House of the Dragon premiered to rave reviews for its story and character depiction. However, the most recent episode, “Driftmark,” was a major step down in quality when it came to visibility. People who were trying to figure out what was going on were concerned that something was wrong with the televisions we were watching the show on.
Watch your favorite anime for free with Funimation's 14-day free trial
However, it quickly became clear that something was seriously wrong with the way everything was put together. Similar lighting concerns were raised about the original Game of Thrones series many years ago. Meanwhile, this proved to be a rather unfortunate low point not seen before.
Fans roast House of the Dragon over poor lighting
Now, House of the Dragon fans have taken to Twitter to mock the show’s poor lighting. Fans started mocking the show which made it difficult for many viewers to see what is going on. The show has been roasted in social media meme threads, with viewers making jokes about the lighting budget and lighting designer. Checkout some of the funny threads below:
What does HBO Max have to say about this?
In response to the trolls, HBO took to Twitter to explain the episode’s relatively poor lighting. According to the tweet from HBO, the look of the scenes was intentional as it was a “creative decision” by the filmmakers.
HBO’s justification for the House of the Dragon episode 7 recalls the criticism of Game of Thrones season 8 episode 3, in which a combined army defeated the Night King and his legion of the undead. Game of Thrones’ battle was shrouded in darkness for cinematic effect. Meanwhile, the House of the Dragon episode makes use of it to emphasize the importance of the dark moment between the Hightowers and the Targaryens.
The conflict between the royal families will be at an all-time high. And as the House of the Dragon episode 8 trailer teases another time-jump and suggests King Viserys’ impending death. Rhaenyra and Daemon rush back to King’s Landing to stake their claim as Alicent and her father, Otto Hightower, attempt to seize the Iron Throne.
The series may no longer require extremely dimly lit episodes. The impending war is all but certain at this point. And the remaining House of the Dragon season 1 episodes will likely show the two families at each other’s throats in adequate lighting for everyone to see.
