Deus ex Machina in Fablehaven
Saw a thing about deus ex machina, by that I mean a convo on the discord (https://discord.gg/TYe6zbm for those interested) and anyways, I did a brief look over of the stuff that without context might look like cheats to solving problems, vs things that actually are just there for the one problem with no other plot relevance.
The discord helped name things that they considered possible deus ex machina.
Definition of Deus ex Machina: an unexpected power or event saving a seemingly hopeless situation, especially as a contrived plot device in a play or novel.
Book One: Kendra got the Queen’s aid.
Now, this might seem like a deus ex machina, except it was foreshadowed with Grandpa Sorenson’s mention of the Fairy Queen’s shrine. On top of that, it held importance through every book after.
And Kendra didn’t just get to the island and have her problem solved. She risked her life to reach the island cause she saw it as her only hope, and then she had to do more work to make the potion that she used to save her life. She also unknowingly ingested a deadly poison (the potion was deadly towards humans).
Now, this is an item that Coulter said is super hard to make, and it took him a lot of work to get. He ended up giving it to Seth when the revenant was there, and it is due to this cocoon that Seth survived Olloch, who was trying to (and did) eat him.
Theoretically work was done for this magical ultimate shield that can defend against all things (at the cost of being trapped for a time). We don’t see it, and it’s use basically defeats Olloch. This was used really as a plot device, but it wasn’t unexpected, and there was a cost in that Coulter was lost.
Book Three: Patton and the Chronometer
Patton showing up wasn’t expected at all, but with the Chronometer it is explained. He also didn’t just fill the single plot of Seth escaping. It was unexpected, and didn’t really have foreshadowing beyond the fact that he brought it there (which would allow him to mess with it). But it did make sense, while also saving a seemingly hopeless situation.
By technical definition his appearance is a deus ex machina but by the way it’s used it’s not really one.
The Chronometer... honestly time travel in general usually counts a deus ex machina no matter the story. It jumps past the rules and changes things wildly. It’s op and works outside everything else.
Technically the Chronometer doesn’t do that, but also does. Supposedly everything that will happen has happened in terms of time travel, but if that’s the case then there are a lot of plot holes.
The Sphinx has been to the island before book 5, where time travel happened to open it partially. Yet it was not open when he was last there? Nor when Patton was there the one time in more recent years? But it’s already happened because it would happen?
The things Patton left behind have been “passed down” and yet... they’re never mentioned before they become relevant.
Overall, the Chronometer itself might not be a deus ex machina, but the way it’s used is. It’s a plot device that constantly solves the problem for them and the explanation doesn’t work.
Book Four: The Knapsack and the Stingbulb
The Knapsack is something that hasn’t been brought up previously as a possibility. It is explained as a powerful object, and is used to let Kendra escape from an otherwise hopeless situation (though she may have possibly been able to escape later it would’ve been extremely difficult and even though her stingbulb succeeded, she didn’t really. She was followed and the Sphinx was purposefully letting her get away).
So the item came out of nowhere, is a powerful magical object, and solves a hopeless situation. While it also is used throughout the rest of the book, it’s used as a way of holding a bunch of supplies and Warren then. And then it’s destroyed the moment it’s use is no longer necessary.
Technically yeah it is a deus ex machina.
The stingbulbs... they let people die but not die, are an excuse to bring back the Larsen’s who had a funeral literally book one, get Kendra dead and then let her escape, and are overall used to further plot points. But I could forgive all of this if they actually went “hmm, these are extinct, where did they used to grow?” and found the fifth preserve or at least started working towards finding it.
Overall they’re used to bring people back, or allow people to slip away, but aren’t just used for the heroes to escape.
Book Five: Patton, Vasilis, the eternals
Patton, dear old Patton. Technically he’s already been involved, but he does basically solve all their problems when he gets involved. Yes they (Seth) still have to act, but he’s given step by step instructions and a bunch of guidance from the guy who’s long dead. But it’s been foreshadowed as a possible solution by book 3 and 4. And he didn’t personally solve everything just gave all the steps needed for it.
Vasilis is the sword of light and dark and was not mentioned prior to Patton. It in and of itself isn’t technically a deus ex machina, it has foreshadowing in that book... but not any earlier. It’s a powerful magical object, and it does kinda solve all the problems. It also seems to have no real price other than wanting the power, it uses their power to amplify but doesn’t seem to drain them.
Seth using it: He’s able to kill the two most deadly demons other than the demon king himself (and that’s actually debatable to me) with it. If you’ve read dragonwatch cottg we learned more that I won’t say in this post but it does tell you a lot. Him killing them was something that many have tried before, but he’s the one that succeeded, thanks to that sword. Yes he was injured, but the sword also made sure he survived to get healing. It allowed him to retrieve the artifacts they needed as well.
It is a bit of a deus ex machina there.
Kendra using it: She killed the demon king, one of the five great monarchs, with like three strikes. This is roughly similar to Seth’s ease with Graulus and Nagi Luna, though the sword also seemed more powerful with Kendra (which makes sense as she has a direct connection to the fairy queens source of power whereas Seth only has his own (immense) power). It ends the battle pretty effectively and the demons flee from there.
It is a bit of a deus ex machina there.
So the blade overall is op and while Seth worked to get it, it solves basically every problem when in his (or his sisters) hands. It is unexpected as it was only brought up a little bit before retrieving it, and it is a bit of a plot device to allow them to one-shot powerful demons.
The Eternals? you ask. How are they deus ex machina?
Well, they haven’t been foreshadowed at all before book five. Even the new things in the book had at least stuff that could lead to it. Their only purpose was buying the protagonists time to fight the prison and make it so Kendra and her gang weren’t just twiddling their fingers waiting off to the side.
They came out of nowhere, saved the day by giving the kids time to gather supplies and allies, and ultimately served little to no point.
Unexpected: showed up out of nowhere
Plot device: they had no time, the eternals gave them time
Feel free to lmk if you guys have other thoughts, or if you have other items/plots that you think are deus ex machina. I’m also gonna be doing a post on the cheats in the books (stuff that isn’t out of nowhere and doesn’t fit the requirements of a deus ex machina but oh do they make you angry with how they work) and do dragonwatch later :)
