Game of Thrones Defends ‘Dark’ Episodes

Game of Thrones

Firstly, I should note that if you haven’t seen any of Game of Thrones season 8 yet, or specifically the most recent episode, I’m going to try and keep spoilers to a minimum.

For those of you, however, who are watching every episode as they are released, then the last one generally left most of us walking away with two key thoughts. Firstly, just how bloody great an episode it was and secondly, just how bloody dark it was!

By dark, I’m not referring to the plot either. Numerous people have gone online to complain about how it was literally difficult to see exactly what was happening at points in the episode.

In a report via the Verge, however, the series cinematographer has stepped into the argument saying it’s not them, it’s you! Well, more specifically, your television!

You Dont Know How To Use Your TV

The final season of Game of Thrones is looking to take a far more cinematic approach with its episodes. This is, however, coming at something of a cost to those who have their TVs configured for a more ‘viewing friendly’ experience.

Fabian Wagner, the series cinematographer has said:

A lot of the problem is that a lot of people don’t know how to tune their TVs properly. A lot of people also unfortunately watch it on small iPads, which in no way can do justice to a show like that anyway.”

What Do We Think?

Blaming streaming or compression is one thing, but even I’ll admit I had to fiddle around with my TV before I got what could be called a ‘decent’ viewing experience and I’ve literally just forked out a small fortune on a brand new TV. This episode was the first (and incidentally only) time I’ve ever felt compelled to do this.

We have heard other excuses from the shows producers, such as them wishing to replicate the ‘feel of lighting’ in a time period contextual manner. On the whole, however, as great an episode as it was, I think they could’ve afforded to just crank up the brightness a little.

What do you think? Did you enjoy the episode? – Let us know in the comments!

What Peter Thinks

“Hey folks, eTeknix – Peter here. I’d just like to add my thoughts on this. I’ll admit the episode was very dark. However, I have calibrated my TV extensively and it looked fantastic. Similar reports from people I know who have either calibrated or have had theirs calibrated. Be sure you’re using the optimal settings for your TV. A quick google can often return some ball-park settings for you to try.”