Where scenes with a set-up usually fail is when they fail to extend the set-up into the actual sex.

I remember a Jessica Drake scene in which she has caught her boyfriend cheating. She announces she is breaking up with him, he begs for a goodbye fuck, threatens to make things nasty for her unless she concurs, and she reluctantly agrees.

Then they start into the scene, and she is just as enthusiastic as ever. Sloppy head, eye contact, RCG with lots of screaming and dirty talk.

It could have been a much hotter scene if she actually acted like a reluctant participant.

I know lots of porners turn in reluctant performances anyway. But within the bounds of the established narrative they could really push the envelope if they did things like this deliberately.

Same goes for the "but what if we get caught" scene, which almost always drops that angle as soon as the action begins. Or the drunk participants, the "I feel really guilty about this" scene, etc. etc.

If nothing else, it adds some variety to the usual menu of "OH yeahyeahyeahyeahyeah" and "Gluck-gluck-gluck-gluck-gluck".