Why should I automatically think plot contrivance/god from the machine are always bad? They can exist in a story and be okay if the story overall is good/entertaining (though I’ll give you that when they’re bad, they’re pretty bad - e.g. any movie set in the era of telephones that bores you into being aware that major plot points can be solved with a phone call ).
well for one thing we already called it a contrivance.
god from the machine is bad because it’s nakedly from the machine. it’s low-effort it’s not clever. it’s non-s equitur
like, taste is subjective or whatever, but our hegemonic culture I think rightly disapproves of a writer solving a plot problem by having somebody show up who had nothing to do with the whole rest of the story or having some random event happen… unless it’s carefully done as a subversion of expectations like having some family drama and then they all die in an earthquake and there’s some point being made.
