Queen of Tears (2024)

IT HAS SOMETHING SPECIAL THAT RESONATED WITH A LOT OF PEOPLE

CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS!!!

I want to start by saying that I rated this drama an 8.5. I did so because, for me, this rating indicates that the drama is above average (average is 8 for me). The reason it’s not higher is that, although I think this series excelled in some aspects, the quality of the second half was not as strong as the first half. When deciding on a rating, I consider various factors, but I’m not too fixated on any one of them, nor am I a strict critic. My view is that all the technical and emotional aspects of a drama should serve the sole purpose of making you feel (I think QOT excels at this) and buy into the story the creators are trying to convey. Therefore, as long as this is achieved to a high enough degree, I don’t get too caught up in the individual technical aspects themselves. In other words, I personally don’t care about how they go about doing this, whether it’s done messily or more polished as long as I can feel it and buy into it.

Think about those films where you have one character who is well-trained but lacks that extra spark, and then you have another character who is not technically gifted but has raw talent and passion despite being rough around the edges. Simply put: they captivate you. "QOT" falls into the 'rough around the edges but has something special' category for me. The series managed to resonate with so many people from so many different demographics, which is no easy feat. Its ability to make you deeply empathise with the characters and the story made it such a huge success. Even if you are someone like me who doesn't follow actors and went into this series blind and without bias, you could sense that there was something special about "QOT" that had the ability to draw you in. This doesn't mean the series was perfect—it's not perfect—but you can recognise that there is something about the way in which it conveys emotion that captured a large audience, whilst also acknowledging that it was not as consistently strong in other aspects.

I watched this series week by week while it was airing and I was impressed with how well the narrative was structured in the first half of the series. Everything from the dialogue, scene setting, framing, editing, and story flow was well executed. I noticed how skilfully the story was developed from episode to episode and scene to scene. The narrative flowed smoothly and had a clear direction. It didn't surprise me that it had mass appeal, given its structuring.

I noticed that as with many k-dramas in recent years, the quality of the story presentation tends to decline in the second half of the series. This ultimately affects the overall quality. Until the second half, I was ready to rate this series 9.5 out of 10. I usually base my rating on how well I feel the creators have a handle on the story. While I initially felt that they had a secure handle on things in the first half, it became less so in the second half.

I cared about not only the leads, but also their family and friends. I even enjoyed the characterisations of the bad guys, though I didn't like them as people. Usually, I only care about the main characters in dramas and certain side characters. The rest I'm pretty neutral about as long as it doesn't impact the main leads too much. But with this series, I found the supporting characters equally compelling. I can't say for certain why it's these specific characters in this specific series, but if I had to guess, I'd say it's the show's ability to convey honest emotion in a relatable way that makes it stand out. The emotional resonance of this series brings together heartbreak, hope, and love (both romantic and filial), in a way that keeps it uplifting and prevents it from becoming too despairing.

I particularly enjoyed the family dynamics of both the FL and the ML's families, both separately and together.

We find out a lot about who the two main leads are as people through their love and resentment for each other, which is shown first amidst their broken marriage. The FL is a strong and formidable character, much like the other women in her family. She appears intimidating and cold on the surface, but this is her defence mechanism against her harsh upbringing, particularly with her mother. She is headstrong and a force to be reckoned with, far from the typical naive female lead. The ML is introduced at a point in their marriage where he desires to leave. Initially, he is portrayed as a man traumatised by his wife, seeking to escape her by any means possible (similar to Beom Ja's previous husbands), to the extent that he sees her impending death as his salvation and celebrates his chance at freedom. As the series progresses, my compassion grows for both the ML and the FL. It becomes evident that they still love each other, and something has greatly strained their marriage. Furthermore, the audience gains insight into the strengths and capabilities of the ML. He too is smart, skilled and can hold his own (unlike Beom Ja’s previous husbands). You realise that he matches the FL quite well despite initial perceptions. After a few episodes, you come to view them as a unit/a pair in the way they are characterised. Their interactions and love for each other comes across as genuine and refreshing. The audience becomes invested in their relationship and what they go through.

Above all, I was deeply moved by the relationships the characters had with each other. Their emotions felt nuanced and was palpable throughout. It felt really genuine as if they were those people going through those things. The main credit of course goes to the talented actors who portrayed the roles. Although I usually hesitate to watch emotionally heavy dramas, this series balanced the difficult emotions with an underlying sense of hope. It made me feel optimistic for the characters and their futures, amidst all the heartbreak, pain, and grief portrayed in the series.

There were also weaknesses in some of the characterisations too. Specifically, I felt that the backstories of SML and his mother (the mistress) were leading towards a more significant connection to the main family in the past, but this aspect seemed sidelined in the story. The story functions ok without it, but I can't help feeling that their characters were incomplete by the end. The mistress's motivation being solely about her greed didn't align with the direction I thought the story was taking, and it made her extreme actions to steal the family's fortune less convincing. If there had been a backstory about her scamming other people or if the main family had wronged her in some way, then her character would have felt more complete to me. The same goes for the SML and the grandfather, since their plot-line in the past were interconnected.

What stood out to me about the ML and the FL’s relationship's was that their love for each other was always evident, even when they were not physically together or going through a rough patch in their marriage. The series effectively depicted the complexities of their emotions - they could be upset, distant, or hurtful to each other, yet their love and care for each other remained strong. The main couple felt very real, showcasing the genuine impact of the struggles within their marriage. Despite the typical drama and clichés found in most k-drama romances, their relationship felt grounded, authentic and believable.

The one-sided, obsessive love that the SML had for the FL was interesting. Usually, I get annoyed by the second leads chasing after one of the main leads, but this time, I was fascinated by the layers to this. I believe the toxic nature of the 'love' he felt for the FL was well-explored, as well as how it was tied to the abandonment he experienced when his mother left him for the FL's family. There were multiple levels to his character, such as his desire to possess the person he felt was more deserving of his mother's attention, as if by possessing her, he would become worthy and gain access to the family from which he was excluded as a child. His hatred and contempt for the FL transformed into 'love' as a means to rationalise the intense emotions he felt for her. It's evident that he had never experienced love before, nor learned how to express it in a healthy way. It's unclear whether he truly feels love for the FL or simply believes he does. There's a great deal to analyse here, including the psychotic aspects of his character and how they shape his 'love' for the FL.

Overall, I am satisfied with the ending of the series, though a criticism I often hear is that it ended on too much of a bitter note because it revealed the death of the main character, although she died some years later. Some viewers wished it had ended before we found out she died, which I think is a valid point. Personally, I liked the bittersweet ending because we know she lived for a substantial amount of time afterwards. I found the final scene to be a powerful release of both emotion and conclusion; culminating in the main character joining his wife in the afterlife. The shot of him walking away as he turns into a spirit was very beautiful and emotional. I think the writers could have had their cake and eat it too just by showing a few minutes of a montage depicting their life together after everything transpired, instead of just showing us photos. For example, they could have shown them with their child, with the rest of their family thriving, growing old together, etc. This would have made it feel like less of a loss when we came to the final scene. It would have felt more like a life well lived and less bitter.

This series had its fair share of problems. I believe it had the potential to be a perfect series, but I think it's still a great series with that extra something. I found it to be heartfelt and emotionally beautiful.

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Did not undercook or overcook.

I don't think the show undercooked the story and did not overcooked, to be honest when I started watching it at first I did know what to expect (I did not do any research or watch any trailers or seen any of the ads) and I think that story was fine sure their were some weird things that happened and I think some people will get bored due to how long each episode spans and that for me impacts the rewatch value, but when it comes to the show I try my best to understand what each episode has in store sure it's not the typical k drama romance but that for me makes it unique I like how the first few episode it's Hyun Woo regretting his life choices in marrying Hae In and his in-laws beratting him to be a better husband, man, etc and I was shock on how early they said lets make the ML have the idea to divorce his wife at episode 2 but not fall through with it cause she's going to die soon and so now the ML best friend says why not win her over so she can change her will and thus you have a couple of episodes where the ML is over reacting and being all lovey dovey with the FL so that she can revise the will which I think is a good part of the story sure we know that the ML is just doing all this lovey dovey husband thing so he can have a share of her assets when she dies, but behind the scene they start to rebuild their marriage to the point where when they go overseas he ends up forgetting about divorcing her cause he doesn't act like a family member or husband that want's the assets that she has and despite all the up and downs with her ex boyfriend which he is a complete psychopath even taking of advantage of the FL when she forgets everything after the surgery I was cheering the Fl on for her to try to remember Hyun Woo and this were "The mind may forget, but the heart remembers" comes in despite losing her memory her heart still remembers her true husband and all the good deeds she did to other people along side the stuff she wished to remodel in her department store which made my all the more fall in love with the story, sure the psycho boyfriend could have just said to her 'I'm your husband Baek Hyun Woo' and when she sees the real Hyun Woo she would disregard him as a fake and he could have said 'This man *shows photo of Hyun Woo* is Yoon Eun Seong your crazy ex boyfriend' but no my guy tries the "I'm your ex boyfriend and I'm protecting you from your crazy ex" that's where I think he messed up but all the more I like how in the epilogue parts she still does not like him made me laugh my guts out cause no matter what he did the FL all was said "I'm fine I can do it myself" for me this has to be one of those show where understanding each episode is the best thing you can do to understand the story it's not some show you can breeze through like the rest of the k drama romance and rewatching it could be a hassle and leave a sour taste in your watch cause you already know what to expect and I think understanding each episode and taking you time to watch each episode will leave you feeling refreshed and satisfied that you took the time to understand each episode. That's all I can give on this review.

[TLDR: Understand each episode and the show is not overrated or undercooked.] (personal opinion)

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Queen of Tropes

Let's start by saying that I'm not a sworn enemy of tropes. Euripides and Shakespeare used them all the time to good effect in similarly dramatic works. QoT *almost* uses a million of them to good effect. The problem is that they wore out by episode 12. After that you have to get to the bottom of the barrel to keep the bad guys getting badder and the good guys, um, gooder. By the end, in which all just deserts are served and loose ends are tied up, the tropes are about as appetizing as a bar rag at 3 am.

As others have said this show is carried by the acting. The leads' performance is nothing short of spectacular. I can find no fault in the acting, production, or directing, all of which maximized the middling potential of the overambitious script that they were given. I've spent enough time on sets to recognize the brilliant work of the crew in scenery, lighting, outdoor settings, everything. And I couldn't get enough of Berlin.

This is not my usual style of show. I didn't even like CLOY. But it caught my attention. The only thing that held back QoT's binge potential for me was that it was emotionally INTENSE. I rarely watch anything twice but understand why others would want to do so. For all these reasons I rate it highly.

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Literally became the Queen of Tears watching this.

I just want to say, this deserve all the hype its getting. It broke me out of my kdrama-drought.
If you don't like angst then this is not for you. I don't think I've ever cried this much watching a k-drama.

I give it a solid 8. My thoughts are all over the place but will just use bulletpoints.

- Great cast and acting from all characters!
- Top-notch pairing KimxKim couple!
- OST is on repeat as we speak!
- Story/plot was there but felt like it was lost near the last few eps, so it felt rushed and seemed like it just needed to end and tie it all in somehow.
- EunSeong was unbearable, like boyyyy that's not love, that's obsession but didn't care much for the villains tbh.
- I would have loved to see a "what went wrong in our marriage" conversation between the leads. eg. the miscarriage pain T_T
- Why didn't HI see/watch HW pre-recorded video??? would have loved to cry some more.
- The final ep where they show they grew old and HI died first of old age was nice but I needed more, like the life before they grew old, maybe HI remembering more memory here and there not just a quick scene of them with their kid.
- I did like the auntie at first but she got a bit too much and did not need to have that many scenes esp for the final ep.
- May rewatch but only if I wanna cry or watch their sweet/funny scenes.
- Will pay to see eps about their pre-marriage hehe

Random fact: I didn't see them, but I was in Berlin last year July, just crazy to think they were also there filming! Would have loved to see them!!

Soooo, what do I watch now.... T_T BRB just gonna scroll Tiktok for more behind the scenes and fan edits.

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BAD WRITING , WRITER LOVES THE VILLANS,A MELODRAMA

Queen of tears showed us marriage isn't always the happily ever after, you can marry the love of your life and still be unhappy and miserable, that love alone is not enough to hold a marriage together, without understanding and communication it will fall apart.“till death do us apart.” these words are really embodies their relationship. their love story is way too beautiful since the beginning, it’s a whole life history🥹.
the beginning to end we got to see their journey of broken marriage to a happy family 🥹.The drama might have a bigger audience but for me the only good thing about the story was the cast's excellent acting. Plot was all over the place, it got too unrealistic and filmy after the second half.

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Am I weird if I liked the beginning much more than the ending?

The story definitely had potential. When I started watching, I was hoping for a lot of interesting action, especially in connection with Hyun-woo being tormented and abused by Hea-in's family, I secretly hoped that maybe he would want to take some revenge on them. Ultimately, however, we get another love story in which ML has to be perfect and do everything for FL. I see a lot of wasted potential. I will probably rewatch the first episode, but never the entire series. Over time, the story becomes terribly boring and predictable 🤷🏼‍♀️ Nothing fresh, nothing surprising.

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Emotional Rollercoaster

"Queen of Tears" is a rollercoaster of emotions led by the incredible talent of Kim Ji-won. This Kdrama showcases the evolution of storytelling in the genre, reaching new heights of entertainment and depth.

Kim Ji-won's performance is nothing short of remarkable. She effortlessly transitions between moments of laughter and tears, showcasing her acting range in every scene. The show manages to blend tragedy with humor in a way that's both clever and heartwarming. It's a rare feat to make audiences laugh until their bellies hurt one moment and then tug at their heartstrings the next.

Of course, Kim Soo-hyun's contribution to the series cannot be overlooked. His performance adds another layer of depth to the show, elevating it to the same level as beloved kdramas like "Crash Landing on You," if not surpassing it.

In "Queen of Tears," the storytelling is masterfully crafted to keep viewers hooked from start to finish. It's a testament to the evolution of K-dramas and their ability to tackle complex emotions while still providing entertaining and relatable content.

Overall, "Queen of Tears" is a must-watch for anyone looking for a captivating drama that will make them laugh, cry, and everything in between. It stands as a shining example of the best that kdramas have to offer in terms of storytelling and performance.

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The Woman Who Lived Two Times

Surrounded by a media hype worthy of the best previous series, 'Queen of Tears' certainly passes the test of success, but it doesn't reach the qualitative heights envisaged by its authors, due to a somewhat too schematic and rather predictable development, which doesn't integrate perfectly with the amount of material available, leaving us with the impression of a possible missed masterpiece...

Yes, because this supremely romantic and poignant love story is supported by the usual exaggerated set of narrative stylistic traits, bordering on makjang, with which we are all familiar and which provide the necessary boost for the development and the need to keep the attention threshold high throughout the 16 long episodes; narrative stylistic traits which, however, do not seem to be able to decisively innovate the plot's contents...

The feeling is that of being faced with a very costly author's “centone” *, a patchwork of other dramas capable of advancing more by twists and disruptive emotional jolts than by a consequentiality of narrative logic.

The heart before the mind, one might say... which, let's be clear, is a beautiful way of developing a truly redundant story, of sublime love and certainly moving (prepare your handkerchiefs because it is very emotional...), at least for me, an incurable romantic, but which fails to dare to use a more innovative language, not even experimental, but perhaps less mechanical and accommodating, made more to please the audience, who are evidently already well predisposed...

Personally, and this is not a very good sign, I found myself, quite surprisingly, mentally anticipating several plot twists which then punctually occurred, such as:
- The Hong family's hurried escape, with their arrival in the village of Yongdu-ri, which introduces a great narrative twist for one of my favourite moments of the drama, with very funny situations almost in the style of "Family Outing"
- The press conference with Hae-in's confession, absolutely inevitable at that point in the story
- The predictable and dare I say "announced" sequence with the encounter at the traffic lights and the related “traffic accident”.

Here and there one has the suspicion of a fabricated cult classic, perhaps capable of repeating the enthusiastic success of "Crash Landing On You" (even mentioned in a fleeting appearance in a scene on the TV) without, however, having the same narrative force as its predecessor, which, unlike "Queen of Tears", is capable of escaping a schematic manicheism bordering on sketchiness, and can also count on a decidedly more interesting backstory... It is precisely in the pursuit of a familiar, self-indulgent and quite quotable scheme that 'Queen of Tears' reveals perhaps the least convincing side of its construction, as well as in some not entirely successful acting passages...

The pattern is quite common in the portrayal of the Hong family, with rather classic family characters and dynamics, accompanied, however, by some very good performances, especially by the always excellent Na Young Hee and, of course, Lee Mi Sook who, with those beady eyes, makes us realise immediately where this is going...
The Baek family, with the usual array of villagers to temper the narrative tension, is just the right amount of fun, although I didn't find the group of friends from the hairdresser's salon particularly entertaining.

Even the "company" part in the department store doesn't exactly shine with originality, with the usual set of classic assistants/employees, but a special mention for Yoon Bo Mi who is really cute and funny; Hyun Woo's group of friends/lawyers is of a good standard, capable of giving us some funny moments (the advice on divorce!), as well as the inevitable decisive actions to help our hero.

In the brilliant performance of a stunning Kim Ji Won we must recognise the true strength of the drama, with a staggering characterisation, of great artistic maturation, capable of penetrating into the essence of the scenes, alternating moments of frenzy, often irresistibly comic, with others of pure emotion where the simple facial expressions communicate more than a thousand words, for what is truly the perfect interpretation of a woman who lived two times; while it is perhaps in Kim Soo Hyun's work that one remains a little less convinced, finding almost a sort of mechanicity, bordering on self-citationism for example of her extraordinary role in that masterpiece that is "My Love From The Star", (certainly more than in the equally marvellous work done in "Its OK") including the monologue in front of the camera;

Let's be clear, we are talking about one of the best actors in the drama world and not only, but here he seems to play it safe, without pushing the pedal of style in a fully convincing way... However, it must be specified that the chemistry between the two main characters is very much present, especially in the levity episodes where there is often an amused and funny air as in certain old-school screwball comedies (see for example the jealousy scenes, often relying more on looks than words)

As for Park Sung Hoon, I often tell myself that when a character in the story comes to be particularly well hated, it means that his performer has done his job perfectly, and he has; he is an excellent villain, admittedly not particularly original, but the dramatic crescendo is certainly adequate and effective.

Pure gold the cameo of our lawyer Song Joong Ki/Vincenzo Cassano, a real hilarious one as always (Vincenzo! We miss you!), but also the appearance of the unlikely trio of 'Hong Gil-dong Detective Agency' ex-cartoonists, straight from 'My Love From The Star' almost made me cry ('My Love' also quoted with the pen-recorder element...)

The choice of locations is absolutely stunning, starting with Potsdam and the beautiful Sanssouci Palace which, we can bet, will soon see an exponential increase in its tourist flow; it must be said that given the use of specific car brands, a joint venture with Germany seems obvious. There is no need to repeat that Korean landscapes are always extraordinary, thanks also to a dreamlike photographic setting, of great impact, able to glorify sequences such as, for example, the moment of the proposal at sunset with the related ring, pure magic!

The nocturnal pre-finale on the snow-covered landscape is impressive, reminding me of certain asian noir movies of the 1960s (the closing of Truffaut's 'La Sirene du Mississippi' also came to mind), but absolutely stunning and extraordinarily moving the epilogue, truly an unforgettable example of film poem; in that beautiful epigraph there is the whole sense of the tale.

At the end of the voyage, a bit like in a theatre performance, some of the characters wonder what they have witnessed, mentioning different cinematographic genres... I wondered about this myself, reflecting on whether the structure and unfolding of the story could really have been adapted to the most classic of Sageuk, for example... One of the best film noirs of the 1950s, Fritz Lang's 'The Big Heat', would undoubtedly have been a beautiful western, just as Samuel Fuller's '40 Guns' could have been a great female-driven gangster-movie (thanks to the magnificent Barbara Stanwick)...

Heart and mind always at odds make me say that yes, it's true, "Queen Of Tears" is a drama that is not completely focused, quite conventional, with many narrative clichés, several contradictions and the usual unlikely things, perhaps with an eye towards the international and western television markets, but bearing in mind that suspension of disbelief has always been a basic element in following and loving dramas, it is important to be guided by the heart and to be overwhelmed by the extraordinary romanticism of the story, which makes me give it a positive rating of 8/10, probably reviewable on a second view...

*I preferred to keep the term Centone in Italian because it is quite hard to translate; let's say that -helping us with the Internet- a centone is a text composed of a collage of quotes from different authors or operas, joined together to form an original composition. It is often used in a somewhat disrespectful way in the film industry, while from my side it is a simplification to indicate a work full of multiple quotations, references etc....

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|| OVERALL ||

After watching the last episode I wanted to give a much lower rating but I felt I wouldn't be doing the cast and crew, also the people behind making the OST justice. This drama was really saved by the phenomenal acting. There are multiple individual scenes that were fantastic and evoked the emotion that it intended, but the plot overall was just suboptimal and a bit of an overkill. During the drama's run, though, I did look forward to the next episode and didn't fast forward too much like I do with other dramas so the drama wasn't bad...it's just a lot of wasted potential. That said…I think overall I liked this drama more than CLOY.

**I recommend this drama to those that like a wide variety of genres but also have high tolerance to and able to overlook plot holes and sometimes absurdity. Watch the drama for the acting and for the romantic comedy scenes. The drama will take you on a rollercoaster of emotions - heartwarming, anger, frustration, sadness, etc. all at random.


|| DETAILS ||

= Story =
*Premise - Should be quite simple really...the story of how a chaebol heiress and a legal director fell in then out of love, then how they will repair their marriage. If focusing on that alone, the drama was great but because there were so many side quests and obstacles that got randomly and unnecessarily added into this central concept it really downgraded the drama.
*Genre - Truly an overkill as it included romance, comedy, action, melodrama, thriller, crime. Multiple genres is not a problem as Crash Landing on You also had that, but as this drama attempted to focus on all of them equally it became too much. For this drama I think it would benefit if it cut down on the thriller and crime aspect and resolve it 1-2 episodes earlier, then focus more on the relationship portion more. The amount of action was adequate and just right though. The rom-com scenes were well written and weaved into the story given the circumstances.
*Main Plot – I liked the way we learnt how the main leads met in that it wasn't given chronologically and we could piece it together ourselves. The romantic comedy scenes were indeed very sweet, cute, and funny. I am a sucker for romantic comedies so I didn't mind and actually enjoyed the clichés - destined to be together since childhood, getting injured and treating each other's wounds, getting drunk and acting cute, getting jealous of each other, in awe of each others' glow up. The melodrama scenes were also well written, especially the two scenes in episode 14...I even shed a tear. However one thing I realized was that I only enjoyed those certain scenes on their own but when looking at the big picture the plot was just so absurd. The premise made it seem like the drama would be more on the realistic side as the couple is married and explores how relationships can be mended. So...why were there so many simultaneous plots going on? Just pick one and focus more on it! The whole cancer situation was a bit much. The whole situation with the antagonists was a bit too much. There are too many plot twists and it just got too ambitious. The writing was sloppy in the swaying between protagonists and antagonists winning. When the writer wanted the antagonists to get their way everything just seemed to go smoothly for them, then the next episode the writer wanted the protagonists to win so all of a sudden they have all this evidence fall onto their laps and everything goes smoothly for them. It didn't feel like a natural progression but instead an omniscient force that keeps flip flopping between the two groups deciding who wins. All in all, if I just focus on the rom-com and melodrama parts i.e. just how they met and fell in love then fall out of love then fall back in love, the plot is great.
*Side Plot – This is the one thing I thought improved from Crash Landing on You. My complaint for CLOY was that I wanted to see more of the main couple and less of the other people from the ensemble cast. QOT had an ensemble cast again but the way they were weaved into the main plot was well done. It didn't take away from the main plot and I didn't find the other characters' stories taking away from the main plot. The side plots were also much better than that of CLOY so I didn't skip much of them as they also helped progress the story.
*Additional features – As with other dramas by this writer, the epilogues....really love them. I even started guessing which part the epilogue would be about. The epilogues are one of the best parts of each episode.
*Ending - Actually I enjoyed watching QOT throughout its run more so than CLOY...but the ending made me question this. There were many speculations on whether it would be a happy or sad ending. I anticipated the direction the ending would head towards and as expected it went there, but didn't expect that it would leave me with such a bitter feeling. CLOY's ending was well executed and it matched the subtle intensity of the love between the two until the end but I really can't say the same about this. I wanted more! They were so lovely together before they fell out of love, the extent of their love was so much stronger and showed more blatantly than CLOY. After the turmoil and rollercoaster the writer put the leads through...put the viewers through...what kind of subtle soft ending is this? At least give us some more lovey dovey scenes before ending like that. I mean they only properly kissed once, what a major letdown. It’s more than okay to reference the scene of them visiting the cemetery during the honeymoon at the final scenes, but give me more rom-com vibes before ending like this...it felt so rushed…I don't know...am I the only one thinking that? How frustrating.

= Cast =
*Acting – Phenomenal acting. I really don't know what to say. Kim Ji Won and Kim Soo Hyun carried so hard. The subtle expressions and gestures...just wow. I became a fan of both of them (more so Kim Ji Won) after this. I watched their previous works but I think the acting range they showcased in this drama made me see them in another light. I guess we have the writer to thank for that because with such a crazy plot (really too many twists and turns) the way they portrayed their characters enduring all that was as realistic as they could have possibly made it. Also...honest opinion...news that IU was supposed to play Hong Hae In, I'm almost certain that she could not have done it anywhere near as good as Kim Ji Won. I just had to say it. Supporting cast were all great with special mention to Park Sung Hoon who is really so good at being an antagonist, Kwak Dong Yeon, and Kim Jung Nan. The acting was really what saved this drama and gave it the high ratings.
*Chemistry – The lovey dovey scenes between Kim Ji Won and Kim Soo Hyun are just so heart-fluttering and cute. They had great chemistry. Visually actually I think Kim Soo Hyun and Seo Ye Ji matched more but I think personality wise and shipping wise I felt KJW and KSH matched more. They were just too lovely in the pre-wedding scenes and both honeymoon period scenes. Chemistry between the supporting cast and the main characters were also very natural. They all had their own time in the spotlight and I didn't find any of them too overpowering or taking away from the main leads.

= OST =
A great soundtrack with many good songs. Very fitting.


|| A LESSON ABOUT LOYALTY ||

It is extremely rare for a relationship to be harmonious all of the time. It is about enduring the tough times together and staying by each other's side through thick and thin. Sometimes staying together might not mean you will be happier, instead it will just be less painful. So gather all the happy memories whenever you can in your jars and when goings get tough, take them out and reminisce the good days. Tough times will pass and they will pass much easier when surrounded by people you love and that love you.

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