u/SummerAndTinkles

Something I noticed with other kid shows like Arthur, the kid characters will be written like they're older than they actually are. Preteens will act like high-schoolers, first or second-graders will behave like preteens, preschoolers will behave like first or second-graders, etc. They'll use big words and understand concepts and do other things no real child their age does.

Bluey doesn't have this problem. Every child character acts like their age. Bluey acts like a real six year-old, Bingo is like a real four year-old, Muffin is like a real three year-old, etc. It feels a lot more believable than other kid shows, plus I imagine the kid viewers of that age can relate more easily.

I also think that's the reason I find Muffin less annoying than DW from Arthur. DW has more advanced dialogue than an actual four year-old, which makes it all the more jarring when she throws toddler-like tantrums. Meanwhile, Muffin talks like an actual toddler, all the way down to saying R's as W's, so her brattiness feels more like someone who is just too young to have developed empathy.

At the beginning of The Show, Bluey and Bingo try to give their mom breakfast in bed, only for Bingo to spill it. She runs away and cries, thinking she ruined everything, only for Chilli to tell her daughter it's not her fault, and to have a good cry, dust herself off, pick herself up, and keep going, as the show must go on.

The kids take the show thing literally, and put on a show acting out their parents meeting and having Bluey. But then we get to the part everyone talks about, where Bingo pretends to be pregnant with a balloon in a shirt, only for the balloon to pop and for Bandit to sadly grab Chilli's hand.

Bingo runs away, once again thinking that she ruined everything, only for Bluey to repeat Mom's advice from earlier: have a good cry, dust yourself off, pick yourself up, and try again. So they do that, and get to the part of Bluey being born.

I remember seeing a clip of that scene everyone talks about before I watched the episode, and thinking it was weird that the show would hint at something as heavy as miscarriage in just that one bit. But it's not that one bit...the WHOLE EPISODE is woven with themes about miscarriage, with Chilli probably feeling the same kind of guilt that Bingo felt during both of her mistakes, and Chilli's advice being the same thing she learned herself.

Have a good cry, dust yourself off, pick yourself up, and try again.

The only thing I'm wondering now...how would Bluey and Bingo react if they learned they almost had an older sibling who never was?

I see these kinds of theories with almost every franchise that doesn’t have humans in it, whether it be Cars, My Little Pony, even Arthur.

I just feel like these kinds of theories should add SOMETHING new to the table beyond just “our species went extinct and this thing took our place”, because the idea that this is an alternate timeline where dogs became sapient instead of humans just feels a lot simpler.

Here's some examples I can think of. (Note that I consider chimpanzees and other species closely related to humans to be cheating, since there's a good chance they evolved that trait as part of a common ancestor instead of independently.)

• The indri is a type of large lemur that is the only mammal other than humans that can hear rhythm.
• The only other mammals other than humans to undergo menopause are certain cetaceans like orcas, belugas and narwhals.
• Beavers are the only other mammal that can actively shape their environment.
• While homosexuality is common in the animal kingdom, sheep are the only non-human animal capable of being EXCLUSIVELY attracted to the same sex, with 10 percent of rams preferring other rams.
• Ground hornbill evolution somewhat parallels humans, in that they started out as arboreal frugivores before transitioning to grassland predators.
• Many ants have domesticated livestock like aphids and caterpillars for their honeydew.
• There's a species of damselfish that farms algae, and has domesticated a type of shrimp to help fertilize it with their droppings the same way many farmers in Asia use ducks.

I'm sure he would love all the creative freedom of webcomics, especially given all the fights he had with his publishers on Calvin and Hobbes. And even though there's no way it would live up to the legacy of Calvin and Hobbes, it would be cool to see SOME new content from Bill. (Though at least we have The Mysteries for now.)