Expecto patronum, et voila, deus ex machina.
Comment on Harry and Ron were always bored in class because Rowling's magic system is boring as hell
TheresNodiee@lemm.ee 3 days ago
There’s nothing wrong with the magic system because there’s always a reasonable setup and payoff for what can be done with magic and solutions never come out of nowhere as some deus ex machina. The magic system the stories had worked perfectly fine for the stories that were being told. Not every magic system has to be some stupid overly explained BS that takes all of the actual wonder and “magic” out of it.
Rowling is a piece of shit terf but you Sanderson cultists are still so fucking annoying. There’s more to magic in storytelling than just the exact, specific mechanics of how it works. Read Earthsea.
madjo@feddit.nl 3 days ago
TheresNodiee@lemm.ee 2 days ago
They set it up at the beginning of the movie? How is that a deus ex machina?
drunkpostdisaster@lemmy.world 2 days ago
She introduces time travel out of freaking nowhere.
TheresNodiee@lemm.ee 2 days ago
She hints at it throughout the whole book/movie by showing that Hermione had a chronologically impossible course load and having her suddenly show up in places that she didn’t seem to be mere seconds previous.
drunkpostdisaster@lemmy.world 2 days ago
For one book.
TheresNodiee@lemm.ee 2 days ago
Yeah. I don’t think you understand what a deus ex machina is.
rumba@lemmy.zip 2 days ago
Picking on Sanderson is a bold move ;)
The main point of the contrast being Sanderson (and honestly, most of the greats) developed a solid cohesive lore and set of rules. As the story progressed, the rules get clarified, the twists and surprise are made in logic and creativity, but in the finding of some new rules and the hasty trying to stitch them back into the past.
Sanderson puts out as much content in a couple of years as others do in decades. It’s not always page-turners, but each work has it’s moments.
Rowling did a little worldbuilding, maybe borrowed a bit, arguably did a good job on a handful or two of characters then just kinda milked it.
kuberoot@discuss.tchncs.de 3 days ago
I’m sorry, no Deus ex machina? Am I misremembering the bit where suddenly two wizards casting a spell at each other at the same time for a prolonged duration reverses cause and effect and makes dead people come back as ghosts to give the protagonist advice?
I can agree that stories don’t need a “good” magic system, but I also feel like HP has glaring holes in places that negatively affect the experience. It’s still a fun story, but I definitely think it could be better if the magic made more sense.
boonhet@lemm.ee 3 days ago
One of the two wizards WAS the protagonist, so you might as well call this a near death experience or something. Might literally have all been in his head. I don’t think this is a good example.
kuberoot@discuss.tchncs.de 2 days ago
I looked it up and found the name - pretty sure it was explained shortly after the event as “Priori Incantatem”, showing it’s a known phenomenon in the world.
Lazhward@lemmy.world 3 days ago
It’s a shit story, just not because of a ‘bad’/soft magic system.
ChairmanMeow@programming.dev 3 days ago
Pretty sure the reasoning behind that was given in book 1.
kuberoot@discuss.tchncs.de 2 days ago
I don’t think so, I believe the reasoning only showed up shortly after the event, though it’s been a really long time since I’ve read HP, I’d be interested in knowing if I’m wrong
ChairmanMeow@programming.dev 2 days ago
I’m pretty sure Olivander already mentions when Harry chooses his wand that it’s basically a twin of Voldemort’s, and in the subsequent books it’s explained that that + Lily’s magic is causing plenty of weird things to happen, including what happens in book 4. Sure, the exact reason why it happens is still “magic” but that goes for most magic systems if you delve deep enough.
TheresNodiee@lemm.ee 2 days ago
Ok the ghosts coming out of the wands thing kinda came out of nowhere, but all they did was tell Harry to run away. It’s not like they had a massive impact on the fight.