House of the Dragon episode 7: a story of fire and blood

House of the Dragon episode 7

Our review of House of the Dragon aims to highlight the strengths and possible weaknesses of this highly anticipated HBO series which consists of a single season consisting of a total of 10 episodes ranging in length from 54 to 68 minutes each.

House of the Dragon is based on George R. R. Martin's 2018 novel Fire and Blood, which you can purchase here on Amazon. The title of the work is none other than the Targaryen House motto. It is a story that predates Game of Thrones by at least 170 years, the chronology of which is based on Aegon I Targaryen's conquest of Westeros, which is then referred to as Year 0, so the events take place before the conquest of Aegon (PC) or after it (CA). The story of Game of Thrones begins in 298 AC and ends in 305 AC. The Dance of the Dragons on which House of the Dragon is based, however, lasted from 129 to 131 AC.

Great protagonist of these events is House Targaryen which, in this particular period of time, experienced a terrible war fratricide linked to the succession of the kingdom.

House of the Dragon episode 7 commits the cardinal Game of Thrones sin

House of the Dragon episode 7 spoilers follow.

Things have got pretty dark pretty quickly in HBO’s House of the Dragon, and no, we don’t just mean because of charred Velaryons and horrifying caesarean births.

So far, House of the Dragon has done its best to tie in with Game of Thrones while avoiding the mistakes of David Benioff and DB Weiss’ fantasy epic. Sadly, 'Driftmark' just committed the ultimate Game of Thrones sin. And no, you don’t need to adjust your TV set.

Even though House of the Dragon’s latest episode rewrote the history of George RR Martin’s Fire & Blood with its shock finale, it could have been missed by some. While Laenor escaped his literary fate, we could barely tell it was him sailing off to a happy ending.

Despite House of the Dragon charting new waters, though, it’s still plagued by the ghosts of Thrones. Namely, 'Driftmark' compares awkwardly with season eight’s 'The Long Night', aka the one no one could see.

'The Long Night' goes down in history as arguably the biggest Game of Thrones episode. As well as seeing major deaths like Jorah Mormont, Theon Greyjoy and Lady Melisandre, it also concluded the eight-season arc of the Night King and White Walkers.

It should have been one for the history books, but instead, it was caught in its own scandal of low lighting with viewers having to dial the brightness up to 100. Despite fan complaints, it was a decision that was backed by episode cinematographer Fabian Wagner, who told Wired that 'people don’t know how to tune their TVs properly.'

Returning to House of the Dragon, most of episode seven's scenes were swathed in shadow too. When Daemon (Matt Smith) and Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) finally got down to it on the beaches of Driftmark, it was hard to tell whose hand was touching what due to the lighting.

More than being a possible way to get around those censors, it’s a far cry from seeing the raunchy (and well-lit) sex scenes of Game of Thrones. Emilia Clarke spoke out about the pressure of filming nude scenes, but we doubt the 'Driftmark' lighting choices were there to protect Matt Smith and Emma D’Arcy’s modesty.

Elsewhere, the key moment where Aemond Targaryen claimed Vhagar and took flight above Driftmark had us squinting into the darkness. If not for the moment where Vhagar threatened to torch the young Targaryen and lit up the screen, you’d struggle to see anything. Given that there’s a presumably monstrous budget for the CGI of the dragons, it seems ludicrous to waste it on a scene we can’t see.

It wasn’t all doom and gloom, though. The tense confrontation between the Greens and the Blacks actually worked well in the darkness, especially with the one-eyed Aemond and shifty Daemon lurking in the shadows while Rhaenyra and Alicent Hightower had a war of words.

Across the board, there’s a cultural discussion on whether shows and movies are getting 'too dark.' You only have to look at Matt Reeves' The Batman to see this in action. Then again, at least this dark and rainy aesthetic was a consistent part of Gotham City.

Back in 2016, Vulture posted an op-ed about shows that are too dark — comparing Mr Robot’s dim lighting to the jolly Jane the Virgin. The argument reared its head again in 2018, when TVLine wrote an article about how the key moment Daryl Dixon reclaimed his vest in The Walking Dead’s season eight midseason finale was lost due to poor lighting.

Fellow HBO show Euphoria has made a big deal out of its lighting — even forcing Kodak to convert part of its factory to produce the discontinued 35mm Kodak Ektachrome. As this gives Euphoria its unique look, at least it felt like a purposeful decision where you could still see what’s going on.

With House of the Dragon, journalists warned viewers to adjust their brightness and draw the curtains. Digital imaging technician Nicholas Kay told Variety that the biggest culprit is your viewing setup and went on to say that a lot of directors will purposefully shoot scenes darker as a way to make them feel 'truthful' to the backdrop.

Despite the complaints about House of the Dragon, HBO is once again back to defend the dimly-lit 'Driftmark', with the HBO Max Help Twitter account replying to critics saying: 'The dimmed lighting of this scene was an intentional creative decision.'

Still, after the whole Thrones debacle, you might think the network would have dialled up the brightness a little. Is it any coincidence that both 'The Long Night' and 'Driftmark' were directed by the Emmy-winning Miguel Sapochnik?

With him departing as co-showrunner in season two, things might lighten up a bit, but still, there’s a sense of irony in Lord Corlys Velaryon (Steve Touissant) talking about casting an even darker shadow over his family name.

Prestige shows have become known for their unique way of shooting, and whether it's Succession being shot like the camera is one of the Roy brood or The White Lotus having a yellow glow of Hawaii, HBO shows have become synonymous with their cinematographic styles.

It’s just a shame both Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon have had to defend themselves over these apparently deliberate choices. Dark lighting for aesthetic is all well and good, but that was no help when trying to tell the difference between Aegon and Aemond Targaryen in the latest episode.

With things sure to get fiery before the season’s out, here’s hoping the lighting will be a little brighter next week.

House of the Dragon season one airs weekly the US on Sundays on HBO, and on Mondays in the UK on Sky Atlantic and NOW. Season 2 has been announced. Game of Thrones seasons 1-8 are available on DVD and Blu-ray.