Game of Thrones art director says coffee cup gaffe is being “blown out of proportion” [Updated]

For the second week in a row, Game of Throne’s creative staff have come under fire — and not from a dragon. Whereas last week’s battle royale was so dark it could barely be seen, last night’s episode included an unexpected cameo from a rogue coffee cup.

The cameo occurred at the 17:39 mark of the episode, during a scene in which Tormund Giantsbane is toasting Jon Snow during a post-battle celebratory meal. Daenerys Targaryen is seated nearest to the coffee, though she never acknowledges it. Nor do showrunners Gavid Beinoff and D.B. Weiss, who were apparently too busy dressing up as wildlings to monitor quality control of the scene.

In a statement to Variety, GOT art director Hauke Richter said the gaffe is being “blown out of proportion [because] it has not happened with Thrones so far.”

Richter also spoke to TMZ and reiterated that it was an innocent mistake. “We are usually so diligent that this does not happen,” Richter explained. “The shoot was very hard and demanding and it is likely that after a very tiring episode three shoot, this was simply overlooked by an exhausted crew.”

Richter also clarified that the cup was not from Starbucks, but rather from a local coffee shop in Banbridge, Northern Ireland, where the episode of film.

However, that hasn’t stopped Starbucks from acknowledging the viral gaffe:

Nor has the Internet ceased spending its entire day making related memes.

If you’d rather focus on what was actually written into last night’s episode, you can read our full review here.

Update: HBO has issued its own comical response addressing the gaffe: “In response to inquiries from those who saw a craft services coffee cup in Sunday night’s episode of Game of Thrones, HBO states, ‘The latte that appeared in the episode was a mistake. Daenerys had ordered an herbal tea.’”