"The Brady Braves" represented the third and final part of a first for The Brady Bunch — the multi-part story arc. Although seen in a number of sitcoms beforehand, notably Bewitched and I Dream of Jeannie, the multi-part episode was rarely if ever used in the Dom Com; even episodes depicting vacations were self-contained in a single 30-minute episode. And rarely, if ever, did they go "on location" as the Bradys did; prior to the late 1960s — in part due to production costs but also because they thought the audience wouldn't notice — most "on location" episodes were "on location" ... inside a redressed set on a soundstage.
The Bradys, thus, broke the mold by not only filming an extended story, but going on location ... here, to Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona. Filmed during the early summer of 1971, "The Brady Braves" and its previous two parts — "Ghost Town USA" and "Grand Canyon or Bust" — rank among the top of most Brady Bunch fan's list of episodes. That's even though it doesn't have that much of a plot, except for family togetherness and genuinely having a good time bonding.
The final part sees Bobby and Cindy rescued (finally) and a tearful reunion with their family, but now the problem is the two youngest Brady kids' new friend, Jimmy, a Native American who had wandered away from his home because of his old-fashioned grandfather, Chief Eagle Cloud, thinking (mistakenly, as he would learn) that he wouldn't support his ambition to one day be an astronaut. Once Mike brokers a meeting between the two, Chief Eagle Cloud invites the Bradys to a tribal ceremony, where he makes them honorary members.
Tropes present in this episode:
- Anger Born of Worry: When Mike confirms that Bobby and Cindy are missing, he briefly snaps at the older kids, "Didn't I tell you kids not to run off?" While he might have meant it differently, Greg can visibly be seen shaking his head as if to say, "Why yell at us? We didn't do anything!"
- Previously on…: Robert Reed – in person as Mike – brings us up to speed about the camping trip and how Bobby and Cindy got lost.
The renamed Brady Braves: (And their respective responses to them, if any)
- Mike: Big Eagle of Large Nest.
- Carol: Yellow Flower with Many Petals. (Carol finds it lovely)
- Greg: Stalking Wolf. (Greg declares that's what girls call him, too)
- Peter: Middle Buffalo, then Sleeping Lizard (Peter scoffs at both, prompting the Chief to lose patience and get back to him).
- Cindy: Wandering Blossom.
- Bobby: Little Bear Who Loses Way.
- Jan: Dove of Morning Light.
- Marcia: Willow Dancing in Wind.
- Alice: Squaw in Waiting. (Alice asks that it be a short wait)
