Lucky's Dad is outraged that modern Pass the Parcel has a present in every layer and changes the rules back to only having one prize in the middle. As a result, Bingo is forever losing.
Tropes:
- Ageless Birthday Episode: Averted. Almost every kids' birthday invitations show their ages, and Bluey herself has her seventh birthday party towards the end of the episode.
- Artistic License – Biology: During the mess of Pat first attempt at Pass the Parcel, (not the one at the beginning of the episode) he's sweating. Which is understandable... even though dogs CAN'T sweat.
- Big "YES!": Jasper lets out a loud and excited "Oh, yeah!" after he wins the prize during the first time the kids play Pass the Parcel the traditional way.
- Blunt "Yes": When Chilli tries to soften the blow after Bingo's first exposure to "Lucky's dad's rules", it's clear that she doesn't want to try and find a bright spot:Chilli: (sympathetic) Yeah... It's hard when you don't win.Bingo: (leans over) Yes. It is.
- Book Ends: The first time Pat runs "Pass The Parcel" with the old rules is (outside of Jasper's excitement over being the winner) an unmitigated disaster. The second time he does so, not only have all the children caught on by then, but Bingo is finally able to win.
- Both Sides Have a Point: Pat and Janelle have a brief argument concerning which version of "Pass the Parcel" is better. On Janelle's side, although the new version is a bit pandering, it does exactly what games are supposed to do: entertain the players. On Pat's side, despite how the old-fashioned version does initially cause emotional fallout, he's not wrong to say the new version is "raising a nation of squibs", and the older version of the game will teach the children to take losing with grace. Towards the end, Pat is willing to permit either version of the game according to what Bingo wants, recognizing that either version of the game is fine on their own.
- Call-Back: Muffin's birthday party is held at a ranch, where Buttermilk the horse and her handler from "Markets" can be seen.
- Character Development: Implied. Back in "Obstacle Course", Bandit was the kind of father who believed that children need to lose in order to learn about growth, even if they have to keep losing practically every time. This time around, Bandit himself calls out Pat on making the children at the party play the traditional version of Pass the Parcel. He even points out "This isn't the 80s anymore, Pat!" Perhaps Bandit now understands that having a child lose gratuitously isn't a good way to teach them the importance of losing.
- "Could Have Avoided This!" Plot: Chances are the children would've had a better go with their first exposure to the old "Pass The Parcel" setup if Pat had explained it to them before they started playing.
- Cringe Comedy: Pat is put in a very uncomfortable position a couple of times. First at Lila's party, he accidentally stops the music on Pom Pom twice when he meant to stop on Missy the second time, and has to take away Pom Pom's second prize. Things get even worse for him at his son Chucky's party as the kids get upset at playing the traditional way and he resorts to bribing them with money and Chucky's presents to make them stop crying.
- A Day in the Limelight: The episode is focused on Pat trying to get the kids to play Pass the Parcel the old-fashioned way.
- Death Glare: All the parents give Pat dirty looks after his rules upset their kids.
- Dick Dastardly Stops to Cheat: While not quite cheating, one of the kids noticeably stalls passing the parcel the second time they use "Lucky's Dad's rules." The girl right before him gets the prize, implying he would have won the toy helicopter had he not done so. He takes it well, though.
- Didn't Think This Through: Pat's attempt to re-introduce the classic rules to Pass the Parcel during Chucky's birthday party goes off without a hitch, he just wasn't ready for the emotional fallout from the kids and panics in trying to calm them down, going as far as to bribe them with money and Chucky's own gifts.
- Digging Yourself Deeper: In the background, as Jasper opens the present, you can hear Pat making things worse:
- Exact Words: "This'll blow [the kids'] minds." In both a good way and a bad way, Pat's version of "Pass the Parcel" does accomplish that. In the bad way, it causes emotional fallout when the kids can't handle not getting a prize from each layer in the parcel. In the good way, Jasper was overjoyed to get the big prize in the middle and later insists on playing this version of the game at his own party, causing the game to catch on.
- Freeze-Frame Bonus: After Bingo runs off crying after Pat tells her about the old rules of "Pass The Parcel," Lila can be seen shedding a tear of her own.
- Furry Reminder: After the first attempt at Pat's version of "Pass The Parcel", the children who lost are so devastated that they howl like the puppies they are until Pat gives them 5 bucks just to make them stop.
- Gone Horribly Right: Inverted. First, the "horrible" part happens when all the kids who lost as his version of "Pass the Parcel" are emotionally devastated from losing. Unprepared for the emotional fallout, this is followed by Pat's rather clumsy attempt to make the kids feel better, including bribing them with his son's own gifts in the spur of the moment. But following this, the "Right" part comes into play when, just as Pat intended, the kids gradually realize his version of the game is more fulfilling than the pandering one.
- Good-Times Montage: Towards the ending, after Bingo learns the importance of losing, the audience is treated to a montage of other kids trying and enjoying the traditional version of Pass the Parcel. The entirety of the montage consists of Bingo learning to be a Graceful Loser, but also more kids learning to enjoy Pat's version of the game.
- Graceful Loser: Most of the kids, especially Bingo, learn how to be this as they get used to playing the traditional version of Pass the Parcel after Pat introduces it to them. While at first most of them are devastated by not winning anything since the old version of the game has only one big prize wrapped up in the middle rather than a small prize in each layer, it eventually catches on as the kids become more accustomed to losing and ultimately find this version of the game more satisfying.
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: In a more platonic example, Bingo wants so badly to win at Pat's version of Pass the Parcel. But when it comes down to either stalling or letting Lila potentially have the present, she reluctantly chooses the latter. While Bingo is initially downcast she lost once more, her mood quickly lifts when she witnesses that Lila is overjoyed by the toy she won. Later, she shares that although she lost at Pass the Parcel, she's just happy to see Lila happy.
- I Warned You: When Pat announces to his wife he intends to introduce the children to the traditional version of "Pass the Parcel", Janelle wonders what he's going to do about the kids who don't win a prize. Pat merely shrugs off "They'll just have to suck it up." Later, just as predicted, the emotional fall-out is more than Pat can handle. He looks to Janelle for advice, but she merely gives him a stern "Don't look at me, Pat."
- Ignored Epiphany: When Pat reveals to the children that the version of Pass the Parcel he's having them play only has one winner, they're shocked at hearing this. Pat then is in the middle of using the game as a learning experience and teaching that losing is a part of a life... except Bingo runs off crying to Chili before he can finish his statement. Justified, as Bingo's still rather young to understand the concept of losing gracefully, and she and other young ones came to play a game, not learn a lesson.
- Innocently Insensitive: Pat can't catch a break from looking like a jerk, even though he doesn't intend to. First, while playing the titular game, he accidentally gives Pom Pom another present when Missy was supposed to get one. To make sure everyone gets one present each, he has to take the present from Pom Pom. Pom Pom points out the unfairness of this, making Pat feel worse than he already does. Afterwards, at Chuckie's party, he ends up looking inconsiderate for making the kids play the old version of the game when it causes emotional fallout. In the midst of the emotional breakdowns, Pat panics and tries to calm the children with presents before realizing they're his own son's birthday presents.
- Not What It Looks Like: Downplayed: When Jasper's mom says they're going be using "Lucky's dad's rules" for "Pass the Parcel", practically everyone just sighs in annoyance, causing Pat to exclaim in desperation "They're not MY rules!"
- Point of Divergence:
- Lila’s Mum was initially in charge of "Pass The Parcel", but then Lila’s little brother got into the piñata, resulting in her having Pat take over. This leads to him seeing the new version of the titular game, and sets off him trying to introduce the original version to the kids.
- If Jasper hadn't caught on to the idea of doing Pat's version of "Pass The Parcel", chances are it never would have with the children.
- Poor Communication Kills: Pat decided to use his version of Pass the Parcel in the middle of Chuckie's birthday party, only informing the kids after the game had started. Had he warned them ahead of time (as Jasper's mother does), there likely would’ve been much less crying from the children. The other parents certainly don't appreciate that Pat waited until the last minute to tell anyone else what he was doing.
- Pyrrhic Victory: Muffin wins a game of Pass the Parcel, only for the big prize in the middle to be books. She throws one away in anger.
- Small Role, Big Impact:Jasper, a minor character, ends up winning the first game of Pass the Parcel with the old rules Lucky's Dad uses. He is so thrilled by his prize and appreciative of the experience that he asks his mom if they can play by these rules at his own birthday party. This starts the chain of events that eventually leads to he other kids enjoying this version of the game more.
- Spanner in the Works: After the first time everyone played Pat's version of Pass the Parcel, nearly everybody was content to forget about it and never play it again. The only reason it wasn't forgotten was because Jasper (the only kid who had a good experience with the game) actually insisted to his mother they play Pat's version of the game at his own birthday party. What follows is a chain of events where the kids gradually warm up to the game in one way or another.
- Symbolism: The pandering version of Pass the Parcel has every kid win a small prize from the game, reflecting how unfulfilling it is for all the kids to win equally. Pat's version of the game has one big present in the middle given to only one kid, and eventually catches on, showing this game is more satisfying than if all the kids were essentially given a participation award.
- Tantrum Throwing: During the montage of kids playing Pass the Parcel the traditional way, one scene shows the game being played at Muffin's birthday party, where Muffin is less than happy to win the game's prize of a stack of books. There's a smash cut to the next scene just as she angrily throws one of the books in the air.
- This Is Gonna Suck: When Jasper's mother announces that they're gonna play Pass the Parcel with "Lucky's dad's rules", all the adults groan.
- Throw the Dog a Bone: Bingo finally wins a round of old-school Pass the Parcel at the end of the episode. Not only that, but Pat was the one running said game.
- Tough Love: When Janelle is about to prepare the more pandering version of Pass the Parcel, Pat shares his personal opinion to her that the new way of playing the titular game (by wrapping a tiny prize in each layer) is rather indulgent and "raising a nation of squibs". When Janelle asks him about the other kids who won't win the big prize in the middle for the more traditional version of the game, Pat replies that they'll just have to suck it up. Although playing Pass the Parcel the original way does elicit crying children and puts Pat in a tight spot, it turns out he's in the right; it eventually catches on, as the children come to learn winning isn't everything and they find that one big prize in the middle is more satisfying than everyone getting a small prize.
