Like many fans, Trevor Noah was rather befuddled by the lighting for HBO’s “Game of Thrones” prequel “House of the Dragon.” The series raised eyebrows after a scene in the latest episode was so dark that it was hard for some viewers to distinguish what, exactly, was going on.
During Wednesday’s episode of “The Daily Show,” Noah had a few guesses as to why the scene was lit that way, pointing out that it isn’t just “House of the Dragon” that has suffered from this phenomenon.
“For real, you guys. Have you guys noticed how this is happening on every single show these days? Everything on TV is so dark. You can’t see anything. I don’t know why,” he said. “Are they trying to make it grittier? Are they trying to make it feel like a movie? Maybe they figure if they make it dark enough then we can’t complain about the cast not being diverse. You’re like, ‘I think that’s another white person. I guess I’m going to let it slide.’”
Following some outcry on Twitter, HBO Max responded by letting fans know that the darkness in the scene was an “intentional creative decision.” Noah took issue with that, questioning why such a decision might be made in the first place.
“What? This was an intentional creative decision? Look, I am not Steven Spielberg or Barry Jenkins. I haven’t directed anything,” he said. “But in my opinion, if your intentional creative decision is that people can’t see the TV show you’re making, then you’re making a podcast, all right?”
However, Noah did have a suggestion for how the streamer could use this controversy to its advantage by turning it into a marketing tactic.
“Right now, HBO is facing a lot of backlash. But I think, if they’re smart about this, this could be a good business opportunity for them. They should just add a higher price tier,” he said, rather convincingly. “Think about it. They should say HBO Max is $9.99 a month, or $14.99 a month if you want to be able to see what the f— is happening.”
