That was one intense hour and a half of television. I was glued to my spot and never paused it for any reason. I loved the visuals and didn't mind the darkness. If the scenes had been well lit, it would've looked fake, IMO.
I was not a fan of the writing. The Dothraki charge was strategically dumb. Edd dying because he was distracted by helping a needy Sam was way too familiar from so many other shows and movies. Dragons are never used to incinerate the enemy until the battle has already started and the good guys are in a pickle. The Hound losing hope and needing to see a little girl fighting was a bit eye rolling. Some of the characters (especially Jaime, Brienne and Tormund) just fought all episode and were given hardly any moments for characterization. Theon's death would've had more purpose if he'd died at Bran's side, protecting him. Arya killing the Night King out of nowhere was silly and anticlimactic. In fact, the "plan" to make Bran bait to lure the Night King wasn't actually for the main characters, who all seemed to forget about it once the battle started, but simply for the writers to justify Arya knowing where to find him.
Basically, it was an expertly staged and directed piece of questionable writing, IMO. It was very satisfying on one level and a little disappointing on another. That said, though it was anticlimactic how the whole NK/WW saga ended, I'm relieved that it is over, since it was never a strength of the show, anyways. I'm glad that it's done, we've gotten a major battle out of the way and the show can get back to what it's always been best at, which is the politics and scheming.