Circus is the thirty-third episode of the second season of Bluey.
Synopsis
Bluey is the ringmaster in a game of circus with her friends, but Hercules wants to play his motorcycle game instead. Luckily Bluey has a solution to keep everyone happy.
Episode Recap
It's election day, and Bandit and Chilli are taking their kids along with them. While the kids try to convince their parents to pick and not to pick certain candidates just by how they look, Chilli tells them the right thing is to vote on who would be the best boss. Bluey asks how to be one, Bandit tells her that one way is to make up the best way to give commands to others. Bingo does not like the idea of being told around (demonstrated on how she's told not to touch a possibly dodgy mushroom). Bandit tries to sympathize with her, when suddenly the other kids show up and offer the Heeler kids to play "Circus". They joyfully accept.
The parents go on their business near the booths, while the kids set up their roles. Honey is the circus lion wanting to run away, Mackenzie is the tamer whose mean behaviour makes the tiger want to leave, Coco is the acrobat who wants to be married with the lion tamer (much to Mackenzie's dismay), Bingo is the audience, and Bluey is the ringmaster who gives commands (except to her audience sister).
Nearby, Winton and his big friend Hercules are playing "Motorbike". The bored Winton, acting as the jump, wants to have a turn of being the motorbike, an offer Hercules outright rejects.
Meanwhile, the game of "Circus" begins with the first act being a lion jumping through the hoop. Mackenzie procedurally acts mean to his lion Honey. Coco the acrobat suggests her husband Mackenzie to be nice to his lion, although Mackenzie immediately says he's not her husband. The lion clears the hoop, but the mean lion tamer gives her no treat. The lion gets so angry that Bluey has to hold her and Coco complains that Mackenzie doesn't want to be her husband. Mackenzie doesn't want to and Bluey can't make him as Coco wills it, much to her disappointment. At the same time, lion Honey breaks free from Bluey's hold and rushes to her tamer.
Back to Winton, he looks up from his lie-down pose and sees a more exciting game from afar. He looks around, and when Hercules doesn't seem to look, jets off to Bluey and her friends. Just in time, Bluey is figuring out the next act and with her friends' permission allows him to take part. Bluey needs a muscleman, but Winton insists on being a clown. Bluey allows it nonetheless, and the friends are fine with it.
It doesn't take long for Hercules to realize his jump is missing. He sets his sight on the bunch of friends playing "Circus".
Back in the circus, Mackenzie does a trick involving a treat on the lion's nose; it also involves snatching it for himself, much to the friends' surprise and horror, as well as the lion's anger as she runs away with the lion tamer having to chase her. Bluey tells Coco to keep the audience occupied, with the latter commenting that Mackenzie should have been nice to the lion.
Hercules finally gets to Winton. Unamused by the fact that his jump is now a clown, he angrily demands to play with them. Coco tells him to ask for Bluey's permission since she's the circus ringmaster, but Hercules demands that he's playing, and that they're playing "Motorbike" not "Circus" with the rest of the kids being his jumps. Bingo complains against his insistence, but the other kids give in anyway.
The lion problem is still left unsorted as Mackenzie tries to lure his pet back, only to be pounced by Honey. In the meantime, the kids get bored pretty quickly as the jumps. Winton suggests running away, but Bingo has another plan. She stands up and tells stops Hercules. She tells him that if he wants to play, he has to play their game, otherwise he can't play. Hercules insists that he can't be told what to do, but Bingo objects because they were playing first. He answers this by letting out a loud, annoying raspberry, much to the other kids' discomfort.
Bluey decides that the lion issue needs help so she returns to her circus and finds her friends in a tough situation. Bingo tells her that meanie Hercules doesn't want to do what Bingo tells him. But Bluey sees something else. She calms him down and tells him that he's just in time; they need a muscleman to help the lion tamer. He is equally mad on the lion situation anyway, so he follows Bluey.
He gets to Honey and Mackenzie and separates them both. Mackenzie insults Honey, "you meanie lion!" Honey reacts sadly and looks helplessly at her savior. Compelled, Hercules puts Honey down, assuring her that she's a good little lion. As for Mackenzie, just after calling him out for being a meanie, with Coco's resounding "yes", Hercules lifts Mackenzie in the air and spins him around. The kids are amused and laugh at his fate, with his excuse to Hercules is him just pretending. Bluey gets another attraction: Hercules the muscleman! A "yay" from the audience Bingo.
Eventually, they all decide to play "Motorbikes". While the other kids are speeding off as motorbikes, Coco offers the dizzy Mackenzie to be the jumps. He accepts with relief and lies down next to her.
Later, the Heelers walk home with sausages on the kids' hands. Bandit tells Bingo to pick up her dropped napkin, which she does. Bluey tells that she has sauce on her fingers, and asks her mum if she can wipe it on her fur. Chilli allows it: "It's a free country."
Appearances
- Hercules (debut)
- The Heeler Family
- The Border Collie Family
- Mackenzie
- Mackenzie's Dad (cameo)
- Mackenzie's Mum (cameo)
- The Beagle Family
- Coco
- Winton
- Calypso (cameo)
- Wendy (cameo)
- Pat (cameo)
- Cornelius (cameo)
- Indy's Mum (cameo)
- Frank (cameo)
- Harley's Dad (cameo)
- Jack's Dad (cameo)
- Jack's Mum (cameo)
- Bella (cameo)
- Juniper's Mum (cameo)
- Jasper G.'s Mum (cameo)
Trivia
- This episode aired on the same date as the 2020 elections for the Queensland Legislative Assembly.
- The posters resemble three of the political parties in Australia, based on the colours and logo of the posters.
- The green poster represents the Greens, with the green triangle on the poster being similar to the Greens logo.
- The blue poster represents the Liberal National Coalition, based on the colour and the logo on the poster, an L with a square in the corner, resembling the Liberal logo.
- The red poster represents Labor, based on the colour.
- Sausages as well as other foods are given out at many polling booths in Australia, usually raising money for the organization (school, sporting club, church, etc) hosting the polling booth.
- Winton replaces Bluey in the credits of this episode.
- Long Dog: This long dog is a sausage. It can be found on the grill in front of Bandit as he is squirting Ketchup on his.
- Interestingly, much like the previous long dog in Barky Boats, it also has it's eye(s) open.
- When Bingo is getting more "popcorn", Mackenzie says "not again!" It may be a reference to Shops.
- When this episode aired on Disney Channel in the US, it was paired with Muffin Cone and Road Trip.
- Goof: When Coco says, "I told him not to be mean to that lion," her eyebrows disappear.