The Genius Of FX's Dying For Sex Is Perfectly Represented By 1 Moment That Breaks A Tired Genre Trend

Warning! Spoilers for FX's Dying for Sex ahead!FX's Dying for Sex was genius in how it approached the "dying lover" trope, and there's one moment in particular that serves as the perfect example. The 2025 miniseries is based on the true-story podcast of the same name and follows a woman, Molly, who begins a journey of sexual exploration after learning that her breast cancer has returned at Stage IV. Molly's primary goal is to have an orgasm with another person since she has only ever managed to get there on her own. She ultimately achieves this with her neighbor before meeting her inevitable end in Dying for Sex.

Though Molly was only looking to have as many sexual experiences as possible with a wide variety of men, she wound up falling in love with "Neighbor Guy." This means that Dying for Sex technically fell in the "dying lover" trope within the romance genre. Movies and TV shows that follow a similar plotline typically over-romanticise the idea of terminal illness, but Dying for Sex takes a very different angle. Rather than an aesthetically pleasing tragic romance, Molly's story is more about BDSM, masturbation, and childhood trauma—and the FX show itself poked fun at this difference.

Molly Poked Fun At The "Dying Lover" Romance Trend In Dying For Sex

Molly Referenced How These Stories Typically End

Michelle Williams subtly smiling as Molly in Dying for Sex

After Neighbor Guy found out about Molly's terminal cancer in Dying for Sex, Molly expected that their relationship would end. She hated the idea of Neighbor Guy pitying her and knew there was no room left in her shortened life for romance. However, Neighbor Guy refused to walk away. It was a rather sweet moment that is pretty typical of this romance genre—the love interest always announces that they will love the dying person until their last breath. Though Neighbor Guy's Dying for Sex confession aligned with this to an extent, his exchange with Molly came with a perfect twist:

Molly: "What's going to happen here? We're gonna have some tragic love story, and we walk through a park in the autumn, and I get a leaf caught in my hair, and you're like, 'Oh, you have a leaf in your hair,' and then I just f**king die?"
Neighbor Guy: "No. No leaves in your hair. Just....keep kicking me in the d*ck."

Molly's words about a walk in the park align with romance movies and TV shows' typical approach to the dying lover trope. These stories often skip over the ugly process of death and instead feature the couple's final days together under golden sunlight in the fall (the perfect season to represent an impeding end). The dying character is presented as this angelic being whose beauty the surviving lover must commit to his memory. This isn't Dying for Sex's way. Instead, Molly and Neighbor Guy decided to spend their final months together, continuing their kinky exploration.

Dying For Sex Is A Far More Accurate Representation Of Terminal Illness

The FX Show Held Nothing Back

Dying for Sex put a hilarious twist on standard romance tropes, but that's not all this FX series did differently. It's clear from the first episode that Molly will die by the end, but, as previously stated, media typically skips over or misrepresents the actual process of dying. Dying for Sex held nothing back. Molly said her goodbyes to Neighbor Guy before she entered hospice care and instead only kept her mother and best friend by her side as she went through each stage of the body's natural dying process.

There was no room for the overly romanticized dying lover tropes—Molly's FX story was heartbreakingly and hilariously real.

There was no big dramatic death scene with rushing doctors, beeping monitors, or wailing family members. Molly died in hospice of a terminal illness, so her body went through the predictable steps of death until she lay comfortably with her mouth hanging open and slow, rattling breaths. It's ugly but also beautiful, and Dying for Sex represented this far more accurately than we are typically used to. There was no room for the overly romanticized dying lover tropes—Molly's FX story was heartbreakingly and hilariously real.