deus ex machina |ˌdeɪʊs ɛks ˈmakɪnə, ˌdiːəs ɛks məˈʃiːnə|
noun
an unexpected power or event saving a seemingly hopeless situation, especially as a contrived plot device in a play or novel.
ORIGIN late 17th cent.: modern Latin, translation of Greek theos ek mēkhanēs,‘god from the machinery’. In Greek theatre, actors representing gods were suspended above the stage, the denouement of the play being brought about by their intervention.