Bluey Finally Reveals Where The Heck Grandpa Bob Has Been

Note: Spoilers for “The Sign” episode of Bluey are ahead!

After years of speculating “Where is Grandpa Bob?” and “Is Bluey’s grandpa dead?” we finally have our answer and it’s great news: Grandpa Bob, Bandit’s dad, is alive. Not only alive but thriving as he celebrates his eldest son’s wedding in Bluey’s newly released supersized episode “The Sign.” Let’s break it down.

Grandpa Bob made just one* appearance on Bluey.

Up until “The Sign,” Grandpa Bob — husband to Nana/Chris, dad to Radley, Bandit, and Stripe, and grandpa to Bluey, Bingo, Muffin, and Socks — was only in one episode... sort of. His first and only present-day appearance was in the Season 1 episode “Grannies.” In it, he and Chris can be seen learning how to floss via FaceTime. But while we’ve seen Chris subsequently, both at her apartment on the Gold Coast and at family events like Christmas and Bingo’s birthday party, among others, Bob was nowhere to be seen except for the flashback episode “Fairy Tale” where he was seen on vacation with his kids in the ‘80s.

Other than that he’s seen in pictures on different family members’ walls, and is mentioned twice, once by Chilli in the short “Humpty Dumpty” and once by Bingo in Season 3’s “Bedroom” when she bids goodnight to Grandpa Bob “wherever you are.” Little did we know that his intriguing line would ultimately serve as a kind of hint for Bob’s whereabouts.

There were plenty of fan theories about Grandpa Bob.

A beloved franchise paired with an unanswered question is peak fan theory territory and Bluey fans did not disappoint. One particularly popular theory came from TikTok user @world.shaker, which suggested that Bob had either died or was in a care facility due to dementia. Others posited that, perhaps, even after decades, the OG Heelers decided to divorce. All the while, however, series creator Joe Brumm assured fans that Bob was “alive and well.” Some thought/feared “The Sign” might involve Bob’s death and/or funeral.

Turns out Grandpa Bob was eat-pray-loving.

That’s right, Grandpa Bob, who was happily celebrating Rad and Frisky’s wedding explained his absence in an exchange with Bingo during the reception.

Bingo: What were you doing in India for so long, Bobba?

Bob: Well girls...

Chris: *scoffs lightheartedly* He was off trying to find himself.

Bingo: Find yourself?

Muffin: That’s silly! Why do you need to find yourself?

Bingo: Yeah. You’re right here.

Bob: What?! Gaaaaaah.

So there you have it. Nothing to see here, folks: just your standard, delayed midlife crisis.

Fans were delighted to see that Bob was OK.

Needless to say, with this mystery solved, fans across social media were basking in the catharsis...

“GRANDPABOB IS STILL ALIVE OMG,” tweets @AndreiHeeler emphatically. “I LOVE THIS EPISODE A LOT.”

Some, however, thought it could have been handled better. Twitter user @Tio_Drohan tweets, “The main issue I have is how rushed they did the Grandpa Bob reveal; after many allusions of him passing away, just showing up and saying ‘I was in India finding myself’ just felt tacked on and made me wonder even more how did Nana took it and how at his age he was able to travel for so long.”

So there you have it! He kept us on our toes for a few years there, but all’s well that ends well for Bob Heeler. We hope to see more of him in the future.