Gift of the Card

"Gift of the Card" is the eighteenth episode of the second season of Star vs. the Forces of Evil.

It premiered on September 26, 2016, alongside "Sleepover".^[2]

Synopsis[]

Marco must use a gift card before it expires with catastrophic results.^[3]

Plot[]

The episode begins at the Better Than Nothing Apartments complex, where Miss Heinous, the former headmistress of St. Olga's Reform School for Wayward Princesses, speaks with Rasticore Chaosus Disastervaine, a tall lizard-like bounty hunter with a jeweled left eye and robotic left arm. Heinous explains that she was removed from her position at the school because of a pair of "rogue princesses". She gives Rasticore a photograph of Star and Marco, telling him to destroy Star but bring Marco to her.

Using the bobby pin that Marco left behind when he and Star broke Pony Head out, Rasticore tracks his location on Earth. After some brief trouble starting his dimension-crossing chainsaw, Rasticore takes his leave.

Meanwhile, at the Diaz Household, Star and Janna go through Marco's wallet and make fun of the various gift cards he has in it. Janna discovers that one of the cards is vibrating, and Star realizes it is the Quest Buy gift card she gave him for the six-month anniversary of when they became friends. Star is hurt that Marco has not yet used something she gave him to commemorate their friendship, but Marco says he does not want to go to Quest Buy after the last time they shopped there. When Star insists that he use it before it expires at midnight, Marco reluctantly agrees.

At Quest Buy, Star and Marco browse the many items in search of something for Marco to buy, but Marco is very picky and indecisive, refusing everything Star suggests. Meanwhile, Rasticore arrives at the Diaz Household and asks Janna where Star and Marco are. Janna, absentmindedly using her phone and eating Gold'n Crispz, tells him that they went to Quest Buy, and Rasticore leaves again.

Back at Quest Buy, Star and Marco have only a few hours left before the gift card expires, and Marco still cannot decide what to buy. When Star becomes extra-insistent, Marco decides to buy a random item so he can exchange it later. However, the gift card in his wallet suddenly comes alive and zaps the item out of Marco's hands, and Star says he can only use the gift card on something he truly desires. Still unable to make a decision, he asks a customer service sloth for an extension on the gift card's expiration date. Unfortunately, not only can they not get an extension, but because of the contract Star signed when purchasing the card, she and Marco will be destroyed once the card expires.

Marco admonishes Star for signing such a contract without reading the fine print, and now the two are under even more pressure to use the gift card on something. Meanwhile, Rasticore arrives at Quest Buy in search of Star and Marco.

Ten minutes before midnight, Marco's gift card enters "expiration mode"—it transforms into a humanoid being of pure electricity and starts the countdown to when it will destroy Star and Marco. Star attempts to fend it off with her magic wand, but her spells have no effect. Even now, Marco still cannot decide on what to buy. Just then, he finds something he does want: a high-security wallet. Unable to take the display model, they race to find a sloth employee. In the employees' lounge, they ask for a wallet from the sloths on break, but they do not have any in stock.

With one minute left before Star and Marco are destroyed, Star apologizes for not telling him about the gift card's expiration date and endangering their lives, and Marco apologizes for being so picky with his item selection. As the gift card looms closer, Star and Marco have one last hug before they die. Just before the gift card destroys them, Rasticore comes crashing down through the ceiling on top of it. He is about to seize the "princesses" when the gift card reappears and instantly disintegrates him, leaving only his right hand behind.

Before the gift card can destroy Star and Marco as well, one of the Quest Buy sloth employees reveals that there is one high-security wallet left in stock—in Marco's favorite color too. Having finally found something in the store he truly desires, Marco uses the gift card to purchase it, and he and Star escape death. Some time later, Janna easily breaks through the security of Marco's new wallet, much to his sheer disbelief. Meanwhile, Rasticore's right hand is delivered back to Miss Heinous' apartment, and she vows to get revenge on "Princess Marco".

Characters[]

Major characters[]

• Star Butterfly
• Marco Diaz
• Rasticore
• Quest Buy gift card
• Miss Heinous

Minor characters[]

• Janna Ordonia
• Gemini
• Quest Buy sloth clerks

Production notes[]

Songs[]

• The Card Awakens

Title in other languages[]

Language	Title	Translation
Dutch	Cadeau van de Kaart	Gift of the Card
French	La Carte cadeau	The Gift Card
German	Geschenk mit Folgen	Gift with Consequences
Hebrew	מתנה של כרטיס	A Gift of a Card
Hungarian	A Kártya Ajándéka	The Gift of the Card
Italian	Un Regalo Impegnativo	A Challenging Gift
Japanese	友情のギフトカード	Friendship Gift Card
Korean	꼭 필요한 선물	A Must-Have Gift
Polish	Dar Od Karty	Gift From the Card
Portuguese (Brazil)	Cartão de Aniáversário	Anniversary Card
Portuguese (Portugal)	Cartão Presente	Gift Card
Russian	Подарочная карта	Gift Card
Spanish (Latin America)	Tarjeta de Regalo	Gift Card
Spanish (Spain)	La Tarjeta Regalo	The Gift Card

Transcript

View the episode transcript here.

Gallery

Click here to view the gallery.

Trivia[]

• Chris Tergliafera guest-stars as Rasticore.
• Susan Bennett, best known for providing the voice of Apple's "Siri" for the iPhone, guest-stars as the Quest Buy gift card.
• In "Sleepover", Marco states that his favorite color is red. In this episode, his favorite color is Prussian blue.

Revelations and continuity[]

• This is the first episode since "St. Olga's Reform School for Wayward Princesses" to feature Miss Heinous, as she puts her plans for revenge on Star and Marco into action.
• This episode reveals that it has been more than six months since Star and Marco became friends.
• This episode reveals that Echo Creek is located in the state of California.

Allusions[]

• The words on the "Ultimate in Privacy" wallet read "BAD 2 DA BONE", referencing the George Thorogood and the Destroyers song of the same name.

Errors[]

• When Marco gets zapped by the card the first time, if you look closely, his regular shoes are briefly seen as he jumps and drops the salad spinner.

References[]

v • e • d Star vs. the Forces of Evil Episodes

Season 1 Star Comes to Earth • Party With a Pony • Match Maker • School Spirit • Monster Arm • The Other Exchange Student • Cheer Up, Star • Quest Buy • Diaz Family Vacation • Brittney's Party • Mewberty • Pixtopia • Lobster Claws • Sleep Spells • Blood Moon Ball • Fortune Cookies • Freeze Day • Royal Pain • St. Olga's Reform School for Wayward Princesses • Mewnipendance Day • The Banagic Incident • Interdimensional Field Trip • Marco Grows a Beard • Storm the Castle Season 2 My New Wand! • Ludo in the Wild • Mr. Candle Cares • Red Belt • Star on Wheels • Fetch • Star vs. Echo Creek • Wand to Wand • Starstruck • Camping Trip • Starsitting • On the Job • Goblin Dogs • By the Book • Game of Flags • Girls' Day Out • Sleepover • Gift of the Card • Friendenemies • Is Mystery • Hungry Larry • Spider With a Top Hat • Into the Wand • Pizza Thing • Page Turner • Naysaya • Bon Bon the Birthday Clown • Raid the Cave • Trickstar • Baby • Running with Scissors • Mathmagic • The Bounce Lounge • Crystal Clear • The Hard Way • Heinous • All Belts are Off • Collateral Damage • Just Friends • Face the Music • Starcrushed Season 3 Star vs. the Forces of Evil: The Battle for Mewni Return to Mewni • Moon the Undaunted • Book Be Gone • Marco and the King • Puddle Defender • King Ludo • Toffee • Scent of a Hoodie • Rest in Pudding • Club Snubbed • Stranger Danger • Demoncism • Sophomore Slump • Lint Catcher • Trial by Squire • Princess Turdina • Starfari • Sweet Dreams • Lava Lake Beach • Death Peck • Ponymonium • Night Life • Deep Dive • Monster Bash • Stump Day • Holiday Spellcial • The Bogbeast of Boggabah • Total Eclipsa the Moon • Butterfly Trap • Ludo, Where Art Thou? • Is Another Mystery • Marco Jr. • Skooled! • Booth Buddies • Bam Ui Pati! • Tough Love • Divide • Conquer Season 4 Butterfly Follies • Escape from the Pie Folk • Moon Remembers • Swim Suit • Ransomgram • Lake House Fever • Yada Yada Berries • Down by the River • The Ponyhead Show! • Surviving the Spiderbites • Out of Business • Kelly's World • Curse of the Blood Moon • Princess Quasar Caterpillar and the Magic Bell • Ghost of Butterfly Castle • Cornball! • Meteora's Lesson • The Knight Shift • Queen-Napped • Junkin' Janna • A Spell with No Name • A Boy and His DC-700XE • The Monster and the Queen • Cornonation • Doop-Doop • Britta's Tacos • Beach Day • Gone Baby Gone • Sad Teen Hotline • Jannanigans • Mama Star • Ready, Aim, Fire • The Right Way • Here to Help • Pizza Party • The Tavern at the End of the Multiverse • Cleaved Unaired Episodes Star and the Forces of Evil (pilot)