What went right with Hitch?

[CastletonSnob 3,074]

One common criticism for G4 was that the male characters weren't nearly as developed as the female characters. This seems to have been fixed with G5, as Hitch is quite popular with the fandom.

What did the writers do right with Hitch that the writers for G4 failed to do with FiM's male characters?

[Dark Qiviut 22,396]

One of the biggest problems from FIM's first five seasons was Spike's treatment. Much of the "comedy" he suffered was through no fault of his own or accentuated by an outside force (i.e., Owlowiscious's sudden presence making him protective of his status). In ANG, Hitch experienced more toned-down hijinks during half of the film, yet he deserved it each time. After joining the others, the slapstick disappeared.

[Misty Shadow 7,867]

Depending on the poll, Hitch is either behind Izzy for most popular character or behind Pipp for the least popular character of the main cast. It's not entirely consistent, the positive reception he gets, but it definitely shows that he has fans. I think what drives people like myself towards him is the fact that he's not just an admirable male main character. He's a male main character that was able to remain admirable despite coming into conflict with the lead main character. With all of MLP's male fans and so many people complaining about things like Spike's "uselessness" and Big Mac's lack of screen time, things that the staff did acknowledge early on and try to improve upon, putting a well-written male character in the spotlight was bound to happen eventually. 

[Splashee 28,564]

18 hours ago, CastletonSnob said:

What did the writers do right with Hitch that the writers for G4 failed to do with FiM's male characters?

By not making him a love interest for our mane mares, since that was the purpose of males like Shining Armor and Flash Sentry in G4, and they didn't turn out so popular in the end.

 

They gave Hitch a personality and made him a main character. That's all that is needed really.

[ExplosionMare 18,062]

Even though Hitch wasn’t as prominent in the film as other characters, he managed to be charming and funny without being a love interest nor the source for comic relief. He was simply his own character just like the main females were.

[Skylight Scintillate 2,031]

Probably because it felt like he character was quite well developed and he wasn't thrown around like Spike was.

[Cash In 22,310]

The simplest reason is because Hitch was written as a main character, so they put in the same amount of care and effort as they did with the others. Yes, Spike was also a main character, but not to the same degree as the Mane 6. It's a bit difficult to explain, but I think you understand what I mean.

[EpicEnergy 23,218]

Character development - Hitch was given more character development than most males in G4.

[Figgy 40]

His winning Smile..... also he's a nice guy..

[Vivooush 25]

I think Hitch had his own role, a pretty developed personality, and a lot of other things we don't know about him yet, I hope he's not going to be forgotten in the series, but I already have a lot of type of scenario with him in episodes, I'm glad it's a guy in the main cast, it's a little bit of a change, especially since the developers said that with him there would be a more mature scenario, (I don't know where I read that)  

The problem with G4 is that I don't think they cared about male characters, apart from as background characters or a supporting role, Spike was the pet of Twilight then he became a friend but well, it wasn't the main subject

Twilight's brother is hardly seen in the show and Flash was only there for Equestria girls 

And then look at this face he has 😍

 

Otherwise I liked his development in the film, at the beginning we see that he enforces the law and prevents Sunny from making a mess, he was even ready to end his friendship with her if she continued, then he goes after her, unfortunately after the disaster of the concert of Pipp, he is obliged to be a fugitive with her, and although at the beginning he is distrustful and annoyed, he learns to know the others and realizes that all that he learned since foal, was false, and becomes an ally within the course, even if at the beginning he was perplexed 😛

 

[AlbaTross 1,586]

I had my concerns over how he was going to fit in with the rest of the cast, but the movie handled it well and my concerns evaporated.  I still have issues with the film, sure, but Hitch didn't end up being one of them.  Some of his treatment in the film is, but it's a lot more minor than I was expecting.  

When it comes to the throwbacks to the Mane Six that were worked into these new characters (sometimes subtly, sometimes less so), I think Hitch is both the best and the worst.  I say both, because in addition to being the only Stallion in the mane cast, he's also the only one who actually represents two characters.  The cues he takes from Applejack are his honest, down to earth nature while being a voice of reason, and those traits are well incorporated into the rest of his personality, which is distinct.  In that regard I think he's the best example of how to take inspiration from another character while writing a completely new one without that new character feeling derivative in any way.  The trait he takes from Fluttershy though...I think that's only a thing for the reference.  I guess the animals that follow him around are cute, but there's really no payoff to that other than a series of gags that are pretty much dropped by mid-film.  I mean, he's supposedly good with animals, but he doesn't seem to care that he's good with them.  So...what's the point?

On 2021-11-27 at 4:37 PM, Dark Qiviut said:

One of the biggest problems from FIM's first five seasons was Spike's treatment. Much of the "comedy" he suffered was through no fault of his own or accentuated by an outside force (i.e., Owlowiscious's sudden presence making him protective of his status). In ANG, Hitch experienced more toned-down hijinks during half of the film, yet he deserved it each time. After joining the others, the slapstick disappeared.

There was slapstick at his expense later in the film.  It was just more subtle.  The thing where he couldn't make a campfire but the mares could is more minor, along with him being the one to stumble over learning the Unicorn taboos.  Most of all though, as some YouTubers have pointed out, it actually doesn't make sense that he would despise being made over to pretend to be a Unicorn, because he did the same exact thing to play the part of a Pegasus.  It would have made far more sense for Zipp to be the one who frowned over such a makeover.  But, of course, Hitch is male so ha, ha I guess?  

I also wish he was more relevant to the film's plot.  It's cool that a male was worked into the mane cast, and though that campfire scene isn't without its problems, him joining the mares at the fire also comes across as symbolic in a way, like from this point on being a mane character in MLP isn't exclusively a girl's club, and I'm sure we will see more mane males either in this series or future ones.  However, his biggest contributions to the story are really early on.  He ironically becomes less relevant when he joins the fillies, in spite of being in the film more.  

[Splashee 28,564]

I only saw a few scenes of Hitch from TyT, and I didn't like them. He was much better in the MyM pilot.

[ExplosionMare 18,062]

He wasn't used for comic relief (although he did have a few funny moments) and he was helpful without getting in the way. He's also charming and has a lot of good traits that make him an admirable character.

[Rosy Moonlight 369]

I think what went right with Hitch was his color scheme, his charm in the episode "Foal Me One," and him caring for Sparky, the newborn baby dragon.

Edited July 20, 2022 by Rosy Moonlight

[LionPonyNerd 50]

Honestly, it’s just really cool to have a male pony finally be a main character. it’s basically a first for MLP.
He’s not just a comedy relief character, he has a personality.

and he’s really cute