Kiss of the Spider Woman ending explained: Molina's sacrifice, Valentin's freedom, and the transcendent power of love

Based on Manuel Puig's novel and the Tony Award-winning stage production, Bill Condon's 2025 musical film adaptation of Kiss of the Spider Woman revives the iconic story. The plot is set in an Argentine prison cell during the political turbulence of the 1980s, and it centers on the evolving relationship between two inmates, namely, Valentin (played by Diego Luna) and Molina (played by Tonatiuh).

To cope with the brutal reality of their captivity, Molina vividly recounts the glamorous, melodramatic films starring his idol, Aurora, who is often the deadly figure known as the "Spider Woman." Jennifer Lopez features as the Spider Woman/Aurora/Ingrid Luna, highlighting the musical tone of the movie. The plot intensifies when the prison warden attempts to coerce Molina into extracting information from Valentin.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers about the film. Viewer's discretion advised.

Molina, motivated by his growing affection for Valentin, ultimately gives a false message to the revolutionaries outside the prison to protect Valentin from further torture. This betrayal leads to Molina's immediate execution during the conclusion of the film. Also, he slips away into a beautiful fantasy where he gets the eponymous Kiss of the Spider Woman.

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Kiss of the Spider Woman ending explained: The final fantasy kiss and Valentin's survival after the fall of the dictatorship

A still from the film's trailer (Image via YouTube/RoadsideFlix)

Bill Condon’s Kiss of the Spider Woman ends with a powerful, two-part revelation of the fates of its central characters, Molina and Valentin. During the final scenes, the warden manages to manipulate Molina for his freedom in exchange for using his bond to the injured Valentin to extract the names and location of Valentin’s Marxist cell.

However, what the warden fails to account for is the genuine love between the romantic idealist and the hardened revolutionary. After a night of intimacy, Molina is motivated not by the promise of freedom but by a desperate need to protect Valentin from the consequences of the planned betrayal. Having been told the identity of Valentin's contact point, Molina decides to protect the revolutionary cell.

He locates the contact and sends a message, but a misleading one, as a last act of self-sacrifice, which guarantees his doom. Soon, Molina is captured by the warden's men, who were secretly trailing him. He gets executed by being shot by the agents of the state as a result of choosing loyalty and human connection over his own survival and the warden's demand for betrayal.

A still from the film's trailer (Image via YouTube/RoadsideFlix)

In his final moments, the harsh reality fades away, and Molina drifts into a beautiful, comforting fantasy, where he receives the Kiss of the Spider Woman (Jennifer Lopez), who represents both the allure of death and the ultimate escape through art as her kiss is not deadly but liberatory.

That kiss acts as the anchor for liberation from the physical and political suffering of the real world, affirming that the stories he used to cope with his imprisonment were, in fact, his greatest source of strength. The kiss is the final reward for his life's belief in melodrama, beauty, and love,

In the end, Valentin survives the prison. The plot fast-forwards to show Valentin being released from prison following the fall of the dictatorship. During his final scene in Kiss of the Spider Woman, Valentin gazes upward, kisses the scarf Molina gave him, and dedicates his moment of freedom to "his love."

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Kiss of the Spider Woman was released in the U.S. on October 10, 2025. Stay tuned for more updates.