Queen of Tears

Overhyped

Ok firstly I wanna say this is no hate to the actors because they are actually so lovely and never fail to impress me I was just generally not happy with the storyline of this drama. I kept seeing shorts and edits on my fyp and I was so excited id looked at this website and clearly some were not impressed but I gave it a go anyway and I wish that id listened to those who wrote a review because this drama had wasted potential. There could hv been a simple good old business plot with a few twists and it would hv been perf but nah there was like fifty twists and continuous lack of communication between Hae In and Hyun Woo. They hv there good moments but there’s not enough to call it that binge worthy type moment.
I’ll list out pos and negs if it makes it better:)
Pos:
The family on both sides were very understanding the fl fam yes ofc less but at the end they were generally lovely
The humour was quite good but I wouldn’t say madly enough to call the drama a comedy
Neg:
Too much twists the inside relationship of the chairman’s gf and the second ml was annoying af the drama didn’t need that further irritation.
Second male lead was too much like usually a second ml is the jealous and wants to get her type but then eventually realises his wrongs but nahhh this dude kept at it with the absolute worst methods (spoil here sorry using her memory loss to his benefit and attempting to remove Hyun Woo out of the pic) it’s vile and annoying and honestly he fr had a death wish it pissed me off so bad.
Big time lack of communication and deception both developed feelings and neither was willing to say and when it came to the ml he was so focused on wanting to divorce her he forgot everything good which would actually make them perf together and he deceived her with the whole lovey and care mood cz he knew she was dying eventually and when she found out he was upset and just spat out everything basically he told her how awful she is etc without realising her significant change in behaviour which I found was a more lovable side that I was reluctant to let go off
Overall don’t watch it there’s so many other good dramas there so dont bother with this one
I really do hope that the two actors get a chance with each other again because although the storyline was awful they worked very well together and had there been more romance and connection im sure the chemistry would shine through more:)

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Disappointment of the Year

Queen of Tears was one of my most anticipated dramas ever since it was first announced. Crash Landing on You was my first introduction to Kdramas. When I found out that Park Ji Eun, the writer of CLOY, was working on another drama with Kim Soo Hyun and Kim Ji Won, I was really excited to say the least.

The drama seemed to have everything going for it: a top-notch cast, great cinematography, and impressive direction. The first half of the drama was very engaging when the focus was on the main leads' relationship.

Kim Soo Hyun and Kim Ji Won both killed it as Baek Hyun Woo and Hong Hae In. They both gave it their all to breathe life into their characters. I am particularly happy for Kim Ji Won as with Queen of Tears, she gets her first major hit drama as a lead. She has always been underrated even though she's been a leading actor for damn near a decade now. Of course Kim Soo Hyun was already a top actor but with QOT he has consolidated his position as the Number 1.

The OSTs for the drama are amazing. Each and every OST is so beautifully crafted. The cinematography and imagery of the drama was also breathtaking. The directors were at the top of their game with this one.

However, it breaks my heart to say this, but the writing was the weakest aspect of this drama. It seems like the writer didn't know what she wanted this drama to be. Is this a Rom Com, a thriller, a makjang? As we progress into the second half the drama becomes a hot mess of a various genres. The writer's fixation on the villain, Yoon Eun Seong who I have to say is one of the most pathetic villains in history, really ruins this drama.

The writer resorted to employing overused and outdated tropes to further the story. The narrative devolved into predictable plot twists and one-dimensional characters. With all these plot twists and focus on villains, it wasn't even fully explained why the villains did what they did. The Chairman's Mistress' motivation remained unknown. The writer was looking to get a shock reaction out of audiences with one plot twist after another, without thinking much about the narrative.

QOT is at its best when the focus is on the main leads' relationship. However with everything else going on in the story, we hardly get to spend any time on exploring their relationship. Kim Soo Hyun and Kim Ji Won's chemistry is out of this world but its sadly underutilized in this drama. In the end Queen of Tears fails to live up to the hype and potential, and ends up being a huge disappointment.

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A stairway to heaven type Makjang, in this era. Really?

When the drama started and became very viral, I was very reluctant to watch it. It has happened to me that they have made some dramas very popular and when I decide to watch it, I'm like "So much fuss about this?" That's really what happened here.

When I read that Koreans themselves started calling this drama "Makjang" I assumed something was really going to go wrong. And I wasn't wrong at all.

It is truly a "Makjang". You know those dramas where meaningless things begin to happen here and there, deadly diseases that magically disappear, overly typical topics like memory loss and starting over again, again.

The first part was good. I'm not really going to make a big deal out of what the reason for their divorce was. As the protagonist explains at the end, many times when you get married (I have never been married but I say this because I am the daughter of divorced parents) or when you go out with someone. There is no single reason to separate from that person you love nor is there a single reason to overflow the camel's back. There are thousands of reasons, stupid fights that begin to become more frequent and wear down the couple, not sitting down to talk to solve problems, not communicating to your partner that attitudes that bother you about their character in a calm way, no, everything always ends. in fights and in a sentencevery typical but real "Can't talk to you". So that ends up wearing down the relationship and you end up making the decision to leave that person. It is also very common that when there is a loss of a baby, couples end up separating. It seems stupid, but losing a baby does a lot of damage to the relationship and even more so when neither party manages their feelings and supports each other in that difficult moment. So I really don't think there is one reason, there are thousands of reasons why a couple ends up breaking up. So I won't be too harsh in that regard.

But the second part is a disaster, really stupid things happen, why? not at all. Just to add more unnecessary drama.

And the ending... ugh I'm not going to lie, I did cry at the ending. After everything the protagonist did for the protagonist, does he see himself as an adult visiting her grave? When I saw that older man climbing the stairs they climbed together when he was younger I already feared the worst. And everything came true, when I saw the name of the protagonist embodied on her tomb.

I really don't know what I expected if this is a Makjang. It was obvious that things were not going to end well and the ending would be sad. Like any drama of this style. But at least I would have liked to see more moments of the couple again and not just random flashbacks that conveyed nothing to me.

The acting was great and the cinematography was great too, but actors alone can't save a poorly written drama. Even if they are the best actors. At least their performances made this a little lighter to watch.

I recommend it? I'm sorry to say this, because I love both actors, but no, I don't recommend it. Unless you like Makjang dramas.

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Enjoyable, but overrated

OVERALL
This drama has an almost makjang-esque quality that makes it both old and new. Watch it if 1) you like the sassy, confident FL, 2) you're into the re-romance trope, 3) you're looking for DRAMA (with capital letters). If you have low tolerance for clichés or bipolar series, skip.

THE STORY
I enjoyed Queen of Tears. I really did. But when I hear people say it's one of the best K-dramas ever made...I'm confused. This drama is basically a melting pot of recycled clichés. Zero originality. FL is the child of Song Yi (My Love from the Stars) and Moon Young (It's Okay to Not Be Okay); ML is basically a watered down ML from It's Okay to Not Be Okay. The plot is also filled with the oldest and most annoying tropes in the drama book: misunderstandings, terminal illness, despicable mom, crazy psychopath third wheel, and more. There are definitely elements that are promising at the start of the drama. I loved the idea of seeing a relationship crisis through both perspectives (ML and FL), or watching the main couple mend wounds from the past. But the drama never really delivers what it promised. There is never a return to the breaking point of romance, the main leads never identify and resolve the issues that made their relationship fail the first time around (which is not only super important but also the most interesting part of the setup). As for the perspective aspect...after the first ep, the drama kind of gives more importance to one perspective than the other, so that too ends up being disappointing. Recycling clichés is perfectly fine when you do something new and refreshing with them. Unfortunately, I did not get that feeling from Queen of Tears.

There are entertaining things in this drama, of course. I enjoyed the growth of FL's family members and the cute romantic scenes. Some parts are fun, and the excessive, bombastic drama is enough to keep you going. But really, I found that halfway through the drama, I was no longer emotionally invested because nearly everything was predictable. I also had a hard time with the wishy-washiness of genres (but that seems to be the trend in Kdramaland these days). It's hard to combine romcom and melo in a way that feels coherent and seamless. I feel like the drama did not quite succeed on that department.

Bottom line: It's a good drama to watch with your mind off, but I expected a lot more, to be honest. Some people have said it's better than Crash Landing. Not in my world. Crash Landing was both original and superbly written. This one is none of the above.

THE ACTING
That was fab. Nothing else to say. I love Jiwon and Soohyun! They also have awesome chemistry (though nothing to make me forget the Jiwon-Jin Goo duo in Descendants of the Sun).

THE MUSIC
Not to my taste, but not annoying or ugly.

REWATCH VALUE
Rather low, I'd say.

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Falls short of 'Crash Landind on You'...

In writing this review I wanted to provide my perspective for those who were potentially looking at watching Queen of Tears because of them loving Park Ji-eun's 'Crash Landing on You'.

Queen of Tears is centered around a marriage, how those two characters interact with each other in varying circumstances, and on the larger scale, how their families respond to events that unfold.

Crash Landing on You is centered around two people that grow to like each other despite being from different worlds, about comradery and support among friends, and about the moments that change your life.

Here is the thing, Queen of Tears attempts to copy the above formula they used for Crash Landing on You too, but falls short on captivating that emotional impact.

SPOILERS BELOW

Take for example one scene where the FL in Q.o.T reveals to the ML that it was HER mp3 player he had all these years later, and the ML reveals he tried so hard to find the girl that dropped it all those years ago. The script in that scene was just so dry and matter of fact that I felt like I was watching the news rather than a drama. In C.L.o.Y in comparison, the lead up and reveal of the ML and the FL discovering the ML was playing the piano of the music piece that helped the FL with her will to live - that was a masterpiece... cathartic, deeply emotive and the fulfillment of the viewer's greatest desire in wanting something to happen. This for me is the epitome of how the dramas differ: Queen of Tears attempts to replicate the C.L.o.Y formula, but ultimately failed because it didn't tell its own unique story, it went to clichés and over-used plots.

Is it still worth watching? Yes, probably. Will you skip scenes centered around their families? Yes, also likely. But ultimately, as a word of caution for the hopeful: It might not captivate on the level that the characters in 'Crash Landing on You' did.

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so much wasted potential

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

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Every masterpiece has a copy !! QOT feels likes a copy!

I was eagerly waiting for this drama and somehow managed to avoid every single spoiler. With Queen of Tears breaking records left and right, the hype only kept growing, and naturally, so did my expectations.

Overall, it's a decent one-time watch, but I definitely won't be sitting through all 16 episodes again. The first half was enjoyable enough, but the second half completely spiraled into chaos and not the entertaining kind. Calling it average would be generous;2nd half of it was genuinely frustrating to watch.

I didn't hate the drama, but some plot points seriously tested my patience. The FL getting amnesia and the ML ending up in jail exactly at the time she went into surgery felt absurd and painfully cliché. And then the male lead getting hit by car and then being shot at ! Like wtf is this an action thriller !!

The final episodes were where things really fell apart for me. They felt like a copy-paste version of Crash Landing on You. The only difference was that Hyun-woo took the bullet for Hae-in, whereas in CLOY, Se-ri took the bullet for Jeong-hyeok. Even the scene of Hyun-woo wandering through the snow in the middle of nowhere searching for Hae-in gave me major déjà vu. The similarities became so distracting that I couldn't stop noticing them. Also just bcz some things worked in one drama doesn’t mean they will work in all dramas. By the last episode, it was so obvious that I ended up skipping through most of it.

And the reason I keep calling it a copy isn't just because of some similarities to Crash Landing on You or legend of the blue sea .It felt like the writer took bits and pieces from several of their own previous dramas and stitched them together to create the last six episodes. If you've watched the writer's earlier works, you'll probably understand exactly what I'm talking about. Instead of feeling like a fresh story, it felt like a collection of familiar tropes and scenes recycled from past successes.

What disappointed me most was that such a talented cast couldn't compensate for the weak and often incomplete storyline. It felt as if the writer ran out of fresh ideas and relied heavily on familiar formulas rather than developing the story in a meaningful way. And finally, there was just way too much crying. At some point, every episode felt like an emotional marathon, and instead of making me emotional, it simply became annoying.

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A Glamorous Facade: A Review of Style Over Substance

An outdated storyline wrapped in dazzling costumes, stellar casts, and expensive product placements. Yet, these elements fail to hide the writer's lethargy, evident in antiquated tropes, an unengaging plot, and foolish characters. The villains, with their absurd and unconvincing motivations, were particularly disappointing. I wouldn't have made it to the end without fast-forwarding through most of the last five or six episodes.

However, I must commend actor Kim Soo Hyun, Jeon Bae Soo, and actress Kim Jung Nan. Their performances were outstanding, living up to their reputation for delivering great work.

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Trash packaged stylishly

As a lover of K-drama, I never thought I would ever write this kind of review for any k-drama,. QoT reminds me of some terrible Indian soap operas that aired 25 years ago, had the ratings soar through the roof and killed the Indian TV entertainment industry by robbing its audience of great dramas it used to be famous for forever. The world has advanced and yet Indian TV is still stuck there. Its producers, who had produced some of the iconic slice of life dramas before that, swamped and suffocated the industry through power play because of the clout they garnered. Having such bad scripts get this kind of sky-rocketing ratings can push out seriously good scripts forever in an industry that's already struggling to survive. It's even more worrisome because now many of the good scripts are not even being aired on local channels in SK (for example, Moving, Soundtrack #1 and #2, Parasyte the Grey, A shop for killers etc).
The stars I gave were for the beautiful leads. That's it.

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Eyecandy with lazy writing

This drama has everything BUT a good story line. I believe that people are so blinded by the good looking actors that they don't even think critically about the plot. Sure, the acting is perfect, the production, the visuals, the music... But when it comes to the story, it's messy, boring and repetitive.

The first half of the show is more about the push and pull relationship between the leads. He loves her, she loves him but they refuse to communicate like grown up adults and think that the other doesn't like them anymore and the love is over.

The middle part of the drama revolves around the female lead's sickness and how she and her husband come to terms with her being a terminally ill patient. But still, they don't talk about their feelings and think their relationship is doomed.

Then, the second half of the show becomes UNBEARABLE. It's basically a makjang with good looking actors. The bad mother and son steal the family's wealth. The bad guy is obsessed with the female lead and wants her all to himself while planning on killing her now ex husband. The story becomes so boring and repetitive that at some point I just wanted the female lead to finally die so that we can be over with everything. Also, of course the ending couldn't get any more unrealistic.

I honestly believe this is a highly overrated kdrama that is only popular because it had a lot of promotion on social media and one of the main actors is Kim Soo Hyun. All of the cast are talented actors but their good performance is not enough to save the lazy writing. Also, the screenwriter Park Ji Eun really needs to stop with the unrealistic happy endings. Why is she so afraid of sad but realistic endings? She's like: "I want a sad ending but not really. Also, the public wouldn't want a sad ending" (see "My Love from the Star", "Crash Landing on You", and now let's add "Queen of Tears" to the list).

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Poor execution of a good story

When I watched the first episodes I thought I would love this series. If this series was only about confronting relationship problems and the healing of a broken family, the series would be at least a 9/10, since it confronts a serious topic, however still adds a funny note every now and then. The actors are great and I surprisingly liked the side couples. However, what could have been a deep story about marriage was turned into the most stereotipical and superficial story. Every episode was filled with unnecessary car accidents and sacrifices. Everyone somehow had a childhood connection with the other, which made no sense as it is very often showns hiw everyone has such a different status and family background. The hate of the main character of his wife just suddenly turns into him giving his life every three seconds for her. Instead of escaping the unhappy life he lives, it somehow gets more miserable. I think less episodes and less "tipical kdrama plottwists" could've made this show into something very special. Instead it got turned into a whole a** mess.

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being a chaebol isn't a piece of cake

Baek Hyun Woo, a "normal" guy, is the pride of the village of Yongduri, and the legal director of the conglomerate Queens Group. Chaebol heiress Hong Hae In is the “queen” of Queens Group’s department stores. They 2 married together due to an intertwined fate. We'll get to know how things change between them while they go trough the hardship of life. Why they love each other, why they hate each other and how they reconcile. This is also the story of a chaebol's family which face scammers who want to steal everything from them, and how they defend themselves.

the prior thing I really like about this drama is that it puts you in the position to rethink the way you analyzed the situation earlier. the same scenes viewed from someone else's perspective and everything shifts. I like this because life is so often like that. that's the closest it can be for me to a real story. We always end up seeing "abusive" RICH mothers who throw water and then a big envelope to the head of the shameless girlfriend of their son. This drama explain fully why these scenes are understandable.

this drama is the first for me where the description of a chaebol's life isn't romanced. the description of the chaebol's family too. and the way everything is described is damned logical and full of sens. you'll be hearing unforgettable sentences like "if someone leaves you don't bid him farewell, stab him in the back." (this definitely will stay in my mind....) and the way the story will unfold before your eyes will definitely explain why they all think this way. yes, a chaebol's family is a scary thing to encounter.

there is a lot of twist in this story, and I don't want to spoil your pleasure, so I'll just say this: the game will change at least 3 times, so if you don't really like the story be patient at least until the half of it. I want to share one scene I loved the most: the 2 families meet together while the children are mad at each other, and they are confused as if they are on the same team or not despite the circumstances, and one of them has this precious answer: we are like north and south korea. we are on the same team in the Olympics even though we fight against each other. we are together if we face the same enemy.

the chemistry between the leads is so good, and they are cute together. the writer made a very good job with cute scenes and touching dialogues. on each episode there is a 1 minute epilogue after the ending ost, don't miss it, it's very important to understand the characters.

what I didn't like:
there is some non sens (like taking a plane to the US with a real gold buddha 30cm high and holding it with one hand.... yeah).
there was no head lines about the narcissism of the villain. I'd really appreciate that writers fully explain the mental illness of the villains.
we also didn't get to know how everything began: it began with the mother of the villain, but we don't know what happened. how did she meet the family and why did she target that family among all.
the last episode was disappointing. the writer should have focused on the way to wrap things nicely, but he pushed the leads in an other complicated situation, so the last episode isn't as comforting as it's used to be.

that's a very good show though and I definitely recommend it.
when to watch: after work if you need to focus on someone else's problems.
audience: there is too much violence for under 15 people.
have fun!

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