Queen of Tears

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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One of the most anticipated Korean dramas of 2024, especially because it featured two top actors. With such a strong cast and a promising premise, I had high expectations going into this drama. Unfortunately, it did not fully meet those expectations.

Main leads deliver excellent performances, especially in emotional scenes. Their portrayal of a married couple who slowly reconnect after losing their way feels convincing, and their acting is strong enough to carry many scenes.

The first half of the drama was enjoyable, with an interesting setup about a broken marriage, family conflicts, and the hidden feelings between the main characters. The emotional moments worked well, and the audience could easily understand the pain and struggles of both leads.

However, from the middle episodes toward the ending, I started to lose interest. The story became repetitive, and some conflicts felt unnecessarily stretched. Instead of maintaining the emotional intensity from the beginning, the drama started to feel predictable and slower than expected. Several plot developments could have been resolved more naturally without extending the conflict for so long.

The supporting characters also had mixed results. Some added entertainment and humor, but others felt exaggerated and distracted from the main relationship. The drama sometimes relied too much on dramatic situations rather than allowing the characters' emotions to develop naturally.

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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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best 2024 kdrama

from the moment I started watching I fell in love with hae-in and hyun-woo!! they are one of my favorite Kdrama couples(and a very good looking one might I add). it was my first Kdrama with the main couple already being married but seeing as they weren’t close due to circumstances( can’t spoil it) it was so nice seeing them fall in love with each other again and I do have to say the title is very well picked out. I definently shed some tears while watching and hyun-woo and hae-in are kind and queen of shedding those tears!! the storyline was very refreshing and I just have to say qot is one of the best 2024 dramas and I will definently rewatch it!!!! I can only recommend watching it(even my father watched it with me and he loved it too!!)

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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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The cast makes it a must watch

So I rarely write reviews but for some reason I just felt like I had to write my thoughts about this one.

From the score you could probably tell, how much I enjoyed it. I binged through the whole show in less than 4 days. There were nights, where I didn't want to go to sleep, to keep watching, because I loved it so much.

Knowing part of the production team also made CLOY I kinda knew, what I was getting. A mello-romance with a lot of tears and some cheesyness but for some reason it just worked to perfection for me. Especially the pacing, what sometimes was a bit rough during CLOY was incredibly well done this time. The K-Drama style cliffhanger were chosen wisely and not used too many times, so you rarely knew in which direction it was going.

Most important for that was the cast. This drama has my favorite actress, Kim Jiwon, who I adore and my favorite actor Kwak Dongyeon as part of the main lead group. The supporting cast also was tremendiously chosen. Some throwbacks to CLOY, some cross references to other dramas, including one out of nowhere Cameo of a certain lawyer and over all a cast I basically know like no cast before. Basically every actor is a known enitity in the Korean drama industry and totally delivers. There are scene stealers and just solid solid performances throughout.

But Kim Jiwon stole the show. Every single dialogue she had with her male lead (Kim Soohyun) was amazing. Great chemistry, great emotions, great dialogue and enough space for the viewer to read between the lines. I think starting from episode 6 or 7 I think I cried about 2-3 per episode, mostly due to the great dialogues and acting.


If you like well-paced, well-acted tear jearking romance give this one a shot. I personally enjoyed every second of it.

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