The night is dark and full of… well, you know the rest. The most recent Game of Thrones season 8 episode was infamously plagued by a complete lack of light in some places, with viewers complaining about the blurry and hard-to-see fight scenes. The cinematographer for the Game of Thrones episode Battle of Winterfell, however, has come out swinging and laid the blame firmly at how you choose to watch TV. Yes, you. You monster.
Speaking to Wired UK, Fabien Wagner has, rightly or wrongly, chosen to brush off complaints, instead focusing on how we consume Game of Thrones season 8 episodes. For the cinematographer, it wasn’t a case of how it was shot but more to do with the fact that, in his words “A lot of people don’t know how to tune their TVs properly.” Welp.
But it isn’t just you not fiddling with your brightness (among other things) that Wagner has in his crosshairs. If you watch on anything other than a proper telly set-up, you might have had problems. As Wagner explains, “A lot of people also unfortunately watch it on small iPads, which in no way can do justice to a show like that anyway.”
For the show’s part, Wagner reveals it was always meant to be a “dark episode” to help find “a unique way of portraying the story.”
In any case, the episode did seem a little too blurry and muddy on all but the most finely-tuned of TV sets. As luck would have it, though, we have a guide on optimising your TV for Game of Thrones season 8, episode 3, so you’ll be able to relive it as intended.
Wagner, meanwhile, sums his line of argument pretty succinctly: “I don’t have to always see what’s going on because it’s more about the emotional impact.”
I’m sure those adjusting their television sets for half an hour on Sunday night might disagree with you there, Fab.
You don't need a flashlight to take a peek at some of the new TV shows coming your way in 2019.
