This is discussion archived from a time before the current discussion method was installed.
Dragon Quest Z: I have read the page. DEM is when something appears with little reason beforehand. There are scenes where they are clearly coming to seek the help of the army of the dead. And in the extended edition, it's even clear that they will help. So it's not that trope in any sense.
If it was the books, they would fit perfectly, since how they joined Aragorn is only told after they come to help. And I'm going to put them on that page if they are not.
Firenze419: Good luck with that, I put them on the page there and they got deleted. As I'd never read the books, and had it explained to me how they fit in here, the Deus made much more sense here. I'd have a look at the discussion page there too.
The reason I think they are a Deus was because:
1. No one ever mentioned them before they realised they didn't have enough help for the final battle (where were they at Helm's Deep?)
2. They are very conveniently stationed next to Aragorn's camp when he realises he doesn't have enough men.
3. Aragorn is the only man they'll listen to.
4. The minute they appear they kick the hell out of the biggest baddest army middle earth has ever seen.
The ultimate army in middle earth just happen to be right next to the camp of the one man who happens to be able to recruit them when he just happens to realise he doesn't have enough men to fight the big bad? That's a deus ex machina if I ever heard one. If you want to be generous, call them a type 3, cut and paste Deus.
Dragon Quest Z: Trust me, it's the same in the books, which is why I listed them on that page. Any tropes that apply to the books, and are unchanged in the movies, go there anyway.
Meta Four: In the book, the dead army didn't fight in the battle at Minas Tirith; Aragorn released them from their oath after helping the Dunedain defeat the Corsairs. So while Aragorn's arrival by ship at Minas Tirith was significant—as it signaled to everyone that Mordor's flanking maneuver had failed—it did not harbor the arrival of the instant battle-winning invincible army that showed up in the movie.
Dragon Quest Z: But it was still expanding their role in this, not making into a DEM.
