The season 3 finale of the Australian children's series Bluey has fans and casual viewers interested in the show's future, while Filipino fans look forward to it featuring in full on national television.
According to People, the two-part finale produced by Ludo Studio entitled "The Sign" and "Surprise" garnered very different but connected emotions about the series.
"The Sign," which premiered on Apr. 14, is a 28-minute episode—the longest in the show's history —that became an emotional rollercoaster centering on sisters Bluey and Bingo Heeler and their family deciding whether or not to sell their home in a parallel universe Brisbane in the Australian state of Queensland. The episode also centers on the marriage of their uncle Radley and Bluey's godmother, Frisky.
The episode makes the parents of the show's intended audience emotional, a feat significantly achieved during the release of its top-rating episode to date, "Sleepytime," which featured a rearrangement of Gustav Holst's "Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity" from his "Planets" suite.
"Now, that's what we call a stellar season finale," Variety editor Jazz Tangcay said on X, formerly Twitter. "Also, how dare this show for pre-schoolers make adults get all emotional."
On the other hand, pro wrestler and father Johnny Gargano compared "The Sign" to Avengers: Endgame.
"What a fantastic emotional rollercoaster!" he added.
Bluey fan Sam Gavin admitted on X that he is worried his therapist "isn't gonna know what hit her."
"It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say Bluey's The Sign absolutely f***ed me up," he said.
"Bandit & Chilli are parenting goals. I love these characters so much," the user added, referring to Bluey and Bingo's parents.
Forbes gathered a group of parent reactions, including one from a mother named Kelly Crawford, who said the special episode was the first piece of media to make her child tear up.
"My daughter actually admitted that it made her cry and I've never known her to get emotional at films or TV," Crawford said. "She watched it at 8am and then forced me and her dad to watch it too because she was bursting to talk about it with someone."
And just when viewers thought season 3 was over, Ludo Studio released an extra video titled "Surprise."
The extra episode confirmed by the show's producers that it would return for another season after several fans thought "The Sign" and "Surprise" functioned as the series finale and epilogue.
"It is the question on everybody's lips," Bluey producer Sam Moor told BBC Radio 4. "No it is not the end for Bluey. I'm sure we have many more surprises in store for you."
"We have more in store and we are thinking what would be next," she added.
The surprise episode also featured a new character—the offspring of Bluey, who was seen playing the same game as its mother earlier in the episode.
Australian public broadcaster ABC, which co-distributed the series with the BBC and Disney, reported that Bluey fans have been speculating on who is the father of her child in the episode.
An X account named Radian Writes narrowed it down to two likely candidates: Bluey's New Zealander childhood friend Mackenzie and French Canadian pup Jean-Luc, whom she met during the episode "Camping."
Because of the power of genetics, I honestly think Jean-Luc and Mackenzie are just a likely to be the father 🤔
— RadianWrites (@radianwrites) April 21, 2024
(Cont.)#bluey #blueytwt pic.twitter.com/yPi7nhwRBP
"Because of the power of genetics, I honestly think Jean-Luc and Mackenzie are just [as] likely to be the father," the caption read.
Meanwhile, Philippine broadcaster TV5 released a bumper ad promoting the program's premiere on Apr. 29.
Several Filipino Bluey fans on Reddit were anticipating the showing of the series after the network bumped back the show by almost two months with another children's show, My Little Pony.
It remains to be seen whether the show will be dubbed into local languages.
