Worst use of Deus Ex Machina you've ever seen

[Pappytech]

Is anyone else irked by the amount of deus ex machina in games and other forms of media? (Deus Ex Machina is a plot device whereby a seemingly inextricable problem is suddenly and abruptly solved with the contrived and unexpected intervention of some new event, character, ability, or object.)

Maybe it's just me, but I get annoyed when something that has never been mentioned before in a game/story/show suddenly gets brought up as a get-out-of-jail-free card.

Why did the gravity gun survive disintegration in Half Life 2? How did Squall survive the shard of ice to the chest in FFVIII? In pretty much every anime/manga ever, how does the protagonist suddenly unleash a killer technique they never knew existed on the antagonist at the last possible second?

What's the most blatant use of deus ex machina you've ever seen?

Edit: Yeah, looks like Bleach is a pretty big offender. Here's hoping it gets better.

 

[CM156_v1legacy]

How did Squall survive the shard of ice to the chest in FFVIII?

Some think he didn't [http://squallsdead.com/]

What's the most blatant use of deus ex machina you've ever seen?

I'd say bits involving Neverwinter Nights 2 and the sliver shard. There is too much hapenstance around the events.

I would also say that JRPGs abbuse this. FFX as well.

 

[Actual]

Doctor Who's sonic screwdriver. Every fucking episode he waves that thing around says some tech mumbo jumbo, bad guys fuck off, and the episode ends. It's such lazy writing.

 

[Julianking93]

One that comes to mind for me (and please correct me if this doesn't directly fit into the definition of a Deus Ex Machina) is anytime in a action movie, book, game or whatever. During the final battle when the main character is losing horribly to their enemy, they witness their love interest get killed.This then gives said main character a sudden surge of power due to his/her love that gives them the strength to take down their enemy just as they're about to be beaten.

Or is that just a tired cliche that I can't stand? Either way, it's an annoying plot device. >.>

 

[Moc]

Imho the ending of the german drama "Faust II" it is so utterly stupid, the protagonist Heinrich Faust could only be saved from eternal damnation by divine intervention, it is such a let down after the sublime "Faust I" which was just awesome and especially did not need divine intervention in order to keep its plot going.

 

[Sheaphard117]

The James Bond gadgets.

Seriously, whenever Bond got in trouble (in the good James Bond's that is) he would always have the perfect gadget for the occasion. It got a little old for my tastes. (this is probably gonna recive some hate)

 

[Foxblade618]

Why did the gravity gun survive disintegration in Half Life 2?

This is due to the fact that apparently did not register as a weapon, and somehow became supercharged

 

[bob1052]

Its a tie between every JRPG ever.

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

I'm just going to give an obligatory mention to Monty Python and the Holy Grail's "but then the animator suffered a fatal heart attack". I know it's not annoying in the slightest as they were blatantly taking the piss out of writers who do this sort of thing straight faced, but I always feel a thread about Deus Ex Machina is a poorer place without in being commented on.

 

[Foxblade618]

Also, anything in anime. Just looking at my avatar made me think of this. Do you know how many times Spike, from Cowboy Bebop, falls from an incredible height? How does he survive? Because it wasn't a good day for him to die so he didn't, WHAT???

PPS Star Wars, the Jedi can do whatever superhuman thing they need to in a situation because they're force sensitive. Running very fast, didn't know you could do that? But why didn't you do it in situation X or Y? Holding your breath for a long time, that a useful skill that came out of nowhere

 

[Tuesday Night Fever]

Hand down the shark-repellant Batspray!

 

[SenseOfTumour]

The James Bond gadgets.

Seriously, whenever Bond got in trouble (in the good James Bond's that is) he would always have the perfect gadget for the occasion. It got a little old for my tastes. (this is probably gonna recive some hate)

Naw, you're in good company thinking that - 'Q, the trousers that turn into jam, they were spectacularly useless!'

 

[Pappytech]

One that comes to mind for me (and please correct me if this doesn't directly fit into the definition of a Deus Ex Machina) is anytime in a action movie, book, game or whatever. During the final battle when the main character is losing horribly to their enemy, they witness their love interest get killed.This then gives said main character a sudden surge of power due to his/her love that gives them the strength to take down their enemy just as they're about to be beaten.

Or is that just a tired cliche that I can't stand? Either way, it's an annoying plot device. >.>

Not really deus ex, but definitely a tired cliche.

I'm just going to give an obligatory mention to Monty Python and the Holy Grail's "but then the animator suffered a fatal heart attack". I know it's not annoying in the slightest as they were blatantly taking the piss out of writers who do this sort of thing straight faced, but I always feel a thread about Deus Ex Machina is a poorer place without in being commented on.

Thank you for mentioning this. Monty Python is always good for a laugh.

 

[FFHAuthor]

Well, I can say 'worst use of Deus Ex Machina' would have to be in Futurama, but that's so bad it's hilarious. Like the Professor just happens to have a convenient doomsday device, or a device that he makes to create glow in the dark noses is also an alien translation device. It's blatantly awful, but it's deliberate and hilarious.

SO...yes...worst in use and placement, but perhaps best in result, because the audience knows it's there, but accepts it and enjoys it...

 

[Foxblade618]

Hand down the shark-repellant Batspray!

OK, you almost win. But you made me think about something from the same movie - "Thank goodness for that dolphin who sacrificed himself to save us from that torpedo" -paraphrased

 

[dyre]

Macbeth.

Oracle: "You really only have to worry about dying when the forest moves from here to there, and no man born of a mother's womb can kill you."
Macbeth: "Oh lol, looks like I'll have no probl---"
Scout: "Sir, the enemy army is moving the forest by cutting down branches to use as cover (wtf)!"
Macbeth: "Oh, shit. Well, at least no man born of a mother---"
Macduff: "Ohey Macbeth, did I ever tell you I was born from a C-section?"
Macbeth: "FFFffffffffffffffff---"
*head chopped off*

 

[Pappytech]

Well, I can say 'worst use of Deus Ex Machina' would have to be in Futurama, but that's so bad it's hilarious. Like the Professor just happens to have a convenient doomsday device, or a device that he makes to create glow in the dark noses is also an alien translation device. It's blatantly awful, but it's deliberate and hilarious.

SO...yes...worst in use and placement, but perhaps best in result, because the audience knows it's there, but accepts it and enjoys it...

When deus ex is used in a comedic sense, like in your example and the Monty Python one, it really isn't that bad. In fact, it can be freaking hilarious.

But when people do it seriously, that's when it gets annoying.