Queen of Tears becomes King of Makjang. Beautiful to look at, dull and exhausting to actually watch

Major, MAJOR disappointment. The acting and cinematography were stellar 10/10, as expected of the budget and cast.

But the story nosedived incredibly starkly when the drama started focusing less on the characters and more on piling increasingly unbelievable trope conflicts one after the other. One of the main leads has a a terminal brain tumor diagnosis and somehow it's not even in the top 5 most deadly things they have to go through in the latter half of the episodes.

The two villains, in particular the 'second male lead', dial up the makjang factor to eleven and his plotlines take centre stage for far too long. My short summary of each block of writing -

Episode 1-4 = Great acting, interesting and unique storyline - even if it wasn't a masterpiece yet, it was at the least intriguing. The leads had a dynamic very seldom seen in Korean dramas, let alone of a drama of this scale.

Episode 5-8 = Incredible, this is the stretch of the episodes that suckered me in. At their best worst enthralling, at their best emotionally devastating, this was the peak of the series.

Episode 9-12 = A fairly balanced mish mash of light and dark tones, the makjang kdrama tropes nonetheless start to intrude upon. Newfound complications start slipping in from the rafters but the central focus of the story still remains. The Queens Group story is still so boring, it takes a Herculean effort to not fast forward through all of the corporate nonsense that unfortunately overstays its welcome.

Episode 13-16 = WTF. How many times do the leads have to have tearful hugs two minutes removed from some unhinged assassination attempt in the middle of suburban Korea and Germany. Character development gets replaced by exploding cars, poorly written villains get more dialogue and screentime than the main characters.

A colossal letdown shouldered by excellent performances. A Big Mac served on a silver platter. If there is anything to take away from Queen of Tears, it is that believable tears can not mask an unbelievable story.

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A historically pertinent car ride that's uncertain about what it wishes to be

Quick appraisal: it was okay, not bad, not great. On a superficial and technical level, my impression is that Han So Hee's acting was honestly pretty good, while for Park Seo Joon it was not his best work. I think the scientist antagonist is the most interesting character: he has an unusual motivation by k-drama standards, but considering the heavily implied allusions to Unit 731 and the parallels to the figurehead of that operation Shiro Ishii, it's not unexpected in this context. Editing was hit and miss, occasionally a little too choppy though thankfully not so frenetic as to be dizzying.

Soundtrack is jarringly modern and anachronistic considering the historical material and setting. I feel like the romance was not entirely necessary, there's a theme of loyalty and duty that runs through the series and the dynamic of the main characters could have operated purely underneath the same umbrella to better results.

There is so much tonal whiplash within even the first 10 minutes of the first episode. Because the subject matter is so necessarily grim and horrific that the unceremonious segues into classic k-drama comedy with Park Seo Joon's character are kind of uncanny. Perhaps that's why his casting has received as much criticism as it has? I don't even think his acting is weak but the way his character is written and intended to act in the broader context of the series feels a bit misplaced.

The most rewarding aspect of the show is how they don't bat an eye at nor downplay the atrocities committed in the name of medical/scientific exploration by Japan in World War 2. The visuals are unbelievably grim at points which is why its unfortunate that there are so many detractingly blithe stylistic choices - the music, the atmosphere, the acting, the comedy - that dissent from this critical element. The series also plays with tension well but this is compromised on occasion by some frustratingly blatant plot armor and deus ex machina to keep the protagonists chugging along.

As a thriller and rom com, this is an underwhelming, unevenly concocted but serviceable work. As a historical expose, it manages well to convey the dread and barbarity that the topic necessitates. 6.5/10 for me.

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