*SPOILERS FOR 305* Was the ending Set up?

[TheTacoMAn]

For those of you who have finished 305






Was the very ending, when Max comes back from one of the Season 2 time travel pods set up back in Season 2? If not, it feels pretty deus-ex machina-ey, which is a bit unusual for Sam and Max

[BlankCanvasDJ]

...a bit unusual for Sam & Max? Whu? Sam & Max LOVE deus-ex machina endings.

[TheTacoMAn]

Originally Posted by BlankCanvasDJ

...a bit unusual for Sam & Max? Whu? Sam & Max LOVE deus-ex machina endings.

But they are usually always set up somewhere along the way. DW, i've managed to find the answer from the sam and max wiki


By using the only elevator, Sam & Max X force Sam & Max Prime to relive the intervening year and a half. The four of them meet up again in the UFO, the Sam & Max X hang around while Sam & Max Prime go about their business. When the spaceship is about to be destroyed in the finale, the X's use the elevator to flee, forcing the Primes to find another way to get out.
While Sam and Max Prime were engaged in the events of The Devil's Playhouse, Sam and Max X were elsewhere having adventures of their own. At some point, Sam X was transformed into a giant monster with electromagnetic powers and Max X was forced to destroy him. After this, Max X took the time elevator and used it to locate Sam Prime at the end of The City that Dares Not Sleep. After an uneasy silence following their mutual admission of killing each other, Sam Prime and Max X join up. Depending on a dialog choice made by the player earlier in the episode, Sam and Max either walk into the city to fight crime or take off in the Time Elevator for more adventuring.

[BlankCanvasDJ]

Originally Posted by TheTacoMAn

But they are usually always set up somewhere along the way.

I remember a Sam & Max comic where they escape a dangerous situation only because the villain happens to spontaneously combust. Seriously, they really do just love deus ex machina. No need to think about it that much.

[Jake]

They escape once or twice in almost every comic story because of insane deus ex machina. Spontaneous combustion, or Cmdr Blip and the Rubber Pants Commandos showing up, or "Squiddo, our octopus pal" appearing out of nowhere. A character or event coming out of left field and neatly solving a situation is a hallmark of Sam & Max stories to me, it just hasn't been used in the games that often. Hit the Road did a bit at the end, where Sam and Max do all sorts of things to find the Bigfoots only to save the day by destroying everything, covering the west coast of the US in giant trees.

[Shwoo]

Originally Posted by TheTacoMAn

But they are usually always set up somewhere along the way.

If they were set up, they're not deus ex machinas.

[Gman5852]

So is a deus x machina or whatever an ending where something completly random happens and it saves the day?
(for instance the ending to kingdom hearts where ansem opens the door to darkness only to find out it is made of pure light and he dies)

[Remolay]

Originally Posted by Shwoo

If they were set up, they're not deus ex machinas.

Yeah, that's known as Chekov's Gun.

[qwertyuiop]

Originally Posted by Remolay

Yeah, that's known as Chekov's Gun.

Before anyone asks Chekov's gun is a theatre term useful in story telling. The analogy goes if a gun above the mantel is seen on set since Act I, it should be fired before the end of the play. It combines foreshadowing with the philosophy that if it should be mentioned, it should be used.

[BlankCanvasDJ]

Originally Posted by Gman5852

So is a deus x machina or whatever an ending where something completly random happens and it saves the day?
(for instance the ending to kingdom hearts where ansem opens the door to darkness only to find out it is made of pure light and he dies)

Yes. Or the ending to War of the Worlds.