In a season filled with peculiar pacing and disjointed writing, Game of Thrones largely got through its final six episodes on the merit of production value.
But even that universally acclaimed production value faltered in the series finale, as eagle-eyed fans spotted a water bottle in the background of a pivotal scene, similar to how a Starbucks coffee cupped slipped through in episode four, “The Last of the Starks”.
When considered in a vacuum, these minor production faux paws are ultimately harmless, as the amount of disbelief that needs to be suspended to watch a show about dragons and magic is already considerably high.
But given the pacing and writing issues that have seemingly plagued the series’ final six episodes, fans believe that the appearance of both the Starbucks cup and the water bottle are the symptom of the same disease: laziness.
Game of Thrones seventh season went off the air in August of 2017 and did not return until April 2019, and fans are supposed to believe that all of the hundreds — if not thousands — of HBO eyeballs that were involved in the production weren’t able to spot two modern day drinks over the course of two years?
It’s truly confounding to consider that the grandest television show of all-time can be a victim of such mindless and unnecessary errors.
Had Game of Thrones hit this final season out of the park, we doubt fans would be so quick to jump down their throat over relatively minor production errors, but it’s the confluence of all the final season’s various errors and oversights that makes these otherwise innocuous mishaps so grievous.
Game of Thrones — which first premiered on HBO on April 17, 2011, and went on to shatter countless records since — aired its final episode on Sunday, May 19.