The Heeler sisters are playing at the park with Missy, and they approach Bandit and Chilli. Bluey asks Chilli if they can play pirates, but Chilli fears that this would scare Missy. Bandit says that Missy will be brave, and Missy agrees, so Chilli decides that they will all play pirates after all.
The girls sit on the play hammock and roleplay as the three pirates, while Chilli narrates and Bandit rocks the hammock to simulate the ocean. When Chilli asks for a storm, Bandit rocks the hammock faster, which excites the Heeler sisters but scares Missy. She gets off the hammock and hides behind a pole in fear. Chilli decides to make the pole a lighthouse, but Bandit argues that the "storm" is an opportunity for Missy to be "super brave". Chilli, however, responds with "She'll be super brave when she's ready".
Bingo nearly loses a piece of her play treasure, and Bluey wants Missy to help them but she's too scared. Luckily, Bingo catches it on her own. Missy is happy to come back now that the "storm" is over, but runs off in fear again when Bandit pretends something hit the boat and shakes the hammock. As he keeps bumping it, Chilli specifies that it's a whale that hit the boat.
Then, the parents pretend that the whale swallowed the pirates whole. They try to coax Missy into playing the heroine, but she's still too scared. Then, when Bandit sees another man nearby, he gets self-conscious and stops making the whale noises, to the disappointment of his daughters. Missy plucks up the courage to join in the game again and tells the Heeler girls that she knows how they can escape, but Chilli claims the "pirates" didn't hear the "lighthouse keeper".
Missy bucks up and climbs the pole, then she suggests they all tickle the "whale". The girls tickle the hammock and Bandit decides to swallow his embarrassment and laugh loudly. Then, he launches them into the air (pretending the whale is spitting them out).
This episode provides examples of:
- Character Development: Bandit and Missy respectively overcome their own embarrassment and fears respectively, Missy by climbing into the "whale's" mouth and Bandit by playing his kids' game to the fullest, even at the risk of looking ridiculous. Bandit's development sticks with him to the point of almost making this episode seem like Characterization Marches On, as a good chunk of the rest of the series runs on Bandit throwing himself whole-heartedly into his children's games of make-believe regardless of the potential for public humiliation.
- Chewing the Scenery: When Bingo is pretending she's trapped in the whale's belly, she leans back dramatically and says, "We're doomed!".
- Damsel in Distress: At one point, the Heeler sisters pretend they're stuck in a whale's belly with nobody to save them.
- Determined Expression: Missy frowns determinedly when deciding to "save" the Heeler sisters.
- Easily Embarrassed Youngster: Inverted — an adult (Bandit) gets embarrassed, and the kids think his embarrassment doesn't make sense.
- Face Your Fears: Missy decides to join in the game and play the hero despite being scared of the rocking hammock.
- Furry Reminder: A few scenes show the girls wagging their tails.
- Greed: Bingo plays a greedy pirate who's obsessed with guarding her treasure.
- Nightmare Fetishist: Discussed when Chilli says that the pirates found being in the whale's belly "kind of fun".
- "Not So Different" Remark: Chili low-key voices that Missy learning to be brave by saving her friends from the whale is no different than Bandit being brave by playing on his kids terms, even if it makes him look silly.
- Speak in Unison:
- The three girls say, "Hooray, pirates!" in unison when Chilli agrees to play pirates.
- Bluey and Bingo then say, "Go, lighthouse keeper!" when Missy climbs the pole.
- When Bingo can't hold onto the hammock with one hand, Bluey and Missy say in unison, "Then, drop your treasure!".
- Swallowed Whole: In the game, the pirates get swallowed whole by a whale.
- Throw It In!: In-Universe — When Missy hides behind a pole, Chilli incorporates it into the game by deciding it's the lighthouse.
