The Weirdest ‘Bluey’ Fan Theory Is Basically An Unmade Rom-Com
— Disney
Bandit and Chilli are heralded as some of the most realistic parents in a kids’ show, an odd choice considering they’re a pair of cartoon dogs. The married canine couple from the Australian animated hit Bluey have become an inspiration for those raising pups of their own while becoming one of the hottest shows on TV and streaming platforms. With all that popularity, viewers are yearning to learn more about these characters, and it turns out there are many mysteries swirling around who they actually are.
This couple is frequently Googled by Bluey fans who want to know more about the Heeler family, while also clearing up rumors and misconceptions about them. However, there’s one question that’s constantly debated among fans of the show, and that’s how Chilli and Bandit first met. The series offers a handful of clues, but the final resolution falls into a grey area that only leads to more questions and fan speculation.
The topic of how Chilli and Bandit first met is first addressed during season 2’s “The Show,” when Bluey asks her parents the same question every adult Bluey fan on the internet has wondered. “There’s some dispute,” Chilli responds while Bandit shakes his head in disagreement, “But let’s just say at a party in London.”
The reason Bandit wasn’t on board with Chill’s explanation is he believes the two met elsewhere, at a much earlier point in their lives. In season 3’s “Fairy Tale,” Bandit tells a bedtime story to the girls about “a mean brother who ends up good” based on true events that happened to him. 10-year-old Bandit is on a vacation with his family, embroiled in a heated Jinx battle with his brothers during the wild times of the 1980s.
Towards the end of the episode, the adolescent Bandit tosses his hat onto the ground to protect his brother’s bare feet from prickly grass. After he turns his back to make sure his brother has fled to safety, he turns around to discover someone holding his cap.
Dressed in an outfit resembling She-Ra, a young Chilli walks over to Bandit and hands him back his hat, then runs off to continue her imaginary adventures in Etheria. Back in modern times, Chilli interrupts and reassures the kids it wasn’t her. Despite admitting her family vacationed at that same campsite, she has no recollection of the two ever meeting.
Here’s where the plot thickens. Many fans speculate the red heeler Bandit met was not Chilli and was actually her sister, Brandy, whose first official onscreen appearance came in the third season episode, “Onesies.” A quick comparison of the characters’ appearances disproves this theory, since the markings on the dog Bandit met perfectly match Chilli. However, If Chilli has no memory of this event, Bandit may be an unreliable narrator, whether by choice or due to his own faulty reminiscence. It truly could have been Brandy, and Bandit conflated this chance meeting to fit his own story, replacing one sister for the other.
The correct answer to how this pair met remains ambiguous after three seasons. The events in London that Chilli recalled in “The Show” haven’t been discussed further other than that single line, but it doesn’t mean this saga has concluded. The one thing we do know is Bandit proposed to Chilli while on a backpacking trip through Italy, but fans still have a few more missing pieces to assemble before the full Heeler romance is told.
At the end of the day, all that matters is Bandit and Chilli shared a “romance smoochy-kiss,” and eventually brought Bluey and Bingo into the world, giving audiences one of the best kids shows of all time that families will enjoy for years to come. But seriously, when is Chilli going to tell her side of the story?