Game of Thrones teases season 6 return with dramatic Jon Snow poster

A single picture can often set the internet abuzz, especially if it's an image of the Game of Thrones character central to one of modern TV's most controversial cliffhangers.

NOTE: Spoiler from Game of Thrones season 5 finale below.

Producers of massive TV hitGame of Throneswhet the appetite of its considerable fan base Monday by sharing a simple image ofactor Kit Harington with an apparent smear of blood on his face and the lone word "April" along with the logo of cable network HBO, which broadcasts the Emmy-winning fantasysaga.

Game of Thronestypically debuts each new season in mid-March or early April.

Season 5 uproar

In the show's season 5 finale,Harington'scharacter Jon Snowa key figurein Game of Thrones since its debut is apparently slaughtered by his comrades in the Night's Watch, a group of defenders he was hastily chosen to lead.

One ofmodern television'smost controversial death scenes, theepisodesparked myriadheadlines and a tsunami of social media outrage serving asthe currentequivalent of Dallas' legendary "Who Shot J.R.?" cliffhanger.

With some of TV's top-rated shows, however, it isn't a protagonist'sdeath, but rather theambiguity of a protagonist'sdeath, that has generated the most chatter.

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Readers of George R.R. Martin's novel series, on which the show is based, noted that Snow's demise is depicted in the author's fifth book, A Dance With Dragons.Avid fans, however, have also reiterated Martin's claim (in a 2011 interview)that in his epic world of Westeros, "death is not necessarily permanent."

Meanwhile, some eagle-eyed devotees have reported seeing Harington on-set in Belfast during filming of the upcomingseason, which began in the summer.

Thesixth season of the hugely popular series is forthcoming. HBO's programming chief noted in July that the show would likely last eight seasons in total.

Online, fans alternately rejoiced and speculated on what the poster could mean.