Insane Chemistry between all the leads
Honestly thought since this was a military drama would not find it as worthy of watching but chen zheyuan continues to surprise you with his choice of scripts. The plot starts very like your humdrum military drama that focuses more on romance, but there is so much love and chemistry between the leads. Additionally, there is an underlying sense of depth and intricacy that is present when handling some of the sensitive topics which tells me we are about to delve into a really dark theme and a side of characterisation that is very uncommon in c-ent. 10 eps in and all i can say i cant wait for more!!Was this review helpful to you?
From the social sciences point of view
Sociology being my major in undergrad made me appreciate this series. It discusses the purpose of religion in our our society. On the level of the individual, it exists to satiate people's search for meaning, answers questions that science still fails to address, matters that are beyond our understanding. As Karl Marx puts it, it is the "opium of the masses."On an institutional level, it serves to ensure social control. We have laws in place, and religion reinforces them in the form of introducing the concept of morality and guilt, of heaven and eternal damnation.
Not a lot of kdramas offer this kind of commentary, so I should say it's worth a watch.
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Story/Plot: -10- When my mom showed me this drama, I saw it was related to video games and I was like "I'm out! I am NOT watching this!" but I decided to give it a shot and I am so happy I did! The storyline is amazing, the combination between the game world and the outside world is such a unique idea that was brought out nicely throughout this drama. I love school/earlier adulthood settings so this was a major plus for my specific taste. Overall, the plot was perfect because it had funny moments, sad moments, and such cute moments all in one!
Acting/Cast: -10- Zheng Shuang and Yang Yang (Bei Wei Wei and Xiao Nai) had amazing chemistry! His character looks out for her in every way possible and it is just so cute! Her character complements his character and that makes this whole entire drama 10 times, NO! 100 times better. The whole entire cast was spot on for this plot. Er Xi and Bei Wei Wei's friendship is absolute GOALS! Speaking of goals, of course, Bei Wei Wei relationship with Xiao Nai is also goals! It makes me so sad because I know, in the real world, that there will never be anyone perfect as Xiao Nai! :( I also love how this drama mainly focuses on the two main characters and even though there are misunderstandings throughout the drama, it always comes back to focusing on Bei Wei Wei and Xiao Nai. This just adds way more meaning to their relationship in "Love o2o" and it is what makes this drama really stand out from the others.
Music: -10- The songs/tunes used in this drama are so adorable and they fit in with the events happening so well! There is also a song by Yang Yang in this so that just makes me love it even more! :)
Rewatch Value: -10- Saying that I have already watched this drama 3 whole times, from the beginning to the end, and still find it intriguing to watch it for the fourth and fifth and sixth time, I would definitely give this a 10 rating for "rewatch value." (I am actually planning to rewatch this for the fourth time, maybe tomorrow since I have nothing else to do)
Overall: -10- The storyline is perfect! The characters are perfect! The music is perfect! Everything is practically perfect! There is no other drama that has beaten this one yet, for me, so I absolutely LOVED this one! I might seem to be rating this drama really easy going, maybe in your opinion, but this drama hits the spot for me! Trust me with this review! :)
Thank you for reading this long review, but I hope it helped you guys! I REALLY ENCOURAGE EVERYONE TO WATCH THIS DRAMA BECAUSE IT IS THE BEST ONE YET FOR ME!
Chào for Now!
Lily L.
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This review may contain spoilers
A perfect Feel Good Story.
For me, Hidden Love is one of the Best dramas of 2023.The relationship between the siblings was delightful to watch. They portrayed the day-to-day banter between Sang Yan and Sang Zhi very accurately.
The chemistry between the Leads was excellent too. They did a fantastic job to bring these characters to life, their personality and relationship was very real. The build-up took time, but after that, it was very real and heartwarming to watch.
All the characters helped the show in their way. Sang Zhi's University friends and Jiaxu's Office colleagues also contributed to the drama very much. They are an integral part of the story.
The main plus point is the drama justified its title "Hidden Love". Those who have experienced Hidden crush / Love can relate to the emotional journey Sang Zhi goes through.
Also, there is no toxicity in this show. So one can enjoy this show and this show can make one's spirit go up.
The OST complements the show well too.
Every good thing has to end. Hidden Love has ended too. But I will rewatch it soon and no matter how many times I rewatch it, THIS DRAMA WILL never be old or monotonous to me.
I recommend everyone to watch this drama.
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could have been a 10/10
Overall: although I enjoyed the beginning, things unraveled for me. 8 episodes about 1 hour each. Aired on GagaOOLala uncut: https://gagaoolala.com/en/videos/4688/4minutes-2024 (except Thailand, Japan, Korea); iQIYI uncut https://www.iq.com/album/4minutes-sultrier-version-2024-1zc6sune8fl?lang=en_us and cut version https://www.iq.com/album/4minutes-2024-1h7yndte6zx?lang=en_us (Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Spain, United Kingdom and United States); Viu with some countries having the cut version (Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Macau, Myanmar, Singapore); Rakuten TV in Japan and Heavenly in South Korea. Re-aired in April 2025 on Viki https://www.viki.com/tv/40989c-4minutes The cut version has NSFW shortened/cut and also cuts out some plot as well.Content Warnings: most content warnings, it has some very dark/graphic parts in it
What I Liked
- mystery element
- grey characters
- use of the number 4 or things adding up to 4
- production value* (includes cinematography, use of color as symbolism, props to represent things)
Room For Improvement
- not a fan of a flash forward (or back) as a hook for a series
- there were too many characters/plot to fully develop them all, also pacing
- misleading trailer, it felt that a different character is the main lead instead of a character people were led to believe
- tricking the audience, not a fan of how that was done
- sweet moments that didn't actually happen
- cliched plot stuff
- no reason why a character had a girlfriend, I couldn't support a romance because it was built to not be a romance
- cringey guitar playing/serenading
- *many scenes were too dark to see the actors' faces or even what was happening, even for scenes at night they need to put light on their faces
- nonsense stuff: I can't comment on all of the medical things and their realism, but I highly doubt any surgeon would spin his medical implements before/during a surgery, that seemed to be a ton of papers for a small clipboard in ep 1, an investigator who didn't wear gloves at a crime scene, in ep 4 a character oddly didn't wear a mask when he should have
- Be On Cloud decided to sell it to a company where it is only airing in 8 countries (and perhaps 2 more) and then had the gall to not respond anywhere to questions about the remaining 180+ countries but instead posted about how to only watch it via official channels, I don't mind companies needing money to get things made but they should have been clear about where and the why (update: after 5 weeks they had an actual international release and the reason was likely money/maybe they couldn't say their whole release plan due to a contract but it still was bad to not have an official platform for 180+ countries for 5 weeks)
Note About an Actor's Age (I didn't take off points for this but as an fyi 1 actor was likely 17 when he filmed several very explicit scenes, age of majority in Thailand is 20)
- it's valid to feel uncomfortable with a 17 year old actor doing explicit scenes and to not watch this series
- it's valid to feel fine with a 17 year old actor who voluntarily agreed to do explicit scenes (and had his parents' permission) and watch/enjoy this series
- everyone gets to make that decision for themselves, I hold no judgement either way for this example, personally I am watching the series but I'm not re-watching that actor's NC scenes
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This review may contain spoilers
I usually keep my reviews spoiler-free, but to explain the reasons why I found this drama disappointing despite liking it in the beginning I can't help but refer to parts and details of the show. Therefore, if you haven’t watched the drama yet, you may want to skip this long review.From the very beginning, my interest focused solely on the sentimental dynamics of the two main leads. I wanted to find out when and above all how the love that had evidently led them to marriage had turned into total indifference or even hatred. I found all the rest kind of redundant and started FF very early on.
At first, the most problematic character from a narrative point of view was undoubtedly Baek Hyun Woo. He can no longer stand his wife or her family and so far no one can blame him. However, a normal couple would at least try to discuss it, or quarrel about it, but Hyun Woo's tactic is to turn away and go sob in some corner alone. If, like me, you are hoping for at least one outburst of anger or passionate frustration, it is better to find a corner where we too can go and sob alone, because turning their backs on problems is the recurring pattern, regardless of the characters involved. Bar the volcanic aunt, that is.
When the terminal illness bomb is dropped, Baek Hyun Woo's reaction is: surprise, hug with declaration of love followed closely by relief of being able to escape the marriage without consequences. Am I supposed to find this funny? Only two scenarios are possible: either he has never stopped loving her and his hatred is just the other face of the love coin, or the contempt is real and we are left with a husband actively rejoicing in his wife’s untimely demise.
Hae-In's character is fleshed out a little better. Despite her apparent indifference towards her husband, on several occasions she highlights his intelligence and professional ability, thus proving proud of him. It is easier for the viewer to understand why she chose this man for her husband. It's a shame that instead of continuing along this line, the screenwriter prefers to introduce the usual K-drama banalities: "you're beautiful, you're sexy, I'm jealous of anyone who breathes, don't let anyone look at you, wear a burqa, blah, blah."
Given all these premises, I would have expected a much more passionate sentimental dynamic and not two spouses who obviously shared a bed at some point but whose simplest touch appears now unnatural. For the first four or five episodes, we see Hae-In trying to get closer to him physically and him backing away or denying himself as if he feared contagion. The absurdity is stretched to the point that Hae-In asks her secretary whether it is normal for a wife to be physically attracted to her husband, to which the “wise” secretary decrees this woman must be clinically crazy. What universe are we in?
Suddenly though, we are told that the love between them is the deepest in the cosmos and we have to take that for granted without further questions or explanation.
The pace of the entire narrative is fluctuating. It alternates poignant, almost lyrical moments with others full of completely irrelevant events, apples or pears and over-the-top, frankly irritating characters. The male lead's sister and her gossiping clients, anyone? Not to mention the family who arrives with 4 helicopters at the hunting lodge - not even the royals of England - the bad guy who does whatever he likes without consequences or control, the self-made patriarch who lets himself be fooled by a greedy prune of a woman and this last who goes around with a bevy of bodyguards/minions in tow like the queen of Joseon with her eunuchs.
When all this is said and done, what annoys me the most is the repeated trick of giving us a cliff-hanger of paramount importance at the end of every episode, only to start the next with either a flashback of the past or a conclusion to said cliff-hanger that is deflating my expectations at best or insulting my intelligence at worst. A few examples [very spoilery]
- Ominous press conference with the whole of South Korea gathered, Hae-In shocks everyone not only by revealing her illness, but also exposing the villain’s threats and manipulations to the world, even claiming she has recorded evidence of it. Fantastic! Next episode: the villain is still strolling the Queen’s corridors without a soul questioning him or the press dedicating a line to his involvement. Where did the recorded evidence go?
- Hae-In gets in the car with the what’s-his-name villain thinking he is Hyun Woo. The whole sequence is truly well made, giving the audience small but undeniable hints and a suspenseful car chase until Hae In finally realizes her mistake. End of episode. Here I am all excited at the prospect of a true confrontation, but the next episode Hae In coldly informs her husband she will go along with Villain to visit grandpa and Hyun Woo makes no objection. What? Cliff-hanger over, as well as my sanity.
- Grampa made a panic room built somewhere inside the family mansion, but he didn’t see it fit to tell anyone, which clearly defeats the object of a panic room. I’m still laughing out loud at a friend envisioning a bunch of criminals breaking in and the family dying of panic attacks because they can’t find the panic room. Remember, this is the same distrustful and overly cautious patriarch who made an unrelated woman his tutor without ever checking her true credentials. One wonders how he made all that money… So we have this suspenseful scene in which the family descends into the room via an elevator and Hyun Woo immediately gets the trick. How? You think they are going to tell you the next episode? Guess what: no.
There are other instances of logic defeating situations, but unless you like to be spoilt you have already watched the drama and know exactly what I’m talking about. They have crammed a gazillion open threads to be finally knotted back in the last two episodes, and yet they still find the damn time to introduce new, totally useless, eczema inducing characters, a murder mystery, a trial and a good 10 minutes’ village party with quacks and barks. I promise you, I almost got that eczema.
In conclusion, since the plot has got more holes than Swiss cheese and clichés abound, I watched and completed this drama because of the main leads. Alas, more often than not they disappointed me too: they never felt real as a couple of adults, despite their roles as individual characters being brilliantly acted. There isn’t a mutual alchemy between them, no sparks flying around: they exist as individuals who happen to repeat they love each other ad nauseam. There is no real in-depth conversation between them: why didn’t it work? When did we start to drift apart? Let’s be honest; if you don’t clear up the misunderstandings, they are definitely going to be repeated, no matter how many times you’re shot, driven over by a car, get tumours, surgeries or whatever catastrophe a scriptwriter can come up with.
There’s a beautiful dialogue sometime by the middle in which Hyun Woo comments: “what if we had applied a balm on our wounds every time we hurt each other in the past? How would our marriage be now?” That was such a wonderful cue, the type of conversation I would expect from an adult couple in a crisis. But what does Hae In reply to that? “No, we should have stopped by the ice-cream and put an end to our relationship then and there. We wouldn’t be in this situation now.” What kind of superficial, immature response is that?
Better we were never born, so we wouldn’t be suffering now, sort of clever philosophy.
I decided early on that I would add one point to the drama if they made Hae In and Hyun Woo finally sit down and address the elephant in the room: October 31. As it stands, the drama gets one point less for turning a promising story of healing into a buffoonish makjang.
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AN UNDERRATED MASTERPIECE
THE DRAMA OF 2026, there will be no competition. what truly elevates the series, is the extraordinary synergy between cast, directing, and writing. IU delivers a flawless performance, balancing vulnerability, restraint, and emotional intensity with precision. alongside her, Byeon Woo-seok proves once again why he has become one of the most compelling actors of his generation. yall can say whatever you want that he can’t act, but his performance even in simpler works carries a quiet emotional weight that gradually unfolds throughout the time, always creating some of the dramas’ most powerful moments.the supporting cast is equally impressive. Steve Noh brings such a wonderful work with details and micro expressions that makes you lean to his side for a couple of seconds sometimes, while Gong Seung-yeon brings the Queen to life with such elegance and emotional nuance that enrich the story in a crazy way.
together, the ensemble creates exceptional chemistry that never feels forced. and about ROMANTIC chemistry, IU and Wooseok understand the assignment. they are already a force of nature by themselves, now together is just one of the best couples i’ve seen in any fictional story. whoever says they don’t have chemistry honestly just have a screw missing in their head.
directing deserves immense praise for its cinematic approach and emotional control. every frame feels carefully crafted, with breathtaking cinematography that turns even quiet scenes into visual storytelling, and each creative decision of Park Joon Hwa tells why he’s so different.
screenplay is equally strong. thoughtful, mature, and emotionally resonant without relying on unnecessary issues, like what do you mean characters don’t have miscommunication and silly melodrama that drags itself for 5 episodes? IS THAT A PARADISE?? everything Yoo Ji Won did in this script is masterful. the politic plot is beyond amazingly built, not to mention the GORGEOUS romance development and scenes that led to the final result on screen.
also a hauntingly BEAUTIFUL soundtrack that perfectly complements the tone of each scene. we all thought the OST wasn’t being special at the beginning but the show proved us wrong while the episodes moved forward. LIKE SERIOUSLY i am stuck to specific scenes for more than a week because all of that combined. whoever says this show “is a mess”, “have plot holes” or anything bad don’t deserve this level of quality. yall deserve dramas like Still Shining.
Perfect Crown is more than just a drama, it felt like a complete experience that i’ll never forget.
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This film is powerful. Pure art. I know it's not the sort that most people will get because it's not a guilty pleasure relief or melodrama, you can't 'ship' and expect trivial tropey dialog and sentiments, this is more like watching poetry. But if you do enjoy artistic poignancy and want to watch something with a little more meaning and depth, then please watch this one. The dialog is raw and honest and the love is always sincere and painful. Doesn't matter who you wanted the main character to end up with this film will teach you a great deal about love... and life. I don't like using words like ' literary tour de force ' at the risk of sounding like a paid review on a Dan Brown book jacket but I can't find any other words that fit.
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1The White Olive Tree – A Journey of Frustration, Pain, and the Only Two People That Mattered
I don’t even know where to start with this drama… The White Olive Tree was an experience, but not necessarily the good kind. It had potential—there were moments that gripped me, and of course, Ben and Sa Xin were the soul of the entire thing. But when I look at the drama as a whole? It was a frustrating, dragging mess that somehow managed to get even worse toward the end.Plot & Pacing – A Slow Burn That Burned Out
This drama had a mix of war, espionage, and romance, and while that sounds exciting on paper, the execution? Exhausting. The pacing was inconsistent—some parts felt painfully slow, and others rushed through major developments like they were checking off a list. The storytelling lacked the emotional depth it thought it had, and at times, it felt like the show itself was unsure of what kind of story it was trying to tell.
The war-torn setting had potential, and there were moments of raw intensity, but they kept getting overshadowed by unnecessary subplots and forced emotional beats that didn’t land. There were entire episodes that felt like filler, circling around the same conflicts without really progressing anything.
And then, that ending. I have no words. I sat there, staring at the screen, I sat through 30+ episodes for this??? I feeling completely robbed. That was the closure they thought we needed? That was supposed to be satisfying? If anything, it left a bitter taste.
Characters – A Mixed Bag of Wasted Potential
Now, here’s where my emotions get really messy. Most of the characters were… there. Some had interesting backstories, but the writing never fully let them shine. And others? They overstayed their welcome hard.
Son Rang – She was supposed to be a journalist, but I never really felt that from her character. There was no strong investigative presence, no real depth in how she approached the war through her profession. It was like they just labeled her as a journalist without making it believable.
Dr. Pei – I actually liked her character, but let’s be real—she was just there for the censorship. That’s how it felt. She had some good moments, but her role in the story never really clicked for me beyond that.
Sa Xin & Ben – The Only Reason I Survived This Drama
Now let’s talk about the real stars—Ben and Sa Xin. Because HOLY SH— THEIR SCENES WERE EVERYTHING. The tension, the way they saw through each other, the way they always had each other’s backs?? THEIR SCENES?? THEIR DYNAMIC?? The way they owned every moment they were together?? I breathed for their interactions. The writers knew EXACTLY what they were doing with them, feeding us crumbs while still leaving things "open to interpretation" BECAUSE OF CENSORSHIP??? I WAS LOSING MY MIND.
They weren’t just comrades. They weren’t just friends. They were everything. And the fact that the show kept tiptoeing around it instead of fully committing was frustrating as hell.
Ben was this emotionally closed-off, self-sacrificing mess, and Sa Xin saw right through him. The way Sa Xin called him out, the way Ben protected him like his literal life depended on it—I LIVED for every second of it. They had more chemistry in five minutes of screen time than any other couple in this entire show.
Now the OSTs: They are amazing..
Final Thoughts – A Mess, but Ben & Sa Xin Were Worth It
Would I recommend The White Olive Tree? Honestly? If not for Ben and Sa Xin, my answer would be a NO. It was messy, frustrating, and ultimately left me feeling drained. But because of them… I can't fully regret watching it.
I just wish they had been in a better drama. A better story. A story that actually deserved them. 💔
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This review may contain spoilers
Generation to Generation is not the kind of drama that tries to captivate its audience with spectacle, kisses, or elaborately choreographed fight scenes. Instead, it focuses on something deeper: how the wounds and choices of one generation continue to echo in the next.The characters are generally well written—there are many of them, which might seem intimidating at first, but don’t worry: you won’t miss the essential ones.
YI RAN !
The true centerpiece of the series, however, is undoubtedly Yi Ran in his portrayal of Mu Qingyan. His performance carries a rare intensity: sometimes a single look is enough to convey an entire storm of emotions. His acting is remarkably precise—fragile yet strong, broken yet determined. The way his gaze shifts, the tension in his voice, those micro-expressions that communicate everything without a word… Yi Ran performs with almost dangerous precision. He doesn’t try to show emotion; he simply lets it exist. As a result, some scenes stay in your mind for a long time, and whenever he appears, you feel like replaying the scene at least three times.
In that sense, he joins what Luo Yunxi brought to the genre: a more sensitive, layered, and introspective way of portraying wuxia heroes. But Yi Ran is not imitating anyone—he offers his own tone, his own version of the anti-hero, more introspective and internalized.
Romance
The romance here is rather chaste—which makes sense considering the characters’ age. The drama beautifully captures the feeling of first love and first emotional experiences. There is no need for kisses; simple gestures like holding hands, or the speech near the end, create some of the most memorable moments I’ve experienced while watching a C-drama.
FL
The heroine fits her role well and delivers a natural performance. She is energetic and curious—at the beginning more practical than romantic—but she ultimately plays a crucial role in the hero’s redemption.
PLOT
Regarding the plot, the story explores the characters’ mistakes and their attempts to repair the past. This complexity makes the narrative very human. Each character seems to represent a different stage: some are still trapped by the past, while others try to break the cycle. What makes the story compelling is that their decisions are never simple. We witness their contradictions, their sacrifices, and their regrets.
Almost every character is haunted in some way by the legacy of Cai Ping Shu. His heritage leaves a different mark on each member of this so-called “orthodox” sect, shaping their motivations in unique ways.
On the demonic side, our hero is a man haunted by the past, driven by the desire to uncover the truth, avenge his loved ones, and ultimately bring peace among the clans.
PROD
From a directing standpoint, the series clearly offers more than just something commercially profitable. There are good artistic ideas here—new directions worth exploring. Some narrative threads could have been handled better, Yes, the editing could be smoother, especially at the beginning, and sometimes more dynamic later on but these imperfections are forgivable. Personally, I would rather support projects like this than PURELY commercial productions which is tailor-made to satisfy the fandom of the lead stars.
The director also delivers several visually beautiful scenes, particularly those set in water with floating flowers. Another positive point is the restrained use of music—there is no overwhelming musical overdose.
CAST
Finally, the supporting cast deserves recognition as well. Many of the younger actors show promising potential, and the couple representing the older generation is very convincing.
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This review may contain spoilers
sadge
This had so much potential in the beginning but then..... nothing happened. People were talking, walking around, drinking coffees.. doing absolutely nothing. Very disappointing.Mr Suprnatural Person Doom: I will not let her die. I will cure her!!
Also him: does literally nothing the whole time.
I'm just sad.... They could've done so many amazing things with this drama, go in all kinds of exciting directions with plot twists and such. Why settle for "Characters Doing Nothing for 16 Eps"? I rly don't understand.
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This review may contain spoilers
Great comedy, lukewarm romance, underdeveloped drama…
which means only 1 of the 3 main genres are truly worth your time. And with how serious the topics that fall under “drama” were, I cannot just move past it and enjoy the funny fluff.For the comedy - they went into it and put all their brain power to make it work, and it truly did. Every episode had at least a couple of jokes that made me laugh and smile. Some were slapstick, some were filly, some were more subtle. I also appreciated at times dry delivery, which was obviously a deliberate choice. The absurdity of some scenes were perfectly used to create comedic moments.
For the romance, that’s just my subjective opinion, but I did not see that much chemistry between Shin Min Ah and Kim Young Dae. With how in love he was and with how open about sex her character was - there were truly no real sparks going on.
At least the second couple had more dynamic and fun to watch relationship. Gyu Hyun and Ja Yeon were the spark of chaotic fluff and I’m extremely happy we are getting (even though short) a sequel for them.
Then we have the true issue of the writing - a mess that was any and all serious scenes, storylines and plot points. For 12 episodes, they truly tried to have it all without putting in the work and it just left a bad taste in my mouth. Hae Yeong and her mother’s relationship was a tragic case of parental neglect of a child's emotional needs, but why at the end did it feel like it was all a “misunderstanding” on FL’s part and her mother “truly loved her”? Why does it feel like the drama is trying to tell me the mother did not really do anything wrong? Why the conclusion to this extremely complex and damaged relationship is the death of the mother? Why was there no real conclusion? The mother was selfish till the end. The mother chose other people over her own child till the end… the mother lied till the end. But now I as a viewer am supposed to forgive and forget because she dies and FL is sad about it? If that’s not it, then what is? Because the drama was not clear what exactly their message here was.
Then we have the issue of Nam Ja Yeon’s abusive father and how they decide to give a close about that story by adding a dildo fight between him and Gyu Hyun… that was just a new level of lows. That was the issue that kept coming back - good comedy, but ill timed comedy.
I also at some point started to see how selfish each and every character was and instead of liking them more with every episode and seeing their growth, they started to annoy me more and more. Some examples: .
For Ji Uk the promise he made as a teenager was more important than being honest to the person he claims to love. With how her whole life something and someone was always more important than Hae Yeong, to now know her partner also chose someone over her… painful.
Hui Seong deciding to not take a DNA test for her child is also selfish. One would assume a child would want to know who their biological father is… I guess it is on brand with overall message of the show: how biological parents don’t give a fuck about their biological kids. Not one good parent in this show… I am honestly impressed.
Overall, I just felt frustrated. They could have had a good pure rom-com with great comedy, but mishandled too many important issues. If you don’t give a clear message of what you want to say, you need to give more details about the circumstances so the viewers can form opinions - it lacks said details. And if you are not willing to put the work and time into developing these stories, don’t make trauma a major motivation and factor for almost all characters…
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This review may contain spoilers
When you try to be too many things and end up being nothing.
Queen of Tears is a show that is trying to do it all. It wants to be a complex story about a dying marriage. It wants to investigate the fragility of mortality. it wants to look into twisted messy familial relationships. It wants to explore the tragedy of losing your children. It wants to be a thrilling chabeol game of thrones. It wants to be documentary about toxic unrequited love from an obsessive villainous male lead. The end product is a sopping misshapen mess that manages to be none of the above .It claims to be a journey of a married couple at odds finding their way back to each other (but the male lead spent half the show trying to divorce the female lead or hoping she dies) it attempts to be a meaningful essay on death and sickness (but haein's illness seems to be an afterthought half the time, merely a plot device to remind the people around her that she exists and that shes human and that she deserves to be loved) it takes multiple sloppy shots at trying to play the inheritance games (but the chabeols you're supposed to root for are so stupid and pathetic you feel no sympathy for them when they get taken for all they're worth) The messy familial dynamics fall flat as we watch a mom very unreasonably neglect and villainize her 10-year-old kid over the apparent murder of her other child. It tries to skim over the terrible topic of miscarrying your child into a mere oddly placed 10 minutes.
The show is its own worst enemy. it stages an effective angsty scene between the leads about the difficult choices u need to make when ur ill and then undercuts it in the editing room by immediately following it up with an oddly placed flirtatious and humorous scene. It tries to impress upon us the terror of yoon eunsong's controlling, manipulative ways and immediately follows it up with Haein freely stalking her apparently abusive lying cheating ex-husband with a smile on her face. some shows are capable of maintaining a light tone while speaking about heavy topics and still pay them the respect and significance they are owed [refer: oh no here comes trouble] but queen of tears is not one of them. Rather than a show that uses comedy cleverly as a way of bringing to light its complex subject matter, it comes across as a jarring whiplash of moments thrown together by two different editing teams who were given two very different instructions.
This is a show that tries to tell more than show. They want to tell you that these people love each other but when you think upon it for more than two seconds you start wondering why they fell in love, why they fell out of it, why the miscarriage that got 8 minutes of screentime tore them apart so viciously that the husband began to wish his wife would die and her terminal illness would make her more likely to leave him with some soft cash to fall back on. On the surface level, it's all there, Hyun Woo's self-centeredness, and Haein's inability to communicate her emotions but it's too little too late for the depth of the melodrama they plunge us into.
Despite Kim Jiwon's and Kim Soohyun's stellar performances, you exit the couple's showdowns thinking "damn is it really that deep?" and that's where a romance drama fails for me, it fails if I think the romance is too soppy coz that means that the foundation or crust of the writing is too weak to hold the decadence and the intensity of the acting job.
Queen of Tears ends it's run tonight as a show that tried to do too many things and ended up doing none of it satisfactorily. Rather than introduce terminal illness, scheming villains trying to usurp wealth, and obsessive friends from college they should have delivered on the one thing they promised, a married couple at odds finding their way back to each other. If only they had stripped down the additional dressing and focused on the messy terrible marriage of Hyun Woo and Haein and their respective and combined issues and how they overcame it without the unnecessary roadblocks like amnesia and evil second male leads, maybe it could have been worthy of the acting performances of the leads.
if you want to watch a messy married couple falling back in love its better to watch hits like flower of evil or go back couple coz this one was just disappointing.
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Like...in what world is this romantic??
And all the people talking about how “it’s fake, it’s fiction, get over it” really need to check their morality. Like, be 100% honest with yourself: if a guy was doing this to a girl, there is no way this show would even have half these good reviews. People will literally watch anything so long as they are seeing two men kissing or having sex smh. If that’s what you want, go watch a freakin porno.
And “get over it”?? Try telling that to a rape victim or a sexual assault survivor.
The storyline of how the two main characters came to know each other had potential but overall this show is not good. This is not romance and I’m so taken aback at the amount of good reviews and loving comments.
What if this were you and you were telling your aggressor “no” then he forces himself on you? What if this was your sister or brother and they were constantly telling their aggressor “no” so then the person kidnaps them? Would you still think it’s cute? Would you still think it’s romantic?
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Useless reality ever
What can i say, i was a huge fan of the 1st season even if the alliances thing of going all vs one annoyed me a lot, but in this season they did their best.Funny how this should be a reality where the smartest win games but it turned out like a contest who make more friends.
Starting from the cast: Sohee and Kyuhyun should do acting and commentary because how can you play a survival game if you have no will to win; they annoyed so much with all of those sentimental choices like they are playing with each other lives, not even if they were in squid game where they are playing with people lives, just play the game for god sake. Hyunjoon, Jiyeong, Chuu and the 2004 guy were absolutely useless and since they know that they did everything to play in group because they knew that alone they would have been in disadvantage.
And here it comes the biggest problem: THE PRODUCTION. How can you put in every game the possibility of ruining it by playing in groups; of course people will do alliances to survive but if you put them in the conditions to use that to play games like kids in elementary school, i ask myself where is the fun of watching this show. The peak was at the game at the 11th episode: i don't wanna say what happened because i don't wanna make spoilers but all of what happened was absolutely ridicolous, just people who refuse to play the game and decided who would have gone to the final.
Basically if you start this season because you want to see people solve problems, competing in games and give their best (wich should be the concept of the program) save your time because all that you will get is people who tries to pass the game all togheter without playing it and leave behind the people who want to play alone. Only the prison games are a bit entertaining to watch, but there you can witness how bad are some people who always played in group when they're put in a situation of playing alone
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