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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.)

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    Yet what makes you believe her statement of being lesbian was the ultimate truth and not just said in passing or to rebuff Santana?
    – Napoleon Wilson
    Jan 5, 2014 at 19:14
  • @ChristianRau If you can find some evidence or hint that Dahl was not, in truth, a lesbian, then that would certainly be worth an answer. Jan 7, 2014 at 13:09
  • I guess I can't. I twas just some specualtion, probably along the lines of not making too much out of this at all.
    – Napoleon Wilson
    Jan 7, 2014 at 13:10
  • There actually doesn't need to be proof that Dahl was being honest when telling Santana that she didn't have sex with men. Santana repulsed her, and thus whether or not it was true, her response to him could have just as easily been something to deflect his advances. If she had admitted she was into men, this would have actually spurred Santana to even greater heights... and making more sexual comments.
    – Bon Gart
    Jan 11, 2014 at 4:19
  • I think they should have had Riddick Talking To Johns at the end, and Johns tell Riddick To keep Dahl Safe, and then as they show Riddick, they pan slightly to the left where Dahl is standing behind Riddick. In a sense Riddick flipped Dahl sexuality.
    – user8022
    Feb 10, 2014 at 23:33

3 Answers 3

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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.

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  • haha! I love the last line :) So what was Dahl's insecurity? She'd already proved that she was a bad-ass lesbian in her encounters with Santana. There didn't seem to be any insecurities about her sexuality until the final rescue scene. Dec 30, 2013 at 17:41
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    She was the only woman working with a crew of men. Her insecurities may well have stemmed from that. Her being (according to her) a lesbian might have been a source of insecurity as sexual roles seem to be surprisingly "gender normal" in the Riddick Universe (no gay or bisexuals, are ever shown even in the Crematoria prison scenes). She definitely seemed to be rattled by Riddick beyond what should have normal as she is shown to capable of handling herself.
    – Mistah Mix
    Dec 30, 2013 at 22:21
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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.

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    I really think you're looking into this too deeply. Whether Dahl and Riddick got busy really isn't important to the story being told. Another way you could look at it was Riddick sort of seeing Dahl as an equal and they were just throwing words around, shooting the shit as it were.
    – MattD
    Dec 23, 2013 at 17:32
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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.

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