Queen of Tears (2024)

Cliche Plot with a Heartwarming Touch

Many compared this with CLOY - since both are from the same writer, some of the scenes are somewhat similar, but to compare, I think this is far behind. The starting of CLOY is already unique on its own, esp building a comedy on the North Korea's settings, whereas QOT is purely a story of a married couple - it's less fun but more realistic.

Cliche plot to expect - terminal illness, loss of memory, accident, gun shot - you name it. TBH the ending of the second last episode made me suck back all my tears and started rolling my eyes. Like, really?

But I gotta say, I do like the parts that make me cry - it gives a strong emotional touch on kinship and love, some of the lines hit you hard and made you look back in life, and also emphasize the meaning of life. [SPOILER] One very special scene that you might not find it in other dramas - the interpretation of FL's death at the end, it's really sorrow yet beautiful :')

Overall - watch this if you are finding a drama to cry on. I wouldn't say it's the most special one, I think the writer and casting itself gave this drama a huge "fame boost". I mean, how can you not fall in love with Kim Soo Hyun again? His crying scene is 10/10 - as always.

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With Great Potential Comes Great Expectations

At first, everyone's so excited, Queen of Tears will be Kim Soo Hyun's RomCom comeback and he'll be paired with non other than Kim Ji Won. I know this drama will be so hyped. Once the trailers were released, it's full of funny clips and I thought this will be your typical RomCom, Park Ji Eun style. But once I started watching, I realized trailers were very misleading. This show made me cry every episode. Every episode, I felt the grief and regret of each and every character. And towards the end, I felt the unconditional love that every character has for their loved ones.

Baek Hyun Woo and Hong Hae In are two flawed characters. I like that the protagonists are that way since they portray a very realistic type of relationship between two people. It is very real that a relationship can easily fall apart between married couples, specially if there is lack of communication and understanding. Despite this, the love story between this couple works and I just can't get enough of this two. Hae In, her love for Hyun Woo, the guy who mattered the most to her, she will live or die depending on Hyun Woo. She's a very cold person because of her upbringing, but when it comes to her husband, she just melts like ice. Same as Hyun woo, he may have develop hate towards Hae In after 3 years of marriage, but once he realized that he really do love her. He always save her and her family despite their mistreatment of him.

One thing about this drama, it is a mixture of so many genres. Romance, Drama, Comedy then there's Family drama, Suspense, Revenge, Mystery. At first, I think the story sustained to be interesting and was really well-written because of its character-driven plots. However, once the story turned to a plot-driven one, (HyunWoo gets arrested, Hae In' amnesia, Hyun Woo almost dying and was still able to save Hae In) it became over the top that I think it detached from its roots which has real characters.

All in all, I still recommend this drama. This made me realize how great of an actor Kim Soo Hyun is. He was able to delineate Baek Hyun Woo from the other characters he portrayed. Also, I saw Kim Ji Won on a different type of drama again. She really became the Queen of Hyun Woo's tears. Haha. The show started very refreshing and I understood the hype but once the story goes to the climax, it just became very over the top. I hope the story just remained real and believable.

Also, what a very beautiful ending and awesome soundtrack. ;)

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Nosediving into the horrible

Episode 1-12 9/10
Episode 13-16 1/10

This took such a nosedive after episode 12. I cried myself through most of the show, but by the end the only crying I did was from crying laughing because of how bad it was.

The plot is all over the place, plot threads are abandoned and Mr. Cartoon Villain keeps showing up to ruin any semblance of good storytelling.

And when you think you have finally finished his part of the story, nope, there he is again overstaying his welcome and to become a villain befitting of a bad episode of Supernatural.

The amazing main leads are the only ones holding this thing remotely together. And I will definitely try and check out more things with them. But I had similar issues with Crash Landing on You, so probably avoiding this writer

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An ok binge watch with shortcomings that may or may not be overlooked

I have conflicting thoughts because this drama leaves me wanting more, which may be both the appeal and the source of annoyance at times.

First of all, I adored the two protagonists; they are excellent actors who have appeared in numerous shows, and they have a wide range. I absolutely loved the musical scores and the emotional depth suits the storyline. For the most part I enjoyed the story and could see what they were trying to achieve however the other characters could have been explored better. However, when watching this drama, I may be missing out on romantic nuances due to the subtitles or my lack of Korean cultural literacy. This is marketed as an adult drama, but it feels high school-ish at moments. There is emotional disconnect in the scenes where the lines do not match the actions. The common assumption is that romantic words will result in more shows of matching affection and romantic conduct (not the off-putting raunchy American variety), but if the scenario has a romantic vibe, there may be suitable hugging, kissing, stroking, and touching to accompany the phrases! However, I notice the actors simply looking at each other after a romantic moment with some beautiful words...which is counterintuitive because in reality, when lovers have a moment, it is followed by acts of affection. This is to the directors who lack the proper perception or understanding. However, after viewing several grown-up romance kdramas. I've seen that many moments do not fit the conduct, I think it's just a difference in cultural or societal norms in Korea vs the west.

Overall, everyone performed admirably in their assigned roles. Both main characters delivered exceptional performances, expressing an abundance of love, tenderness, and suffering, evoking tears and stirring a sense of nostalgia within me. Further, camera angles that display exquisite cinematography and performance, especially the emotional denouement and direction, was great. Queen of Tears was enjoyable to binge watch and honestly I’ll watch about anything with Kim Soo Hyun (he's my bias)

I give this a 6.8 out of 10 rounded up to a 7 out of 10. I doubt I would revisit this in the future.

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Frustrating to watch. Problematic characters. Toxic FL.

The character design is quite problematic. I'm really struggling to understand the FL's mother and brother.

----------Mother----------
Regarding the mother, she's been blaming the FL for her own negligence in supervising her small children, which resulted in a serious accident when the FL was just 10 years old. It's absurd how she continues to openly blame a child for 20 years when it's obvious that the adult should take responsibility. She doesn't just do this in their personal life, but also in their work life, going as far as finding reasons to sue her own daughter, which could harm their family company that's publicly traded on the stock market. And all of this is happening right under the noses of the FL's grandfather and father, who are much more rational and surely wouldn't want their corporation's reputation tarnished. The whole situation is just so unrealistic and absurd.

----------Brother----------
As for the brother, it's unbelievable. His wife deceives him into marriage and even has a child with another man while they're married. Then she flees away with money of her husband's family, only to return after being abused by her child's biological father. Despite all this, the brother unquestionably welcomes her back with open arms, and still loves her illegitimate child as if the child is his own. It's like he lacks any capacity for learning or judgment. It's hard to trust someone like him to run a company at an executive level, yet he holds a high-ranking position in their publicly listed company. How is that even possible?

----------Female Lead----------
And don't even get me started on the FL herself. She gets kidnapped by the villain in a car. And when the ML catches up with them after a violent car chase, succeeding in rescuing her while he's injured, she complies with the villain's gaslighting to say that she voluntarily follows the villain, then she willingly gets back into the villain's car to be kidnapped again. The reason the villain gives her is that if she doesn't go along, the ML will realize her illness is worsening, causing her to mistake the villain for the ML. But later on, the ML still has to break into the house where the FL is being held captive to rescue her once more, and she still has to tell the ML the truth in the end. It's infuriating how easily she falls for such manipulation, especially considering the ML already knows about her illness and its progression.

----------Toxic love----------
Let me address the ML's love for the FL as my last point. I find his renewed affection for her perplexing. While his initial love before their marriage is understandable, I fail to comprehend how he could still love her after enduring a toxic relationship. Despite their troubled history, she continues to resist cooperation, vilify him, withhold her true feelings, and maintain emotional distance. It appears to be a very one-sided effort, devoid of reciprocity. His affection seems solely driven by blind devotion, without any tangible reason or justification. Their past history of love before marriage doesn't seem to influence his current feelings, and the FL's behavior offers little to warrant his continued love. In essence, it feels like he is merely serving her as a servant of love. In real life, such a dynamic doesn't foster a genuine and sustainable relationship, so it isn't believable or convincing for me.

The story's irrational elements are so frustrating to watch. I keep going with it until the end because I'm a fan of the lead actors. However, while the FL's acting is passable, it still comes across as quite stiff to me. I've seen her in 3 series, including 'Descendants of the Sun' and 'Fight for My Way,' and her acting seems to be consistently one-dimensional, and not even the best version of the character she's portraying.

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Hearts Rekindled

This is an exciting entry in Netflix's deep collection of Korean romantic comedies! Many typical storylines are reversed here, however. The rich, ruthless protagonist is female; the show starts with a seemingly happily-ever-after wedding; and it is the male lead who must demonstrate his dedication to the family.

At its core, it's a story about navigating the delicate terrain of a relationship in turmoil and rediscovering love. Despite the conflicts, there is an underlying optimism, hope of reconciliation, understanding, and healing. The angst is punctuated by comedy and humor. There are hidden gems and delightful cameo appearances. Themes include gender roles, social expectations, and family. The actors are beautiful, and so are the cinematography, wardrobe, and shooting locations.

The writer is Park Ji Eun, the creator of Crash Landing on You. She specializes in powerful yet feminine characters. This is her third Queen of ... series. No doubt Kim Soo Hyun is masterful in roles alongside strong-willed counterparts, as he did in It's Okay to Not Be Okay. Kim Ji Won excels at portraying the somewhat stoic and mysterious but troubled female lead, as she did in My Liberation Notes. Enjoy this skillfully acted, therapeutic, and playful story!

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A stairway to heaven type Makjang, in this era. Really?

When the drama started and became very viral, I was very reluctant to watch it. It has happened to me that they have made some dramas very popular and when I decide to watch it, I'm like "So much fuss about this?" That's really what happened here.

When I read that Koreans themselves started calling this drama "Makjang" I assumed something was really going to go wrong. And I wasn't wrong at all.

It is truly a "Makjang". You know those dramas where meaningless things begin to happen here and there, deadly diseases that magically disappear, overly typical topics like memory loss and starting over again, again.

The first part was good. I'm not really going to make a big deal out of what the reason for their divorce was. As the protagonist explains at the end, many times when you get married (I have never been married but I say this because I am the daughter of divorced parents) or when you go out with someone. There is no single reason to separate from that person you love nor is there a single reason to overflow the camel's back. There are thousands of reasons, stupid fights that begin to become more frequent and wear down the couple, not sitting down to talk to solve problems, not communicating to your partner that attitudes that bother you about their character in a calm way, no, everything always ends. in fights and in a sentencevery typical but real "Can't talk to you". So that ends up wearing down the relationship and you end up making the decision to leave that person. It is also very common that when there is a loss of a baby, couples end up separating. It seems stupid, but losing a baby does a lot of damage to the relationship and even more so when neither party manages their feelings and supports each other in that difficult moment. So I really don't think there is one reason, there are thousands of reasons why a couple ends up breaking up. So I won't be too harsh in that regard.

But the second part is a disaster, really stupid things happen, why? not at all. Just to add more unnecessary drama.

And the ending... ugh I'm not going to lie, I did cry at the ending. After everything the protagonist did for the protagonist, does he see himself as an adult visiting her grave? When I saw that older man climbing the stairs they climbed together when he was younger I already feared the worst. And everything came true, when I saw the name of the protagonist embodied on her tomb.

I really don't know what I expected if this is a Makjang. It was obvious that things were not going to end well and the ending would be sad. Like any drama of this style. But at least I would have liked to see more moments of the couple again and not just random flashbacks that conveyed nothing to me.

The acting was great and the cinematography was great too, but actors alone can't save a poorly written drama. Even if they are the best actors. At least their performances made this a little lighter to watch.

I recommend it? I'm sorry to say this, because I love both actors, but no, I don't recommend it. Unless you like Makjang dramas.

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Bits and pieces of old kdramas combined together

I like how the drama started with a messed up marriage and showed story of a couple who have fallen out of love and their journey to rediscovering their love. It was going good till episode 7, after that it become like a complete different story. All the focus was shifted on the queen’s group family being broke and falling in the trap laid by the villains. And how easily the villains got everything they wanted and even kicked the family out of the house. It’s was bit unrealistic how a business tycoon family had nowhere to go.
And in the midst of all this villain drama the main issue was left unaddressed. What about the martial issues that brought the lead couple at this point? Why hae in and hyun woo hated each other that much at the beginning of the show? The answers were vague. I wish the focus of the show was on addressing their martial issues and rekindling their love and not on the unnecessary villain drama.
If the story had only focused on hae in’s illness and their troubled marriage. It would have been alot better.

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A High Quality Makjang

My 4 categories are Acting/Cast, Writing, Direction/SFX/Music, Entertainment Value.

Wow, I was not expecting all the hate on this drama. When you're dealing with brain tumor plots, you have expect a certain degree of a lack of realism. So I was prepared for it. A friend asked me what genre this drama is and all I could reply with was "Swoonworthy". I typically wouldn't watch this type of genre these days, since I'm more interested in compelling stories and characters over visually appealing cinematography and attractive leads. However, this drama took me by surprise.

Acting/Cast: Easily the best thing about this drama -- a great cast with even better acting. Surprisingly, my opinion of actors that I previously didn't think highly of, changed for the better due to their performances in this drama (Kim Soo Hyun, Kwak Dong Yeon, and Lee Joo Bin). Yes, the actor who played the grandfather wasn't old enough for the character, but it's not a big deal; he's really a minor character. The best acting, and ultimately my favorite character to watch, came from Kwak Dong Yeon (곽동연). Kim Yang Gi, a minor supporting character played by Moon Tae Yu (문태유), was also a favorite of mine. I would say the entire cast - from main characters to minor supporting characters - brought a charm to their characters, which made them all quite likeable and enjoyable to watch. The chemistry between cast members is somewhat reminiscent of how I felt watching Twinkling Watermelon. They all see to have had a great time filming. 10/10

Writing: The writing was some of the best I've seen..."was". This drama had such a strong start. It stayed strong up until around episode 14 or 15. I was thoroughly impressed. I like the concept of the plot and I like the character building for the various characters throughout the drama. However, the writing starts to veer off course towards the end. It goes full makjang with craziness, unrealistic events, and of course our favorite clichés that have been around for so long. I expected that I would need to suspend some amount of belief for the sake of this plot, but even being prepared, the story still became a bit too ridiculous. I would have liked the villains to be more in the background and for the focus of the plot to instead be on the leads repairing their marriage, the families coming together, and discovering what's really important in life (with the villains simply being the catalyst for this growth). Basically, a family healing drama similar to Welcome to Samdal-ri, but better in every way. With less attention on the villains, I think the important characters would have been able to be fleshed out a bit more and they could have delved more into understanding how their marriage went wrong and how to fix it. It could have been a good learning opportunity for viewers going through similar marital problems. 5/10

Direction/SFX/Music: It looks and sounds nice. The OST is not bad. I was surprised that I like some of the songs. It could use some variation though. 7/10

Entertainment Value: Highly entertaining as long as the topic was on character/relationship building, especially during the first half of the drama. However, there's some dragging towards the end. The things I cared more about were glossed over in the end (too much BS with the villains). 6.5/10

Overall, I gave this drama a 6.5/10. Really, I could justify a rating from 6 to 7 out of 10, but I've settled for a 6.5/10. This is mainly due to the craziness towards the end, too much wasted time on villains and politics, and because this drama didn't put me on the edge of my seat (or have a crack drama vibe), nor did it have as much charm as Goblin or Crash Landing On You (although it came very close). But it's a good drama; it achieved such high ratings for a reason. This drama saved me from falling into a drama slump and now the baton is being passed to Lovely Runner.

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wasted potential; crashed and burned with the same old lame tropes and plot holes

Let me preface this by saying that I'm not usually one to watch romcoms, but the premise drew me in. The first few eps were hilarious too so I decided to give it a shot. Alas! it was downhill from there. Like many other reviews here mentioned, the premise is interesting and refreshing. A genderbent version of the typical "cold rich CEO" and "long suffering wife" trope seemed intriguing to me, and it was until the villains were revealed.

The villains' (Moh Seul Hee, Eun Sung, Grace (??) and Da Hye) plans and machinations were portrayed so confusingly and nonsensically I had to turn my brain off in order to understand how they were intending to takeover the company. After the villains were revealed, the IQ levels of the Hong family immediately dropped several notches and they were bested. Does this even make logical sense?? This is a 3rd generation chaebol family and yet they were behaving like idiots. This does not fit the supposed backstory of Chairman Hong who supposedly went from shining shoes to building this empire. Would an astute businessman fall prey to such schemes so easily? I would think not. Of course, thankfully we have Baek Hyun Woo who still retains his superior intellect and rescues his ex(??) in laws almost singlehandedly.

I felt sympathetic to Baek Hyun Woo at the start. He was portrayed as a long-suffering son in law who in constantly undermined at home and work by Hae In and her family. I felt for him really; he is supposed to be the male version of the typical korean daughters in law being mistreated by their in-laws and ignored by their husbands. Unlike most viewers, I found the writing and portrayal of his character genuine and hilarious when realizing that he would soon be released from his predicament by Hae In's timely (or not?) death. To me, those were the most hilarious parts of the drama. Part of it is due to how hard it is to like Hae In as a person. She is portrayed as a cold and stoic CEO who almost constantly masks her emotions. She seemingly cares for Hyun Woo but rarely expresses it. She is blunt and puts him down at work publicly. It honestly is a miracle their marriage lasted 3 years. I was curious to see what made him fall in love with her in the beginning but we never really get that. We never really get any scenes on how they mended their marriage either; sure her cancer diagnosis was the catalyst but it felt like the foundation they were trying to rebuild their relationship on was never shown. Instead we get makjang tropes of multiple car crashes, MULTIPLE childhood connection tropes and ridiculous random car chase scenes.

This next paragraph will be dedicated to all the plot holes that I seriously couldn't stand. First of all, Hae In's illness is just so...fake. She has a couple of symptoms that only flare up at the most convenient times and looks in the pink of health despite being literally at death's door. Like seriously, whenever she is at the hospital for checks or whatever, she is always sashaying around like she's walking down a runway. I get that its a drama and that it would be impossible to really look THAT sick, but its hard to feel sympathy for someone supposedly going to die when they are still strutting around in the pink of health! Her brain surgery thing was the most fake thing too. Going in with full face of makeup and HAIR and somehow "losing" her memory but still retaining the ability to walk/talk/eat and returning to work after 1 month... I know I'm nitpicking when this isn't a medical drama but this is a major plot point which the show hinges heavily on so some realism would be good here. I'm not even going to talk about the car accident tropes because yeesh. Lastly, those darn childhood connection tropes, which I honestly HATE the most because it adds NOTHING to the plot. In fact, I feel it demeans the love between the characters. I want the characters to be in a relationship because they CHOSE each other and would go through heaven and hell to make that choice, not because fate ordained them to and the choice is already made for them. That is such a cop out. So if they are fated to be together forever why even bother with anything? Why bother with treatment? Why bother with saving the marriage? if it's meant to be it's meant to be you know what I mean? Since they are fated to be lovers they wouldn't need to save their marriage because they would be together till the end anyway. Lame.

The story is honestly the weakest point of the show. Acting, music, cinematography are all top notch and I'm not going into it because all the other reviews are already singing their praises. The last thing I need to get off my chest is the ending. If I were the scripwriter, I would write that Hae In dies in the end. I seriously cannot believe that she lives. And I always think back to this quote from a western medical drama: dying changes everything, almost dying changes nothing. After the surgery, Hae In loses her memory but somehow reverts back to her old personality (partly due to Eun Sung?). Almost dying wouldn't change anything about the relationship; Hae In is an ambitious person and would probably get over the health scare and return to chasing her trillion dollar club goal, leaving Hyun Woo by the wayside again. The fundamental issues that broke their marriage down were never addressed (miscarriage, communication issues etc) and Hae In can't remember it anyway. The whole treatment thing felt like just pure fanservice to appease the fans and to keep viewership numbers up. If Hae In dies, it would be more impactful in the grand scheme of reflecting on her relationship with Hyun Woo and also her family. I feel like it could have tied in with the scene at her grandfather's funeral quite nicely. And of course realistically, with a 3 month death sentence no treatment would usually be available. But that's just me lol, I just wanted to get this off my chest because this premise had a lot of wasted potential.

In summary, watch for the acting. The plot just goes downhill after ep 6? If you like makjang you would like this. Hand to heart, i was entertained by this but I was hate-watching the last few eps.

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We had high expectations

Certainly the drama I less appreciated from our star Kim Soo Hyun. It is not about actors’ performances, I actually was stoned by Kim Ji Won’s acting. It was a very refreshing role for her. But the story itself lacks deepness… Of course if we compare this to recent works labeled as kdrama romances, you can find worst cases scenarios which actually got better reviews than this one but how can I say… maybe high expectations were awaited here. Kim Soo Hyun’s choices used to be better. In this series even main characters reach a point where they stop to evolve. And the intrigue and vilains are not justified at any point. It’s like, let’s put a vilain to get an intrigue… on a short notice, I’d like to see our boy is something very different from what he usually plays. Maybe a vilain ? Idk.
Again my review is only subjective tho.

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