What was the point of the interplay between Richard Riddick and Dahl in Riddick?

Question

In Riddick, we get to see something of a "lust triangle" between Santana, Dahl, and Riddick. Now, Dahl, when in dialogue with Santana, states that she doesn't "fuck guys". She is subsequently referred to as a lesbo. Santana is shown pretty early on to be someone who likes (and abuses) his women. There are quite a few scenes that build on their relationship (or lack thereof).

But how about Riddick? He pervs on Dahl when she's in the shower (a scene which does also serve the purpose of showing how Riddick got a hold of a mirror). Later when he is chained up inside the station, he states the following:

Then when it's all over and the rest of you are ready for Dead Animal Pickup I'm gonna go balls deep into Dahl. But only because she asked me to. Sweet-like.

Then there's this scene:

Riddick: You grant any last wishes? I was referring to you [Dahl].

Dahl: Not that the chains aren't a hot look, but no. I'm not gonna straddle you in front of all these guys.

Riddick: What if I killed all of 'em first?

Dahl: Easy, boy. There's a lot more tranq where that came from.

Riddick: Tell me what you see outside that window, Dahl.

Finally, in the climax where Dahl rescues Riddick, she is shown to be straddling him as they are lifted back into the ship. She then says:

Let me ask you somethin', sweet-like...

… and a little later on, Riddick tells Johns:

Tell Dahl to keep it warm for me.

Was our hero supposedly sex-starved after his time on the planet? Or was he simply trying to get under her skin? Considering the above dialogue, does that mean that Riddick had sex with Dahl and essentially turned a lesbian?

(FWIW, I watched the Director's Cut.)

Answer 1

Riddick as written is a character who forces his antagonists to fight against themselves and one another as much as they do him. This is how he can maintain an advantage when he is outnumbered.

As shown in Pitch Black, he torments the characters with subtle hints as to the fate of the planet they crash upon residents by never specifically revealing the fact that they were killed by the creatures who dwell (he hints at it but he never states it). This causes them to create a plan where it's clear that this numbers will be reduced by the time they attempt to leave the planet.

That worked in his favor.

In The Chronicles of Riddick, he manipulates Coombs' crew into wasting valuable time on Crematoria when they simply should have (and could have) left taking whatever bounty they would have initially received. By staying, Riddick's actions led to the shootout between Coombs' group and the guards at the prison, making it easier for Riddick to escape.

However, this plan is shown to have gone awry and Riddick was saved only by the intervention of a Purifier who was, like Riddick, a Furian survivor.

In the latest film, Riddick attempts to manipulate the two groups of mercenaries into fighting over him instead of working together. He seems to have sensed Dahl's insecurity and played upon that and the insecurity of her co-workers in their mission. This works, as the two groups waste valuable time fighting one another rather than attempting to capture Riddick.

Unfortunately the Riddick trilogy has often eschewed with its psychological foreplay to make its anti-hero protagonist looking more "badass" than they need to. The best parts of the films are interplay and not when Riddick demonstrates the Hollywood conceit that edged weapons outclass guns.

Answer 2

I always took Riddick as someone who understood that winning fights isn't always about physical strength, but mental fortitude as well. Him "preying" on Dahl wasn't so much that he was starved for sex, it was more of him asserting his dominance in the situation. Dahl basically liked to consider herself "one of the guys", and Riddick sought to overcome this by making her out to be nothing more than another sexual object in the eyes of a brutish man.

Whether they actually had sex or not isn't really relevant, all that really mattered was the mental game Riddick was playing with Dahl.

Answer 3

Not that being stuck on a planet by yourself alone, after being lavished by women, some of them naked, some of them want to kill you and some of them want you naked and killed doesn't matter. Dahls the 1st women Riddick has seen in a long time, better built than Fry, more physical than Kyra, it's as though Riddick has met his match. Like any other guys would do is hit her up. Its honest.