HBO Responds As House Of The Dragon Viewers Brand Show 'Unwatchable' Due To Dark Setting
Matt Smith and Emma D'Arcy in House Of The Dragon (Photo: HBO)
US broadcaster HBO has spoken out in defence of House Of The Dragon, after many viewers voiced their upset about the lighting in the latest episode.
As with its predecessor Game Of Thrones, House Of The Dragon has come under fire from some fans who’ve claimed that certain night-time scenes are too dark to actually follow what’s going on.
HOUSE OF THE DRAGON continuing the classic Thrones tradition of making an episode so dark it's almost unwatchable pic.twitter.com/g1IXPlG6Nl
— Brendan Hodges (@metaplexmovies) October 3, 2022
This episode of House of the Dragon is so dark it’s unwatchable. Might as well just turn off my screen and listen to it at this point.
— cabral (@comradeaux) October 3, 2022
i love tv! i love to look at it and see it and just look at that screen and see all the things on that screen hoo boy it's so fun pic.twitter.com/OxelT3KLie
— Kathryn VanArendonk (@kvanaren) October 3, 2022
The dark scenes in the seventh instalment of the prequel series seem to have particularly irked viewers, with many complaining to HBO, who air House Of The Dragon in the States.
In recent days, the official Twitter account for HBO Max Help responded to a string of complaints from fans who took issue with the darkness in the episode, insisting it was an “intentional creative decision”.
Begging HBO and HOTD directors or whoever is in charge to brighten the fucking show how does not being able to see shit help get the point across
— em 🐉 (@emilyaluce) October 3, 2022
Hi there! 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! ^CM
— HBOMaxHelp (@HBOMaxHelp) October 3, 2022
Looks like it’s an HBO problem and I’m not the only one who thinks it’s super dark. iPad is at max brightness with lights off and I can’t see a thing in dark scenes.
— Antonio Villas-Boas (@tonyvstech) October 4, 2022
Thanks for getting back to us Antonio! 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! ^AH
— HBOMaxHelp (@HBOMaxHelp) October 4, 2022
@hbomax please help. This really sucks. https://t.co/GXXwoVfS2y
— Sunshine 'Roevember', MPH 🎃👻 🏳️🌈🌊🔭🔬☣ (@CallSignWhisker) October 3, 2022
Hi there, we appreciate you reaching out about a night scene in #HouseoftheDragon: Episode 7 appearing dark on your screen. The dimmed lighting of this scene was an intentional creative decision. If you have any other questions, please feel free to shoot us a DM. ^SK
— HBOMaxHelp (@HBOMaxHelp) October 3, 2022
Nothing like enjoying house of the dragon on your top of the line OLED for HBO Max to not correctly tune the dark scenes despite using Dolby vision and filmmaker mode. Get your shit together!
— Millennial Falcon (@MillennialF4lco) October 3, 2022
Hi there! 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! ^CM
— HBOMaxHelp (@HBOMaxHelp) October 3, 2022
Can I get a little light in this episode ? #HouseOfTheDragonpic.twitter.com/wM9wqy9vOT
— Nellie (@NellieWatches) October 3, 2022
@HBOMaxHelp you make us wait until so late in the day to even be able to stream the next episode only to put us through a fresh new blue hell trying to actually SEE it 🤦🏼♀️
— 🗽🧷⚖️BLM Ally (@CVIKIS) October 3, 2022
Hey there! 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! ^LL
— HBOMaxHelp (@HBOMaxHelp) October 3, 2022
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! ^LL
— HBOMaxHelp (@HBOMaxHelp) October 3, 2022
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! ^LL
— HBOMaxHelp (@HBOMaxHelp) October 3, 2022
House Of The Dragon co-creator Miguel Sapochnik previously worked on Game Of Thrones, and defended the show’s dark setting during its divisive final season in an interview with IndieWire.
“It made sense that this was the last hope humanity has, the last beacon of light, and from the perspective of where we needed the story to go — which was to reach a surreal, chaotic climax — we needed an environment that was friendly to that,” he said at the time.
“So all the reasons for doing it were there, and nobody sat there and wondered if it was gonna be too dark.”
The first seven episodes of House Of The Dragon are available to watch in the UK on the streaming service Now, with new episodes every Monday on Now and Sky Atlantic.
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This article originally appeared on HuffPost UK and has been updated.