Queen of Tears (2024)

Not Amazing but better than most

Never written a review before so let me give my best shot.

Queen of Tears follows Baek Hyun Woo, the pride of Yongduri village and legal director of Queens Group, and Hong Hae In, the “queen” of Queens Group’s department stores. Their lives and love are intertwined with Family Dynamic and corporate politics setting the stage for a compelling drama.

The strongest aspect of Queen of Tears in my opinion is the captivating chemistry between the two leads. Their performances bring the characters to life and keep viewers invested. However, the story suffers from tonal shifts. It starts off as what you believe would be a romcom but gradually transforms into a something of a thriller, creating an inconsistent viewing experience. With a title like Queen of Tears, one would expect more of a serious drama or thriller throughout, yet the series struggles to find a clear direction.

Despite the story’s inconsistency, the strong performances make it worth watching. My rating is 8/10, as the leads shine even if the narrative could have been more cohesive. With all that being said the Main leads kept me invested in continuing to watch.

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Clichés after clichés

To summarise this drama, Park Ji-eun just took a semi-interesting characterisation and ran with it. The romance was okay, but the plot points were outrageous.

Hae-in is a likeable female lead. Rich, gorgeous, capable, straight talking, with a dash of childhood drama. The sulky and haughty heiress is actually a very popular characterisation that is tried and tested. It's no surprise that viewers love her. With the contrasting male lead Hyun-woo (just money-wise though because a male lead cannot be imperfect), we have the perfect setup for a typical Korean romcom with the gender roles sorta reversed. "Sorta" is important here, because eventually the story went from finding love after marriage to saving the damsel in distress repeatedly.

Like I mentioned, the romance was fine. I don't think there was sizzling chemistry, but there was definitely some temperature. The part where they were falling in love all over again is pretty much the best part of the drama, though the lovey dovey bits had me cringe a little. I do agree with most that the acting is good, though personally I thought it was also accentuated by the horrendous script.

The reason why I'm writing this review is because I am amused at how bad the writing was. I'm not even upset, I'm genuinely confused how the drama lost steam so quickly.

Hae-in's family were a failure of a chaebol family, billions in net worth but they have the combined intelligence of a high-school student. At the beginning it was funny, but towards the end it became ridiculous. It also undermined Hae-in's characterisation a little, because she should have put up a respectable fight if she was as capable as the writer wanted her to be.

I don't understand the second male lead as well. He has an inexplicable obsession with Hae-in which is creepy. I get that he's only supposed to be the catalyst for the relationship, but it needs to be interesting at the very least. Instead, he feels like a writer's cop out to introduce convenient obstacles in the story, and it's incredibly frustrating to watch.

Don't be fooled by my rating; this is a negative review. This belongs to the I-don't-know-why-I-stuck-with-it camp. I think the drama is engaging for the first eight episodes or so, and some might find it sufficiently palatable if they are just looking for a light drama to watch. But do lower your expectations.

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starts strong with refreshing role reversals but fizzles out with clichéd tropes

Queen of tears started strong with its plot mainly because of its role reversal on the most common tropes of kdrams the rich CEO and the poor female lead. It was refreshing to see Hong Hae in as the rich heiress and Baek Hyun Woo as Hae In husband who could no longer survive the enormous pressure put on him by his in-laws. While the plot and the plot- twists were surprising and unexpected, the last few episodes could no longer keep up with the excitement and its engaging plot. I personally felt that the writers had given up mid-way and added every trope possible to complete the drama.
There were a good amount of comical moments and the side stories of the aunt Beom Ja, Soo Cheol, Da Hye, and Hyun Woo’s family kept the series interesting throughout…..however none of them, nor the plot could save the last few episodes… Overall the series is a good watch and refreshing even. I would rate it 7.5/10

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Great acting, storyline doesn’t make sense

Then again, most things in drama land doesn’t make sense ;);)

It’s the kind of drama where the bad guy will win win win all the way to the last episode, then he will fall or get justice in just 10mins! Yeah, I hate dramas like this. There’s so much more could be done, build and focus on, but unfortunately the writing did not support the hype it’s receiving.

First 3 episodes I found annoying; 4-12 were riveting, interesting and intense; last 4 episodes were a bummer. This is mostly where a lot of scenes didn’t make sense. Both lead actors did a great job though! And the ending was wrapped up quite nicely. I didn’t really care for the other side couples and other storylines. Found them redundant and boring.

Watch if you must, just don’t get your expectations too high.

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Old K-Drama Vibes

At the start, I was very intrigued. I thought it beginning with a married couple with one wanting to divorce was unique from most K-Dramas that are about a couple falling in love-- but this being a married couple falling back in love was different for me. Both characters were also both flawed, and I didn't really like them at the start, but, by the end, you really care about them and their families. I was shook like halfway through the series, they had already kind of addressed or answered some of the most burning questions, so I had no idea how the show as gonna go. Yet, they surprised me, they kept adding new drama and chaos each episode. The villains were wild, and the plot twists were so old-school. It felt like an old K-Drama for real. I was mixed on the ending, but it was technically happy. I just wanted more happy moments, and answers for some side characters' stories.

Amazing acting, OSTs, and cinematography. Funny moments despite lots of tears shed, and iconic cameos for K-Drama fans! I'm just mixed about the story and ending.

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“don’t make me want to live”

first i would like to thank whoever casted kim jiwon and kim soo hyun for their roles. no one could have ate these roles like them. the church scene, the truck scene etc. they were so good. the story started so strong, i was really invested in baekhong’s story but it went down in last 2-3 episode. ep 11 was their peak, but the rest wasn’t that good. they mixed everything up like why hyunwoo got hit by a car and WHY DID HE GET SHOT IN THE NEXT EP?? i was rooting for haein then she recovered but hyunwoo was in the hospital?? i actually wanted to watch baekhong’s marriage story while waitin haein to recover like how they were like in their early stages of marriage, how they got sick of each other, how they lost the baby 1031… i wanted to see those but we only got some scenes. also, grandfather’s third child, he was irrelevant to story? his only role was the unwanted child like why did we even see him if he wasnt going to do anything. anyway, it was good overall i liked the ending but they didn’t have to kill off haein like what do you want from her? instead we could have got he baby scenes. however it was still good i would recommend it, because everyone needs to see my divorced parents,

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"boring" is definitely now how I'd described this series

Reviews are not my cup of tea generally, writing them I mean, but wth so many differing opinions on this (lovely) series, I thought I'd add my own :)) everyone is so titled to their own opinion, always, so here's mine

oh my goodness... I'm a little late to finishing this, but while it was airing a few months ago, a heard a lot of people saying that it was "boring", and it was "too long", etc. but honestly??? I watched this much faster than I thought I would because I was on the edge of my seat for the next episode!!! I don't think I would have survived waiting every week for new episodes, my goodness

I really really enjoyed nearly every aspect of "queen of tears" and I will continue with my feelings towards it,, it was so beautifully done and I never once thought it was dragged out, or that something needed to change. If anything, a certain someone should've been cut out of the show earlier :D

I loved all the relationships, and the character development!! I'm very much a feelings person when it comes to shows, I don't look to deep into things such as characterisation and plot holes, but anyone can see how beautiful everyone turned out :)) WE LOVE HAPPY ENDINGS, especially when I actually thought they wouldn't get one

beomja, geonu and yangki, you have my heart <33

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Queen of endless villain meetings

The drama boasts an exorbitant runtime that's around 90 minutes per each of it's 16 episodes but it's filled with constant meetings of the villains planning, enacting, or going over what they did for their schemes instead of strengthening the relationships of the characters, the most important one being the main pair Hae In and Hyun Woo. Their chemistry really fluctuated as to when the writing really understood them as characters with history, which the scenes when they are at odds at each other capitalized the most well on, giving them pathos informed by their shared traumas, whereas it's the weakest in the romantic sections where the writing and direction portrays them like teenagers dating for the first time rather than estranged spouses whose years of resentment (that lead to Hyun Woo to the point of celebrating the news of Hae In's terminal illness) stemmed from shared overwhelming grief over a miscarriage and miscommunication. There are moments where their current romance reflects on moments in their dating past that gives their current relationship a bit more depth, but otherwise there is this astronomical void that is never reconciled so Hae In and Hyun Woo falling in love again, all the sweet scenes, and emotional declarations feels hollow. It doesn't matter if they kept meeting each other throughout their childhood into their adulthood and elderly Hyun Woo is the one visiting her grave in Germany after she has passed from old age in the future if the biggest obstacles that utterly destroyed their love for each other is never addressed properly.

The most affecting relationship of the show is Soo Cheol and Da Hye. Soo Cheol is a comically petulant man child who can't do anything right, but he understands that he's been sheltered and stunted by his parents and wants to step up to be a good husband and father and he absolutely is. His pure unconditional love and acceptance for his wife and child even after he's discovered that Da Hye had scammed him and he's not the biological father of his child and every moment that he will do whatever it takes to protect them are the most powerful emotional parts of the show. The key moments are Soo Cheol waiting endlessly until Da Hye logs in to the game not to confront her, but to send her their son's shot records, not allowing his parents to speak down to his wife, learning to ride a bicycle so he can teach his son, learning to take hits and to box to protect his wife, calling her over the lost and found speaker, him choosing to recontextualize her confessions of picking on him when they were little in the sweetest way, and waiting for her release from prison. It's so sweet the both of them share a genuine enjoyment of gaming together. We get to see Da Hye have very good knife skills, chopping up copious amounts of vegetables swiftly. It would have been nice if we could have seen Da Hye and Soo Cheol work together for a business for themselves or something instead of the endless villain meeting scenes.

Kim Soo Hyun did a good job portraying Hyun Woo from his sweet vulnerable side to his cold combative side. Kim Ji Won's Hae In was most effective as the past version where she manages to be balance being cocky and romantic in a charming way. None of Hae In's supposedly comedic moments hit as funny in the current day portions. Hyun Woo's friendship with Yang Gi and the lawyer crew as well as Secretary Na being the closest thing to a best friend that Hae In has were also enjoyable. It would have been nice seeing Hae In explore her friendship with Secretary Na some more. It was trippy to see Sebastian Roche show up as one of the German doctors and seeing the German nurse station where they gossip about the situation, filmed in that specific kdrama style. Hae In's rare brain tumor being magically healed with no resulting issues other activating an amnesia plotline is also another wasted opportunity in the writing. There's a lot of potential in this drama, it's a shame that they couldn't edit the show down and focus in the writing stage to the more important parts to keep a good momentum and give more substance to the story of the main leads recovering from their broken relationship.

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Undercover Relationship

Off the bat, we have a reverse trope in Queen of Tears. She is the rich guy and he is the poor lover. We start off with a kiss in the first two minutes. Kim So Hyun (playing ML Baek Hyun Woo) looks gorgeous as the New Company Recruit and Kim Ji Won (playing Hong Hae In, the Heiress of Queens Group and FL) is our beautiful rich Heiress. He is left handed, she is right handed and so are their lives. This is a very acrimonious relationship, stairs to nowhere. Queen of Tears is a Dark Comedy.

Hong Hae In met Baek Hyun Woo working undercover as an intern in her own Conglomerate. Not knowing who she was, it was love at first sight for him. This drama could well be named ‘The Impossible Heiress’ or ‘Snow Queen and the Seven Airs’. After 10 minutes of viewing, you might agree with me that this drama has “Hit” written all over it. Secretly, behind the Ice Maiden veneer, there is a woman who loves her husband and a man who does not know that. This is a painfully great story, with a stacked cast. And believe it or not, this is a laugh out loud RomCom.

I like the dichotomy of the character Kim Soo Hyun is playing. Literally, his character (Baek Hyun-woo) has two faces. He is playing his character in happy times, a time in flashbacks when he and his wife (Hong Hae-in played by Kim Ji Won) were in love with each other. In the next sceen in Queen of Years, Kim Soo Hyun is playing his present self, one jaded by life and one totally saddened by his living situation and the loss of love for his wife. Kim Soo Hyun is asked somehow to reconnect to the emotions and feelings he had with his wife at first. For this character, Kim Soo Hyun has to be bipolar or living in two different worlds. I am so enthralled by how he is pulling off these polar opposite characters for his performance in Queen of Tears. Can he find the self he lost?

What I really like about Queen of Tears is a hidden message to the World of the Married. The grass is not greener on the other side. The grass is greener where you water it.

Oh BTW. Seeing Kim So Hyun after almost a three year drama lay off (His last role was Ordinary Day 2021), you might have love at first sight (again) too. There is great cinematography in Queen of Tears. One thing that is inconvenient in Queen of Tears is the close up shooting of this drama. We have to read subtitles and try to look at faces. Since the camera person is using close in shots, that camera stays on the person speaking only a split second and then moves to the the next person speaking. The camera is moving off each person too quickly. To view the faces of the actors, I literally have to pause frequently.

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It is too superficial

As so many here stated - the production of the series is top notch. The visuals, the camera angles - everything adding up to be a mesmerising and enjoyable watch. Unfortunately, the production is the main (and only) good feature of this show, every other aspect, especially the story, is extremely lacking.

1. The episodes are very uneven in their plot progression as well as invoking emotional roller-coasters. Sometimes, when the story is lacking in a film or a show, creators will overcompensate with trying to make their viewers emotional over certain parts. I am noticing a lot of that tactic here.

2. There is not a single likeable or relatable character. There are parts of certain characters that are sometimes likeable / relatable, but other that that, I have not yet seen a single one of them admitting and owning up to their past mistakes or misconducts. Everyone are over the top, self-centred, greedy bastards, to whom such a beautiful and light-hearted atmosphere of the show is not suited. It just gives off "Uncanny valley" effect. The villains are comical and boring; the protagonists have barely any screen-time to develop deeper connection between each other and, also, the audience.

3. The initial selling point of the drama (shaky relationship between rich wife and a husband who married into her family) is soon forgotten in lieu to the villains' convoluted revenge plans. At this point in show, there are far too many talking heads in rooms and not enough deep dives into the trauma of such selfish families, into the struggles of the protagonists - how did they come to want to marry each other, how did they grow apart (we might know the "why", but not the "how").

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