Game of Thrones fans fume over 'too dark' episode

WARNING: Spoilers for episode three of Game of Thrones.

It's the moment fans have been waiting years to see — the Battle of Winterfell.

In this week's episode of Game of Thrones the army of the dead marched on the north, facing off against Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen's forces in the dead of winter.

But there was just one problem with today's episode — it was dark.

Just to clarify we're not talking Red Wedding dark, but it was impossible to see what was happening on screen.

Here's an actual screenshot from the episode:

You can just make out Brienne in this shot. Photo / HBO

Thinking it might be a one-off? Here's another:

Hello? Is someone there? Photo / HBO

Game of Thrones fans weren't too happy about the lack of lighting during the episode and took their frustration to Twitter.

Let’s play a game called ‘Am I sitting in the dark or watching The Battle of Winterfell’ #gameofthrones #got pic.twitter.com/Ms8H1rQ0gL

— its me! (@icanbepunny) April 29, 2019

I’m still annoyed by the dark lighting on GOT felt like I was watching a bootleg ripped version the whole episode #gameofthrones

— Lolo Jones (@lolojones) April 29, 2019

The good thing about the inevitable bloodbath is that it's so dark we won't even know who dies. #BattleOfWinterfell #GoTS8 #got

— Courtney Theriault (@cspotweet) April 29, 2019

Worst part of tonight’s episode for me was how damn dark the first 45 minutes were.

I get it. They battled at night...but y’all couldn’t have upped the brightness a little bit? #GameofThrones

— Jack “CouRage” Dunlop (@CouRageJD) April 29, 2019

(I keep hitting pause and rewinding. It’s so dark and so much is happening so quickly. LOL.) #GoT

— Saeed Jones (@theferocity) April 29, 2019

It's not the first time Game of Thrones has come under fire for its shots being too dark, however. According to one of the show's cinematographers, it's a very deliberate choice.

"If you watch season one again, there's a lot of unmotivated backlight," Robert McLachlan told Insider.com in 2017. "Even day exteriors, you can tell that they've been lit. The cinematographers who've been doing it since then, I think we're all very much on the same page where we're trying to be as naturalistic as possible."

He explained each Game of Thrones series had used less lighting in line with winter (which can last for years, not months in Westeros) setting in.

The show's cinematographers then relied on using what sources of lights would be available during medieval times — even though Game of Thrones isn't exactly historically accurate with its dragons and zombies.

"In season seven, of course, winter is here," Mr McLachlan said.

"In the past, we had the shutters open out of necessity for the day interior (scenes) in Winterfell or Castle Black or Eastwatch so that some daylight could make its way in. That was your primary lighting source. There was this rule there that nobody in this world would burn candles in the daytime because they're a luxury item, they're far too expensive."