‘Game of Thrones’ stuns fans with season six reveal

‘Game of Thrones’ stuns fans with season six reveal

LOS ANGELES: Hit fantasy TV show “Game of Thrones” returned for its season six premiere Sunday appearing to answer to one of the most hotly debated questions in modern television history: “Is Jon Snow dead?”

As well as revealing the fate of the brooding Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch — which AFP will not spoil for fans who have not yet caught up — the writers hit viewers with a huge curve ball that had them rushing to social media to voice their shock.

On Twitter #GameOfThrones was the top trending hashtag worldwide for several hours before and after the HBO premier at 9:00pm (0100 GMT Monday) on the US east coast.

Fans speculated whether the season opener’s title, “The Red Woman,” indicated that the Red Priestess Melisandre, played by Carice van Houten, would have a hand in bringing Snow back to life after he was stabbed by his mutinous underlings.

Instead, the title was a reference to a big reveal in the final moments of the episode.

“Almost that time!” tweeted Houston Texans offensive tackle and “Thrones” fans Duane Brown as the episode was about to begin, before adding around an hour later: “What. The. Hell?”

British conservative columnist and novelist James Delingpole complained that he was “slightly upset that there was nothing in #GameofThrones episode one that really upset me.”