Bluey's copycat game takes a bad turn when she finds an injured budgie and the family makes an emergency visit to the vet.
Tropes:
- Annoyingly Repetitive Child: At the start, Bluey starts repeating everything that Bandit says and does, much to his dismay. Curious to see how far she'll take it, he does goofy things such as slapping his own rear in front of Wendy, but to his surprise, she doesn't copy him there.
- The Anti-Nihilist: Although Bluey is rather disappointed that her reenactment of the day's events didn't go as planned, it taught her something valuable: "It's out of our hands." Although the bird is no less dead, Bluey's game has let her know that she and Bandit did everything they could to save the bird. It can also be interpreted she's made peace that, just as she can't control how Bingo plays the game, life is unpredictable, and it's better that way.
- Cerebus Syndrome: The episode starts with Bluey mimicking Bandit's every move, only for its tone to flip immediately once they find the hurt bird, and the rest of the story is spent on Bluey trying to cope with its death.
- Conditioned to Accept Horror: A rare positive example. Bluey revisits her pain over the bird's death in a controlled, predictable game about it, understanding that normalizing the event will make it sting less. She still feels sad about it afterwards, but she's able to accept the comfort of her family and feel relieved that death won't be able to shock her as badly in the future.
- Double Entendre: As Doug Walker points out, there's an interpretation to Bandit pointing out towards the end that Bluey has stopped copying him. On the surface, he's noting his daughter has stopped playing the "Copycat" game they were playing this morning. Alternatively, it's Bluey realizing she's no longer parroting her dad; she's formed her own feelings and opinions about death.
- Double-Meaning Title: The title of the episode has a double meaning to it. It's seemingly about Bluey's game where she copies her dad. However, the second half is about Bluey reenacting the events of the day in order to understand that she and her father did everything they could to save the dying budgie.
- Meaningful Echo: "It's out of our hands." The first time it's said by Bandit, it's with a somber understanding that they can't 'fix' that the budgie died. The second time it's said in the ending, it's Bluey reenacting what her dad said, this time with a wiser understanding that she and Bandit did everything they could.
- Mood Whiplash: The episode starts off silly as Bluey starts copying everything her father does, but then turns sad when they find an injured bird and try to save it, only for it to die.
- Wise Beyond Their Years: During her game reenacting how she and Bandit tried to save the budgie, Bluey has her mom pretend to be the veterinarian. Understandably, Chilli initially gives her daughter a happy outcome where the budgie does live... but Bluey insists on the more realistic take, where the budgie didn't make it. Chilli is reluctant, but obliges. This shows that Bluey has a wise understanding she needs to play the events as they really happened in order to process her feelings proper.
- World Half Full: The episode ends with a shot of multiple live birds, emphasizing that life does not consist solely of tragedy.
