Bluey season finale hits a nerve with kids and parents

I feel how low it lies for a children’s cartoon. The finale of Bluey really hit a nerve among parents. I was like, bawling. By the end of it, I was like, in tears. And she’s far from alone. The episode left a Trail of Tears across social media. I’ve absolutely got it. The Australian Kid Show follows Bluey the puppy her sister Bingo and their parents banned it in Chile and it’s accomplished a rare feat resonating with the whole family. It is a kids show, but they’ve talked about things like divorce, death, infertility in ways that make sense to kids but are also treated with care and kindness. And you really just don’t see a lot of that, especially in like kids media. She’s upset because she doesn’t want dad to sell her house. Anticipation has been building about this longer than usual season finale for months, and it’s tackling another tough topic moving as Bluey’s dad looks to uproot the family for a new job. It’s like a big life event that people often have to go through and like how it kind of impacts the children, how it impacts the parents. Show is a critical darling, a major reason its ability to deal with big issues in a nuanced yet approachable way. It’s a bit of a secret sauce. I mean, it’s kind of what most kids TV shows are really, really gunning for, both the kids as fans who really want to watch the show, but also parents who don’t want it turned off. No spoilers here, but the episode ends with an emotional flourish afterwards. My son and was like, I don’t ever want to move. I always want to live in this house forever. You kind of see how these shows affect them and get them thinking about things and these like big life events. And maybe leave a smile. Or some tears. Jamie Strachan, CBC News, Toronto.