the queen of tears started off strong. with the perfect chemistry from the main leads, brilliant acting from the whole ensemble of casts, stunning cinematography, and well-crafted soundtrack, queen of tears immediately captured my attention and got myself captivated with the story. but then, the writer had the brilliant idea of putting every trope in the latter episodes. from unnecessary car crashes, dramatic and unrealistic kidnapping and gunshots, to greedy and messy family politics, the plot that was supposed to focus on the rekindling of relationship between a married couple eventually turned into a messy and predictable korean makjang. the villians' arc has stretched on until the last episode, making the plot of the story rushed and poorly executed. if it is not due to the superb acting of kim jiwon and kim sohyun, i would have dropped this drama after episode 13. such a waste of potential.