Hitch is a sheriff.

[Kyoshi Frost Wolf 41,478]

I don't have a big opinion on this as of yet, other than; This gen so far is looking pretty fuggin' weird. 

[Sparklefan1234 170,730]

6 minutes ago, Kyoshi said:

I don't have a big opinion on this as of yet, other than; This gen so far is looking pretty fuggin' weird. 

Your tune will change once your OC appears as the owner of their town’s pro gaming league. 

[Reality Check 632]

I kinda figured, mostly because of the badge he has on him. Though I do think it's interesting that there is another sheriff other than Sheriff Silverstar from Appleloosa in G4

[Ganondorf8 11,309]

Hmmm... Quite an interesting little tidbit of information. Not sure how this is going to affect generation five as a whole but at least we got some kind of character development. Makes me wonder what he's the sheriff of.

[Toastypk 923]

What sort of capacity is he going to be in? I don't think he would be in any really big position, maybe it's like a town guard or like a knight who wants to defend his friends.

Or maybe it's more like Appleoosa.

[BornAgainBrony 2,397]

1 hour ago, Toastypk said:

What sort of capacity is he going to be in? I don't think he would be in any really big position, maybe it's like a town guard or like a knight who wants to defend his friends.

Or maybe it's more like Appleoosa.

When it comes to law enforcement, in locales that do that sort of thing, no position is higher than Sheriff. The closest approximation is Police Chief or Captain of the Guard. The major difference is that Sheriffs are elected, and usually serve a county or province rather than a specific city.

[JMTV99 1,353]

That's cool. As long his character is well written, then I don't mind him being a sheriff.

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,824]

Reminder: Please refrain from going into political discussion. If they continue, this thread will be locked, ruining it for the others. 

Thank you for your understanding. 

[Splashee 28,564]

On 2021-05-28 at 10:00 PM, CastletonSnob said:

The official MLP Instagram page says Hitch is a sheriff.

How old are they? Are they My Little Older Ponies?

It is a little confusing right now since I don't know enough about G5 to tell if it is a good thing or a bad thing that Hitch has a grown-up job. I don't see a problem in the job being a sheriff.

[Goat-kun 2,527]

I have no strong feelings about this. It does not save him from being a potential blundering buffoon token male comic relief. He looks like somepony who'd get up yoursed by some old mare.

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,824]

2 hours ago, Goat-kun said:

I have no strong feelings about this. It does not save him from being a potential blundering buffoon token male comic relief. He looks like somepony who'd get up yoursed by some old mare.

 

That's a really popular worry that's floating around. But who knows, since this is geared toward somewhat older audiences, we may see a little good cop/bad cop...we just hope the writers execute the role right. 

[Goat-kun 2,527]

12 hours ago, Courageous Thunder Dash said:

That's a really popular worry that's floating around. But who knows, since this is geared toward somewhat older audiences, we may see a little good cop/bad cop...we just hope the writers execute the role right. 

Poniverse can hold this against me but I'll tell it how it is: it is fashionable for western cartoon male characters to either be beta cucks, Johnny Bravo, or school bullies. Having older audience and a male cop character is a recipe for a disaster. Him starting as a "Stormtrooper" is fine; however, having the general "muh cops bad" narrative is where I draw the thin blue line. He should still be a good sheriff after the movie. They should not turn him into some remorseful sidekick field therapist with a pink apron and a plate of pastries. We can always say: We'll see. Those that say that usually don't ask themselves: What have we already seen?

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,824]

4 hours ago, Goat-kun said:

Poniverse can hold this against me but I'll tell it how it is: it is fashionable for western cartoon male characters to either be beta cucks, Johnny Bravo, or school bullies. Having older audience and a male cop character is a recipe for a disaster. Him starting as a "Stormtrooper" is fine; however, having the general "muh cops bad" narrative is where I draw the thin blue line. He should still be a good sheriff after the movie. They should not turn him into some remorseful sidekick field therapist with a pink apron and a plate of pastries. We can always say: We'll see. Those that say that usually don't ask themselves: What have we already seen?

 

And that's quite the valid point. Because with these stereotypes, writers can most often pull out the lazy card and just drop characters into a category and go from there.

[BornAgainBrony 2,397]

On 2021-06-06 at 6:30 AM, Goat-kun said:

Poniverse can hold this against me but I'll tell it how it is: it is fashionable for western cartoon male characters to either be beta cucks, Johnny Bravo, or school bullies. Having older audience and a male cop character is a recipe for a disaster. Him starting as a "Stormtrooper" is fine; however, having the general "muh cops bad" narrative is where I draw the thin blue line. He should still be a good sheriff after the movie. They should not turn him into some remorseful sidekick field therapist with a pink apron and a plate of pastries. We can always say: We'll see. Those that say that usually don't ask themselves: What have we already seen?

I feel the same way about the "Stormtrooper" idea though. Unless you're somehow talking about something radically different, I've grown quite tired of the Star Wars trope where we get introduced to a Stormie, only to have them defect to the rebellion after a Deus Ex Machina of a "revelation" happens in the first five minutes; or they end up at the wrong end of the barrel because of some misunderstanding and get forced into going rogue. It's annoying enough that we can never get an "Imperial perspective" Star Wars tale, but MLP definitely isn't the place for it; nor is a story about a defector. Equestria in this time period would have to be pretty bluntly (to an annoying degree) dystopian to get that to work, and that doesn't feel at all like a story aimed at children.

On the other hand, if "Sheriff" was chosen for more technical or political reasons beyond, "Yay, wild west gunslinger, sheriffs are cool," then we probably have less to worry about. Sheriffs get a lot more freedom to follow their own moral compass than cops do, even to the point of choosing to NOT enforce laws that have been passed down from on high. That has some great potential.

[Goat-kun 2,527]

6 hours ago, BornAgainBrony said:

I feel the same way about the "Stormtrooper" idea though. Unless you're somehow talking about something radically different, I've grown quite tired of the Star Wars trope where we get introduced to a Stormie, only to have them defect to the rebellion after a Deus Ex Machina of a "revelation" happens in the first five minutes; or they end up at the wrong end of the barrel because of some misunderstanding and get forced into going rogue. It's annoying enough that we can never get an "Imperial perspective" Star Wars tale, but MLP definitely isn't the place for it; nor is a story about a defector. Equestria in this time period would have to be pretty bluntly (to an annoying degree) dystopian to get that to work, and that doesn't feel at all like a story aimed at children.

On the other hand, if "Sheriff" was chosen for more technical or political reasons beyond, "Yay, wild west gunslinger, sheriffs are cool," then we probably have less to worry about. Sheriffs get a lot more freedom to follow their own moral compass than cops do, even to the point of choosing to NOT enforce laws that have been passed down from on high. That has some great potential.

And that is why I used the Stormtrooper. Now, Hitch would be more on the level of some legacy Skeletor lackey, or Sheriff of Nottingham if we go all technical. I also think he'll resemble Woody in his demeanor. His peak "defector" moment will be something along the lines of: "Hey, that's not very nice! I won't do it!" Voila, character growth!

[Vortex Knight 24]

Well, personally, I think a Sheriff main character can definitely bring a lot of interesting, unexplored ideas to the table (this is not a common character archetype to have as a main character, especially in children's media) especially if implemented thoughtfully though. Theoretically, it could bring really intriguing intricacies to the show ("do I do what's morally or legally right?", "How do I use my authority responsibly?").  

However, we do have to keep in mind Gen 4 didn't have a track record of too many positively portrayed male characters (at least in my opinion), especially early-on. Even those that generally are (Spike, Big Mac, Shining Armor, and arguably reformed Discord come to mind) are usually reserved for side/comic relief roles. I would say in it's defense though, that later on characters like Thorax, Gallus and Sandbar were a step in the right direction of reasonably well represented, likeable male chars.  

Considering Hasbro definitely sees the online presence of the male/adult demographic of fans (even if they're not as prevalent now as they were a few years back) and probably wouldn't want to lose their interest entirely, I believe we can safely assume they'll at the very least try to incorporate some sort of depth/relatability to the character, even if basic. 

Anyways, don't have much we can do now except speculate. Just have to be hopeful and see how this goes 

[Toastypk 923]

Some info came out about G5 with some pages from an upcoming book, and it mentions this line:

Spoiler

"Hitch is the sheriff of Maretime Bay. He is always at hand for anypony who needs help."

---

THE sheriff!

So he's in charge!

 

Edited June 25, 2021 by Toastypk

[Allen 1,387]

That's a surprise to me that Hitch is going to be a sheriff. Much more like Sheriff Woody from the Toy Story franchise having the same job too.