Game of Thrones Season 6: Foxtel expecting record Aussie viewing figures

THE opening episode of Game of Thrones Season 6 — with all its shocking twists and turns — is expected to be a ratings smash. SPOILER ALERT

ANZAC DAY has turned out to be a blessing for Aussie Game of Thrones fans. They had a holiday to watch the season six premiere.

Foxtel is expecting mammoth numbers for the opener, which contained two shock moments but left viewers in the dark about Jon Snow.

Last year’s fifth season premiere shattered subscription television records with a combined cumulative Aussie audience of 553,000 viewers. But that was on a work day. Anzac Day could boost that even higher.

EPISODE ONE: Big reveal leaves fans stunned

The death — or not — of Jon Snow (Kit Harington) has kept fans on edge.

“Game of Thrones is our number one show across all genres,” a Foxtel spokesman says. “It is at the top of all areas of the business.”

Expectation has never been higher for the hit US fantasy drama. Fans around the world have been waiting more than 10 months for the new series.

The biggest question was whether Snow (Kit Harington) was really dead after being stabbed in the season five finale.

Well, so far, so dead. His bloodied corpse is found in the snow by Ser Davos (Liam Cunningham).

Big changes are in store for Sansa Stark in Season 6.

The episode’s first big shock came with the brutal murder of Prince Doran Martell (Alexander Siddig) and his son at the hands of Ellaria Sand and her daughters, the Sand Snakes.

A final, even more shocking, jolt at show’s end had Red Priestess Melisandre (Carice van Houten), who many had hoped would bring Snow back to life, mysteriously transforming from a young beauty into an old crone.

The mysterious Melisandre (Carice van Houten) shocked fans with her big reveal at the end of episode one.

The sprawling episode juggled a number of other plot strands including a reunion between and Brienne of Tarth (Gwendoline Christie) and Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner), who alongside Theon Greyjoy (Alfie Allen) had survived her leap from the walls of Winterfell to escape from their sadistic captor, Ramsay Bolton (Iwan Rheon).

Arya Stark’s training turned brutal in episode one.

Elsewhere, blinded Arya Stark’s (Maisie Williams) assassin training took a brutal new direction and Daenerys Targaryen (Emelia Clarke) found her way back to her old life as queen blocked by the laws of the Dothraki horse people who had captured her.

It seems fans were pretty satisfied with the solid episode, which laid a lot of the groundwork for the remainder of the 10-episode season.

“I vow that you shall always have a place in my hearth Game of Thrones,” actor Anna Kendrick tweeted.

“Not a bad start to Season 6 of Game of Thrones but a bit on the slow side,” CJ McKee tweeted.

“Watched it. Loved it. Now can’t sleep. Addicted.” Danielle B posted.

This is the first season of Game of Thrones that hasn’t followed George R.R. Martin’s epic Song of Ice and Fire series, with the TV show having overtaken the notoriously slow author.

“It is the most watched series in Australian subscription television history,” the Foxtel spokesman says.