Maisie Williams Sets The Record Straight On The Game Of Thrones Coffee Cup Debacle
While it began life as a giant cultural phenomenon, HBO's "Game of Thrones" ended its run with more of a whimper than a roar. In the final seasons, fans began to grow tired of the overreliance on impressive action sequences over character development and storytelling. And then, of course, there was that ending. The culmination of fan-favorite character Daenerys Targaryen's (Emilia Clarke) arc, in particular, was so divisive that even Clarke herself had to acknowledge the backlash.
HBO may be getting a second chance with the upcoming prequel series "House of the Dragon." But whether or not the Targaryen-centric spin-off is a hit, viewers are unlikely to forget one particularly bum note from the final season of "Game of Thrones." That, of course, would be the infamous anachronistic coffee cup that was left in one shot during a scene in the episode "The Last of the Starks." Needless to say, the gaffe provided viewers with near-endless fodder for jokes at the show's expense. And now, Maisie Williams, aka Arya Stark, has shared some insight into the situation.
Mostly, everyone on set was just tired
After filming the series for eight seasons, there is no question that the cast of "Game of Thrones" was tired. After a massive build-up and many night shoots, mistakes can be made. That is exactly what Maisie Wiliams stated in her contribution to GQ Actually Me. For the magazine, the actor went online and addressed questions from the fans directly. One question was inevitably about the coffee cup spotted during a feast at Winterfell in Season 8.
"Was the Starbucks coffee cup in Game of Thrones season eight, episode three a mistake or product placement?" asked one fan on Quora. Williams was quick with a pithy correction: "It's not actually a Starbucks coffee cup. It's just a coffee cup." The actor went on to explain how the criticism affected the crew. "We just got torn to shreds," Williams posted. "We were tired. We had been filming for four months solely at nighttime." And ultimately, she had an important takeaway for fans: "It's not that deep, it's really not that deep. It's just a little coffee, like eight ounce."
There is no hyperbole to Williams' statement about their critics. This small mistake was the subject of immense discourse online and ultimately overshadowed the work the crew had done. So much so, that eventually HBO edited out the offending takeaway cup (via NBC News). With the episode scrubbed of any visible mistakes, now the only cup in sight is Daenerys drinking a mug of ale.