This review may contain spoilers
Never seen actors carry a drama this hard
TLDR; The writing in this show is not the best. The side plots and overall motivations and understandings between characters lack depth and sometimes don't make sense. The villains are honestly very mediocre. However, I still enjoyed this show beyond belief and honestly could not stop thinking about it for the next few weeks. There are essentially two reasons for this: Kim Soo Hyun and Kim Ji Won's stellar acting and also the writing when it came to Hae In grappling with her illness.
Story:
There are quite a few plot holes in the story. First off, the side plots and side characters were honestly so unnecessary and uninteresting. I had zero interest in the village head elder story and honestly Hyun Woo's brother and sister although sometimes vaguely funny had almost zero impact on the story. As for Hae In's family, we are introduced to them as a tiger family that rips Hyun Woo apart, and forces him into a depressive state. The entire background to the main couple is that Hae In did not defend Hyun Woo against her family. However, as the story goes on, the family really just becomes multiple caricatures, none of which seem threatening. The CEO himself shows absolutely no shrewdness or skill required of someone who brought themselves up from poor to being a multimillion dollar coporation owner. A fair comparison is the CEO villain from Itaewon Class. From him, you felt threatened, you felt pressure, you admired him despite him being the villain. This CEO is an absolute clown who gets manipulated by some random woman. The dad is also a clown who's whole purpose is that he can't handle pressure or be the pillar for the family. There is one scene in the beginning where he says anyone who leaves the company he will destroy, but that doesn't make any sense in the context of his character for the rest of the show. The brother is also a clown although slightly endearing. I honestly enjoyed the relationship between the brother and his wife, it was simple but sweet and fun to watch, although unrealistic. The mom is so annoying but I do appreciate the character development later.
As for the villains and main plot, it was okay. Because I hated Hae In's family so much, I couldn't give less of a shit if their company got taken over by the two villains. I understood Eun Seong's motivation, he was honestly not all there in the brain and did it out of an obsession. However, his mother makes almost no sense. I get that she was poor, but she went so ridiculously far to destroy a family when she and her son were already quite well off at the beginning of the story. The suspense of the plot was not bad, but there are much better business takeover stories.
As for the main couple, the writing is much better but there are still some questionable aspects. For example, Hyun Woo being happy that Hae In was dying is kind of ridiculous. I'm pretty sure it was for comedic effect, but no matter how much ur suffering being happy that someone you once loved is dying is too hard to believe. Some people like to question how their marriage fell apart so easily, but I actually think it made sense. Given their personalities the lack of communication was quite realistic, and also given the pride that both of them held it made sense that they were unable to relinquish it. The writers could've shown more of that happening though, they really only gave us snippets of the arguments after the miscarriage. I would've loved to see this way more than the village elder side plot. It's rare that a kdrama talks about the realistic troubles of marriage, and although Queen of Tears did decently, they could've done more.
I've written a lot of negatives, but honestly the romance writing is so good. There are so many swoonworthy scenes that make ur heart flutter (when Hae In tells him he'd marry her even if she was reborn 100 times, etc,). The epilogues are honestly so sweet and beautiful, and make you feel like crying when Hae In finally realizes through small moments that Hyun Woo actually still loves her (restaurant scene, leaves scene). There are also so many heartwrenching scenes that are so hard to watch but so beautiful. The church scene honestly broke me. Also, the writing when it came to Hae In grappling with her illness was so good. I could really feel what it was like to have 3 months to live and almost nobody to believe in. The one person she wanted to live for, she didn't know if he even wanted her to live. All the while, she had to act strong but was so lonely and depressed inside that part of her was okay with dying. It was so sad to watch but also made me feel so strongly. A lot of people tend to say they didn't like the last few episodes, but I loved it. Her losing her memory but being inexplicably drawn to Hyun Woo was honestly predictable but so sweet and fun to watch. The whole drama was honestly very stressful to watch and my anxiety was through the roof, so fun romantic scenes like those really help balance out the emotional stress of the show.
Acting/Cast:
I CANNOT STRESS ENOUGH HOW AMAZING JIN WON AND SOO HYUN ARE. Holy shit, I felt every goddam emotion they expressed. Nothing was over the top and every emotional scene was so realistic. Kim Ji Won is one of my favorite actresses and my god she delivered. Her crying is top tier. The chemistry was amazing, you could feel the tug and pull between the characters and you honestly believed without a doubt that they loved each other. Sometimes actors/actresses have a tough time pulling off the cold ice queen character because they go too far in that direction. It's the hints of warmth and humanness that makes those characters endearing, and Ji Won without a doubt expressed those with undeniable skill. Soo Hyun was also amazing as usual, and you could feel the conflict in his heart when it came to dealing with her family and her frustrating personality but also loving her.
The rest of the cast did their jobs. There was no awkward acting and honestly they all delivered the characters they were supposed to. My lack of interest in the other characters is definitely a writing issue rather than an acting one.
Music:
The OST is so insanely good. I listened to it for weeks after watching and every song evokes the emotions of the show and transports you back to their world. Last Chance by So Soo Bin in particular evokes the emotion of Hae In finally wanting to live and it almost makes me cry. Love you with all my heart, Heart Flutter, The reason of my smiles, almost every song in this OST is so beautiful.
Overall, many things in this show are quite mediocre/average. However, I've never seen a show with this much "spice", with that spice being the main couple. There's a reason why its one of the most popular shows of 2024. Without Ji Won and Soo Hyun, this show would be like a 6-7, but with them and with the stellar OST, I'm putting this at a 9-9.5/10. It's honestly a must watch.
Story:
There are quite a few plot holes in the story. First off, the side plots and side characters were honestly so unnecessary and uninteresting. I had zero interest in the village head elder story and honestly Hyun Woo's brother and sister although sometimes vaguely funny had almost zero impact on the story. As for Hae In's family, we are introduced to them as a tiger family that rips Hyun Woo apart, and forces him into a depressive state. The entire background to the main couple is that Hae In did not defend Hyun Woo against her family. However, as the story goes on, the family really just becomes multiple caricatures, none of which seem threatening. The CEO himself shows absolutely no shrewdness or skill required of someone who brought themselves up from poor to being a multimillion dollar coporation owner. A fair comparison is the CEO villain from Itaewon Class. From him, you felt threatened, you felt pressure, you admired him despite him being the villain. This CEO is an absolute clown who gets manipulated by some random woman. The dad is also a clown who's whole purpose is that he can't handle pressure or be the pillar for the family. There is one scene in the beginning where he says anyone who leaves the company he will destroy, but that doesn't make any sense in the context of his character for the rest of the show. The brother is also a clown although slightly endearing. I honestly enjoyed the relationship between the brother and his wife, it was simple but sweet and fun to watch, although unrealistic. The mom is so annoying but I do appreciate the character development later.
As for the villains and main plot, it was okay. Because I hated Hae In's family so much, I couldn't give less of a shit if their company got taken over by the two villains. I understood Eun Seong's motivation, he was honestly not all there in the brain and did it out of an obsession. However, his mother makes almost no sense. I get that she was poor, but she went so ridiculously far to destroy a family when she and her son were already quite well off at the beginning of the story. The suspense of the plot was not bad, but there are much better business takeover stories.
As for the main couple, the writing is much better but there are still some questionable aspects. For example, Hyun Woo being happy that Hae In was dying is kind of ridiculous. I'm pretty sure it was for comedic effect, but no matter how much ur suffering being happy that someone you once loved is dying is too hard to believe. Some people like to question how their marriage fell apart so easily, but I actually think it made sense. Given their personalities the lack of communication was quite realistic, and also given the pride that both of them held it made sense that they were unable to relinquish it. The writers could've shown more of that happening though, they really only gave us snippets of the arguments after the miscarriage. I would've loved to see this way more than the village elder side plot. It's rare that a kdrama talks about the realistic troubles of marriage, and although Queen of Tears did decently, they could've done more.
I've written a lot of negatives, but honestly the romance writing is so good. There are so many swoonworthy scenes that make ur heart flutter (when Hae In tells him he'd marry her even if she was reborn 100 times, etc,). The epilogues are honestly so sweet and beautiful, and make you feel like crying when Hae In finally realizes through small moments that Hyun Woo actually still loves her (restaurant scene, leaves scene). There are also so many heartwrenching scenes that are so hard to watch but so beautiful. The church scene honestly broke me. Also, the writing when it came to Hae In grappling with her illness was so good. I could really feel what it was like to have 3 months to live and almost nobody to believe in. The one person she wanted to live for, she didn't know if he even wanted her to live. All the while, she had to act strong but was so lonely and depressed inside that part of her was okay with dying. It was so sad to watch but also made me feel so strongly. A lot of people tend to say they didn't like the last few episodes, but I loved it. Her losing her memory but being inexplicably drawn to Hyun Woo was honestly predictable but so sweet and fun to watch. The whole drama was honestly very stressful to watch and my anxiety was through the roof, so fun romantic scenes like those really help balance out the emotional stress of the show.
Acting/Cast:
I CANNOT STRESS ENOUGH HOW AMAZING JIN WON AND SOO HYUN ARE. Holy shit, I felt every goddam emotion they expressed. Nothing was over the top and every emotional scene was so realistic. Kim Ji Won is one of my favorite actresses and my god she delivered. Her crying is top tier. The chemistry was amazing, you could feel the tug and pull between the characters and you honestly believed without a doubt that they loved each other. Sometimes actors/actresses have a tough time pulling off the cold ice queen character because they go too far in that direction. It's the hints of warmth and humanness that makes those characters endearing, and Ji Won without a doubt expressed those with undeniable skill. Soo Hyun was also amazing as usual, and you could feel the conflict in his heart when it came to dealing with her family and her frustrating personality but also loving her.
The rest of the cast did their jobs. There was no awkward acting and honestly they all delivered the characters they were supposed to. My lack of interest in the other characters is definitely a writing issue rather than an acting one.
Music:
The OST is so insanely good. I listened to it for weeks after watching and every song evokes the emotions of the show and transports you back to their world. Last Chance by So Soo Bin in particular evokes the emotion of Hae In finally wanting to live and it almost makes me cry. Love you with all my heart, Heart Flutter, The reason of my smiles, almost every song in this OST is so beautiful.
Overall, many things in this show are quite mediocre/average. However, I've never seen a show with this much "spice", with that spice being the main couple. There's a reason why its one of the most popular shows of 2024. Without Ji Won and Soo Hyun, this show would be like a 6-7, but with them and with the stellar OST, I'm putting this at a 9-9.5/10. It's honestly a must watch.
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