Deus ex machina

[Brian Rogers]

I agree with Jo:

I think it's a fine balancing act

because you don't want a character to be so OP that they never need help. If they bulldoze people or WORSE, develop skills or magic strength just when they need it over and over, the story becomes stale. The reader will anticipate the character's victory every time and if that's the opposite to a DEM then balance is the necessary ingredient to make a story work.

That's another topic, time travel is certainly a DEM done wrong, but could character development at the wrong time in a story be considered a DEM. My example of a magical growth spurt comes to mind but are there others we should all avoid?

 

[Mirannan]

IMHO Tolkein avoided the obvious DEM (Eagles flying the Ring to Mount Doom) rather well. First, an event earlier in the book (the Nazgul losing their horses at the ford) led to their being given flying mounts. As already stated, this made an interception by the Nazgul virtually certain if that obvious solution was tried.

Second, there is the matter of the Ring itself. It was repeatedly stated that nobody was safe from its corruption - except Bombadil, but let's not go there. And the prouder and more arrogant the host of the Ring, the faster and harder they fall. Well, Gwaihir was named the King of the Birds and was depicted as rather proud and arrogant - so probably would have taken the Ring for himself.

In addition, it's fairly obvious that the Eagles (being direct servants of Manwe) were only ever supposed to solve problems that could not be solved in any other way. "Middle Earth must solve its own problems".

 

[Warren_Paul]

In addition, it's fairly obvious that the Eagles (being direct servants of Manwe) were only ever supposed to solve problems that could not be solved in any other way.

Isn't that the very definition of a DEM?

 

[farntfar]

Surely Gandalf and the other wizards were direct servants of Manwë (though of a different sort), just as Sauron was a direct servant of Morgoth (originally at least), and in the case the wizards we saw how the ring could corrupt them by looking at Saruman.
Which is why Gandalf couldn't go to Mount Doom himself.