Animated by Brisbane's Ludo Studio, and inspired by creator Joe Brumm's real-life moving experiences, "The Sign" is the show's first special episode, and also the longest at 28 minutes in length.

While preparing for the upcoming wedding of her uncle Radley to her godmother Frisky, Bluey Heeler is feeling uneasy about her parents selling their Brisbane home.

The tale concerns a character who goes through many ups and downs, facing each turn of fortune with the phrase "We'll see..." When Bluey asks what the story means, Calypso explains that everything will work out how it's supposed to.

[4] Promoted as its third-series finale,[10][d] "The Sign" is Bluey's first special episode,[8] as well as its longest at 28 minutes in length;[11] Amy Amatangelo of the Los Angeles Times likened it to a two-hour film by the show's standards.

[12] According to Ludo co-founder Daley Pearson, the episode serves as a potential test drive for a feature-length installment,[12][13] and will be followed by Series 4 on a future date.

[12] The episode also featured guest appearances by Rove McManus (as real-estate agent Bucky),[7] Joel Edgerton (as a roadside policeman),[6] and Deborah Mailman[7] and Brendan Williams as the couple who nearly purchase the Heeler home.

[17] As with the rest of the program, Joff Bush served as composer of "The Sign", and contributed with an extended version of the Series 2 cue "Dance Mode".

[18] Megan Washington, the voice of Calypso, performed a re-recording of "Lazarus Drug" (from her 2020 album Batflowers) during the final scene;[18] Brumm "fell in love with" the song in 2020, and planned to use it on Bluey sometime afterward.

"[23] Vulture's Kathryn VanArendonk deemed the Heelers' decision to stay "electrifying, ecstatic news" for Bandit's relatives, and also found it "a bizarre choice for a children's show that has, until this point, prioritized empathy and acceptance toward normal life events that cause real anxiety and turmoil for young kids.

"[15] In the National Catholic Reporter, Eric A. Clayton said,[e] "I don't know if Bandit was clinically depressed [over the prospects of moving], but I do believe he was—to use a bedrock term of the Ignatian tradition—in a state of desolation.

[7] As Oliver Brandt of Men's Journal surmised, "The Sign's" plot echoed the undertones of a venerable Australian proverb, "She'll be right", which is used to express uncertainty during a given situation.

[26] Amanda Yeo of technology-news site Mashable stated that "fans [responded] with disbelief, sorrow, and denial" over the reveal of the "For Sale" sign at the end of the preceding episode, "Ghostbasket".

[34] In advance of "The Sign's" premiere, the Heeler family's home was "listed" (with an address in Brisbane's Oxley suburb) on Domain, an Australian real-estate site.

[3] Almost two weeks after the episode aired, Zillow launched a commercial paying homage to it, produced by Ryan Reynolds' Maximum Effort company.

"[6] Andy Swift called the episode "a thrilling half hour of television — a fast-paced, sharply-written, deeply thoughtful examination of the human spirit.

Kathryn VanArendonk found it "oddly unrealistic...[and] disappointing to the point of frustration, a departure from Bluey's usual ease in navigating complex emotions... a fairy tale that also feels like a cop-out."

"[15] Meg Walter of the Deseret News suggested that young viewers "[deserve] a different ending" based in reality, and that Bandit's "last-minute decision might install false hope" in children moving to new cities.

[22] Collider's Kendall Myers wrote, "[While] few Bluey episodes are as much of an emotional rollercoaster as [this one]...the unexpected end [makes] the lesson fall flat.

Though the longer episode is well-paced, engaging, and overall as good as any other installment, the backtracking in Bluey's storyline is a major flaw, as it isn't in line with what the series is all about.

had already aired on the UK's CBeebies as "Something Special" in simulcast with the ABC; the latter had previously substituted its television-guide listing with a rerun as a ploy to surprise fans during its timeslot.