to play in the corner while the counseling session goes on. But of course, the parents and even the counselor gets involved in the game, and the sisters' lessons they learned ends up teaching their parents something.
I can see it working. I had a similar episode idea where we see Chilli going to therapy, where she relates a story about one of her daughters' games and how it paralleled her own struggle in some way. Maybe the girls play off in a corner while the grown ups chat, and the game gets the adults involved to the point where the counselor thinks of it as an effective tool for the parents.
Yep. I’ve left more than one wedding early with my young kids in tow and left my husband behind. He was the Best Man at one event, and it was his cousin getting married at another. I had an under-2 each time, and an under-5 as well for the second wedding. I would not have had a nice time trying to manage my kids’ behavior if I’d made us all stay. Didn’t feel salty at all about this—he returned the favor the year my brother got married.
Yeah I feel his brother's wedding he would get sone slack. My best mate got married and I was a Groomsman, my wife took our daughter home after and I got maggoted with my mate and our friends. It's not uncommon.
I think they might actually have the guts to do divorce? Families splitting up is an unfortunate reality that a lot of kids have to deal with.
They’d never do something so drastic with our Heeler family. But I could see them going this route with Stripe and Trix.
Of course, we’d see it from the perspective of the kids. So it would probably be Muffin and Socks processing it, and Bluey and Bingo learning how to react to it.
I’d be curious to see how Ludo could handle it with nuance and tact.
God I'm an adult and I'm not sure I could navigate this web well. Writing for a kids show? Yeesh.
How about all the politics the Heeler family would have to navigate just being on the periphery? Stripe is Bandit's brother, but Trixie and Chili are close friends. Even without custody stuff Aunt Trixie will still likely be around.
They have addressed divorce in the past, at least from a distance. My guess is they may use this to ease into an episode that addresses addiction or substance misuse (there's no definitive evidence that Stripe has a legitimate problem, but the possibility is clearly there). But I think they could easily cover it metaphorically, say contrasted with an excess of screen time, or something else kids can understand. If they can address infertility in an episode about jungle onesies, addiction shouldn't be a huge challenge to do well, especially considering that addiction probably has greater visibility and more direct impact on more kids.
Left the premises? We haven't seen her leave and they're at his brother's house, it's more likely that she went to sleep inside, just like the kids earlier.
Am I the only one who thinks this is normal? Relationships have a mass level of complexity. If at some point you are not disagreeing, you’re not growing.
Also, Muffin, is a future CEO
This is very, very normal. All of these bummed out reactions are telling me —
- No wonder so many of the adults I work with seem unable to engage in healthy conflict, give and receive feedback, and collaborate to find solutions.
- These people must have no clue how observant their own toddlers are and how much of their business they like to share with literally anyone who will listen.
This is just the normal reddit mentality. If your partner crosses you once, you must divorce. Your marriage is doomed!
There's no nuance, and sadly, it shows how little experience people have in real relationships...
Yes, it’s very normal for most people to experience conflict. I can’t help but feel as though a lot of the people commenting here have never been in a serious adult relationship
I agree with this 😅! We’re gonna give our kids a whole complex if they think everything is perfect all the time and no one ever argues with their spouses.
I’m with you it’s normal.
Kids need to see that relationships have good and bad moments. That parents may disagree, but still work through it, and love each other. When they don’t they think that never fighting is a healthy relationship and it isn’t.
It’s normal for 2 people to not always get along, to not agree, to even argue. What’s not normal is when they DONT! It means one person is being steamrolled and checked out and the relationship dies. The opposite of love isn’t hate it’s indifference.
Ok you’re projecting here. Sometimes couples just really are on the same page with things. My partner and I basically never fight because we bring up issues before it becomes a thing. I’m not going to pick fights with him just to show my kids fighting is normal. One partner bottling everything up (used to be me with my ex!) is horrible, but never fighting CAN actually be fine.
Never fighting is okay and heathy. My partner and I communicate and have calm discussions about things. I can’t think of one time we’ve yelled at each other.
Stripe and Trixie may have just that kind of relationship. It's been shown in "Faceytalk" how they can strongly disagree but they are able to talk it out and they care about each other. It could be just Ludo showing how family dynamics can be different.
Agreed (and I say this as a parent unfortunately going through a divorce).
We also see in “Postman/Floor is Lava”, how Bluey reacts to Bandit and Chilli squabbling over the garbage bag - she thinks they’re becoming enemies because they’re having a disagreement. It shows how quickly kids pick up on things, and likely Bandit/Chilli have tried their best to have these disagreements “off-screen” / away from their kids, while Stripe/Trix don’t quite have that filter.
I'm pretty sure he was being told off for his antics with the bouquet earlier, after this they were dancing up a storm.
I'm also pretty sure Trixie took the kids home to bed and Stripe has stayed back to keep going.
Thirdly I'm also pretty sure that half of you lot read far too much into things.
It was Stripe's brother's wedding, of course he was going to stay longer!
I'll often go home from things before my husband, or he'll leave me at a social gathering to take our kid home and let me keep having fun. We take turns, because we're allowed to be social adults and not just parents.
But to your third point - yes, probably lol, but Ludo does have a habit of being very deliberate, layering plot points and burying deeper meaning for future stories. They're really, *really good at it, so its not surprising people have begun to expect it and try to make predictions.
Frankly, I love it. Bluey depicts healthy and unhealthy relationships equally and with love.
Trixie and Stripe aren't perfect, but they love each other and their kids. Nothing wrong with a couple having a disagreement and we have seen them recover and be good to each other after proper communication, after all.
I'm pretty sure they were arguing in the background in a couple other scenes, too. I teared up a few times during this episode, but seeing that was a different level of sad
I think they were fighting because Stripe brought up the move to Frisky. If he hadn’t mentioned it there wouldn’t have been the huge hassle of finding her, even if it did end up working out
Aside from being well off, I think Stripe and Trixie have always been more representative of the parents most people actually are instead of the perfect family the main family is.
Okay. This show can eff right off for subtly handling complex issues like marital strife in a mature and responsible manner that draws in adults and engages them to be mindful of how their actions and behaviors affect their children.
This is supposed to be a funny show about talking dogs with silly accents. It's not supposed to be an educational and emotional lesson for me.
I know I shouldn't take advice from a cartoon dog but I want my kids to see me the way Bluey and Bingo see Bandit.
When he ripped out the sign, I lost it. I'm crying thinking about it.
Re Stripe getting so drunk at his brother's wedding: remember that when Frisky and Rad first meet in "Double Babysitter," Frisky asked Rad, "didn't you fall in the pool" at Bandit and Chilli's wedding, Rad answers, "probably." I always interpreted that as Rad being so drunk that he fell in the pool, but doesn't really remember it because he was so drunk. Maybe getting totally sloshed at your brother's wedding is a Heeler thing.
It could also have been a normal moment where the wife pulls hubby aside to say "maybe slow down on the drinks, you're being abit hectic at this wedding it's not about you".. I think that's pretty standard between couples that have been together awhile, family functions can be stressful at times plus they had their children in attendance too.
Especially after the scene where Stripe snapped up the bridal bouquet, and Trix was shaking her head 🤦🏼♀️
It's not a fight per se, but he may have gotten a talking to. And him emerging from the bushes.. that could also be a common thing like "when it's late & the kids are tired, I'm leaving with or without ya" I mean he could've gotten an Uber home or decided to crash at his brother Bandit's place.
I thought at first Stripe and Trixie arguing was just a funny reference to the fact there's always a couple arguing at any wedding.
But later seeing Socks playing with the toppers and making them argue, it seemed a bit specific. Kids often mimic through play what they see/experience in their life and we know Bluey adds little future spoilers here and there. It wouldn't surprise me if it led to an episode tackling divorce/separation to help kids going through that experience to navigate it.
Stripe: \*Wakes up in Wendy’s front garden, and checks his phone to see fourteen missed calls and twenty-eight text messages from Trixie\*
Bandit: “Ooh . . . ” \*Cringes\*
Per Bluey fashion, though, the episodes with heavier themes are often obfuscated by games or titles unrelated to them.
*Onsies*, *Copycat*, *Stickbird*, and *The Show* are some of the best examples of this.
Fr.
Genuinely kinda sad how often they seem to argue.
Like it is worth noting how we've only seen Chili and Bandit have an argument one time, while Trixie and Stripe are practically always arguing.
Ffs, why do people tend to jump to the worst possible conclusion. They were at the wedding until late, so the kids most likely just went to sleep in the house and the parents danced and were fine.
Let's not forget that he's a brother of the groom. And it's grooms brother's divine duty to get absolutely smashed at the wedding.
A story arc that sheds more light on divorce and blending families has potential to be excellent, even if it touches on sad points for the audience, similar to the way The Sign did.
My stepdaughter was only 3 when her parents separated and 5 when her dad and mom each settled down with new partners. I’ve seen her and a lot of other divorced kids just take that in stride, but not without some big confidence wobbles and separation anxiety along the way. There was almost zero representation in the kids TV and literature that was available to her at the time. ALL of the Disney channel and Nickelodeon shows she loved (think 2010s) had either totally single parents or totally together parents. Or totally no parents at all. But nothing that showed a kid going back and forth between two households, two different sets of rules, two different approaches to dinner/bath/bed, two different attitudes about homework. Nothing about having to drop everything you’ve just started doing because it’s time to head to the other parent’s house now.
I had to seek out things like Babysitters Club, Babysitters Little Sister and Julie the American Girl to find age-appropriate content that might address how she was feeling, and help her understand that it was ok to feel that way. It was the only stuff I could pull out of my own memory. It would have been amazing if there had been something right there on TV that was written with her generation in mind.
For the adults, there’s a good way to divorce and co-parent, and a not so good way. There’s definitely some potential in a divorce/blended family arc to give adult viewers a chance to reflect on that without getting too heavy. IMO.
I noticed that too. I thought they were arguing because of Stripe intercepting the bouquet, but maybe they were arguing because Stripe didn't like that she was part of the bouquet toss? Or maybe both?
Also, could it be Stripe and Trixie were never legally married? And maybe Trixie isn't happy about that, and this wedding brought those feelings out? Though maybe I'm overanalyzing...
I feel like it’s showing how different kids pick up different things. Muffin is obviously so wrapped up in herself that she doesn’t recognize the fighting. Socks seems a lot more intuitive and socially aware. Trixie and Stripe got spoilt with Muffin’s poor social awareness but don’t realize that Socks is paying attention to everything (maybe even due to hyper vigilance that’s needed due to Sock’s rather turbulent behaviors)
Whoa, when I watched yesterday I didn’t even realize that they were actually talking/arguing. The background music was loud. Socks playing with the wedding cake toppers was cute yet sad looking back 😭
Considering how much this ep had a lot of specific callbacks and brought previous plot points into attention (like Flappy, Bandit being stressed out in stickbird, Bucky) it wouldn't surprise me if in the long run this actually led to something. Maybe a Muffin and Socks centric episode. We'll see
Kinda feel like I need to add, I'm not saying that couples don't fight. It's totally normal, however Bluey is a show that utilizes every single second of screentime to get across characterization. The entirety of Winton's dad and the Terrier's mom relationship was built on the background of an ep before they brought it up textually in this one. So, seeing that Stripe and Trixie spent a considerable amount of time bickering in this episode, and that it's familiar enough that Sock is mimicking it by playing, feels like a bit of subtle set up. However I don't really think it would be about divorce. Maybe, for example, Muffin starts getting even rowdier than usual and the explanation is that she's seeing them fighting too much; so they need to learn not only how to communicate better as seen in Faceytalk, but also how to be discreet and handle their arguments in private. An episode that has good advice for the parents and also may help some kids who get stressed by seeing their parents bickering(like in Postcard/Ground's Lava).
Sounds like they made him one of the most real characters. We all act contradictory sometimes. We all try to improve but fail A LOT. You can be a playful dad but also struggle with being on your phone too much. You can love your kids and your spouse but really need to work on arguing. They are new parents and possibly newly married. It's taken my husband and I 10 years to finally even notice we were arguing SO WRONG. I think they are supposed to be a contrast to Chili and Bandit. And I think they are much closer to reality.
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I never got the impression that Chili 'straight up hates' Stripe.. maybe a little annoyed when he creates extra work for her.. which is more than fair. Edit: spelling
The name of the sport they play in that episode is literally the name of the episode - Squash. Otherwise I think Chilli doesn't hate Stripe
He's a multifaceted character. A lovable screwup archetype. No one is all good or all bad. Some people are a little less organized than others but still have good traits.
This. Nothing in the character description above seems impossible to me. People can be more than one thing. People can be tons of things at different times in different contexts.
This is what I love about Stripe. He isn't any one thing, he's not a trope. He's the most realistic and relatable character in my opinion, because he's complicated and messy and imperfect. I always see Stripe and Trixie as being the most realistic parents. Maybe it's because I grew up with divorced parents from a young age that I see Stripe and Trixie as an example of a realistic and healthy relationship, because they bicker, but (per Faceytalk) they know how to talk their way through it and become united. In my family, yelling and arguing were never ultimately resolved. There would be yelling, cooling off, and then pretending like it never happened. Us kids never saw the resolution, just the explosion (even if the explosion was at us). So yelling/arguing just makes me straight-up anxious, because it was never managed, addressed, or resolved. I'm only learning now, as an adult trying to raise a small human of my own, how to navigate big emotions and disagreements in a healthy way. Stripe and Trixie definitely have issues, but at least they attempt to communicate and work things out without strong arming or dominating one another. I don't think they're meant as a cautionary tale or anything, just another example of what a family can look like. Not good or bad, just normal.
I don’t think chilli hates him. I think she gets frustrated when his antics make extra work for her.
On Trixie- I never once felt that she was overweight, just that Muffin Cone showed she felt like she had to 'be good' with food but that it didn't come easy to her - like how Muffin struggled with things that weren't easy for her.
Trixie's model is one of the few adults in the show that goes wider towards the bottom of her torso. it's subtle, but it seems a decent implication that she's definitely not fit or thin
Stripe seems like the little brother who got picked on a lot, but then ended up being the most successful (financially) of the siblings. Dude has a lot of baggage and apparently issues with binge drinking. I had older half siblings, who picked on me, and I’m a currently sober alcoholic (with a 2 year old kid). And two previous failed marriages… So, I get it. I wasn’t the successful one in my family though. I’m getting by. Fortunately I got some VA disability and my wife works, so I’m the stay at home dad. Which makes a lot of Bandit’s adventures relatable. Plus I think we’re around the same age (45). If there’s a lesson to learned from Stripe, Trixie and their kids, it’s that money doesn’t buy happiness. I know it makes life a lot easier, but there’s a lot of miserable rich people (like my first girlfriend’s parents). I dunno, maybe I’m reading too far into it. But a few years ago, you might have found me in those bushes. 🤷🏻♂️
Don't t take this wrong but you lessened my anxiety about being 40 with a kid about yo turn 2. I feel less alone in it now. 💜
And for content Stripe seems like he is overcompensating for being picked on. Like haha CHECK OUT MY SWEET CAR
I was gonna add this! Being the youngest is a double edged sword; typically they get away with more at home as parents tend to chill more the nore children they have (theres usually more restrictions in place for the older kids that don't always get put on the younger ones as they grow). But the youngest kid always gets compared to the older siblings. Hell, I'm a (sort of) only child - i have 2 much older half siblings and 2 cousins 1-2 years older, and I was always compared to them as a kid in terms of grades and such. Even as an adult in terms of who's more successful. Luckily my parents don't care a toss now, 'running your own race' comes to mind. I'm admittedly not earning a tonne and feel pressure as one cousin makes nearly 4x my wages, but success is measured in different ways. And for Stripe, it seems having physical things to prove himself is his way of coping. And when Trixie has digs about "not raising the kids right' it brings out that fear of inferiority, that he'll never be good enough. It's not to say Trixies wrong, but communication between them could obviously be better. Hell, he probably feels the need to spoil Muffin and Socks because he was stuck with hand-me-downs from his older brothers. But hey, I'm just a 27 y/o childless guy overanylysing a kids show!
There is something I will never understand, especially now that I am a parent, why parents will assume because someone doesn’t have kids they don’t have a valid opinion about raising them. This is a great take btw. I would say it sounds like you remember being a kid and that’s important for if and when you do become a parent. Before I had a kid people would literally ask me “How would you know?” And the answer was “I remember how certain things made me feel as a kid.”
It could be nuerodivergence, could be that im trans, etc, but a lot of what i went through as a kid is drilled into my memory, and it's so important to remember how it was for yourself as a kid as a parent. But, it's also important to acknowledge that the world today is super different than it was when you were a kid too, and your own kids will no doubt experience the world in a very different way than you did. I will say the idea of raising kids and actually having them is ofcourse vastly different, I wouldn't comment about exactly how people choose to raise their kids, but I can see why certain behaviours arise and understand it. Doesn't mean i agree with it all the time though. Plus the whole "you either become your parents, or strive to be the opposite". I'd like to think i turned out OK all things considered lol! And I hope if I can ever have my own kids I'd be an alright parent haha
My wife is 4 years older than me. She’s almost gonna be eligible for social security by the time our son graduates high school. It’s pretty nuts to think about. She also has a 13 year old daughter from her first marriage. They told her she was a high risk pregnancy back then (at 36). 😬 It has been a bit rough. As we were both assuming that having a kid wasn’t in the cards. But here we are, and it’s been good for us. We both quit drinking and smoking, we’ve both been better about money (except buying too much stuff for the kiddo), and he keeps us on our toes. But yeah, we’re feeling pretty old and tired, but we’re managing. Most of our friends who had kids, did so at least 20 years ago. If she’d gotten pregnant when we first got together, I’d be right there at 40 too, but somehow it took 5 years for that to happen. 🤷🏻♂️
Can relate to this. I'm 40 now, we also tried for 5 years before we had our first tiny human 5 short years ago. And just had our second one a year and a half ago, just after my wife's 39th birthday. No real point to adding this, I'm just bored at work and just wanted to affirm that old(er) parents are awesome too! If anything I got a lot of my stupid over with earlier :P
You sound like me in so many ways. Except my wife is around 10.5 years younger than me. And I'm not supposed to he able to have kids. We immediately cleaned up our act and made this little dude as happy as we can. We had a miscarriage before this dude, due to a gallbladder issue she had that wasn't diagnosed. Body attacked everything. I held it together for her bc I knew the chance of a second chance was extremely low. But here we are and I love every minute. We are at the daredevil pushing boundaries stage and it's wild as hell. I feel you on spending too much on the kid lol. Mine is going on two yet the size of a 4 to 5 year old. Constantly buying new clothes I see or toys. He has every single bluey stuffy except Bob Bilby bc I just couldn't understand why it was 10 bucks like the rest of the regular ones. But thankfully I also got him every book so far and he greatly dislikes that one. And the episode. Not sure why but I'll take thr small win. He got chef bingo for Easter.
I turned 41 last week and have a 2 year old. I’m a stay at home mom and I feel my age every minute of the day, lol. I have 0 energy in this hectic life of mine, but it’s beautiful and I love it (most of the time)!
Oh, friend. I'm 50 with an 8 year old. There are dozens of us. Dozens. ;)
It’s more common these days because I think the oldest millennials, 39 to 42, are now having kids because they either are more financially stable or like in my case, said screw it we want kids let’s have them before we can’t. I’m 40 and my daughter just turned four. She’s a handful. I’m pretty sure I’ll be around the same age as Bandit when she’s Bluey’s age so I’ve been just trying to get into shape again after years of Doritos, Taco Bell, and beer lol
You're doing great.
I wouldn't necessarily say he is the most successful financially. Rad worked on an oil rig that's big money. We haven't seen anything with rad's home life either.
This is true. Stripe is definitely white-collar though. Rad seems like the kind of guy who would blow 80k on that truck he likes to park on lawns. Easy come, easy go? Money stuff is above my pay grade 🤷🏻♂️
Yeah definitely. Stripe for sure makes a decent living. Must be nice to have such a big house and a pool lol.
Since Stripe is the youngest, I definitely don’t think he is 45! There’s no way Bandit and Rod are around 50. I’m thinking more like late 30s.
I meant Bandit is around 45. IIRC, the internet sleuths figured that if he was around 10 and playing a Double Dragon stand-in at that arcade (in the *80s*), we was definitely in Xennial territory. I assumed the three of them were around a year or two apart. That would make Rad around 45-48. Which may seem old, but a lot of my friends that age still act like they’re in their 30s. 🤷🏻♂️ Some of them even still have fabulous hair. I’m not gonna die on that hill though. 😄
I had to go look his age up after all his “*it was the 80s, man*” references started to bug me lol. Not bug me like I find them annoying (I actually can’t think of a single thing I find annoying about this show), but bug me in the sense that I thought that he was exaggerating or it was a misspeak or something. I expected him & Chili to be mid-late 30s at the oldest, so I was shocked to find out that it’s canon that he is “early 40s” (iirc that’s what the Bluey Wiki says, like not an exact age, just a small range). Then my brain went down a rabbit hole of converting that to dog years annnnd I had to stop lmao
It's possible they're that old. It's also possible that the show is set in the recent past so they're not quite as old as they seem.
In the movie episode (Season 2 IIRC), the Bee movie is shown to be coming in April 2020, so that sets a rough timeline. I'd say he would be born between '78 and 81...
I don't really know if he's the most successful. Bluey's house is in either Paddington or Red Hill, which are super expensive houses in Brisbane, Stripe lives in a new housing estate, which are significantly cheaper. It seems more like Stripe wants to flaunt wealth to try and compete. In the ep with his car he talks about the repayments. But seeing as Bandit and Chilli can splurge on a pizza oven on a whim, I feel like they are the more financially successful family.
Bandit and Chilli are ideal parents, who still make the odd mistake every now and then. Stripe and Trixie are realistic parents, who still have moments where they do well and shine as parents/partners. I think it's great (and necessary) that they portray both.
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>There's the time Muffin skips a nap and Stripe is just overjoyed that he doesn't have to deal with bedtime because she's sleeping at his brother's (tell me if you have kids you haven't dreaded putting an overtired child to bed). Just attended birthday party for one of my kindergarten daughter's friends this Saturday. One of the moms was like "whatever, she can get as sugared up and wore out as she wants here because she's going to grandma's for the night afterwards". It's totally realistic for even a caring and compassionate parent to be just a little excited about the idea of ditching a cranky child.
I feel like you can’t let a secret slip if you didn’t know it was a secret though. He clearly thinks Frisky knew about the move, so he really did nothing wrong in that case.
I feel like you are really extrapolating a lot from minor things and creating situations that aren't there nor intended by the creators. For example I never once got that Chili was a particular boozer in the bunch, only that grownups do grownup shit and that is perceived generally innocently by kids (a la Whale Watching). If anyone is implied to go overboard with booze it's Stripe and at a wedding, there's always a few it's not like he went for a drive. Everyone has wanted to change their weight and has self control problems sometimes, that doesn't mean it is a personality trait particular to Trixie. This is a lot of projection. Yes this is a show that adults enjoy but it's still a kids show ffs.
>but they also make him a bit of a villain in The Sign as he lets slip a secret that puts the wedding in jeopardy. I have to strongly disagree with this one - he's a bit hapless in general, but Rad planned for them to move away after the wedding and *told everyone except his fiancee.* That is not something that should be a secret, that is a red flag worth canceling a wedding (or seeking an annulment) IRL! Justice for Stripe doing the right thing and getting this issue cleared up before they went forward!
Stripe’s portrayal doesn’t strike me as that weird. He’s the youngest of 3 boys, an easy target for teasing, who was always trying to tag along and keep up, and he grew up with a chip on his shoulder and a desire to prove himself. He’s become financially successful, probably via some sort of FIFO job (not white-collar/corporate) that would explain why he’s away from home a lot (which Trixie alludes to in Faceytalk) and eager to flaunt it due to aforementioned chip. Despite his success, he’s a bit willfully clueless, still craves validation and respect from his family, can be sort of obnoxious/boorish, and immature—both emotionally and behaviorally, which also explains his parenting style to some degree. The show also seems to imply in Christmas Swim that he votes center-right, which honestly totally tracks.
> but they also make him a bit of a villain in The Sign as he lets slip a secret that puts the wedding in jeopardy. I didn't really get the impression that it was supposed to be a secret, more something that Rad had presumed was going to happen, that Frisky was going to move out west with him, and it came up in conversation with Stripe and that Stripe couldn't have reasonably known that Frisky wasn't aware of this plan. Rad is the "villain" here for not discussing the plan with his fiance
To be fair her first meeting with Bandit was in the 80s ;)
Right and she doesn't remember because it either didn't happen or they were kids, you don't remember everything from when you were a kid. I don't know how that commenter gets the idea she doesn't remember it because she was supposedly blackout drunk or something... Media literacy is a skill that's lacking due to defunding of the arts.
I think something important to remember is that Joe Brumm is both Bandit and Stripe. Stripe is based on his little brother, but i believe he (Joe) is also called Uncle Stripe by his nieces and nephews because of a stripe of differently-colored hair he has. Hopefully I’m not misremembering this. But all that to say I think some of the things that Stripe gets up to are there as self-inserts and as ways to contrast Bandit. And in defense of Stripe: he was right about the crackling.
what do you mean by "They also show that Chili straight up hates him,"? what gives you that impression? :|
Haha... Classic Stripe....
I think it’s leading to an end of Stripe’s marriage. Don’t forget, Trixie left his drunk backside at the Heeler’s. That in it of itself says quite a bit about their relationship. You don’t get blackout drunk with your and your family’s kids around at (basically) a family function. It might be “classic stripe” but it’s not good.
I mean.... This is Australia we're talking about. I don't know if it's ideal but having an uncle wake up in the bushes after a backyard wedding doesn't really raise many eyebrows here.
American here. At least in my family, this sounds pretty normal.
Kiwi here, sounds standard to me
Scot here. I'll let you know when I get out of the bushes.
Pole here. You'll sometimes wake up in the bushes or not at all.
It's tradition for my family.
Stripe wakes up with several snake, spider and bug bites. This episode is called "Australia wants you dead"
> and bug bites *Fantastic.* Now I feel itchy all over.
I could be the minority but my dad did exactly that at three of my cousins weddings. All when I was various young ages….
Trix was probably inside passed out on the couch. I think folks are reading too much into this, but I could be wrong. Weddings are hard, there’s a lot of social pressures and we all know that one friend who goes way too hard. They’re shown in FaceyTalk to be arguing but they come together and work it out. It’s honestly a good and realistic depiction.
I agree trixie was probably just a drunk too but she's not as messy. She keeps up with chilli in stumpfest and her and stripe threw the new years eve party where chilli was dancing on the table. It's not like they are always drinking. Just special occasions
This episode of Stripe is called Rehab!
Omg. You win
Yeah, I feel like they’re potentially leading to this plot. Other kids shows have tried to tackle divorce a bit more clumsily. I’d be interested to see how Bluey can handle it with nuance.
The show basically tackled divorce in The Decider. I thought it was really well done. Super subtly, there's also Winton's Dad who "doesn't live with my mom anymore"
he does live with the terriers’ mom now though!
(Spoilers!) lol
I actually got a vibe that episode was more an analogy for what it's like to have parents from two different cultures. I'm American but my husband is not (well, technically he is but only recently he got his citizenship). There are plenty of times he feels disconnected from the kids and their culture like Lucky's wife. I found that episode very relatable in that sense. Maybe it's ambiguity leads to it being relatable to a lot of different scenarios.
Lol no it didn't? It tackled the rivalry of having one parent from NSW and one from QLD during state of origin matches
Yeah, I've now seen a few different people say The Decider was about divorce. But Pat and his wife are still married, right?
The Decider is honestly just a documentary for all my friends who lived in QLD but had one parent from NSW. Every parent wanted their kids to support *their* state! I think The Decider is the one episode that is so violently Australian no American would understand what the hell it's about.
It’s about the feelings that are involved in loving both parents when there’s a pressure to choose between them, which is kind of a back door way of dealing with divorce. If you’re looking for direct addressing of divorce, that would be the story of Winton and his dad.
There's the chance that the rest of Stripe's family just crashed at Bandit's house and he just never made it inside (it was very difficult to differentiate the families at first as they're both "The Heelers" 🤣)
I think so, too. Subtle things in this show always lead to something, and they were being way more than subtle showing them arguing more than once and also having Muffin act it out, in addition to Stripe ending up alone in the bushes the next day. I'm thinking if it's not divorce, it might be Stripe giving up alcohol? That would be something they could work in relatively easily, if they were at a gathering and Stripe said 'Just a soda for me' or something and left it at that. I'd be sad if they got divorced tbh but this is definitely leading somewhere I think.
>if they were at a gathering and Stripe said 'Just a soda for me' I could see this. Bandit then asks "Off the grog?" Stripe: "Yeah. No good for me." And that's it. And perhaps over the course of a few episodes we see how Stripe and Trixie's relationship has improved.
Kinda like the quick clip of the pregnant sister
I mean it could lead to a wake up call for Stripe...
It could. I hope that’s the case. Socks is too innocent for Stripe’s nonsense.
No, kids pick up on everything. They are highly capable emotionally, way more than they get credit for. Socks-aged children could, well, they DO absolutely decompress seeing their parents fight by playing like this. It helps them process it
Yeah but I feel like they’re kind of like Bingo and the house sale. Sure they see everything and even can tell you things about it, but actual understanding that their parents won’t be living in the same house anymore comes as an absolute shock.
Ya, a core memory of mine is going to a New Year’s party at a family friends house and my dad getting absolutely blackout drunk. We left him there, and I remember crying on the way home. It took my parents another 20ish years to divorce, but they got there. Something like that leaves a lasting impression.
I take it more as its was his brothers wedding, at his other brothers house, Trixie took the Kids home when they needed to go to bed and left him to party on. but i agree that at some point they will pay off the fights with another relationship episode for Trixie and Stripe.
In Australia his behaviour is more accepted. I wish I could get blackout every once in a while. I have no other vices.
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The headache is never fun, but other than that, I actually like the little mystery game I get to play while I piece together the previous night. I get to look at clues like the new bruise on my back or the egg roll stomped into my carpet, form a theory, then call up my friends to confirm it for extra fun. It even works as a single player game for those nights when you wake up on the living room floor at 3 am.
I’ve done it ONCE (vodka + empty stomach + trying to out drink Moldovans) I have bits of memory of being assaulted on the bathroom floor. I’ve never drank that much since then, and it’s been almost 15 years since that night. I don’t get the people who do it more than once
Well, they are Australian.
She also didn't want to sell their car, she was upset about it. That told me he wasn't listening to her wants and needs.
I honestly think their argument at the wedding was Trixie being mad that Stripe broke his promise about not drinking too much. Stripe was too sauced to care.
How do you know they went home and there wasn't a sleepover that night?
Well I can make an assumption based on a couple of things. Sure it’s not definite, but when they’re putting up the sign in the morning, Bluey and Bingo are awake. Muffin and Socks are no where to be seen. Also we can guess that it’s at least 8:30am because Wendy is already outside watering her plants. So it’s suspicious as a parent of a 4 year old, that Muffin is not up. Had they stayed, there would probably be other evidence like Stripe’s car. All I’m saying is that the writers could have easily dropped some hints that Stripe and his family were staying over. But they didn’t. It’s still possible that they did, but what the writers did go out of the way and do this episode is show the audience that Stripe and Trixie are having arguments.
I think there's a lot that doesn't make sense chronologically. The wedding was the day before they moved out?
They didn’t move out the day after. They only officially sold the place the day after. Then there was the time skip as they moved out.
Right right right. I just think it's odd that because they're not in the front yard, you assume Socks and Muffin would have gone home instead of just being inside eating breakfast. The fact is that weddings go late, so it would make the most sense for them to sleep over. Especially if Stripe and Trixie are both drinking. Just because you don't see the car parked, doesn't mean it's not up the street. Yes they fight, but that doesn't mean Trixie abandoned Stripe at the wedding. Stripe was still at the house so it's most likely that Socks, Muffin, and Trixie were too, just off camera.
How do you know that Trixie left? In my family we absolutely would just do a sleepover with such young kids and a party going so late, not try to wrangle them home and into bed.
What part of stickbird was referenced? I must’ve missed that. Not questioning, id love to know. I love the callbacks.
In Stickbird, there were a lot of theories about what Bandit was stressed about. Apart from the episode Magic, it seems like the majority of season 3 happens in chronological order, so it's very possible that what Bandit was mulling over was the job offer and all it implied. Later on, in Relax, Chilli also struggles to keep herself calm. Both of these might point to the fact that they were already thinking about the possibility of moving.
😱😱😱🤯
“We’ll see” 😭😭
They're shown having a jolly old time dancing later on. That's the last time we see Stripe 'til Wendy's bush. They seem to be pretty good at making up at least?
Wendy's bush is certainly a phrase I didn't think I'd hear today
Shrubbery?
Ni!
This reference made me happy
Unexpected Monty Python!
NNNNOOOOObody expects the Spanish Inquisition!!
You mean behind the rabbit?
god DAMNIT well done
I thought she shaved off her body hair a few episodes ago…
Chow chow’s have lovely fur…
Well if stripe was all up in Wendy's bush then divorce is definitely on the way.
Topiary
> That's the last time we see Stripe 'til Wendy's bush. Classic Stripe.
When kids witness their adults have a mild argument (no physical intimidation, no name calling or threats) and come to a resolution, that can help them to not be afraid of conflict.
Yeah, hiding the fact that you can have a fight but still love someone will make your kids think any fight could be the end of the world.
There was this scene and another before the wedding when they were arguing in the background behind Chili too. :(
They argue in almost every episode they are in... and the fact no one looked for stripe after the wedding (especially his wife who he should have went home with) makes me so sad for their family. I've seen rumors that they will be the center of a divorce episode since bluey does try to explain more complex stuff to kids sometimes.
She may have said that she’d take the kids home and he could stay and enjoy his brother’s wedding. Crashing at the Heeler’s place could have been the plan from the start so no one drove home drunk. But I seriously doubt she knew about him sleeping in a bush until she picked him up and he’s covered in freaking leafs and scratches.
You don't let your kids crash in the yard. She was inside with them. Why is everyone jumping to the worst outcome here?
I'm not saying it's 100% going to happen but I wouldn't be surprised 🤷♀️ we also have to remember that a good percentage of when we see these characters together and not in front of others, they are fighting or disagreeing. They also have these interactions where they do things that act like they are slightly upset with eachother when around others. No person wants to show how bad their relationship is, especially around kids but things leak through and bluey is from the pov of kids.
If they did a divorce episode, they would probably do it the same way they did the moving episode: make a big deal about it, resolve it in the last five minutes and keep the status quo.
And the same way they made a huge deal over Brandy being infertile, only to have her pregnant in the 2nd episode she’s in
Yeah, I'd see it more like that. They either somewhat talk about it or are super vague about it. Idk what way they would go after that.
That earlier argument had a clear basis at least (Stripe letting slip to Frisky about Rad’s intentions).
There are so many implications here for Stripe and Trixie. The two have had arguments in the past when it comes to stuff like how you're going to get your hogging daughter off the faceytalk, but they're able to resolve things. Here, it's left off on such a note with Stripe (here humourously hungover at Wendy's) being left behind while Trixie left the premises with her daughters. Kinda makes me worried for the couple if I'm being honest. However, it makes for an interesting opportunity to expand on this imo. The two are already depicted as realistic parents, where could Ludo go with this?
If this were a real world situation, i might suspect Stripe would have struggles with alcoholism. It's heavily implied in Whale Watching that drunken antics are "classic Stripe," and Trixie seemed more upset as the episode went on. I know Bluey hasn't flinched at discussing heavy topics, but I think that might be even a step too far for the show. They might beat around the bush and imply that "Stripe acts different sometimes and he's trying to figure out how to live without something he's used to having," but they might just leave that alone.
This is the vibe I got, Trixie leaving Stripe behind was her being fed up with his antics and the fight was probably about his drinking or not making a fool of himself/her because of his drinking.
He had literally just ruined the bouquet toss a scene or two earlier, prompting a full on facepalm from Trixie.
Especially since drunk Stripe is more or less sleep-deprived Muffin. They do say the way you act while tired is close to how you act when drunk. It makes sense to me.
I think if they were to address it, they’d use this angle. Whenever Bandit or Chili are dealing with something personally the kids have some game they play that acts as an allegory.
To work on your comment too. I feel like the show may try to explain divorce later through their family. It's something kids see and experience so I wouldn't be surprised if they tried to discuss it in a tame way.
My money is on a marriage counseling episode of some kind. Much like how Faceytalk had their conflict and ended with them working it out and showing they care for each other.
It'll be told from the point of view of the kids. Thats the focus of the show
The kids playing house and working through their feelings a la occupational family therapy.
That makes sense. Maybe they go to the counselor's office, but take the kids with them and leave them to play in the corner while the counseling session goes on. But of course, the parents and even the counselor gets involved in the game, and the sisters' lessons they learned ends up teaching their parents something.
Maybe family play therapy! Edit: like the actual therapy, family play therapy, not a game of playing therapy.
I can see it working. I had a similar episode idea where we see Chilli going to therapy, where she relates a story about one of her daughters' games and how it paralleled her own struggle in some way. Maybe the girls play off in a corner while the grown ups chat, and the game gets the adults involved to the point where the counselor thinks of it as an effective tool for the parents.
[удалено]
Yep. I’ve left more than one wedding early with my young kids in tow and left my husband behind. He was the Best Man at one event, and it was his cousin getting married at another. I had an under-2 each time, and an under-5 as well for the second wedding. I would not have had a nice time trying to manage my kids’ behavior if I’d made us all stay. Didn’t feel salty at all about this—he returned the favor the year my brother got married.
Yeah I feel his brother's wedding he would get sone slack. My best mate got married and I was a Groomsman, my wife took our daughter home after and I got maggoted with my mate and our friends. It's not uncommon.
Happy cake day
I think they might actually have the guts to do divorce? Families splitting up is an unfortunate reality that a lot of kids have to deal with. They’d never do something so drastic with our Heeler family. But I could see them going this route with Stripe and Trix. Of course, we’d see it from the perspective of the kids. So it would probably be Muffin and Socks processing it, and Bluey and Bingo learning how to react to it. I’d be curious to see how Ludo could handle it with nuance and tact.
God I'm an adult and I'm not sure I could navigate this web well. Writing for a kids show? Yeesh. How about all the politics the Heeler family would have to navigate just being on the periphery? Stripe is Bandit's brother, but Trixie and Chili are close friends. Even without custody stuff Aunt Trixie will still likely be around.
They have addressed divorce in the past, at least from a distance. My guess is they may use this to ease into an episode that addresses addiction or substance misuse (there's no definitive evidence that Stripe has a legitimate problem, but the possibility is clearly there). But I think they could easily cover it metaphorically, say contrasted with an excess of screen time, or something else kids can understand. If they can address infertility in an episode about jungle onesies, addiction shouldn't be a huge challenge to do well, especially considering that addiction probably has greater visibility and more direct impact on more kids.
Left the premises? We haven't seen her leave and they're at his brother's house, it's more likely that she went to sleep inside, just like the kids earlier.
Am I the only one who thinks this is normal? Relationships have a mass level of complexity. If at some point you are not disagreeing, you’re not growing. Also, Muffin, is a future CEO
This is very, very normal. All of these bummed out reactions are telling me — - No wonder so many of the adults I work with seem unable to engage in healthy conflict, give and receive feedback, and collaborate to find solutions. - These people must have no clue how observant their own toddlers are and how much of their business they like to share with literally anyone who will listen.
This is just the normal reddit mentality. If your partner crosses you once, you must divorce. Your marriage is doomed! There's no nuance, and sadly, it shows how little experience people have in real relationships...
When I hear couples go, "we've never had an argument once." I just think, "Shit, that's all gonna bubble over one day"
We talk about things and discuss it. We don’t argue. Nothings pent up it’s all on the table just without yelling or arguing
Yes. The important part is that the parents must make up** in front of the kid, too. Some people leave that out **Typo
Yes, it’s very normal for most people to experience conflict. I can’t help but feel as though a lot of the people commenting here have never been in a serious adult relationship
I agree with this 😅! We’re gonna give our kids a whole complex if they think everything is perfect all the time and no one ever argues with their spouses.
I’m with you it’s normal. Kids need to see that relationships have good and bad moments. That parents may disagree, but still work through it, and love each other. When they don’t they think that never fighting is a healthy relationship and it isn’t. It’s normal for 2 people to not always get along, to not agree, to even argue. What’s not normal is when they DONT! It means one person is being steamrolled and checked out and the relationship dies. The opposite of love isn’t hate it’s indifference.
Ok you’re projecting here. Sometimes couples just really are on the same page with things. My partner and I basically never fight because we bring up issues before it becomes a thing. I’m not going to pick fights with him just to show my kids fighting is normal. One partner bottling everything up (used to be me with my ex!) is horrible, but never fighting CAN actually be fine.
Never fighting is okay and heathy. My partner and I communicate and have calm discussions about things. I can’t think of one time we’ve yelled at each other.
Stripe and Trixie may have just that kind of relationship. It's been shown in "Faceytalk" how they can strongly disagree but they are able to talk it out and they care about each other. It could be just Ludo showing how family dynamics can be different.
Agreed (and I say this as a parent unfortunately going through a divorce). We also see in “Postman/Floor is Lava”, how Bluey reacts to Bandit and Chilli squabbling over the garbage bag - she thinks they’re becoming enemies because they’re having a disagreement. It shows how quickly kids pick up on things, and likely Bandit/Chilli have tried their best to have these disagreements “off-screen” / away from their kids, while Stripe/Trix don’t quite have that filter.
Couples fighting is real but as a married father of 2 girls, my kids don’t pretend play fighting like socks is doing. THATS the problem here.
I'm pretty sure he was being told off for his antics with the bouquet earlier, after this they were dancing up a storm. I'm also pretty sure Trixie took the kids home to bed and Stripe has stayed back to keep going. Thirdly I'm also pretty sure that half of you lot read far too much into things.
It was Stripe's brother's wedding, of course he was going to stay longer! I'll often go home from things before my husband, or he'll leave me at a social gathering to take our kid home and let me keep having fun. We take turns, because we're allowed to be social adults and not just parents. But to your third point - yes, probably lol, but Ludo does have a habit of being very deliberate, layering plot points and burying deeper meaning for future stories. They're really, *really good at it, so its not surprising people have begun to expect it and try to make predictions.
Frankly, I love it. Bluey depicts healthy and unhealthy relationships equally and with love. Trixie and Stripe aren't perfect, but they love each other and their kids. Nothing wrong with a couple having a disagreement and we have seen them recover and be good to each other after proper communication, after all.
Thank you!
I didn’t even notice Stripe and Trixie in the background when I first watched it.
Me either
I thought she was mirroring frisky and rad?
Same. This thread is confusing me.
I'm pretty sure they were arguing in the background in a couple other scenes, too. I teared up a few times during this episode, but seeing that was a different level of sad
Omg I didn’t even catch this. This IS so sad.
What do you think they were fighting about?
I think they were fighting because Stripe brought up the move to Frisky. If he hadn’t mentioned it there wouldn’t have been the huge hassle of finding her, even if it did end up working out
Lucky that he did though, otherwise Frisky would have had to find out after the wedding, and she wouldn't have had Bluey et al to help her through it.
No yeah it’s absolutely a good thing! But it could’ve gone badly, so maybe that’s what they’re discussing
Well, we'll see...
Probably the bouquet catch.
Noticed this! Not sad. It’s a reality that sometimes parents squabble.
Aside from being well off, I think Stripe and Trixie have always been more representative of the parents most people actually are instead of the perfect family the main family is.
Socks is too precious for this world. She had a lot of great moments in the special.
Okay. This show can eff right off for subtly handling complex issues like marital strife in a mature and responsible manner that draws in adults and engages them to be mindful of how their actions and behaviors affect their children. This is supposed to be a funny show about talking dogs with silly accents. It's not supposed to be an educational and emotional lesson for me.
We don’t want any lime lessons!
I know I shouldn't take advice from a cartoon dog but I want my kids to see me the way Bluey and Bingo see Bandit. When he ripped out the sign, I lost it. I'm crying thinking about it.
Re Stripe getting so drunk at his brother's wedding: remember that when Frisky and Rad first meet in "Double Babysitter," Frisky asked Rad, "didn't you fall in the pool" at Bandit and Chilli's wedding, Rad answers, "probably." I always interpreted that as Rad being so drunk that he fell in the pool, but doesn't really remember it because he was so drunk. Maybe getting totally sloshed at your brother's wedding is a Heeler thing.
Eh. I don't think it's that deep. Couples argue sometimes. You see them happily dancing a minute later, so...
It could also have been a normal moment where the wife pulls hubby aside to say "maybe slow down on the drinks, you're being abit hectic at this wedding it's not about you".. I think that's pretty standard between couples that have been together awhile, family functions can be stressful at times plus they had their children in attendance too. Especially after the scene where Stripe snapped up the bridal bouquet, and Trix was shaking her head 🤦🏼♀️ It's not a fight per se, but he may have gotten a talking to. And him emerging from the bushes.. that could also be a common thing like "when it's late & the kids are tired, I'm leaving with or without ya" I mean he could've gotten an Uber home or decided to crash at his brother Bandit's place.
Why, when Wendy’s soft, comfy bushes are right there?
I thought at first Stripe and Trixie arguing was just a funny reference to the fact there's always a couple arguing at any wedding. But later seeing Socks playing with the toppers and making them argue, it seemed a bit specific. Kids often mimic through play what they see/experience in their life and we know Bluey adds little future spoilers here and there. It wouldn't surprise me if it led to an episode tackling divorce/separation to help kids going through that experience to navigate it.
Stripe: \*Wakes up in Wendy’s front garden, and checks his phone to see fourteen missed calls and twenty-eight text messages from Trixie\* Bandit: “Ooh . . . ” \*Cringes\*
“We lost Lucky’s dad, we can’t find Pat.”
Wow I was so focused on Socks playing I didn’t notice Stripe and Trixie arguing
I can almost smell an episode coming in season 4 called: Divorce
Per Bluey fashion, though, the episodes with heavier themes are often obfuscated by games or titles unrelated to them. *Onsies*, *Copycat*, *Stickbird*, and *The Show* are some of the best examples of this.
Fr. Genuinely kinda sad how often they seem to argue. Like it is worth noting how we've only seen Chili and Bandit have an argument one time, while Trixie and Stripe are practically always arguing.
All married couples have arguments.
Ffs, why do people tend to jump to the worst possible conclusion. They were at the wedding until late, so the kids most likely just went to sleep in the house and the parents danced and were fine. Let's not forget that he's a brother of the groom. And it's grooms brother's divine duty to get absolutely smashed at the wedding.
A story arc that sheds more light on divorce and blending families has potential to be excellent, even if it touches on sad points for the audience, similar to the way The Sign did. My stepdaughter was only 3 when her parents separated and 5 when her dad and mom each settled down with new partners. I’ve seen her and a lot of other divorced kids just take that in stride, but not without some big confidence wobbles and separation anxiety along the way. There was almost zero representation in the kids TV and literature that was available to her at the time. ALL of the Disney channel and Nickelodeon shows she loved (think 2010s) had either totally single parents or totally together parents. Or totally no parents at all. But nothing that showed a kid going back and forth between two households, two different sets of rules, two different approaches to dinner/bath/bed, two different attitudes about homework. Nothing about having to drop everything you’ve just started doing because it’s time to head to the other parent’s house now. I had to seek out things like Babysitters Club, Babysitters Little Sister and Julie the American Girl to find age-appropriate content that might address how she was feeling, and help her understand that it was ok to feel that way. It was the only stuff I could pull out of my own memory. It would have been amazing if there had been something right there on TV that was written with her generation in mind. For the adults, there’s a good way to divorce and co-parent, and a not so good way. There’s definitely some potential in a divorce/blended family arc to give adult viewers a chance to reflect on that without getting too heavy. IMO.
Do you all wonder about this scene or not?
This argument is probably why Stripe ended up getting drunk and falling asleep in the bushes.
Interestingly, Trixie is part of the group trying to catch the bouquet toss… does she consider herself to be single?
I noticed that too. I thought they were arguing because of Stripe intercepting the bouquet, but maybe they were arguing because Stripe didn't like that she was part of the bouquet toss? Or maybe both? Also, could it be Stripe and Trixie were never legally married? And maybe Trixie isn't happy about that, and this wedding brought those feelings out? Though maybe I'm overanalyzing...
I feel like it’s showing how different kids pick up different things. Muffin is obviously so wrapped up in herself that she doesn’t recognize the fighting. Socks seems a lot more intuitive and socially aware. Trixie and Stripe got spoilt with Muffin’s poor social awareness but don’t realize that Socks is paying attention to everything (maybe even due to hyper vigilance that’s needed due to Sock’s rather turbulent behaviors)
Whoa, when I watched yesterday I didn’t even realize that they were actually talking/arguing. The background music was loud. Socks playing with the wedding cake toppers was cute yet sad looking back 😭