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Why so much hype
I understand why some called it overhyped but for me it's soo good that's why its lacking.First, the chemistry of the main leads is top notch, they look visually appealing and they both superb in acting that you will always got caught in their emptions. Hae in especially is a nonchalant person but when she cries and open up her heart a tiny bit, you'll definitely get into a hurricane of emotions with her. And hyun woo, gosh he's a Forest of green flag that will set your standard so high.
I like the OST, music goes with the scene and I just liked it that i downloaded it.
Then what I dislike is........ the acting was good, the premise of the story is good, sooo good to the point that the scenes are lacking. It feels like so much is fast forward and there are things left unanswered, and it ended without satisfying my curiosity. Sometimes I need to turn off my brain for a few sec to avoid myself from wondering "why didn't he do this? Or how can he do that thats theoretically impossible".
I don't know if its a good thing or not but feels like too much cliches mixed together and got recycled.
I still give it 10 and recommend it because it's a story where I didn't skip a thing and its funny cause it's comedy but it can also break your heart then it flutters your heart. Overall amazing for me just wish there are more scenes that would give the baekhong relationship a justice.
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Dissapointed
Disclaimer: It's my own subjective opinion, and anyone might have different views from meHonestly, this drama was a letdown. The first few episodes had me hooked—I thought it would be a heartfelt story about family struggles and character growth. But nope, it spiraled into a chaotic mess. The unending conflict felt so unnecessary, like it was thrown in just for the sake of drama, especially the Hong Hae In and Baek Hyun Woo relationship.
The obsession subplot? way overdone. It dragged on for more than 10 episodes and added nothing meaningful to the story. Yoon's character, in particular, was frustratingly over-obsessed, and his script felt repetitive and pointless.
That said, the acting was solid. Kim Soo Hyun and Kim Ji Won delivered emotional performances that hit hard, even if the script didn’t do them justice. Park Sung Hoon as the antagonist was so infuriating that I wanted to throw something at my screen—so props to the actor for nailing that.
The music? Absolute gold. Probably one of the best drama soundtracks I’ve heard in a while. I found myself enjoying the music more than the actual show.
The ending of the show was pretty nice overall, but I feel like it could use some improvement. It wrapped up the story too quickly, and honestly, a five-minute conclusion just doesn’t do it justice. Especially for episode 16, there was so much potential to expand it into at least half an episode. It felt a bit rushed, like they were trying to cram everything in at the last second.
Overall, great acting and music, but the story? Meh. Could’ve been so much better.
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IT'S GOOD BUT NOT GREAT
Finally finished this drama after a whole damn month I remember when they first announced the cast bro I was so hype! Then it aired tried to watch didn't really have mood so drop it for the mean time. Well I got caught by lr disease love that show not perfect but it was really enjoyable tho. Anyways people are justgiving side eye whenever I said i haven't finished the show so I did watch it finally. Note I got spoiled that she survives but not every details so I think my feelings are still valid🤣-first acting is phenomenal! what do you expect from kim soohyun and queen jiwon a flop acting? Hell nah I've been a lowkey fan of them since dream high and the heirs.
As well as the other actors and actresses, dang how much budget do they have coz these are all star studied cast. The only actress that annoys me is the villain mother: she's pretty, the voice projection is there, but the face not moving? It's like a mask, even she's angry she just look like nothing only her voice and body language is giving.
-characters, they all did best but girls! wake up BAEK HYUNWOO is not a green flag! there's nothing wrong with that tho, being not a green flag doesn't mean he's bad just stop acting like he wasn't kicking his feet, happy lovey and all when haein told her that she's gonna D. I love his development BUT the writers fuck up this one detail. WHY? what in the world happen that he, her husband, he who loved her just like no one else in this world would be really really happy in the news that his wife's gonna D! Those reasons they showed are not enough, baby situation is not enough. I was even doubting lile maybe he's just seeing this in a different angle and like it's not sinking yet. But no..boy is really happy 🤦 okay let's just forget about that, but he did really become a good husband till the end tho but those things bothered me still😅.
-all characters are engaging, i have small issue like the mother of haein and her father their like kinda there but all and it really didn't bother me. Love the side story of the brother teared up many times bcs of them. More than the main couple actually, welp idk too
-STORRY! It wasn't really that special actually, I don't get why everyone's acting like this is some sort of turning point of a kdrama world. The parasite plot actually was good until the later parts it got kinda meh it wasn't thay engaging anymore. Just like haein's illness they should've focus on this one tbh, i really like their interactions. Kinda wished they did the whole loosing memory in the middle of the show tho, then we just built another one with haein being super tsundere😅 because we're focusing in two plot points the writer definitely got scared in killing fml it should have been the best choice actually. It would be more impactful but no, because of the other plot(parasite) it also eats the effects of it. I really don't know how to explain this but just look at the ending... everything is already better but they left us hanging, for me instead of being sad and thinking about what their lives have been. It's more like is this this necessary? it was already too much.
-fav. Character! Beomja and haein also the brother ohhh her secretary too 😅
-I definitely have a good time watching this, tho I really need a good mode a good day to understand and be engaged. But also it's also a type of show that I could watch 2x and slow it down with sowoon scene yieeee.
-THE CHEMISTRY! i believe they're good pair but unfortunately I didn't feel the Suwoon chemistry outside their character for me they're just both good friends, please don't hate me I like shipping too, I even watch their bts and edits but their fans are just overanalyzing everything. Whatevers happening it's just their inside joke or wathever. But if its true i wouldn't mind it too, they're in the right age and their cute together so I support💕
-lastly rewatch value: i don't rewatch things a lot. I don't think qot has that kind of value too, i love it but id feel bored, I'll just watch some edits maybe.
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When you have everything from the start, and you still manage to mess it up!
You have a great cast, a good story, you're writing a fantastic first half, and you go on a holiday, basically.
It doesn't matter how much potential a story has, if the writer can't do anything with it. The comedy elements really elevated the whole show. Some drama scene were great, but I don't like how they didn't do anything with the story of their kid who died, they only mentioned it like 2 times. That alone and the cancer plot would've been enough to build up the drama between Hyun Woo and Hae In. I don't like when shows including the cancer story line, and they don't do much with it, just fixing it with a miracle cure, and of course they have to use the amnesia. I can forgive all the cliché, but I can't forgive a boring villain. Eun Seong and his mommy are probably the most boring villains I've seen. At first, it was okay, than they do all those storylines with them as kids. Like why? Is this a KGB story or what? With Da Hye, they're planning to ruin a family, because they want money? I don't think we get any real motive why they want to take a revenge on this family. I don't remember any explanation.
Not to mention, only their mothers mentioned that he saved Hae In when they were kids. I was waiting for them to mention that to them, but no, they didn't do it.
It's absolutely ridiculous that Hyun was pictured as a perfect guy, basically. Sure, at first he wanted to divorce, and he was like: "My wife will die, super, I don't have to suffer for more than 3 months." What the actual hell was that? I mean, they obviously loved each other, yet he's acting like he won the lottery. That part made the whole character worse than the villain. At least, he wanted to save her, even if he's a psychopath. Later they fall in love again, of course, that's not surprising. It doesn't matter how good the chemistry between Soo Hyun and Ji Won, they worked hard, but most of the time the writing was a mess! He's basically the Korean John Wick, this guy can do everything and can survive anything. Nonsense!
The whole love triangle is one of the dumbest thing I've seen. In some cases, the show actually fooled me, and that's a plus, but this story line was only there to see our main guy jealous.
The biggest problem with the show is that the writer solved everything in the most basic way.
The amnesia storyline was lazy, if they use it as a clean slate, and not to mess with her family and be with the other guy, it could've been much better. They stretched the story for too long with too much filler scenes, and they finished 3 different story lines in 2 episodes, basically.
Even tho, there's a lot of problem with the show, it's still enjoyable and fun, thanks to the actors, mostly!
It's sad, because without all the fake drama and fillers, this could've been another perfect show.
The story should've been about them finding each other again after the surgery, fighting with the villains without any unnecessary drama, and that's all.
And what was the melodramatic finale with some random white dude? Don't tell me that was the old version of Hyun Woo, because the actor is obviously a white guy.
Another overrated, but overall, a good Kdrama with a massive missed opportunity.
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they really tried
they really tried to make me feel sorry for a rich conglomerate family 😹😹😹😹soundtrack was top notch 🙂↕️
storyline was cray but made sense as a whole in kdrama terms lol but i do feel like they kind of left off the exiled son plot and randomly patched it up in the last ep ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
the ending was beautiful i joked they would do an “up” montage and they lowkey did 😅 i wish they added more to the losing a child plot bc i feel like it would’ve been more powerful in terms of why they were slowly drifting instead of instances here and there to remind us that it happened. losing a brother and losing a child must’ve been hard for haein and i would’ve loved to see the complexity in that, especially since she was also sick herself.
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Not so good but OK
I started to like drama from episode 4 , before that I keep thinking why Kim soo hyun and Kim ji won accepted these roles. Their love story was boring and untouchable. Kim soo hyun’s acting was good as always I also liked Kwak Dong Yeon. OST was good and the other thing I liked about the drama was the atmosphere of urban life but side characters were not so connected with the storyline. Overall it’s worth watching once but not twice .Was this review helpful to you?
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A Beautiful Setup Undermined by Scattered Execution
Queen of Tears had all the ingredients for a deep, emotionally rich romance: a broken marriage, lingering love, painful misunderstandings, and two incredibly talented leads — Kim Soo-hyun as Baek Hyun-woo and Kim Ji-won as Hong Hae-in. But sadly, the final product feels like a missed opportunity.📉 Too Many Side Stories, Too Little Depth
The biggest issue? The lack of narrative focus. The drama tries to juggle too many storylines — corporate family feuds, sibling issues, second leads, side romances — and in doing so, fails to develop any of them fully.
The romance between Hae-in’s aunt and her new boyfriend, for example, felt completely unnecessary and took up valuable screen time. Their arc had little emotional weight and often pulled attention away from what should have been the core: Hyun-woo and Hae-in’s relationship.
💔 A Love Story That Lacked Warmth
While the setup of Hyun-woo and Hae-in's failing marriage was compelling, I wish we had seen more genuine happy moments between them — not just in flashbacks, but in the present. Their emotional reconnection was undercooked, and the romance often felt overshadowed by external chaos.
⚖️ Out-of-Character Writing for Hyun-woo
One of the most disappointing narrative choices was how the drama undermined Baek Hyun-woo’s character. In Episode 1, he's established as a kind, morally upright man — someone who helps others and tries to do the right thing.
So to suddenly suggest that Hyun-woo was willing to fake love and wait for Hae-in to die — just to avoid a messy divorce — felt shockingly out of character. It seemed like the writers were trying to “balance” the emotional weight between Hae-in and Hyun-woo, but it came at the cost of logic and believability.
😠 Hae-in’s Treatment of Hyun-woo
Another frustrating element was how Hae-in consistently humiliated Hyun-woo in front of others, especially in the earlier episodes. Yet when someone else tried to manipulate or insult him, suddenly she felt protective. This double standard made her arc harder to empathize with.
And while the drama does explore her emotional growth, I still feel that Hong Hae-in never truly apologized for making Hyun-woo’s life miserable for years. That emotional accountability was missing.
😕 Scattered Writing and Missed Payoffs
Throughout the drama, I wanted to root for both leads — but the storytelling kept pulling me out. Important emotional beats were skipped or delayed. Storylines were dropped. And some moments that should have hit hard were softened by inconsistent pacing or weak buildup.
One emotional moment that never got its proper payoff: Hae-in never finds out that Hyun-woo saved her from drowning as a child — not Eun-sung. Her mother knows. The audience knows. But Hae-in doesn’t. A reveal like that could’ve added much-needed emotional weight near the end.
✅ What Worked
Despite all the messiness, there were still redeeming aspects:
Hyun-woo and Hae-in both remained loyal, no matter how strained things got.
Even after Hae-in lost her memory, she didn’t fall for the villain’s manipulations.
And of course, the drama ends with a happy, satisfying resolution.
The lead actors — Kim Soo-hyun and Kim Ji-won — gave it their all. Their performances carried the drama even when the writing faltered.
❤️🔥 Conclusion: A Love-Hate Experience
I really wanted to root for both Baek Hyun-woo and Hong Hae-in — and at times, I genuinely did. Despite the flaws in the writing, I still liked both characters and stayed emotionally invested in their journey. They had undeniable chemistry, and their performances brought warmth to an otherwise uneven story.
In the end, Queen of Tears left me with a love-hate relationship:
A drama with great potential and stunning performances, but one that lost its heart chasing too many side plots and emotional shortcuts.
I just wish it had trusted its leads — and their story — a little more.
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Finally, it's over!
Finally done with this… show. Was CLOY’s plot this messy too?? It started out so nice, but fell flatter than a pancake. I made the mistake of taking a two-week break between episode 12 and 15, so I had to catch up episodes 12-15 in one day because I wanted to finish it with everyone else. Thank the Lord for double speed and skipping.The show was successful due to a handful of factors: the screenwriter, regardless whether one likes her or not, has created many successful dramas. The amazing leads that are known for their skills. KSH and KJW were great, though I find KSH had less to show in the first 10 or so episodes. KJW had a much more consistent performance in my opinion. The insanity of the plot. And the OST/any technicality such as cinematography, styling etc. The plot of this show was pure dogshit. It got worse with every episode especially after episode 12 (for me).
Now, me personally, I hated BaekHong! 😊 I did not like Hyun Woo as a male lead. I could never fully sympathize with him, which I did easier with Hae In. HW was just kind of unlikable to me, and I’m also quite annoyed that Hae In had to start the mature conversation at the very end of the last episode (even when she apologized for being mean after her surgery?? Girl, it is NOT your fault). How they argued over trivial matters etc. and how that was the reason they grew apart. On one hand you can argue that she takes agency to speak up (especially when you consider how YES took her autonomy the second he appeared on screen until his last breath. That man was obsessed with her and wanted full control over her. He disguised himself as a nice guy, but he was never able to hide that little psychotic sparkle in his eyes. When he wanted to have dinner with her, he chose everything: the plates, the wine glasses, the food, the wine. When he showed up as her guardian at the hospital, when he kidnapped her, when she wanted to collaborate with this dude to be part of the Trillion Club thing, etc.) , on the other it is once again her who takes accountability. Throughout the whole drama, I felt that HHI was sidelined – despite being the female lead. Her feelings, point of view, thoughts… all felt like a second-thought. Both from the POV of the other characters, but especially from the writer. HHI never felt like the priority, it seemed like she had to compromise and put herself second in order to make others “happy” or whatever, and that was annoying. Kim Ji Won is such a stunning actress, capable of giving a nuanced performance of a character that could have been so interesting. However, she gave her best with what she was given – which wasn’t much in my opinion.
The villains. You guys, I laughed so hard when Eun Seong died. Lmao. Anyway, these villains were so over the top that I could not stand it after a certain point. They felt too cartoonish. They got their karma, so that’s good.
This drama could have been a nice little character-driven story – had the writer given the characters more depth. Instead, we got a mix of insanity, barely any (good) romance, lots of trauma, annoying villains… To be very straightforward: this was a clusterfuck of a drama, and I’m happy it’s over.
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“Annoyed that Hae In apologizes to Hyun Woo about her treatment towards him after surgery. Not her fault she didn’t remember him, why must she take accountability… also, when has his ass ever apologized to her? Seems like she compromises all the time for him throughout the show – oh, finally an apology at the end for forgetting his promise to always love her. Instead, he caused her pain.” – live commentary/thoughts while I was watching the last episode LOL.
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Too much drama in a drama
Was this supposed to be all about actors crying? I should have paid more attention to the title cause the sobbing was sooooo unnecessary omg please stop making Kim Soo Hyun cry for the love of all that is dear!There is something truly twisted going on in the directors heads because plot and script were all over the place no moderation whatsoever! The ML started out as a man who does not care if his wife died (is a human so unfeeling they wouldn't care if a person close to them died?) and then did a 360 spin in his personality and became the perfect loving husband? Right I get it.
And why all the misery???? There is a thing called balance and some people prefer to just add everything incoherently in a script leaving the viewer perplexed and tired. I feel tired.
AND NO KISS IN THE LAST EPISODE? WHY? WHERE IS THE ATMOSPHERE? Oh I know where perhaps it was lost somewhere between the tombstones...
Kim Soo Hyun tried really tried but the script and direction did not allow for much. He is -no matter how infinitely unrealistic- the perfect husband and we swoon. (He is the reason I give this an overall 6,5 the solid production cause we did see some pretty outfits and nice scenery).
Park Sung Hoon's role was wronged by the script because they simply portrayed him as evil when he was just desperate for affection. He was as always great.
Kwak Dong Yeon + Lee Joo Bin were PHENOMENAL as a side couple, like I would love to see them somewhere together again amazing work, loved their scenes!
Also loved the scened where the two families got together so I guess the side moments were entertaining. Ah so tired.
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I loved it
I'll be in the minority if I have to be. I loved it even with any flaws it had. The chemistry of the main couple is more than enough to make up for the side character/plot shenanigans to me. My husband and I both looked forward to new episodes every week and I just generally enjoyed it much more than I have any drama in the past year or more.There were some over the top lines to the story, sure, but entertainment value for me was very high. At no time was I bored. I laughed, cried, got angry - just had my emotions all over the place. The music was lovely as well. So take my 2¢ for whatever it's worth. I liked it a lot and I would watch it again.
Kim Jo Won was already one of my favorite Korean actresses, and I'm even more of a fan now. Kim Soo Hyun had the most expression in any show I've seen him in thus far - he really shined in this role.
I wouldn't say there is anything realistic in this storyline but it was entertaining to me and for those reasons I've listed, I'm rating it well above what most people are feeling.
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A Waist Of Time
Never in my 6+ years of watching Kdramas have I ever watched such a let down. To spare you time QOT is honestly more of a makjang than a rom-com. It reminds me of Penthouse due to the villains always winning.The worst part of this story would be YES and his mother. They were SOOO UNNECESSARY. In usual kdrama plot the villains experience a downfall in episode 13-14, so that the spare air time is given to the leads. But not with QOT. You'll get to see their faces all 16 episodes and not to mention their downfalls are so unsatisfying that you will just be happy that they are not on screen. I can never watch a Park Sung Hoon kdrama anymore because of how much I see YES in him and how it enfuriates me. Even though I love the actor and think he did a fantastic job of portraying YES given he did not have too much to work on (like common the SML only screems and whines on how much he loves Haein).
The best parts of this kdrama were the actors and some storylines. I especially like the Yonguduri episodes because they brought some much closure to the characters.
This kdrama had so much potentiall up to episode 12 after that it went dowhill so fast. What do you mean that after batteling such a terrible illness Haein can have life altering surgery, but forget her memories... Not to mention than BHW getting arrested, hit by a truck and shot all in the span of 2 episodes...
Overall, I am ashamed that I even recommended this kdrama to my friends. I strongly advise against anyone watching it.
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WAS THAT NECESSARY!?!?!?
As I was finishing the episode yesterday, 1 hr 50 mins, I mean i dread watching movies now, I can totally gulp down episodes these long but watching movies of 1.5 hrs make me bore, which is not the point.The drama started in a cute way, even though divorse was discussed. She was diagnosed w cancer, public was sad. The here and there, the family drama the scheming old b*tch. Everything was flowing smoothly until Eun sung entered and stirred poison in the relation. He as a person is such a cutie but made me want to kill a fictional character, CAN WE KILL A FICTIONAL CHARACTER IN TV???
The death of villian in Strong Girl Nam Soon was sad but here I felt no remorse for the villian and his old hag of a mother, such a coniving bitch, just wish her death but wtv. The happy ending to all the characters, the acceptance of each and family members who trying to teeth each other before.
This is an appreciation paragraph for Baek Hyun Woo, my man is the epitome of sacrifice, even though it felt like in the start he was there for the money, the sweet revelation of past and his future actions showed how much he loves her. He doesn't care bout himself, took the bulled for his ex wife who literally had no mempries of him. Even though Baek hae in will die earlier than him, he will be there at the grave, wishing her well. I LOVE HIM, AND WANT THIS TYPA MAN FOR ME.
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