The ending of sci-fi thriller Pitch Black is full of pulse-pounding excitement, not only due to the presence of terrifying bioraptors, but also because two survivors, Riddick (Vin Diesel) and Carolyn (Radha Mitchell), cannot entirely trust each other, inspiring a unique theory that Riddick may have secretly stabbed Carolyn just before she's taken by one of the creatures. Along with Jack (Rhiana Griffith) and Imam (Keith David), ex-con Riddick and pilot Carolyn are the only people to make it to the end of the movie after a solar eclipse turns the planet into hunting grounds for light-sensitive predators.
The final moments before Riddick boards the ship with the vital power cells are a confusing jumble of fast edits, ambient lighting, and sometimes almost complete darkness. It's difficult to tell if, during this final confrontation between the survivors and the Pitch Black monster, Riddick's true nature as a selfish opportunist is going to emerge, or the hidden altruism of the cynical antihero seen later in the franchise. While the stabbing scene itself is open to interpretation thanks to the subversive camera tricks from director David Twohy, Riddick stabbing Carolyn definitely impacts his character development over the rest of the Chronicles of Riddick series.
Carolyn Appeared To Be Stabbed By A Pitch Black Monster
As Carolyn and Riddick race to the ship, they get attacked by a bioraptor, and while Riddick is fighting it with his knife he gets wounded, necessitating Carolyn's intervention, but when tries to help him the creature sneaks around behind her and impales her. Riddick and Carolyn share a moment of prolonged eye , communicating remorse and shock, before she's pulled into the darkness. Riddick then races the rest of the way to the ship to Jack and Imam, killing several bioraptors when they fire up the engines and blast into space.
Up until that point, Carolyn and Riddick had reached an uneasy truce about their behavior as people; she chose to see the good in people, while he chose to see the bad, but despite his assistance she seemed to think him capable of change. Her selflessness juxtaposed with his cynicism provided dramatic tension, but it also served to highlight the theory that given different perspectives, someone's nature can change in life-or-death situations. Though he puts on a tough exterior, Riddick knows that deep down, no one should give their life for him because he wouldn't do the same, and it would be a worthless sacrifice.
Riddick's 'Not For Me' Line Makes Stabbing More Likely
After Carolyn is sucked into the darkness and presumably consumed by the bioraptors, Riddick yells, "Not for me!" which references an earlier oath where she vowed she would die for the others. Riddick made it clear she should never give her life for him to survive, and even if he felt guilt surrounding his actions, Riddick stabbing Carolyn ensured that she made good on her oath, and saved him in the process. It's also a way to show and prove to her that in the end, she shouldn't blindly trust people, because humans are inherently callous and self-serving, and he was always going to be this way.
Riddick has always been a lone wolf that prefers to not make a connection with anyone that would end up affording his enemies a weakness. His character remaining a self-involved criminal only looking out for his own best interests doesn't reveal much in the way of character development, but it's also more realistic. By stabbing Carolyn, he remains true to his nature as a survivor and as a strategist, giving the bioraptors something to distract them while he can escape, and proving to her that he wasn't redeemable.
How Riddick Stabbing Carolyn Changes His Character
Riddick might have appeared to assume a leadership role to help the survivors make it off the planet, but as he tried to remind Carolyn, he was always looking out for himself, and that Johns was right - he would "ghost you the second he gets the chance." Riddick knew that Carolyn was too selfless to leave him there, so he concluded stabbing her and giving her to the bioraptors was the only way most of them would get offworld, but at the same time, the act changes his character significantly.
