Spoilers ahead for the fourth episode of Game of Thrones Season 8, "The Last of the Starks."
Game of Thrones is undoubtedly one of the biggest shows in television history, and the eighth and final season has been of unprecedented scope and scale. That said, the show isn't perfect by any means, and the latest episode featured a flub that a whole bunch of viewers caught. In a celebratory feast at Winterfell, the characters were drinking and toasting to their hearts' delight, but Daenerys had a cup of something other than wine at her hand. Daenerys seemed to have a coffee cup handy.
As much as many viewers can probably understand why Dany might need some caffeine to power her way through a Northern feast, the coffee cup was anachronistic to the time period, even if it is technically a time period in a fictional universe featuring ice zombies and dragons. Viewers took to social media to post some hilarious memes about the error, and HBO finally weighed in with the best response. Here's how the network addressed Dany's coffee cup:
The latte that appeared in the episode was a mistake. Daenerys had ordered an herbal tea.
It would be ridiculous if Game of Thrones canon had Daenerys drinking a latte rather than herbal tea, right? HBO must be mortified by painting the Dragon Queen as somebody who drinks caffeinated beverages when there's something more soothing! Although a jolt of caffeine might explain why Dany suddenly seems to be going full Mad Queen Daenerys. She's just not used to that jolt!
In all seriousness, HBO's response is fun, especially considering the network could have just kept quiet and hoped the memes would die down sooner rather than later. There are larger concerns to consider after "The Last of the Starks," not the least of which is whether Drogon is going to be the next big death. A lot of bloodshed is almost certainly coming. Maybe the anachronism will be something for fans to fondly look back on after everything goes to hell.
If you missed the coffee cup, take a look at right below Dany's hands!
Honestly, the shot of the coffee cup is especially funny because of how plainly out there it is in the scene. It's not even close to any other dish, and Emilia Clarke isn't trying to sneakily hide it in her hands. It's just... there.
That said, the scene is lit somewhat darkly, to fit with the atmosphere of a dark hall lit only by candles and torches. It's brighter than a lot of the Battle of Winterfell, but the cup wasn't totally obvious until pics were lightened.
Besides, if you ask me, the sudden appearance of a coffee cup in the Seven Kingdoms wasn't the most unbelievable thing about "The Last of the Starks." There may come a day when I fully understand Dany's logic of legitimizing Gendry when a legitimate Baratheon technically has the best legal claim to the Iron Throne at the moment, but it is not this day.
And hey, maybe if Dany had a shot of caffeine in her, she might have noticed the Iron Fleet hanging out in the waters around Dragonstone, ready and waiting to shoot one of her last two dragons out of the sky.
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Hopefully the last two episodes won't feature anything HBO has to apologize for, although it's unlikely the entire fanbase will be happy with the ending. We have Team Dany vs. Team Jon vs. Team Cersei vs. Team Democracy at this point, not to mention the various relationships and dangling plot threads that need to be resolved.
Tune in to HBO on Sunday at 9 p.m. ET for the penultimate episode of Game of Thrones.
