Why does everything look like the last season of GoT?

I just started season 2 and had to stop, because it's a sunny afternoon and I just stared at my reflection in the TV for half of E01. From the dialogue, it seems that the season begins with a little orc revolution against Sauron - couldn't say for sure, since most of that scene was a black screen and disquieting squish noises. Guess I'll try again after sunset in the hopes of seeing anything at all. I was a theater kid, and learned the hard way that even heavily colored 'mood' lighting needs a significant percentage of white/amber to ensure the actors are visible. Why is a major production making the same mistakes I did when I was fifteen years old? Professional crews need to stop letting directors make lighting decisions. It's kind of ruining all my favorite IPs.

Edit: this post was discovered by OLED manufacturers, or possibly members of the show's VFX team. Please stop downvoting people who understand the nuances of production costs and/or television hardware.