SDCC 2019: ‘Game of Thrones’ Infamous Water Bottle Fiasco Gave John Bradley Anxiety

Game of Thrones stars reflected on the beloved series on Friday at San Diego Comic-Con, including John Bradley, who played Samwell Tarly. During the massive Hall H panel, Bradley even addressed the appearance of a plastic water bottle by his heel. As funny as fans found it, Bradley admitted it gave him extreme anxiety.

Warning! Spoilers for Game of Thrones lie ahead!

At the end of Game of Thrones, Sam left the Night’s Watch and took his father’s seat as the Lord of Horn Hill, forsaking his vows. He was therefore invited to sit on the Great Council to help decide who the new monarch of Westeros should be. This was a serious, climactic scene, making it all the stranger when fans pointed out an anachronistic water bottle sitting on the ground by Bradley’s feet.

At Comic-Con, Bradley was chagrined by a mention of the water bottle. Fans were already roaring over the more prominent paper coffee cup seen in an earlier episode. However, Bradley said that he had a “pathological fear of getting in trouble,” and in this case he was terrified that he would be blacklisted for the incident.

“I’ve always been someone who felt a lot of responsibility for things, or felt a lot of blame for things,” he said, according to PopCulture.com’s sister site, Comicbook.com.

Bearing that in mind, Bradley made a strong case that he was not actually to blame for the water bottle.

“When I saw [the water bottle], even though I knew it wasn’t mine… I’m right-handed, so if I was drinking a bottle I think I would put it on this side of my leg, but the bottle was one this side,” Bradley said. “So, as a conspiracy theory — I’m not trying to clear my name here — there’s a guy on this side that you may want to be looking at. I think I’ve taken enough blame for this one.”

To Bradley’s left in the scene was an unnamed lord whom many fans assumed was Howland Reed, a character that is much more important in the books. Going on, Bradley explained his thought process as the water bottle went viral.

“When it was circulating I was thinking ‘Oh, Oh my god, the episode is ruined and it’s all my fault — pardon me for being thirsty,’” he said. “Give me a costume that’s not so heavy in Spain, and then I wouldn’t need to drink quite so much water. But there were several stages between that day and it being on TV where it could’ve been taken out.”

This was Game of Thrones last main stage panel at SDCC, as the series is now over for good. It was originally described as a “victory lap,” though showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss dropped out of the appearance, presumably due to the backlash over the final season. Many fans hoped for some kind of announcement at the panel — perhaps about the books or the spinoff series — but none came.

Stay tuned to PopCulture.com for more from the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con International.

Photo credit: HBO