Game of Thrones Cinematographer Says Your TV Is to Blame for All the Darkness

Game of Thrones fans have some very differing opinions about "The Long Night." Some of us were completely riveted by the all that went down throughout the series' longest episode and felt crushed (pardon the pun) by the major deaths that happened. Others thought there were a few too many heroes that survived the slaughter and/or were disappointed that some of their favorite theories didn't pan out. One thing everyone seems to agree upon, however, is the fact that much of the episode was a bit difficult to see due to the darkness of many battle scenes.

According to the episode's cinematographer, Fabian Wagner, though, fans might just have themselves to blame for some of those visibility issues.

Speaking to TMZ, Wagner explained that part of the darkness on-screen stemmed from HBO's compression of the episode, which could be worsened by using the streaming service or mobile devices. According to him, the series should ideally be viewed in a dark room with settings adjusted to get the clearest viewing.

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"We tried to give the viewers and fans a cool episode to watch," he said. "I know it wasn't too dark because I shot it."

Of course, Wagner also admitted to the site that Game of Thrones "has always been very dark and a very cinematic show" and that some of the episode's darker moments were meant to create the desired atmosphere for audiences.

That was certainly effective when the Dothraki army charged into the darkness beyond and had their witch flames extinguished all too quickly because it provided some early panic and dismay about what just happened to that faithful khalasar who'd crossed the salt sea on those wooden horses for their Khaleesi. Meanwhile, when Arya Stark (Maisie Williams) was slinking through the library in the segment that bested almost every zombie scene ever on The Walking Dead, the dimness of the moment ramped up the eerieness.

However, the struggle to see was still far too real for most fans, and it's probably the only thing the entire Game of Thrones fan community agrees upon about the Battle of Winterfell right now.

Game of Thrones airs on Sundays at 9/8c on HBO.

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