Emotional Reflection of Life
This is not a romcom, in my opinion. This is a romance-melodrama with some nice touches of well done humor. It’s far more than the slice-of-life I was anticipating. I’m trying hard to not give anything away. I’ve seen some very touching stories before, and even shed a few tears - but I’ve never felt this emotionally invested, with lasting after-affects, as I’ve experienced with QoT. No, not everything was perfect, but neither is life, so I found this drama to be perfectly imperfect. This drama brings powerful performances from the entire cast, a poignant storyline, breathtaking scenery and cinematography throughout, an outstanding OST, and brings out personal reflection about life and love.I consider a show rewatchable if I want to see it again “sometime soon”. With this, I’m ready to rewatch it right now, have played the last 15 minutes at least 7 times already, and have the last song on repeat on Spotify. I NEVER do this. Kdrama endings are often cute, sometimes rewarding, but usually dissatisfying for me. This one has some controversy, but for me, it was complete.
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Great acting and palpable chemistry for the main leads!
Leads are the best pairing in Kdrama world! It's the pairing we don't know we needed but absolutely loved it!Acting is top notch specially coming from the industry veteran Kim Soo Hyun and Kim Ji Won deserves all the attention she is getting from her acting skills.
Writing started fresh but fell a bit all over the place in the later part.
Later episodes were rushed and too many side characters that are unnecessary that took away so much airtime instead of focusing on the leads and main story line. OST is great and cinematography is amazing!
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This review may contain spoilers
Not all actions convey the intention
SPOILERS AHEAD!Cast: They did what was expected of them
Music: In every k-drama there is at least one track that I really come to love, but for this I loved almost all that were played in the background. I’ll have to create a new playlist altogether for queen of tears.
Chemistry: You wouldn’t see this high a rating for romance centred drama if the leads didn’t have appreciable chemistry. Baek Hyun Woo and Hong Hae In’s deep love for one another is expressed through actions in taking care of one another even when they have apparently fallen apart from each other. Some of the epilogues where they secretly vie for one another were really enjoyable
Plot/Theme: A chaebol family falls apart because they are unable to segregate whom to trust whom not to and sticking it to the other person. I really liked the part where the Hong family had to make amends with the Baek family while they were kind of forced out of the city. The first half of the series really sets up the narrative for something unprecedented but fails to capitalize on it in the second half. Hae In’s unconscious pursuit of Hyun Woo even after losing her memories gives vibes of the popular romantic movie, “eternal sunshine of the spotless mind”. This is something I really loved.
The wrap-up: K-dramas always end in a very predictable fashion; we are given a happy ending where Hyun Woo and Hae In seemingly spend most of their lifetime together before Hae In says goodbye to the world ahead of Hyun Woo. This surely doesn’t amount to the kind of anticipation the drama sets the viewers for.
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watched this series because of Go Kyu Pil
recommended by a friend who saw Go Kyu Pil name in the cast, we love his acting, he can be tuff in a cute way, luv when he's doing comedy =P A lot of plots and twists, at least we did not find it hard to follow the story. I for one believe in miracles, I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer still in remission. Great cast and crew, looking forward to Go Kyu Pil's next endeavors =DWas this review helpful to you?
It's not an overrated drama, the cast and their acting deserve an appreciation
- **Story/Plot**: 2/31. Synopsis (0.25)❌
2. Initial Impression (2eps) (0.25)✅
3. Genre Adherence (0.25)❌
4. Emotional Engagement (0.25)✅
5. Logic (0.25)❌
6. Plot Coherence (0.25)✅
7. Dialogue (0.25)✅
8. Pacing (0.25)✅
9. Character building/Development (0.25)✅
10. Story Richness (0.25)✅
11. Plot Twists (0.25)✅
12. Messages (0.25)❌
- **CAST/Acting**: 2/2
1. Lead Actor Performance (0.25)✅
2. Lead Actress Performance (0.25)✅
3. Main Cast Chemistry (0.25)✅
4. Supporting Actors/Actresses Performance (0.25)✅
5. Casting Precision (0.5)✅
6. Character Transformation (0.25)✅
7. Scene Stealers (0.25)✅
- **Directing/Camerawork**: 2/2
1. Camera Movement (0.25)✅
2. Editing (0.25)✅
3. Continuity (0.25)✅
4. Visual Effects (0.25)✅
5. Visual Details (0.25)✅
6. Cinematic Tension (0.25)✅
7. Lighting (0.25)✅
8. Flashback Integration (0.25)✅
- **OST (Original Soundtrack)**: 0.75/1
1. Opening Song (0.25)✅
2. Background OST (0.25)✅
3. Overall OST (0.25/0.5)✅
- **Style**: 0.75/1
1. Costumes (0.25)✅
2. Set Design (0.25)✅
3. Colors (0.25)✅
4. Poster (0.25)❌
- **Ending**: 1/1
1. Closure (0.25)✅
2. Emotional Impact (0.25)✅
3. Logic (0.25)✅
4. Personal Satisfaction (0.25)✅
Total Rating: 8.5/10 +0.5Bonus
>>>>Final Rating: 9/10
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Moving and wholesome history
I absolutely loved this drama! 🤩 The main characters are so real and well developed that is really easy to feel connected to them. We get to understand their back story, their fears and dreams, and how they reconnect in such a beautiful way ❤️Overall is an original story with some elements already seen (nothing can be completely original!), but it is so well executed that I loved every cliche.
Baek Hyun-woo is now my favorite ML, what a man, with flaws but real and brave, I totally stand. I also loved Hae-in, such a strong lead with depth and cuteness underneath. My favorite couple right now, I just love them ❤️
The only curious thing for me was the length of the chapters but it allowed us to have more time with wonderful characters so thank you! We also got different storylines that I enjoyed.
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gateway drug
This show had a choke-hold on me for a good chunk of it.To preface, this is actually my first full romance drama (yes, I know kinda illegal), other than Soundtrack #1 (yes, I have not watched CLOY, I will one day). I didn't think I'd ever find myself watching a 16 episode romance drama, but here I was waiting anxiously each week for the episodes to come out. To address the title, after catching up to Queen of Tears about 5 weeks into the show, I started watching a lot of dramas, I think my watch-time went from 3 days to 6 LMFAO.
Some things that were absolutely amazing about this drama were the OST, and the leads. This soundtrack is absolutely amazing, and many of the songs are very capable of being stand-alone songs even without the context of the drama. Maybe I'm easily influenced, but the songs paired with the acting of the two leads never failed to make me tear up, or even flat out cry. I think a couple of these songs can go down in history, similar to those in CLOY, like IU's "Give You My Heart" or Yerin Baek's "Here I Am Again."
Now, I'm pretty new to the K-Drama scene, but I've never really been attached to any of the characters in the shows I've watched (this is probably because I would mainly watch action shows). But the main couple in Queen of Tears made me absolutely fall for them. I fell in love with their characters of Baek Hyun-Woo and Hong Hae-in, as well as the respective actors. This was the first time I've ever seen KSH or KJW in a drama before, but I absolutely loved their performance in this drama. As per any drama ever, it is very important for the main leads to act well and convey the emotions to the audience, and these two did wonderful. I think I may have shed multitudes more than the boat load that the main leads shed (jk, maybe not as much as KSH LOL). Maybe there's something wrong with me, but every single time one of the main leads started crying, my eyes could just not control themselves. But there's also more to just tears despite this show being named Queen of Tears. This show violently threw me around from grinning like an absolute idiot, to punching air, to cheering, and of course to tears.
Now, the plot may not be anything special to a vetted K-Drama watcher, but despite having a trope that I particularly dislike, I think the show executes well enough to ignore that. That brings me back to the title of this review. I won't say that this show is perfect by any means (is there even a perfect drama), but I will say this show is a very strong gateway to the world of K-Drama, as it has that emotional attachment that I think you may have to the first show you watched, or something similar. A lot of times someone's favorite show may not be the most perfect by any means, but to them it made a heavy impact. I think that's how this show was to me, as it sucks me into a rabbit hole of dramas. And that means I need to watch CLOY!
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AMAZING
It's been a long while since I watched a K drama and bear myself to see the end of it. This drama is definitely the GREATEST comeback of K Drama legacy.The storyline is not that intriguing when you read the synopsis but the ACTING of almost all the cast, delivering the feelings, the comedy, mixed in with the suspense and the bad character being really bad which makes the viewers get into the drama, and both Kim Soo Hyun's and Kim Ji Won's characters, lines, aegyo, couple chemistry, they are what makes the drama superb.
I was waiting for the episodes release day, which hasn't happened since Goblin I guess. So I understood the hype about it and it's definitely worth it!
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EUNSUNG
(not sure if this counts as spoiler but just in case)i havent actually finished it and i think its quite a good drama, tho i wouldnt watch it again, not because i think theres something bad with it but because everytime i started a new ep (mostly near the end of the drama) i got reminded of the way i HATE eunsung. i know its literally part of the drama, the story, but i think i havent hated someone THAT much, he stressed me out, how he lied to haein when she woke up from her surgery and tried to hell her how bad her family and hyunwoo "actually" were. his mother also stressed me out but i think at least not that much, i got pissed more about haein's grandpa bc of the choices he made (giving everything to eunsung's mother) 💀💀 and because beomja tried to warn him but never listened to her (this reminded me to that spanish saying "ojo de loca no se equivoca")
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One of the best kdramas I watched
An ode to both the tender joys and harsh realities of life, love, and loss — all carried in the heart of a woman who, beneath her cold facade, loves deeply and selflessly. 🍀Queen of Tears touches on so many aspects — family, friendship, business, career — and the writers handled it beautifully. Despite the large cast, all sixteen episodes give you time to truly connect with each character. They each have their own struggles, motivations, and touching moments. I even found myself crying during breakfast because the scene was so emotional, and I just couldn’t hold back my tears (lol).
The chemistry between the leads was incredible, and both showed so much growth and vulnerability. It’s one of those dramas that lingers even after the credits roll. Definitely recommending this one.
Started: March 31, 2025
Finished: April 7, 2025
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The 1h30' never felt that short
Could have been a lil better with a few more romance scenes between the leads, but it was still cool
But the ending... i feel like all the great dramas fail to give a nice ending (maybe I'm just dumb and don't understand the depth of it)
Anw WORTH THE WAIT ❤️🔥❤️🔥
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a hit or miss
there’s a lot of mixed reviews about qot but i overall enjoyed this drama!things i liked about it:
- i really liked this drama and it became one of my favorites quickly, i love the cast and they did a good job (especially park sunghoon with playing the villain) he almost did too good of a job to the point where idk if i could ever watch him in another drama without thinking of how annoying
eunseong is in this, every scene he was in made me want to throw my remote because of how unbearable his character was.
- was never boring for me except for the first episode but once i got past it i was hooked. this drama always ended on usually a cliff hanger that had me counting down the days until the next episode came out
- made me really emotional, especially with the glow in the dark star on the ceiling and once i thought i was done crying about it they mentioned it again in the last episode 😭
- loved how the family had their redemption moment, even the grandpa/original chairman had his moment by offing himself to help his family
things i didn’t like about it:
- i feel like some of the last episodes leading up to the finale (and the finale itself) were a bit rushed, especially both of the villains downfalls. both of them happened quickly and didn’t really give you any time to process what had just happened since they both occurred in the last episode… another thing is with the ML and how bad thing after bad thing kept happening to him in the last 2 episodes (which realistically he wouldn’t survive) he literally got hit by a car the day before and still somehow trekked up a dark snowy hill to save FL?
- another thing that i haven’t seen anyone talking about is what happened to soocheol in episode 15? he got brutally beaten and they really made it seem like he was gonna die … but that didn’t happen, for the last however more minutes of episode 15 it was focused on hyunwoo and haein and even in the next episode it just wasn’t talked about? after that whole incident happened, the next scene we saw him in was when hyunwoo was in the hospital and he didn’t have one scratch on his face??
- dahyes and soocheols relationship was cute but throughout the drama it confused me more and more until it was finally cleared up in ep 16. i never knew if she came back because she liked him or she felt guilty because no one has ever treated her as good as he does??
- the villain in this story pmo so bad and he should of had his downfall way sooner, it was so hard to watch some scenes when he was in literally every single episode running after haein
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