Hey HBO, ‘Home of the Dragon’ Is Too Darkish to See (Particularly Episode 7)

Having fun with HBO Max’s Home of the Dragon? Me too. A minimum of, what I can see of the Recreation of Thrones prequel. Seven episodes in, it is truthful to say the present is abnormally darkish, and I do not imply gloomy and pessimistic. I imply bodily darkish. As in, I cranked up the brightness on my laptop computer all the way in which and I nonetheless want the captions on to determine who’s zooming who. And attempting to observe it on an everyday tv set is even harder.

Episode 7, which aired Sunday night time, was particularly darkish. Spoilers forward. 

Laena Verlaryon’s funeral scene was outdoors and largely OK. However something going down contained in the fort, or after dusk? It was like I used to be attempting to see my hand by way of a bit of black development paper. There have been shapes? And generally the Targaryen blond hair was seen? However when Otto cuffed a drunk Aegon, and when Daemon and Rhaenyra have been strolling on the seashore, and particularly when Aemond was attempting to coax Vhagar the dragon to let him trip it? Yeah, it was like staring right into a cup of black espresso squinting to see outlines.

This can be a complicated present. I’ve learn Fireplace & Blood, the 736-page guide it is based mostly on, so I just about know what is going on on. However for a extra informal viewer, it is received to really feel such as you want a flowchart to maintain up. Each different character’s title is AE-something, or RH-something, they’re all associated and/or married to one another, and everybody’s received some type of declare to the Iron Throne. I like the present, however that is why I simply need to have the ability to see it.

 I am not alone. One Twitter person implored HBO to lighten issues up on Sunday, tweeting, “Can I get slightly gentle on this episode?”

Different individuals complained on to the HBO Max Assist Twitter account, however the official responses might not have been very satisfying.

“We recognize you reaching out a couple of night time scene in Home of the Dragon: Episode 7 showing darkish in your display screen,” the response learn. “The dimmed lighting of this scene was an intentional artistic determination.” (THIS scene? There wasn’t only one, HBO!)

So, OK, don’t try to regulate your set — the filmmakers need it this darkish. However there is a rising tide on social media protesting the “artistic determination.”

One viewer wrote, “I get that the showrunners need to convey, ‘sneaky shit occurs at night time’ However ppllleeeeeaaaaasssseeeeee add slightly extra coloration, cuz that is me,” including the meme photograph from the present Group exhibiting actor Ken Jeong squinting at a tiny piece of paper.

Joked one other, “The lighting price range for this episode: $12.”

And one other Twitter person is attempting to get the hashtags #HBOFixTheLighting and #HBOWeWantLight trending.

One person shared two photographs of Daemon and Rhaenyra strolling on the seashore — one through which they’re clearly seen and straightforward to see, and one other which may have been filmed by way of chocolate pudding.

A cinematographer weighed in to say we should not be blaming the lighting.

“This is not a lighting situation; it is a coloration grading situation,” Oren Soffer wrote. “The second nonetheless was shot in broad daylight — loads of gentle. It was graded to look this darkish, although, which is the issue. Begging individuals to not less than attempt to perceive the issues they’re (rightfully) complaining about.”

Lighting or coloration grading, it looks like showrunners would need their costly, rigorously filmed scenes to be seen. 

Home of the Dragon has a darkish plot — with homicide, torture and every kind of bloody vengeance. Does it additionally must be visually darkish?