Pitch Black Warned You

The Danger of being a Follower

“Any man who must say I am king is no king at all.” - Tywin Lannister

In the aftermath of a disaster, most people long for someone to be in charge. Even if it’s a small disaster like a car wreck or a house robbery.

“Tell me what to do. Tell me where to go.” The problem with that is that sometimes the one who steps up to tell you exactly what they want you to do isn’t interested in helping you.

In the 2000 scifi film Pitch Black, we meet Carolyn, one of the pilots on a space cargo ship. In this case, her cargo is human and most died when her ship was struck by an asteroid and violently crashed on an unknown planet. Her captain also died, as did her fellow pilot. As the last remaining member of the crew, the few survivors treat her as the leader and look to her for guidance.

But she doesn’t want that role; she’s not comfortable with it. She’s afraid and is relieved when one of the survivors steps forward, giving people orders… assuming the role of leader.

William Johns seems like a guy you can trust. He’s a cop escorting a violent criminal to prison. He is strong, handsome, and understanding when Carolyn confesses to him she tried to flush the cargo hold to save her own life during the crash.

Again, the “cargo” was people. The people who are now stranded on an alien planet with her. Including Johns.

It is her guilt that makes her reticent to be the leader she should be. Her guilt that makes her passive and obedient to Johns.

The problem, of course, is that Johns isn’t a cop at all. He is just dressed like one. He’s actually a mercenary and he stands to make a lot of money from seeing Richard B. Riddick to the supermax prison.

That is the reason Johns is so invested in finding a way off the planet. It’s not to see the survivors safely home. It’s to get his money. And he only needs Riddick for that. The rest of them… excess baggage.