Um, Did Game of Thrones Leave a Starbucks Cup on Set?

Warning: Spoilers Ahead

While the rest of the world was finding out if Brienne would find her happy ending with Jaime, and mourning the loss of Missandei during last night’s episode of Game of Thrones, some keen-eyed viewers might have spotted an object that doesn’t exactly belong in Westeros: a paper Starbucks coffee cup.

Wait, what?

Right before Winterfell’s last remaining good guys marched off to do battle at King’s Landing in “The Last of the Starks,” they hosted a wild rager to celebrate last week’s victory in the battle against the White Walkers. The cup can be spotted in the background while Tormund is giving a speech honoring his friend Jon Snow (it appears right at the 17:40 mark if you want to check it out for yourself). There’s no logo visible, but it’s still pretty safe to assume the cast and crew of Game of Thrones drinks Starbucks between (and apparently during!) takes.

Fans reasonably freaked out over the mistake, which is surprisingly sloppy for a show famous for its detailed, intricate setting, plotlines, and costumes. Many a Starbucks-adjacent pun was made on Twitter: In Westeros the coffee chain is called Dire Cup! No, Starkbucks! You get the idea. The writer Roxane Gay even entered the fray, commenting that “If they bothered using lights they might have seen the Starbucks they left in the shot.”

Maybe the crew was in a hurry to deliver the last season to fans, who are basically rabid to know how this story ends. It’s hard to imagine that no one noticed the left-behind cup (I mean, Daenerys is sitting right there). So maybe an executive decision was made to leave it in the shot and keep production moving. It didn’t ruin the episode — it just added a strange little detail that will add to the show’s growing mythology.

Of course, that does beg the question: Would the people of Westeros drink coffee? Dany would definitely be a Starbucks drinker, while Jon would probably go for a more artisanal roast (he’s a hipster, sorry!). As for Arya, she would probably take her coffee scalding hot, black (no sugar either) and very, very bitter.