In the book "Enchiridon" (translated into Hebrew as "The Guide" by Avraham Aruati), the Greek philosopher Epictetus managed to summarize the main principles of Stoic ethics. The book opens with a summary of the entire Torah: "The things that exist are divided into two types: those that are under our control and those that are not. The things that are under our control are: opinion, impulse, desire, avoidance, and in short - everything that is the fruit of our actions. The things that are not under our control are: the body, assets, reputation, Jobs and in short - everything that is not the fruit of our doing." The path to happiness, according to the philosophy of Epictetus, begins with giving up what is not dependent on our will. This is also what is at the basis of "The Sign", the new and especially long episode of the Australian animated series, "Bloui".
Those who have never watched "Blooy" may think it strange, or at the very least pretentious, to open a review of an episode of a series beloved by toddlers with quotes from a book of philosophy from the first century AD. Those who follow the series know that at her will, "Bloui" succeeds in distilling in seven minutes what certain philosophers could not write in their entire lives. The special episode that aired on Sunday on Disney Plus, and is 28 minutes long (like four regular episodes), is one of the most complex and in-depth of the series, which in any case redefined the concept of "children's series", and in the past year became the second most watched series in the US - not only among series The children, but not at all.
In fact, as of this writing, "Bloui" has a weighted score of 9.4 on the IMDB website. The only series that has a higher score is "Breaking Bad" with 9.5. The new episode, "The Sign", currently holds a score of 9.9, when again the only episode with a higher score is Breaking Bad's "Ozymandias", which holds a rare 10 score. Usually there is no reason to get excited about such ratings, but we must admit that this is an amazing score, especially when you remember that the target audience of the series does not know how to register on websites and add ratings. The ones who brought "Bloui" to the status of one of the most appreciated series in the world are not the children, but their parents, who perhaps for the first time ever enjoy sitting in front of the screen and watching a children's series.
It's been two days since the episode aired worldwide, and the praise is unequivocal. The extraordinary length of the episode makes it a kind of "Killers of the Moon Flower" of the children's series, but it also gives the episode a depth and complexity that could not be squeezed into any other episode of the series. And if we started with a passage from a Greek philosophical book, the foundation of the chapter is in an even older text.
This is a Chinese story that originates from the Daoist book of parables "The Teacher of Huainan" from the second century BC. It goes like this: On the border of China lived a good family. One day, the family's horse got lost. The people of the village consoled them for their bad luck, but the father of the family said: "It will soon turn into good luck!". After several months, the horse returned, with a fine stallion next to him. The villagers congratulated them on their good fortune, but the father of the family said: "This will soon turn into a disaster!". The eldest son went out to ride the stud horse, then fell and broke his leg. The people of the village came to comfort them, but the father of the family said: "This will quickly turn into good luck!". A year passed and the village was attacked in the war. All men who could fight drew their bowstrings and went to battle. Nine out of ten men fell in the war. Only thanks to the lameness, father and son protected each other.
Dr. Alan Watts, the British philosopher who made the teachings of the East accessible to the West, explained that the story summarizes the Daoist approach which holds that nature is an integrated process of immense complexity. "It is impossible to know whether something is good or bad while it is happening, because we never know what the consequences of the same will be. You don't know what the consequences of bad luck will be, any more than you know what the consequences of good luck will be." Watts himself wrote a modern version of the same parable, and this is the version that Bloi's teacher, Calypso, tells the children. Bloi and the rest of her classmates don't understand morality. The wit of the story, and Calypso (like the creator of the series, Joe Broom) does not try to shove a simplistic explanation down their throats. The children begin to invent names for the horses, but Louis is left with the question: Is there such a thing as "the end"
in English ?
Sign", is ambiguous. On the one hand, it is a "for sale" sign that is placed outside the home of the beloved Hiller family, from the end of the previous episode of the series, which actually creates a five-episode plot arc. On the other hand, the name of the episode can also be translated as "The Sign" Not by chance. The episode begins with a shocking realization: Louie and Bingo will be cut off from their friends. The purpose of leaving the house is precisely the desire for a better future for the family in Israel and existential threats in the face of attachment to home and community, this plot will hit a very soft spot in the heart.
At the same time as the main plot of selling the house and leaving town, the wedding of Rad (Bendit's older brother) and Frisky (Bloui's godmother, and Che's best friend) takes place in the courtyard of the Hillers' house. Yili). The two events coming together add up to a fair number of cliffhangers and easter eggs that will tickle longtime fans. For example, there is a demonstration of the literal "butterfly effect". The butterfly Fluffy (or "flutter" in Hebrew) who was saved thanks to Bingo in the episode "The Slide", returns in this episode to help the girls find Frisky, who almost ran away from her own wedding. If the wedding hadn't taken place, the other surprises that come at the end of the episode wouldn't have happened either.
The episode provides twist upon twist, corresponds with Dostoyevsky and also with Woody Allen (the ending feels like a real homage to "meeting point" and "a matter of luck"), and manages to weave in the end the ending we all hoped for Bandit's beloved family, Chili, In Louie and Bingo - and also for other characters who get a historic and tear-jerking correction. For the sake of spoilers I won't go into details, but on paper it seems to be a happy ending, because it's a children's series, and children's series always have a happy ending. But if you still haven't realized by now, "Bloui" was never a children's series. And no, it's not necessarily a happy ending. That's the point.
There is a small moment of genius within the episode that embodies the entire philosophy of the episode. Bloi discovers that she has no room in the back seat of her mother's car, and claims that this is the worst day of her life. Seconds later her mother announces to her that she will sit in the front seat for the first time, and thus it becomes the best day of her life. The parents understand that this is an exaggeration in both cases. It's sweet, it's innocent, and that's life itself. A completely random roller coaster with no way to tell if it's going up or down until after you fall.
Therefore the end of the episode is not necessarily a happy ending. Not only because not everyone gets what they want, but because we don't yet know the consequences of this ending. Viewers cannot understand what purpose a seemingly random event has within the continuity of the cinematic universe of "Blooy". There is no good without evil, no east without west, no yin without yang. This episode of "Bloui" not only engraves her name definitively in the hall of fame of animated series of all time, but also ensures that she will be kept in our hearts forever. The really good news is that, despite the rumors, the series isn't going anywhere. Next week, the final episode of the third season will be released, and in the future "Bloui" will return to us with new episodes that will make parents around the world whine in front of the screen.