HBO defends 'dimly lit' House of the Dragon episode as fans complain it's too dark

Fans of the popular House of the Dragon series complained scenes in the latest episode were too dark - but its creators say the poor lighting was a "creative decision."

The latest installment of the Game of Thrones prequel is set in the island seat of High Tide, where the nation's most powerful people are gathered for a funeral.

Despite scenes in daylight and lit up by dragon fire, viewers appeared to make the same observations - it's too dark to see.

One fan took to Twitter describing it as a "whole episode of black screen", adding "this is ridiculous."

A Twitter account for HBO, the channel that hosts the show, replied in a bid to explain the show's dim setting.

"We appreciate you reaching out about a night scene in House of the Dragon: Episode 7 appearing dark on your screen," they said.

"The dimmed lighting of this scene was an intentional creative decision."

When one user replied to point out it appeared dark even during scenes in the day, the HBO account asked for more information on the viewer's streaming device, so they could "dig further into this."

It drew comparisons with one of the most famous Game of Thrones episodes, The Longest Night, which is almost entirely set at night and was also intentionally dimmed.

That episode's director, Miguel Sapochnik, reportedly said it had been dimmed to reflect humanity's last hope, according to the IndieWire podcast.

listen to our entertainment podcast, Unscripted: