Many House of the Dragon viewers were left squinting at their screens on Sunday night as they struggled to make out the events of episode seven.
Fans on social media protested that the lighting on the show was too dark – a complaint often levied at the show’s predecessor, Game of Thrones.
The Independent has contacted HBO for comment.
Hours before the episode aired, writer and podcaster Joanna Robinson advised fans on Twitter: “I liked this week’s episode of #HouseOfTheDragon but sure yeah watch it with all the drapes closed and maybe, yeah, consider The Neil Settings.”
Robinson linked to a video instructing viewers on how to adjust their television sets for shows with dark lighting like HotD.
“My notes are filled with ‘WHAT IS HAPPENING AND WHY CANT I SEE IT?’” Rolling Stone’s chief TV critic Alan Sepinwall replied.
“Can someone please turn the brightness up on this episode I can’t see s***,” one fan tweeted alongside a viral meme of a woman squinting.
“My GOD I can't see s*** during the beach scene between daemon and rhaenyra... can't even see their damn faces,” another fan tweeted.
Meanwhile, others compared the episode to Game of Thrones’ famously dark battle sequence in “The Long Night” (season eight, episode three).
“Damn why the f*** is it so dark this episode it’s worse than ‘The Long Night’ I can’t see s***,” a viewer tweeted.
“I see HBO learned absolutely nothing after complaints of ‘The Long Night’ being too dark,” another wrote. “If I were watching #HouseOfTheDragon on a crappier TV I'd be pissed.”
House of the Dragon continues every Sunday in the US on HBO at 9pm. The episode is simulcast on Monday mornings in the UK on NOW, and is shown again at 9pm on Sky Atlantic.
Find the biggest talking points from episode seven here.
