Why do deus ex machina moments in fantasy shows feel cheap?
#1
Okay, so I just finished watching the latest episode of that fantasy isekai everyone's talking about. I'm kind of stuck on something. The main character just got a massive power-up out of nowhere to defeat the big bad, and it honestly left me feeling a bit hollow instead of hyped. I guess I'm wondering if anyone else gets this way when a series relies too heavily on a deus ex machina to solve its plot. It makes the whole struggle beforehand feel a bit cheap.
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#2
I felt that hollow punch too when the hero just snaps into new power and the road before was all sacrifice and grit. deus ex machina showing up can leave the earlier struggle feeling cheap. Do you think this fatigue is about anticipation or the way the show foreshadows fights?
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#3
The payoff should echo the setup and the consequences matter. If the world rules shift too late or the losses are erased the sense of cost evaporates and the victory can feel hollow via a deus ex machina move.
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#4
I kept hoping the big bad would go down with a clever trap or a sacrifice paid in more than dialogue. But when it lands as a sudden power up it reshapes what the battles were even for.
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#5
I doubt the show is oblivious to this, sometimes a loud win is just the box they want to tick before the next arc. the energy around the scene feels big but not earned.
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#6
What counts as a win can be about how the world grows or changes for the characters even if the villain falls.
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#7
From a craft angle the scene could land if you show the cost of the upgrade the toll on the hero the echo through the side characters and the tone shifts with the power.
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#8
Maybe the genre expects rises and resets to test reader tolerance for rules and what a fair fight even means.
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