Queen of Tears

OVERLY HYPE

I had been looking forward to this drama for quite some time, primarily because I am a fan of the main leads. The initial trailers were also quite intriguing and raised my expectations.

While the cinematography is visually appealing, in my opinion, it does not align well with the tone and theme of the drama. It felt mismatched and somewhat out of place.

As for the plot, it began with promise but quickly became underwhelming. I found it increasingly difficult to stay engaged as each episode progressed. The storyline became overly convoluted, with too many subplots and unnecessary additions that detracted from the central narrative.

It would have been far more effective had the writers focused on developing the relationship between the main characters. Their romantic arc felt inconsistent and poorly explained. They fell in love, their marriage deteriorated, the male lead began to resent the female lead—he even appeared pleased at the news of her terminal illness—yet, without any meaningful development, he suddenly could not live without her. This abrupt shift lacked depth and credibility. A clearer exploration of how their relationship soured would have added much-needed emotional weight.

Moreover, the female lead was difficult to empathize with, and truthfully, most of the characters were unlikable. As is often the case in many K-dramas, the issue of emotional neglect from parents was resolved far too easily. A simple apology seemed to erase years of emotional damage, which felt unconvincing and rushed.

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queen of mediocrity

Queen of Tears is a prime example of a show that had potential but was ultimately ruined by poor writing and excessive melodrama. The series started off with a promising premise, but quickly descended into a chaotic mess of nonsensical plot twists, over-the-top emotions, and poorly developed characters.

The male lead was a particular disappointment. His wooden acting and lack of chemistry with the female lead made their scenes together unbearable to watch. His character was often reduced to a passive observer, reacting to the events around him rather than actively driving the narrative forward.

The second male lead was even worse. His character was a one-dimensional villain, a caricature of evil. His motivations were unclear, and his actions were often illogical. The show seemed more interested in creating a villainous caricature than a complex and compelling antagonist.

The female lead, despite her talent, was often let down by the show's ridiculous plot and her character's inconsistent behavior. Her character often made decisions that defied logic, which undermined her credibility as a strong, independent woman.

Instead of focusing on character development and emotional depth, the show prioritized shock value and melodrama. The constant barrage of tearful goodbyes, dramatic confrontations, and villainous schemes became a parody of itself. The once-promising drama was reduced to a caricature of itself, a shadow of its former glory.

The show's reliance on excessive sentimentality and emotional manipulation was both tiresome and offensive. The constant barrage of tearful goodbyes, dramatic confrontations, and villainous schemes became a parody of itself. The once-promising drama was reduced to a caricature of itself, a shadow of its former glory.

The show's pacing was also uneven, with slow, boring stretches interspersed with rushed, confusing plot developments. The show often felt like it was dragging, especially during the middle episodes.

Queen of Tears is a prime example of a show that squandered its potential. It's a cautionary tale for anyone who dares to venture into the world of K-dramas. If you're looking for a well-written, emotionally resonant K-drama, I strongly advise you to avoid Queen of Tears. It's a waste of time and energy.

Pros:
Visually appealing
Strong female lead performance

Cons:
Poor writing
Excessive melodrama
Weak male leads
Unrealistic plot
Wasted potential

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Frustrating to watch. Problematic characters. Toxic FL.

The character design is quite problematic. I'm really struggling to understand the FL's mother and brother.

----------Mother----------
Regarding the mother, she's been blaming the FL for her own negligence in supervising her small children, which resulted in a serious accident when the FL was just 10 years old. It's absurd how she continues to openly blame a child for 20 years when it's obvious that the adult should take responsibility. She doesn't just do this in their personal life, but also in their work life, going as far as finding reasons to sue her own daughter, which could harm their family company that's publicly traded on the stock market. And all of this is happening right under the noses of the FL's grandfather and father, who are much more rational and surely wouldn't want their corporation's reputation tarnished. The whole situation is just so unrealistic and absurd.

----------Brother----------
As for the brother, it's unbelievable. His wife deceives him into marriage and even has a child with another man while they're married. Then she flees away with money of her husband's family, only to return after being abused by her child's biological father. Despite all this, the brother unquestionably welcomes her back with open arms, and still loves her illegitimate child as if the child is his own. It's like he lacks any capacity for learning or judgment. It's hard to trust someone like him to run a company at an executive level, yet he holds a high-ranking position in their publicly listed company. How is that even possible?

----------Female Lead----------
And don't even get me started on the FL herself. She gets kidnapped by the villain in a car. And when the ML catches up with them after a violent car chase, succeeding in rescuing her while he's injured, she complies with the villain's gaslighting to say that she voluntarily follows the villain, then she willingly gets back into the villain's car to be kidnapped again. The reason the villain gives her is that if she doesn't go along, the ML will realize her illness is worsening, causing her to mistake the villain for the ML. But later on, the ML still has to break into the house where the FL is being held captive to rescue her once more, and she still has to tell the ML the truth in the end. It's infuriating how easily she falls for such manipulation, especially considering the ML already knows about her illness and its progression.

----------Toxic love----------
Let me address the ML's love for the FL as my last point. I find his renewed affection for her perplexing. While his initial love before their marriage is understandable, I fail to comprehend how he could still love her after enduring a toxic relationship. Despite their troubled history, she continues to resist cooperation, vilify him, withhold her true feelings, and maintain emotional distance. It appears to be a very one-sided effort, devoid of reciprocity. His affection seems solely driven by blind devotion, without any tangible reason or justification. Their past history of love before marriage doesn't seem to influence his current feelings, and the FL's behavior offers little to warrant his continued love. In essence, it feels like he is merely serving her as a servant of love. In real life, such a dynamic doesn't foster a genuine and sustainable relationship, so it isn't believable or convincing for me.

The story's irrational elements are so frustrating to watch. I keep going with it until the end because I'm a fan of the lead actors. However, while the FL's acting is passable, it still comes across as quite stiff to me. I've seen her in 3 series, including 'Descendants of the Sun' and 'Fight for My Way,' and her acting seems to be consistently one-dimensional, and not even the best version of the character she's portraying.

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Nosediving into the horrible

Episode 1-12 9/10
Episode 13-16 1/10

This took such a nosedive after episode 12. I cried myself through most of the show, but by the end the only crying I did was from crying laughing because of how bad it was.

The plot is all over the place, plot threads are abandoned and Mr. Cartoon Villain keeps showing up to ruin any semblance of good storytelling.

And when you think you have finally finished his part of the story, nope, there he is again overstaying his welcome and to become a villain befitting of a bad episode of Supernatural.

The amazing main leads are the only ones holding this thing remotely together. And I will definitely try and check out more things with them. But I had similar issues with Crash Landing on You, so probably avoiding this writer

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With Great Potential Comes Great Expectations

At first, everyone's so excited, Queen of Tears will be Kim Soo Hyun's RomCom comeback and he'll be paired with non other than Kim Ji Won. I know this drama will be so hyped. Once the trailers were released, it's full of funny clips and I thought this will be your typical RomCom, Park Ji Eun style. But once I started watching, I realized trailers were very misleading. This show made me cry every episode. Every episode, I felt the grief and regret of each and every character. And towards the end, I felt the unconditional love that every character has for their loved ones.

Baek Hyun Woo and Hong Hae In are two flawed characters. I like that the protagonists are that way since they portray a very realistic type of relationship between two people. It is very real that a relationship can easily fall apart between married couples, specially if there is lack of communication and understanding. Despite this, the love story between this couple works and I just can't get enough of this two. Hae In, her love for Hyun Woo, the guy who mattered the most to her, she will live or die depending on Hyun Woo. She's a very cold person because of her upbringing, but when it comes to her husband, she just melts like ice. Same as Hyun woo, he may have develop hate towards Hae In after 3 years of marriage, but once he realized that he really do love her. He always save her and her family despite their mistreatment of him.

One thing about this drama, it is a mixture of so many genres. Romance, Drama, Comedy then there's Family drama, Suspense, Revenge, Mystery. At first, I think the story sustained to be interesting and was really well-written because of its character-driven plots. However, once the story turned to a plot-driven one, (HyunWoo gets arrested, Hae In' amnesia, Hyun Woo almost dying and was still able to save Hae In) it became over the top that I think it detached from its roots which has real characters.

All in all, I still recommend this drama. This made me realize how great of an actor Kim Soo Hyun is. He was able to delineate Baek Hyun Woo from the other characters he portrayed. Also, I saw Kim Ji Won on a different type of drama again. She really became the Queen of Hyun Woo's tears. Haha. The show started very refreshing and I understood the hype but once the story goes to the climax, it just became very over the top. I hope the story just remained real and believable.

Also, what a very beautiful ending and awesome soundtrack. ;)

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Hearts Rekindled

This is an exciting entry in Netflix's deep collection of Korean romantic comedies! Many typical storylines are reversed here, however. The rich, ruthless protagonist is female; the show starts with a seemingly happily-ever-after wedding; and it is the male lead who must demonstrate his dedication to the family.

At its core, it's a story about navigating the delicate terrain of a relationship in turmoil and rediscovering love. Despite the conflicts, there is an underlying optimism, hope of reconciliation, understanding, and healing. The angst is punctuated by comedy and humor. There are hidden gems and delightful cameo appearances. Themes include gender roles, social expectations, and family. The actors are beautiful, and so are the cinematography, wardrobe, and shooting locations.

The writer is Park Ji Eun, the creator of Crash Landing on You. She specializes in powerful yet feminine characters. This is her third Queen of ... series. No doubt Kim Soo Hyun is masterful in roles alongside strong-willed counterparts, as he did in It's Okay to Not Be Okay. Kim Ji Won excels at portraying the somewhat stoic and mysterious but troubled female lead, as she did in My Liberation Notes. Enjoy this skillfully acted, therapeutic, and playful story!

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Bits and pieces of old kdramas combined together

I like how the drama started with a messed up marriage and showed story of a couple who have fallen out of love and their journey to rediscovering their love. It was going good till episode 7, after that it become like a complete different story. All the focus was shifted on the queen’s group family being broke and falling in the trap laid by the villains. And how easily the villains got everything they wanted and even kicked the family out of the house. It’s was bit unrealistic how a business tycoon family had nowhere to go.
And in the midst of all this villain drama the main issue was left unaddressed. What about the martial issues that brought the lead couple at this point? Why hae in and hyun woo hated each other that much at the beginning of the show? The answers were vague. I wish the focus of the show was on addressing their martial issues and rekindling their love and not on the unnecessary villain drama.
If the story had only focused on hae in’s illness and their troubled marriage. It would have been alot better.

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A High Quality Makjang

My 4 categories are Acting/Cast, Writing, Direction/SFX/Music, Entertainment Value.

Wow, I was not expecting all the hate on this drama. When you're dealing with brain tumor plots, you have expect a certain degree of a lack of realism. So I was prepared for it. A friend asked me what genre this drama is and all I could reply with was "Swoonworthy". I typically wouldn't watch this type of genre these days, since I'm more interested in compelling stories and characters over visually appealing cinematography and attractive leads. However, this drama took me by surprise.

Acting/Cast: Easily the best thing about this drama -- a great cast with even better acting. Surprisingly, my opinion of actors that I previously didn't think highly of, changed for the better due to their performances in this drama (Kim Soo Hyun, Kwak Dong Yeon, and Lee Joo Bin). Yes, the actor who played the grandfather wasn't old enough for the character, but it's not a big deal; he's really a minor character. The best acting, and ultimately my favorite character to watch, came from Kwak Dong Yeon (곽동연). Kim Yang Gi, a minor supporting character played by Moon Tae Yu (문태유), was also a favorite of mine. I would say the entire cast - from main characters to minor supporting characters - brought a charm to their characters, which made them all quite likeable and enjoyable to watch. The chemistry between cast members is somewhat reminiscent of how I felt watching Twinkling Watermelon. They all see to have had a great time filming. 10/10

Writing: The writing was some of the best I've seen..."was". This drama had such a strong start. It stayed strong up until around episode 14 or 15. I was thoroughly impressed. I like the concept of the plot and I like the character building for the various characters throughout the drama. However, the writing starts to veer off course towards the end. It goes full makjang with craziness, unrealistic events, and of course our favorite clichés that have been around for so long. I expected that I would need to suspend some amount of belief for the sake of this plot, but even being prepared, the story still became a bit too ridiculous. I would have liked the villains to be more in the background and for the focus of the plot to instead be on the leads repairing their marriage, the families coming together, and discovering what's really important in life (with the villains simply being the catalyst for this growth). Basically, a family healing drama similar to Welcome to Samdal-ri, but better in every way. With less attention on the villains, I think the important characters would have been able to be fleshed out a bit more and they could have delved more into understanding how their marriage went wrong and how to fix it. It could have been a good learning opportunity for viewers going through similar marital problems. 5/10

Direction/SFX/Music: It looks and sounds nice. The OST is not bad. I was surprised that I like some of the songs. It could use some variation though. 7/10

Entertainment Value: Highly entertaining as long as the topic was on character/relationship building, especially during the first half of the drama. However, there's some dragging towards the end. The things I cared more about were glossed over in the end (too much BS with the villains). 6.5/10

Overall, I gave this drama a 6.5/10. Really, I could justify a rating from 6 to 7 out of 10, but I've settled for a 6.5/10. This is mainly due to the craziness towards the end, too much wasted time on villains and politics, and because this drama didn't put me on the edge of my seat (or have a crack drama vibe), nor did it have as much charm as Goblin or Crash Landing On You (although it came very close). But it's a good drama; it achieved such high ratings for a reason. This drama saved me from falling into a drama slump and now the baton is being passed to Lovely Runner.

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This drama insulted the viewer’s intelligence

Let me start of positively :

Queen of Tears had all the makings of a good K-Drama with its strong start and promising setup. It was refreshing to see the storyline of a married couple going through problems with the balance of introspection and retrospection in play . It looked like it would be a clever plot device . I was sold.

It’s not hard to see how the show initially pulled me in with its intriguing premise, and complex characters, creating a world that felt layered and engaging. But somewhere along the way, the plot started unraveling, and what was once clever quickly became frustrating.

As the story progressed, Queen of Tears began introducing plot twists and decisions that bordered on absurd, leaving viewers scratching their heads. Plot holes became glaring, and storylines that were initially compelling took bizarre turns, feeling more like quick fixes than well-thought-out developments. This shift gave the impression that the writers were either running out of steam or throwing logic out the window for the sake of drama, which ultimately compromised the show’s believability.

This issue was even more disappointing because there were hints of larger themes that could have deepened the story, but these were overshadowed by nonsensical turns that ultimately insulted the viewers’ intelligence. The once-promising plot turned into an exercise in patience, where you’re left hoping it’ll redeem itself but realizing it’s probably too late.

I really resent this , hence my low score .

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wasted potential; crashed and burned with the same old lame tropes and plot holes

Let me preface this by saying that I'm not usually one to watch romcoms, but the premise drew me in. The first few eps were hilarious too so I decided to give it a shot. Alas! it was downhill from there. Like many other reviews here mentioned, the premise is interesting and refreshing. A genderbent version of the typical "cold rich CEO" and "long suffering wife" trope seemed intriguing to me, and it was until the villains were revealed.

The villains' (Moh Seul Hee, Eun Sung, Grace (??) and Da Hye) plans and machinations were portrayed so confusingly and nonsensically I had to turn my brain off in order to understand how they were intending to takeover the company. After the villains were revealed, the IQ levels of the Hong family immediately dropped several notches and they were bested. Does this even make logical sense?? This is a 3rd generation chaebol family and yet they were behaving like idiots. This does not fit the supposed backstory of Chairman Hong who supposedly went from shining shoes to building this empire. Would an astute businessman fall prey to such schemes so easily? I would think not. Of course, thankfully we have Baek Hyun Woo who still retains his superior intellect and rescues his ex(??) in laws almost singlehandedly.

I felt sympathetic to Baek Hyun Woo at the start. He was portrayed as a long-suffering son in law who in constantly undermined at home and work by Hae In and her family. I felt for him really; he is supposed to be the male version of the typical korean daughters in law being mistreated by their in-laws and ignored by their husbands. Unlike most viewers, I found the writing and portrayal of his character genuine and hilarious when realizing that he would soon be released from his predicament by Hae In's timely (or not?) death. To me, those were the most hilarious parts of the drama. Part of it is due to how hard it is to like Hae In as a person. She is portrayed as a cold and stoic CEO who almost constantly masks her emotions. She seemingly cares for Hyun Woo but rarely expresses it. She is blunt and puts him down at work publicly. It honestly is a miracle their marriage lasted 3 years. I was curious to see what made him fall in love with her in the beginning but we never really get that. We never really get any scenes on how they mended their marriage either; sure her cancer diagnosis was the catalyst but it felt like the foundation they were trying to rebuild their relationship on was never shown. Instead we get makjang tropes of multiple car crashes, MULTIPLE childhood connection tropes and ridiculous random car chase scenes.

This next paragraph will be dedicated to all the plot holes that I seriously couldn't stand. First of all, Hae In's illness is just so...fake. She has a couple of symptoms that only flare up at the most convenient times and looks in the pink of health despite being literally at death's door. Like seriously, whenever she is at the hospital for checks or whatever, she is always sashaying around like she's walking down a runway. I get that its a drama and that it would be impossible to really look THAT sick, but its hard to feel sympathy for someone supposedly going to die when they are still strutting around in the pink of health! Her brain surgery thing was the most fake thing too. Going in with full face of makeup and HAIR and somehow "losing" her memory but still retaining the ability to walk/talk/eat and returning to work after 1 month... I know I'm nitpicking when this isn't a medical drama but this is a major plot point which the show hinges heavily on so some realism would be good here. I'm not even going to talk about the car accident tropes because yeesh. Lastly, those darn childhood connection tropes, which I honestly HATE the most because it adds NOTHING to the plot. In fact, I feel it demeans the love between the characters. I want the characters to be in a relationship because they CHOSE each other and would go through heaven and hell to make that choice, not because fate ordained them to and the choice is already made for them. That is such a cop out. So if they are fated to be together forever why even bother with anything? Why bother with treatment? Why bother with saving the marriage? if it's meant to be it's meant to be you know what I mean? Since they are fated to be lovers they wouldn't need to save their marriage because they would be together till the end anyway. Lame.

The story is honestly the weakest point of the show. Acting, music, cinematography are all top notch and I'm not going into it because all the other reviews are already singing their praises. The last thing I need to get off my chest is the ending. If I were the scripwriter, I would write that Hae In dies in the end. I seriously cannot believe that she lives. And I always think back to this quote from a western medical drama: dying changes everything, almost dying changes nothing. After the surgery, Hae In loses her memory but somehow reverts back to her old personality (partly due to Eun Sung?). Almost dying wouldn't change anything about the relationship; Hae In is an ambitious person and would probably get over the health scare and return to chasing her trillion dollar club goal, leaving Hyun Woo by the wayside again. The fundamental issues that broke their marriage down were never addressed (miscarriage, communication issues etc) and Hae In can't remember it anyway. The whole treatment thing felt like just pure fanservice to appease the fans and to keep viewership numbers up. If Hae In dies, it would be more impactful in the grand scheme of reflecting on her relationship with Hyun Woo and also her family. I feel like it could have tied in with the scene at her grandfather's funeral quite nicely. And of course realistically, with a 3 month death sentence no treatment would usually be available. But that's just me lol, I just wanted to get this off my chest because this premise had a lot of wasted potential.

In summary, watch for the acting. The plot just goes downhill after ep 6? If you like makjang you would like this. Hand to heart, i was entertained by this but I was hate-watching the last few eps.

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This drama is truly a masterpiece!

The OST is fabulous, the acting is outstanding and the story is great. Everything about this series is worthy of compliments.
The drama contains all the elements that keep the watchers constantly interested and captured. It makes you want to know how the story will unfold and how it will conclude.
As I say this, I must admit however that the pace of the story at its beginning was pretty slow to me, so I kept it on hold for a while. Though, as I picked it up again I didn’t feel it was slow at all and the story unfolded smoothly. I am very grateful to myself for trusting the series and watching it until its end because it. is. worth. it!!!!!
Also I would like to add that even though this series has an ending that will make you satisfied, it is absolutely not tear-free. I can’t deny that on episodes 14 and 15 I bawled my eyes out!
Anyway, I highly recommend it!!!!

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