1. Bainespal says:

    Maybe the problem only arises when the deus ex machina is expected or predictable.  To be truly great, a story has to have a twist, a turn of circumstance coming from outside the box, offering a transcendent view of the characters’ trials and relationships.

    At the end of the play, an actor portraying Apollo is lowered on a crane and declares that Orestes has done all the proper sacrifices, thus freeing him from his guilt. The Furies are sent packing and Orestes is free to go.

    The obvious difference between that and the Christian story is that this depicts justification without atonement.  Apollo doesn’t do anything other than proclaim that Orestes is off the hook…. and presumably all the problems Clytemnestra caused were no big deal, either.

  2. Galadriel says:

    I think Bainespal has a good point–the less expected a De Es Machina (Dex, as it’s referred to in the Fables graphic novels) is, the better it is.  On the other hand, some things that may seem Dex-ish can be woven into the story, such as the conclusion of L.B. Graham’s Binding of the Blade  series

  3. “So where am I going with this? I’m not entirely sure myself. Come back in two weeks to find out.”

    Love the honesty there, John! There are plenty of times that I have a thought rolling around my head like a tangled boulder of yarn and just want to grab a loose end and start unraveling it. Seeing your post makes me feel that maybe that’s not such a bad approach. Especially with an active commenting community like we have here.

    Although I can and do feel “cheated” by some “Dex” endings (thanks, Galadriel, much easier to type), I often think it’s unfair that we can’t use them as authors. So many things in life show up with no explanation or warning. Why do we have this pre-disposition to reject it in a story?

    And speaking of predispositions, why is it that when it’s trouble, most people say, “Well, it was bound to happen!” and when it’s showers of blessing, they say, “Well, that’s not going to last!” Is it just today’s culture, or has that been around for a while? Seems like it’s been around a long time.

    Anyway, when it comes to stories, I don’t mind a little salvation out of nowhere, as long as it’s handled well. As long as there are precedents and the total end result doesn’t come across as all “rainbows and unicorns”.

What do you think?