The Banagic Incident and Star the Underestimated

I want to take a step back today and dissect one of the… weirder episodes of Star vs. Now, when I first saw this episode, my first thought was that it probably should have been earlier in the season because it showed off Star’s lack of earth knowledge. I still think that. However, this episode also showed something else that I overlooked the first time: Star’s ability to think on her feet.

The episode definitely showed what daily life with Star would’ve been like on earth. She did not have the earth knowledge necessary to attain the Banagic wand by herself without causing trouble. But she did manage to get it, and to make everything right in the end. Star is both the antagonist and the protagonist of this episode, and here’s why.

Star created the episode’s premise (getting the Banagic wand). She caused all the problems for herself and others in her quest to obtain it. She destroyed a whole restaurant in her unrelenting quest to find the Banagic wand. But she also made up for it by sharing the ice cream with all the “pirates.”

Star’s problem solving skills were on full display as well. She realized that, if the Banagic wand was “as seen on TV,” she would have to watch the TV in order to figure out how to get it. While she did get confused by the meaning of “a better store,” she realized that she would have to find one in order to purchase the Banagic wand. And I think the best example is when she found the corner of Main Street and Riverside. I’m not exactly sure why, but I was surprised by how easy she made it look.

Tl;dr The Banagic Incident showed Star the Underestimated at her worst… and her best.