HBO Responds to ‘Game of Thrones’ Coffee Cup Blunder

By Jordan Moreau

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – HBO made fun of itself after eagle-eyed “Game of Thrones” viewers spotted a modern-day coffee cup in last night’s episode.

“The latte that appeared in the episode was a mistake. Daenerys had ordered an herbal tea,” the company stated in a press release on Monday.

For about two seconds in Sunday’s “The Last of the Starks,” a takeout coffee cup appeared on a table in front of Daenerys Targaryen around the 17:40 minute mark. Based on the size and shape, many fans assumed it was a cup, and the hashtag #Starkbucks trended on Twitter after the episode.

In an email to Variety, “” art director Hauke Richter said it’s not uncommon for items to end up misplaced on set, go unnoticed and appear in the final cuts of movies and TV shows.

“Things can get forgotten on set,” he wrote. “[The coffee cup error has been] so blown out of proportion [because] it has not happened with ‘Thrones’ so far.”

After the tragic ending to the episode, Daenerys might need some more coffee to keep her wired for the upcoming battle between her forces and Queen Cersei’s at King’s Landing. The penultimate episode of the series airs this Sunday.