Light spoilers for Episode 7 of House of the Dragon ahead!
There have been lots of similarities between the 2022 TV schedule staple House of the Dragon and Game of Thrones, it’s watched by millions, it’s full of epic action and intense story, there are various members of the Targaryen family tree to keep track of, and it has some very dark episodes, literally. Also, much like when GOT was on, fans are loud online whenever they have a complaint, and when those complaints get loud enough the discussion makes it on late-night TV shows. This time, it has to do with the lighting in the latest episode, and both fans of HOTD and The Daily Show’s Trevor Noah have some thoughts about the decision to dim the lights on the episode.
For a bit of background, last week’s episode took place during the night. While lots of shows and movies have stories take place at night, the spinoff had some particular problems and they've been commented on widely across the Internet. Much like the cinematographer on The Long Night episode of GOT, HBO has defended the creative decision to make the episode dark.
With all this said, here is what Trevor Noah and the fans have to say about it all.
Trevor Noah Responds To The Dark House Of The Dragon Episode
Over at The Daily Show, Trevor Noah addressed the darkness during his headline section of the show. He started his bit by saying:
A lot of people were so disappointed by the Game of Thrones finale that they said they weren’t ever going to watch House of the Dragon. But now, even the people watching House of the Dragon, are complaining that they cannot watch House of the Dragon.
During the bit, Noah made jokes about the darkness and referenced the dark episodes of GOT. He also did a little skit reenacting the scene as if it was so dark the actors couldn’t tell who they were acting with. Noah also explained:
This was an ‘intentional creative [decision].’ Look, look I’m not Steven Spielberg or Barry Jenkins alright, I haven’t directed anything. But, in my opinion, if your intentional creative decision is that people can’t see the TV show that you're making, then you’re making a podcast, alright. That’s not TV I can’t see it, that’s not TV.
He’s right it was a super dark episode of HOTD, I’m happy I watched it late at night so I could see most of it, but I had to squint a little. Much like me, other fans had to squint too, and they made sure to let HBO about their struggles on Twitter.
Fans Are Not Thrilled About House Of The Dragon’s Choice To Make The Lighting So Dark
The fans of HOTD are loud. Every week the discourse surrounding the show is dense and usually hilarious. Over the show’s Season 1 run we’ve seen fans roast Ser Criston Cole, and last week they had some thoughts about a major change from the books. Every so often, fans have a technical gripe though, like this week.
For example, this viewer tweeted their complaint at HBO, who responded to them, check it out:
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! ^LLOctober 3, 2022
Another viewer decided to take screenshots to show just how many times the show was too dark to see what was going on.
HOUSE OF THE DRAGON continuing the classic Thrones tradition of making an episode so dark it's almost unwatchable pic.twitter.com/g1IXPlG6NlOctober 3, 2022
Other viewers quickly pointed out the difference between a shot of Rhaenyra and Daemon that was light in the press photos when the show first started, and the same shot in the most recent episode that was dark.
What they filmed versus what we saw on #HouseOfTheDragon. Their day for night editing was abysmal and director Miguel Sapochnik had been criticized for overly dark episodes during his time on Game of Thrones too. pic.twitter.com/RVpo7PJZ3BOctober 3, 2022
Then there are the fans who were having fun with the situation. For example, this viewer explained their viewing experience by way of a Zendaya photo.
Me trying to see what tf is happening in this dark episode of #HouseOfTheDragon #hotd pic.twitter.com/y7L8eu0gfEOctober 3, 2022
Another viewer pulled a hilarious meme from Community, and posted this gem:
can #HouseOfTheDragon get over their dark aesthetic and let me actually see what’s on my screen #HOTD pic.twitter.com/wSH8TeizR2October 3, 2022
Whether viewers were actually mad or just wanted to post a meme, this lighting debacle has been a big point of discussion this week. I’m curious to see if Episode 8 will be a bit lighter, literally, I doubt it will be figuratively. If you want to check out House of the Dragon and join the discourse, you can watch new episodes every Sunday at 9 p.m. ET on HBO or with an HBO Max subscription.
