If you were one of the millions who tuned in for House of the Dragon this week, then you probably need no reminder that Episode 7, "Driftmark," was a truly great episode. And frankly, we all needed it after the previous week's absolutely devastating story.
Note: If you haven't caught up with the show (what are you waiting for?!), keep in mind that there are spoilers ahead!
As a casual reminder, the most recent installment of the popular platinum blonde–haired saga was full of bloodshed, dragon riding, and everyone's ~favorite~ awkward-to-watch pastime...incestuous Targaryen sex!
And while this means there was a WHOLE LOT to see this week, viewers found themselves having a hard time actually seeing it because their screens were so damn dark. Literally.
Now, for those who don't already know, the Game of Thrones–verse is no stranger to dark production lighting. Fans will probably remember many instances during Game of Thrones, especially in the final season, where audiences had a REALLY hard time seeing what the heck was going on. The most infamous example of this, of course, was "The Long Night" (aka The Battle of Winterfell) episode.
And fans had plenty to say about that back then:
The Battle of Winterfell before Melisandre shows up .. #NotToday #GameofThrones
I would like to thank Melisandre for increasing the lighting in this episode by 100 #GameofThrones #GoT
RIP to the GoT lighting department #GameofThrones
BTW, "The Long Night" was directed by Miguel Sapochnik, who also directed "Driftmark" this week... 👀.
So far, the lighting on House of the Dragon has more or less followed suit — I mean, look, there's not a ton of artificial lighting happening in fantasy medieval times — but Episode 7 really threw fans for a loop. And while they all still loved the show, they had plenty of funny jokes to make about how hard it was to see:
HOUSE OF THE DRAGON continuing the classic Thrones tradition of making an episode so dark it's almost unwatchable
the lighting designer must’ve been on a break this episode bc i cant see shit #HouseOfTheDragon
If you thought that game of thrones winterfell battle episode was too dark, I present to you HOUSE OF THE DRAGON ON A BEACH 🌚
can #HouseOfTheDragon get over their dark aesthetic and let me actually see what’s on my screen #HOTD
Me trying to see what tf is happening in this dark episode of #HouseOfTheDragon #hotd
I knew House of the Dragon was dark but it ain’t ever been this dark. Vhagar trying to figure out who woke her up like
I don’t understand why house of the dragon is so DARK. Why am I squinting in my house
trying to watch these dark ass nighttime scenes on house of the dragon on a tv i bought at target 4 years ago for $120
The nighttime visuals in House of the Dragon are simply too dark. These scenes would be so epic if I could actually see what was happening
HBO will be getting my bill for botox fillers cause every episode of House of the Dragon have me like this to try and see anything in these dark scenes
Of course, some fans felt like the issue was with the viewers' individual TV settings (but, like, come on...we shouldn't be EXPECTED to change our settings?!):
Didn't have trouble seeing anything in the night scenes from this week's ep of House of the Dragon. Y'all need to turn the contrast up on your TVs (adjusts light areas of the image), not just the brightness (adjusts dark areas of the image) or the overall backlight of the display
And, for the record, HBO stood by the "creative decision" to make the episode DARK AF. Here's how they responded to some complaining fans with tweets:
@zephyr757 Hi Stephen! We appreciate you reaching out about a night scene in House of the Dragon: Episode 7 appearing dark on your screen. The dimmed lighting of this scene was an intentional creative decision. Thanks! ^LL
@CVIKIS Hey there! We appreciate you reaching out about a night scene in House of the Dragon: Episode 7 appearing dark on your screen. The dimmed lighting of this scene was an intentional creative decision. Thanks! ^LL
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
What did you think of the episode? Was it TOO DARK for you? Sound off in the comments below!
