Game of Thrones coffee cup: 'Emilia Clarke, she's the culprit' jokes Sophie Turner
It turns out they got Daenerys' order wrong.
- Webby Award Winner (Best Video Host, 2021), Webby Nominee (Podcasts, 2021), Gold Telly (Documentary Series, 2021), Silver Telly (Video Writing, 2021), W3 Award (Best Host, 2020), Australian IT Journalism Awards (Best Journalist, Best News Journalist 2017)
Will that be Grande, Venti or Giantsbane?
Game of Thrones is a work of art. This is the show that has us returning season after season to watch the absolute pinnacle in high-fantasy television. This is the show that costs HBO an estimated $15 million per episode to make. And this is the show that just left a Starbucks coffee cup on set during one of the biggest ever episodes.
If you don't want to ruin episode 4 (or your sense of quality production values), then be warned: very mild spoilers ahead.
Episode 4, titled "The Last of the Starks," dropped on Sunday night, and fans were giddy with delight to see how everything fell out after the epic Battle of Winterfell. There were surprise twists, there were moments of passion and there was blatant oversight by the production designers.
And because this is Game of Thrones , and fans notice every tiny detail, the world had feelings!
For those of you who didn’t think the Starbucks cup gaffe was real, I went back to watch it and—#GameOfThrones pic.twitter.com/xNz2iBHySH
— Clarkisha Kent: Benioff and Weiss Hate Nick Gurrs (@IWriteAllDay_) May 6, 2019
So this is where we're at now! A Starbucks cup! #GameofThrones pic.twitter.com/dhWXyDo15w
— Nehal Mahran (@NehalMahran) May 6, 2019
You're telling me they had TWO YEARS to put together a decent show and they couldn't even spot the goddamn Starbucks cup in Winterfell??!?! #GameOfThrones pic.twitter.com/8opg7nyydv
— Jenna Guillaume (@JennaGuillaume) May 6, 2019
We are shook. We have followed this series since Sansa was a baby bird and Arya was still fighting with a wooden sword. We agonize over subtle throwbacks and make memes out of Bran's every move. And we live their losses like they're our own.
It's hard to see if it's actually a Starbucks cup that's within easy reach of Daenerys, but you'd better believe they'll take the brand recognition.
On Monday, Starbucks offered a sly response to the cuppa controversy. While it didn't say one way or another whether the company's now serving in Westeros, it did nod at what it expects Dany to order. "TBH we're surprised she didn't order a Dragon Drink," Starbuck's Twitter account tweeted.
For the uninitiated: When Starbucks pours a Dragon Drink, you get a "tropical-inspired pick-me-up" that mixes mango, coconut milk and, of course, dragon fruit. With all that's gone on in these last couple of episodes, we're thinking Daenerys might want a stiffer concoction.
TBH we're surprised she didn't order a Dragon Drink.
— Starbucks Coffee (@Starbucks) May 6, 2019
HBO got in a double shot of its own later on Monday. In an email, the company behind Game of Thrones referred to the apparition as a "craft services coffee cup" and described it as a drink order gone awry: "The latte that appeared in the episode was a mistake. Daenerys had ordered an herbal tea."
Sophie Turner, during an appearance on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon, totally threw Emilia Clarke under the bus. Fallon joked that is was Turner's fault. "Emilia Clarke... she's the culprit," she said.
To be fair, this incident just shows the people behind this show, one of the most beautifully produced works of popular culture perfection we've ever seen, are still human. They get tired, they need coffee and dammit if they're going to get that cup out of shot if Emilia Clarke and Kristofer Hivju are delivering that Daenerys and Tormund realness.
Let's just hope it was wight, with two sugars.
Originally published May 6, 2:11 a.m. PT.
Update, 11:35 a.m. PT: Adds the tweet from Starbucks.
Update, 1:59 p.m. PT: Adds HBO's response.
