We All Know This Episode Of Bluey Is About Parenting With A Hangover, Right?

It’s been said that Bluey isn’t actually a children’s TV show: it’s “a parent show that kids happen to enjoy.” And if you needed convincing, well, look no further than Episode 22 of Season 3, “Whale Watching,” aka the Bluey hangover episode. You read that right: there’s a (kid-appropriate) episode of Bluey all about parenting while hungover.

“Whale Watching” opens with something we usually don’t see on the show: a very worn-out looking Bandit and Chilli. The normally perky pair are lying in the living room, Chilli on the couch and Bandit belly-down on the floor. “Oh man,” groans Bandit. “I don’t ever want to leave this couch,” Chilli agrees, sounding equally exhausted/queasy/ill. Right away, this feels... familiar to any parent who has overindulged the night before. But no, you might think, this is a children’s show. They wouldn’t...

Chilli then informs Bandit that their daughters are on the phone with their cousin, Muffin, granting the pair, who do not have the energy for games today, a moment of peace and quiet. “Ah!” Bandit sighs happily. “Happy New Year’s.”

At which point, pretty much all doubt is gone: Chilli and Bandit got drunk at a New Year’s Eve party and are now hungover. (Bluey confirms this shortly thereafter in mentioning the New Year’s Eve party at her cousin Muffin’s house).

More clues come later in the episode: there’s mention of Chilli having danced on a barbecue table and Bandit’s brother Stripe screaming “Cannonball!” and jumping in the pool so loudly it wakes one of the kids. (“Classic Stripe...”) There’s also the moment when the kids ask if they’re sick and Bandit awkwardly offers “Not sick... just...ummm...” “Sleepy,” Chilli finishes. Friends: whomst among us hasn’t been here at some point?

But Bluey and Bingo, being kids, do not care that their parents are tired: they’re expecting a morning of fun and games as usual, and they decide they’re going to pretend they’re on a whale watch. Bandit will play the role of the boat and Chilli gets to be the whale. Their parental efforts are half-hearted. When the “boat” finally reaches “the whale,” she doesn’t really do anything interesting, much less jump out of the water like they’re all hoping for. Bluey suggests they try feeding it, at which point Chilli perks up. “Ooh. That might help, actually.”

This turns into the family watching mum lie on the couch eating corn chips and sour cream.

Still no jumping. As a consolation prize, Chilli makes an executive decision: they’re all going to watch a TV show about whales instead. “It’s gotta be done,” she deadpans to her husband. “No argument here!” he sighs happily.

But that’s where the guilt creeps in. Specifically when the whale documentary (narrated by Natalie Portman, by the bye) asserts “There’s nothing a whale mom wouldn’t do for her children.”

This prompts mum to dramatically leap off the couch, complete with whale song cry, and land directly on the “boat.”

Ultimately, this launches the girls into a new game where just the two of them live together alone on an island, freeing up their still-tired parents to lounge in their living room in peace and quiet.

Sadly, most of our non-cartoon dog experiences do not end so tidily or fortunately — our kids would probably bug us to repeat the leaping boat trick another 47 times. But it’s nice to know that Bandit and Chilli, or at least their creators, understand the struggle.