Discussion Main / DiabolusExMachina

Hey, can we change the name of this trope to "Diabolo ex Machina"? It's because according to Google Translate (yes, I don't know THAT much Latin), "Diabolus ex Machina" meant "up from the machine".

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Linking to a past Trope Repair Shop thread that dealt with this page: DiabolusExMachina, started by RainehDaze on Sep 11th 2011 at 6:11:49 PM

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman

Linking to a past Trope Repair Shop thread that dealt with this page: Rename--foreign, unclear, snowclone. TropeDecay., started by RainehDaze on Sep 12th 2011 at 10:57:10 AM

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman

Linking to a past Trope Repair Shop thread that dealt with this page: Potential Trope Decay, started by RainehDaze on Sep 12th 2011 at 5:29:53 PM

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman

Would Glass count? David Dunn, the main protagonist, dies to an agent of an organization which is never mentioned until the scene where they kill him.

• Despite being severely weakened and broke in Season 7, House Lannister still manages to defeat their Tyrell rivals, who at that point field the largest army of their region which has been largely unscathed by the previous war.

Removed this from the Game of Thrones entry. The Tyrell army was large but largely untested (something Olenna admits) and the Lannisters were backed up by House Tarly (something foreshadowed in the previous episode). Less Diabolus and more Danerys getting outmaneuvered.

My name is Freezer and my anti-drug is porn.

Just wanted to detail my reasons for removing the following entry:

• In Midnight Tides, the fifth book in Malazan Book of the Fallen, the Emperor of the Tiste Edur is effectively immortal as each time he dies he is resurrected and healed. The Royal Champion of Lether counters this by cutting every single muscle and sinew used for movement in the Emperor's body; the Champion then dies from poisoning. Moments later, a demon befriended by the Emperor's brother walks in and, unaware of the Emperor's condition, kills the Emperor, believing it to be a mercy and thinking it a favour to the brother, thus undoing the Champion's sacrifice.

None of the things that happen change the situation significantly for the worse, as in: the outcome would've been roughly the same either way, so it sounds like 'an important character dies, which sucks'. The only new element introduced in that scene is the poisoned wine, and even that is foreshadowed by the King behaving unusually as the scene begins.

In case anyone cares, here's the how and why:
The Letherii Empire has been conquered by the Tiste Edur, and their immortal Emperor would've ruled it wether he could move around or not. The land is occupied, the room is full of the Emperor's cronies and the regular King as well as his immediate advisors have just commited suicide via poisoned wine. The King's Champion, preoccupied by duelling the Emperor, does not notice that and, after having disabled the Emperor, drinks from the wine.
Also present in the room is the God of Fate, well known and established throughout the book as someone who compulsively manipulates events at a whim, not caring about the good or bad of his 'nudges' and eager for a change in the kingdom. It is strongly implied that he nudged the King's Champion to drink the poisoned wine.
A demon appears to pick up the Champion's body because they have a kind of contract too finnicky to explain here, agreed upon earlier in the book. This demon has absolutely nothing to do with the Tiste Edur, nor has he any relationship/aquiantance with any of the Emperor's brothers (the troper who wrote the entry must've been thinking of a different demon). Hence, ignorant of the situation, he kills the Emperor, thinking it an act of mercy.

Again, except for the wine, none of the things that happen are introduced out of the blue in this scene, nor do they change the overall situation. Also, there is no good or bad side in the conflict, and neither gains an advantage as a consequence. In fact, this resolves a problem.

Not that the series has no moments of Diabolus ex Machina, it's just that I am sure this is not one of them.

That aside, there are many examples which sound like 'bad thing happens, so it sucks', but I am not knowledgeable enough to be sure.

Edited by Derkhan

would this break the suspension of disbelief less if there some build sort of build up or justification.

Hans Christian Anderson entry: I read a collection of his stories touted as 'complete'. Nearly every friggin' one had a depressing ending. Not all were Diabolus, but they sure as heck weren't happy.

But...there was one, where a kid pulls himself up from a servant's son (possibly illegitimate, no father is ever mentioned). He wins the notice of a music master, eventually writes his own version of Aladdin, casts himself as the resident genie-finder. The story speaks of his ultimate triumph as he climbs the set during the first performance to seize the golden lamp -and then an unknown weakness in an artery to his heart bursts. Yeah.

Edited by Candi Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving. -Terry Pratchett

Would Amon removing Korra's bending qualify?

Would Pendragon count as an example?

Insanity is a blessing and a curse. Munchkinlope!!!!

Removed:

"* The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion has both a Deus ex Machina and a Diabolus ex Machina in the end. Martin, the heir to the emperor's throne, who you have spent the entire main quest protecting, manages to close the Oblivion Gates and totally stop the Daedra invasion. He does so by ritually sacrificing his life. A Winner Is You!

• It seems that the Diabolus hates that family. During the opening sequence, the player is helping the Emperor and his bodyguards escape through underground tunnels. You fight your way through a dozen assassins only to reach a dead end, where one more comes through a hidden door and murders the Emperor.
  • It gets even worse if you read the Emperor's obituary and find out that Martin was his fourth son. His three brothers were killed offstage by the assassins before the opening sequence even started."

Its not a Diabolus if its the result of *actual in-story forces* conspiring against you. As for the ending, its a plain old Heroic Sacrifice. Mehrunes Dagon was fully manifested in the physical world, its not exactly shocking that kicking him back out might take a Heroic Sacrifice.

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