Been like ten years since I’ve seen the movie and I heard the sequel wasn’t great so don’t have complete context.

Anyway, jailing her is the right move for a punishment based society. She was an adult and committed crimes and stuff. There are some mitigating factors like childhood trauma, that most of it was accidental, and lack of fatalities (because it was a Disney movie, but it stands). To dissuade others, she should be jailed.

In a rehabilitation based society with a focus on maximum gain, it’s probably not the move. Most people would have a hard time in that situation— it’s not far off from someone experiencing significant mental stress and reacting poorly to being swatted. Except the police were, iirc, hired thugs sent to assassinate her. (Or, as some might say, the police.)

Even kind of hating the character due to overexposure, I don’t fault her too much for how she reacted. In the US we have the standard of what a reasonable person might do, and I’m not entirely sure she would be convicted of most charges even here.

Now factoring in the potential uses of a magical monarch, it’s probably wasteful to throw her in jail. Tourism and industrial uses alone offset the benefits of throwing the book at her. Is it fair that a more useful person could get lenience? No, but the gain heavily outweighs the nonexistent benefits. It would probably be best to let her do her thing but remove her inherited power. Further displays of intentional violence should be met with imprisonment. Or I guess outright execution, since you can’t really imprison someone like that, but I’m not pro death penalty.

I blame the parents. They instilled all these neuroses in her because they didn’t understand and feared her. All the things you listed are the symptoms of the fact that her parents were crap. But I applaud your unpopular opinion.

Dude, let it go

In a world of chaotic magic though, you also have to factor in the potential side effects of jailing someone with uncontrolled magic.

It’s very possible that jailing her could make things worse, potentially producing disastrous effects.

I’d say banishment would be more practical, ideally sending her off to somewhere where she can get help. At least temporarily relocating her out of range of harming others, then promptly sending messengers to kingdoms to find anyone who may be able to help her with her powers.

While of course still keeping her supplied and having a liason between her abd the kingdom, so she isn’t totally isolated, and keeping her updated on attempts to locate help.

Of course this should’ve been done long before she was a grown woman, she should’ve had a teacher found when she was still a child, instead of just locking her up in her room forever.

I’ll keep it a headcannon that this was reasonably the case, that her entire childhood in isolation simultaneously had messengers desperately searching for help far and wide, and they truly just never were able to find her a teacher or anyone who knew wtf was going on and could help, her powers were just that esoteric.

Anything less wouldn’t make sense, but perhaps wasn’t worth spending screen time on…

Yes, incarcerating the mentally unwell, that’s the solution. Lemme guess: American public schooling?