Rick and Morty fans spot Hong Kong pro-democracy protest codes in new episode

Popular adult cartoon series 'Rick and Morty' has been known for its outlandish plots yet at the same time nuanced writing. The sci-fi TV show and its writers have received plaudits from fans and critics over the years for maintaining this special formula. Now, eagle-eyed fans in Hong Kong have spotted a message from the creators that points toward the city's democracy movement that took place in 2020 and shows solidarity with the protestors.

Reportedly, in the fifth episode titled "Final DeSmithation" of the ongoing sixth season, some letters and numbers flash on the screen during the climax.

While the unsuspecting numbers and letters may appear random to a layman, some devoted viewers got down to decoding them.

The significance of codes GFHG19SDGM, 721DLLM and 19HK831 spotted by Hong Kongers was explained on Reddit.

The first code is a pseudonym for the slogan "Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times" which has been declared illegal in Hong Kong by the Chinese authorities. The phrase was first used in 2016 but gained prominence during the pre-democracy protests.

Similarly, DLLM (short of “Diu Lei Lou Mo”) is a popular cuss word in Hong Kong which is usually hurled at the recipient's mother. Reportedly, during the protest, both the authorities and protestors hurled the particular word at each other rather frequently.

The internet sleuths also deduced that the numbers in the last two codes could be referring to the August31, 2019 incident when the protestorswere attacked at a train station inYuen Long by government supporters and police.

After the revelation went viral on social media platforms, scores of Hong Kong citizens thanked the show creators for showing support in their own way.

"Thank you to the producers of Rick and Morty," one of the netizens commented in the forum. Meanwhile, another said, "The ingenuity and longevity of creative protest is laudable."

As reported extensively by WION, China introduced the highly controversial National Security Bill for Hong Kong in 2020 amid a sea of protests.

The bill, which is now a law in Hong Kong, attempts to punish crimes of secession, sedition, and collusion with foreign forces.

When the bill was passed despite ordinary Hong Kong folks taking to the streets for months, it was described by the pro-democracy activists as ‘the end of the Hong Kong that the world knew before’.

It was always believed that free speech will be culled after the passing of the law. And since then, on multiple occasions, ordinary citizens have been locked or beaten black and blue for deviating from the set standards of free speech.

(With inputs from agencies)

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