People HATED That "House Of The Dragon" Episode 7 Was Super Dark, And They Made A Lot Of Jokes About It

BuzzFeed
·4 min read
70
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

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.

Rhaenyra looking upset
HBO

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!

Rhaenyra undressing Daemon

(Note: I literally had to brighten this image to show what was going on.)

HBO

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.

Rhaenyra and Daemon kissing, but its really dark and you can barely see them
HBO / Getty Images

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.

Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen standing on a hill at night

(Note: Once again, I literally had to brighten this image.)

HBO

And fans had plenty to say about that back then:

BTW, "The Long Night" was directed by Miguel Sapochnik, who also directed "Driftmark" this week... 👀.

Screen credit saying directed by Miguel Sapochnik
HBO

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:

@marinachiling

Truly thought my TV screen was broken for a hot second 🥹 #houseofthedragon #episode7 #dimlighting #gameofthrones #daemonandrhaenyra

♬ original sound - Marina

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?!):

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:

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

What did you think of the episode? Was it TOO DARK for you? Sound off in the comments below!

HBO