House of the Dragon has restored many elements of Game of Thrones that fans have missed in recent years. But this week brought back memories of a Game of Thrones experience most viewers would have liked to have put behind them: an episode so visually obscure it’s actually difficult to see what’s going on.
This week’s episode had fans drawing comparisons to Game of Thrones’ most notorious dark episode: The Long Night. In our own review of House of the Dragon Episode 7, we commented on the dimly lit scenes, saying, “The show has chosen such a dark aesthetic that it’s hard to tell” whatever is happening on screen.
Ever since the episode went live last night, fans have taken to social media to complain about how difficult it was to watch the episode.
HOUSE OF THE DRAGON continues the classic Thrones tradition of making an episode so dark you almost can’t see it pic.twitter.com/g1IXPlG6Nl
— Brendan Hodges (@metaplexmovies) October 3, 2022
I have to squint to watch House of the Dragon every week. why is it so dark?😭 pic.twitter.com/LtBnaoey49
— christine you 👽 💫abolitionist (@itsschriss_) October 3, 2022
The nighttime visuals in House of the Dragon are just too dark. Those scenes would be so epic if I could actually see what’s happening
— lil (she/she) (@lilly_is_silly) October 3, 2022
I searched the House of the Dragon hashtag to see if it was me and my TV but no one can see anything in this dark ass episode
— Reezy Sack (@NYREEZY) October 3, 2022
I knew House of the Dragon was dark, but it’s never been this dark. Vhagar tries to find out who woke her up pic.twitter.com/Cn2VNbC3Ol
— Andrew Munz (@AndrewMunz) October 3, 2022
This episode of House of the Dragon is almost unwatchable. They took years of complaints about dark scenes in Game of Thrones and said, “Hold my beer.”
– Rachel P 🦚 (@aushutterbug) October 3, 2022
I’m sure when the House of Dragon editors see this on their $1 billion monitor it looks amazing, but me and my 2017 Roku are fighting over here https://t.co/4WhaaBhFGV
— Paul McCallion (@OrangePaulp) October 3, 2022
I disagree with people who say that House of the Dragon and Game of Thrones have nothing in common. For example, both have lighting that requires me to turn off all the lights and sit two feet away from the TV so I can see what the heck is going on
— andi zeisler (@andizeisler) October 3, 2022
If you’ve watched both series, you probably won’t be surprised to hear that this week’s House of the Dragon episode and The Long Night were directed by the same person.
Miguel Sapochnik, who is stepping down as House of the Dragon showrunner after season one, directed both dark episodes. And unsurprisingly, the reaction from fans was pretty much identical in both cases.
For example, after The Long Night premiered, it wasn’t long before fans began complaining about how dark the episode was on social media. Back in our own review of The Long Night, we asked ourselves, “Why was it so damn? dark?”
The Long Night director eventually responded to fan complaints and said the decision was intentional. Sapochnik said they wanted to “reproduce the sense of claustrophobia, fear, and sometimes frustration these characters experience.”
Sapochnik also blamed the devices viewers watch Game of Thrones on, saying The Long Night was designed to be viewed in theaters, which is odd considering both Game of Thrones and House of Thrones the Dragon are made for TV.
And now HBO is doubling down yet again to make House of the Dragon so somber this week. On Twitter is the HBO Max Help Twitter Account responded to a fan’s question about the episode’s visuals, where they said, “The dim lighting of this scene was an intentional creative choice.”
Hi! We appreciate you reaching out about a night scene in House of the Dragon: Episode 7 that appears dark on your screen. The subdued lighting of this scene was a conscious creative choice. Thanks very much! ^CM
— HBOMaxHelp (@HBOMaxHelp) October 3, 2022
If you’re wondering why the Dragon’s House is so dark this week and how to fix it, the solutions are largely the same as when The Long Night aired. While you can’t fix the darkness entirely, watching in a dark room is the easiest way to see what’s happening on screen. Even light coming in from the hallway or the next room can affect your viewing experience, so you can turn those off too.
With your TV, you can adjust the display brightness and backlight settings, or change the dimming settings. And if you wait a while after the show’s live debut, the image streaming quality gets a lot better when not so many people are trying to watch at the exact same time. If you’re still struggling to understand what’s going on, you can always check out our review to get back up to speed.
To learn more about House of the Dragon, check out Surviving That Changed Game of Thrones History, why the composer kept Game of Thrones’ opening music, and how the show connects directly to the Night King.