No, something wasn’t wrong with your TV last night (October 2) during the latest House of the Dragon episode. Viewers were left struggling to make out the events of episode seven, taking to social media to complain about how visually dark the show was — very much like a notorious episode of the show’s predecessor, Game of Thrones.
Hours before the episode aired, writer Joanna Robinson advised fans on Twitter: “I liked this week’s episode of #HouseOfTheDragon but sure yeah watch it with all the drapes closed and maybe, yeah, consider The Neil Settings.” Robinson linked to a video instructing viewers on how to adjust their television sets for shows with dark lighting but noted it isn’t “optimal for EVERY set.”
I liked this week’s episode of #HouseOfTheDragon but sure yeah watch it with all the drapes closed and maybe, yeah, consider The Neil Settings. Though I hear they aren’t optimal for EVERY set? https://t.co/rtu4y1HwOc
— Joanna Robinson (@jowrotethis) October 2, 2022
“My notes are filled with ‘WHAT IS HAPPENING AND WHY CANT I SEE IT?’” Rolling Stone’s chief TV critic Alan Sepinwall replied.
My notes are filled with “WHAT IS HAPPENING AND WHY CANT I SEE IT?”
— Alan Sepinwall (@sepinwall) October 2, 2022
Sepinwall shared a tweet that showed viewers of the episode reaching out to @HBOMaxHelp on how to fix the dark episode, to which they replied the dimmed lighting was “an intentional creative decision.”
Glorious https://t.co/pMy25OdtRM
— Alan Sepinwall (@sepinwall) October 3, 2022
Meanwhile, others compared the episode to Game of Thrones’ famously dark battle sequence in “The Long Night” (season eight, episode three). “I see HBO learned absolutely nothing after complaints of ‘The Long Night’ being too dark,” one person wrote. “If I were watching #HouseOfTheDragon on a crappier TV I’d be pissed.”
I see HBO learned absolutely nothing after complaints of The Long Night being too dark. If I were watching #HouseOfTheDragon on a crappier TV I'd be pissed. The dialogue is also muffled despite 7.1 Surround. pic.twitter.com/RsryJrjMi1
— FilmGamer.com (@FilmGamerOne) October 3, 2022
Meanwhile, the episode as a whole was an improvement from last week’s when we were introduced to the new actors in the ten-year time jump. The children have taken a more substantial presence in episode 7, with drama unfolding as the late Lady Laena’s dragon was taken by one of Alicent’s sons. A fight ensues when Laena’s children find out who it was that stole their mothers dragon and one of the children loses their eye in the process as a knife is brought out. Another tragic death took place later in “Driftmark” — though it is of someone who we did not expect.
See what fans thought of the latest episode below: