How Did 'House of the Dragon' Change its Cinematography for Season Two?

Sunday night's debut of season two of House of the Dragon contained one of the tensest scenes, as two rat catchers skulk through the dark castle, on a mission to kill. It's a dark and stormy night, but unlike last season, the darkness is not impenetrable.

During season one, many viewers thought that the darkness on the show was distracting, and hard to see details through.

Showrunner Ryan Condal addressed these complaints. He told The Hollywood Reporter, “Season two is much more in line with my particular aesthetic and what I think the show should look like. It’s not a massive difference, but I don’t anticipate getting the ‘it’s too dark’ note again.”

Let's unpack that quote for a second.

In the original run of Game of Thrones, we saw technology, particularly CGI, get better and better with each season. by the end of the show's run, they were pushing the boundaries of what we had seen on television, and they had the budget to do so.

One of the more controversial episodes came in the final season, when an entire battle took place at night. That kind of stuff happens when you're editing a show on expensive monitors that are calibrated a certain way and used in a room without a window. You sort of are watching in a vacuum, without understanding most people watch the show off a TV they bought on Amazon with their windows open.

Condal's willingness to listen to these complaints but also not compromise too much on the show's established look is admirable. And in watching season two's debut, it was easy to see (pun intended) how the show can use darkness to its advantage, but not make it so you need to squint to see what happens on screen.

Still, I'd personally recommend drawing the blinds and setting the ambiance.

But we'll keep you updated as new episodes release.