Queen of Tears (2024)

SOMETIMES LESS IS MORE !

***DISCLAIMER: THIS IS JUST MY OPINION. YOU DON'T HAVE TO AGREE AND I'M NOT HERE TO ARGUE WITH ANYONE.***

LONG STORY SHORT:

IF THEY WRAPPED THIS DRAMA UP IN 10-12 EPISODES IT COULD'VE BEEN SO MUCH BETTER.
1ST HALF – GOOD / WATCHABLE, 2ND HALF – A HOT MESS.

OVERVIEW:

The drama opens with a married couple putting on a show for the cameras then the scenes pan to reality as the husband is actually miserable in the marriage and desperately wants a divorce. He convinces himself he hates his wife and can no longer live with her / remain by her side. That is until she is diagnosed with a rare condition called cloud cytoma which affects her brains cognitive functions. She loses track of time, hallucinates and begins to lose her memory. Eventually Haein tells Hyunwoo about her medical condition and he is overjoyed because now he can just wait until she dies instead of filing for divorce. Hyunwoo’s friend (Yang-Gi) convinces him that he may be able to inherit Queen’s group if Haein leaves it in her will. Consequently, he decides to be a ”perfect” dutiful husband until then so nobody will suspect him. From there we follow this couple and their family through the ups and down of their marriage on a backdrop of another family scheming for their very downfall.

COMMENTARY:

The drama gets a bit silly from episode 8 onward. It would have been so much better without the parasite plot. Don’t get me wrong at first it seemed interesting but the evil guy turning out to be the mothers son who she abandoned and put into foster care then he was adopted then she orchestrated his adopted parents death was just WILD. Too much was going on and not in a good way.

I have to say this drama quite literally pulls out every cliche from the book. I would've preferred if the writers focused more on the main couple's marital issues, the process of healing each others wounds and dealing with grief / loss of a loved one etc. It could’ve been so much more developed and I feel like even the actors could've utilized their skills more in showing how they confront those emotions by dealing with them as a whole.

QoT was just not executed as well as it could have been. It could’ve been amazing had they leaned into the "slice of life aspect" of it more. Yes the disease was fictitious but that doesn’t mean they couldn't have tried to make the plot more feasible. Even after her surgery… she had no hair loss, no chemotherapy, no check ups. After she came out of surgery she was just magically cured with the exception of her losing her memories? Once again, that was so unrealistic.

I didn't connect to the side characters at all and a lot of the storylines with them were so irrelevant. Honestly I didn't care for Soocheol and Dahye's story especially because he just accepted her back so easily, no questions asked. They did not communicate or have an honest conversation about her abusive ex, who was the reason why she kept on running away without a second thought. Which brings me to Haein and her mom’s relationship. They had an opportunity to show the complexity of it but Haein forgave her so easily just like that and there was no period of the talking things out and healing their own individual trauma and then finally coming together to work through everything? Some people would argue seeing that would be boring but no… with a drama like this it needed more depth and more layers.

The leads have visually stunning scenes but I didn't feel any sparks or fireworks between them. I'm not gonna lie, at times it felt forced. They had me rooting for them in the beginning but lost me towards the middle especially when there was no real breaking point or indication of them working through their issues. I felt like they behaved more like teens falling in love for the first time than a married couple who had been through so much. There was also too much back and forth one minute they were ready to fix everything and reconcile the next they were pushing each other away and then back to square one, AGAIN.

Honestly this drama was sad and exhausting more than anything. The way everyone talks about this drama you’d think they had so many romantic scenes when in reality it was just heartbreak and grief because they anticipated Haein's death. But they didn't work through these emotions they just kind of accepted the inevitable.

LIKES:

First of all, the OST is amazing!

The epilogue scenes were really well done and I liked the fact that they gave us some insight into the couples past through Haein's memories. I really loved that scene where Hyunwoo got drunk and then told Haein he loved her.

I thought the cinematography was beautiful and everything looked picturesque especially in the flashback scenes.

I think both actors did a good job, particularly in the tear-jerking scenes. I believe Soo Hyun always nails his emotions. I wished we could've seen more expressions from Ji Won but I guess her character was more stony and cold so she represented that as best as she could. Again, the scenes where she broke down crying were notable.

Although I hated the villains they nailed their roles. I loved the acting from the aunt, I thought she brought some humor to the drama.

I also like all the fan edits of the lead couple as I feel those edits tend to capture their moments / emotions better while tuning out the background noise. Lol when I say edits are better than the drama itself, Queen of Tears would be the perfect example.


DISLIKES:

I have a problem with how no one is allowed to criticize this drama. I believe everyone is entitled to their opinion even the persons leaving bad reviews or who were let down after watching.

Initially I really was happy to see a drama dealing with marital issues but the problem is they didn’t really show them dealing with or working through their issues together.

In the earlier episodes, Hyunwoo wishing Haein's death was brutal and I would literally not wish cancer upon my worst enemy. Haein had her own flaws as she is a bit of a narcissist and a control freak. She also came off very condescending and cold towards others. I guess that’s her characterization but her realizing she only had 3 months to live made her drastically turn into a whole different person.

It truly felt like Haein and Hyunwoo didn’t even try in their marriage. After they lost the baby it’s like everything just fell apart, and they both allowed it. They didn’t even try couples therapy or delve deeper into their grief. I assume Haein poured herself into her work while Hyunwoo distanced himself from her, moved into the baby’s room and also got consumed by work. But I genuinely needed more than that.

The writers were unable to strike the perfect balance between showing and telling because they wanted to do flashbacks and also present day, but they didn't really delve into the loss of their child and why their marriage essentially fell apart.

I believe the writers wanted to create multidimensional characters but failed in their execution. It is clear the writers adored Eunseong and expected people to sympathize with him but they were sorely mistaken. Anyone who defends Eunseong is nuts. No matter how bad someone's life is or how terrible they feel about others, that doesn't give them the right to become a deranged vengeance-seeking murderer. Furthermore, the mother-son duo with their tumultuous relationship took up far too much screen time. It took so much out of me to not just skip over their scenes especially when a lot of it was just showing them scheming to take down Queens group.

The “happy ending” was bittersweet and left a sour taste in my mouth. We didn’t get a lot of happy moments between Haein and Hyunwoo for the majority of the drama, so I was hoping for at least some good moments between them in the finale. But no once again the writers had other plans. They wanted to end the story on a tragic / somber note, with Hyunwoo carrying flowers to Haein's grave. However, she did not die as early as expected. It was implied got to enjoy her life, they had a child etc. but Hyunwoo still had to mourn her before eventually following her to "heaven". The scene when they saw each other again did nothing for me, just made me have conflicting emotions to be honest.

OVERALL:

QoT had too many storylines. Most of the arcs were unnecessary rendering the storylines improbable. The side characters were poorly developed, annoying and didn’t add anything. It’s only watchable because of Kim Ji Won and Kim Soo Hyun. I felt like something was missing since the beginning because there was just so much to unpack that they never did.

The plot is very early 2010s formulaic and I believe this drama's weakness was its production in 2024, as well as the overdone cliches. Everything was completely anticipated and not shocking at all imo. The showrunners tried to hold people's attention by throwing in the most bizarre plot lines but this got tiresome / old quickly. It was as if whenever there was anything good, something awful had to happen to balance it out, which just didn't seem realistic or practical.

THE WRITERS NEEDED SOMEONE TO TELL THEM TO PUT THEIR PENS DOWN! They truly needed someone to slap some sense into them and tell them to stop the overdramatic makjang plots. Imo, most of the characters were just used as plot devices to further the storyline and create illogical chaos.

Would I rewatch this? No. I would only watch scenes I liked and an edit would suffice instead of the entire drama as a whole.

With all of that said, I would rate it a 7/10 (my objective rating)

However, I decided to round it up to a 7.5/10 and only for the leads.

At the end of the day if you don’t believe some of the reviews you just have to watch the drama for yourself and see if you like it or not.

Happy Watching!

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

Read More

I was let down

watching the first 2 episodes, I thought its going to be about a troubled couple finding their way back to each other which it happed at last but not in a way that I wanted to. Kim Sohyun and Kim Jiwon are great actors with great chemistry and godly visuals but their love story is incredibly boring. I dont know how to put this in words but none of the characters seem like human beings. They're all written in a very surface level .They're just some plot devices and do stuff because the writer wanted those things to happen.
Hyun woo is knight in shining armor constantly sacrificing himself for others and Hae in is his entire world. Hae in is the princess with warm heart and cold attitude. Eun seong is the obsessed villain with dark past. Soo cheol is a doormat. Dahye is the poor corrupted lonely villain getting a redemption arc. No depth . No creativity. just cliches.
There was so much potential for Hyun woo and Hae in story but they just used cliches with some aesthetic pretty shots. Im so tired of " they met each other in childhood so it was fate all along" stuff and they used that one multiple times.
Honestly, the power struggle between the villains and Queens group was quite boring too and it was taking too much screen time to the point it overshadowed our couples story.
you need alot of suspension of disbelief to watch it because nothing make sense. people are smart and cunning but they make stupid choices so Hyun woo can come and save the day like the hero he is. There are herds of supporting characters who owe something to Hyun woo so they do everything to help. Hye in is supposedly very sick and doesn't have much time left but she never looks like it even in hospital. Her very rare disease gets cured magically with only one side effect which makes the next plot twist. Very unnatural story telling.
Actors are all amazing showing a range of emotions. The camera work is great. Filming locations are so pretty .OSTs are beautiful. Fashion and hair styles are stunning so are the cars. The story is the only thing ruining it. Its a bummer. All this talent and resources should've gone to a better story

Read More

A tragic fall from grace.....

Yes, the title is dramatic. Anyways, I was gonna type out a long rant but I’ll keep it short for everyone’s sake. I agree with a lot of the comments from Koreans, the show runners are are simply relying on the reputation of the cast to carry the positive opinions on this show. I don't think I need to delve into the writing again but as a byproduct of the last few episodes they were essentially forcing themselves to spend a tremendous amount of time wrapping up every storyline which should have happened several episodes before the finale. Some of them were written in an okayish manner but the amount of plot holes, inconsistencies, and straight-up illogical moments were mind-boggling.

Overall, the ending was super anticlimactic. We didn't see any real emotional scenes, romance, kiss or the wedding. The two people carrying this show on their backs got virtually zero screen time in which they were together romantically or in a heart touching manner. They speedran rebuilding their marriage from scratch, getting married, having kids, growing old, and dying after that promise he made on their honeymoon in Germany. This part should have been the focus of the last two episodes and the show would have salvaged most of its writing issues and ended on a positive note. But instead, it was done in 5 minutes, and poof, the show is over.

Moving to the main villain(s) Eunseong is some cartoonish, god damn Plankton from Spongebob. The whole plot around him and his mom slowly becomes crazier and just ridiculous as the show goes on. I was making fun of him with my friend saying he was the Joker from Batman with how obsessed and deranged he was becoming so when Bomi broke the 4th wall and said this show was like The Dark Knight I started crying of laughter. They introduced the most generic and mundane tropes throughout this show and it impacts the villains the most, why does everybody in K-Dramas need to have secretly known eachother since childhood?

The cinematography and directing took a very harsh fall near the end. The camera work was so odd, and the cuts were jarring, a massive difference from the amazing shots they had in the first half. Not to mention if someone went through and calculated how much of this episode (and the last few) were flashbacks I wouldn't be surprised at how large of a % they would be. It almost feels insulting we need to be constantly shown these scenes every 5 seconds like the audience is the one with a brain tumor causing amnesia.

Overall the show is a 6/10 for me. It started off so well, funny but also sentimental. We as viewers truly started to become attached to the characters and share the same emotions as them. I’m sure everyone was tapping their feet out of nervousness to see how Haein and Hyunwoos relationship would develop. Unfortunately that’s as far as it went, because the writers became the main villains and completely lost the plot. Kim Soo Hyun and Kim Jiwon carried this show but had almost no screen time together in meaningful ways to help the horrific writing.

Read More

Queen of Tears becomes King of Makjang. Beautiful to look at, dull and exhausting to actually watch

Major, MAJOR disappointment. The acting and cinematography were stellar 10/10, as expected of the budget and cast.

But the story nosedived incredibly starkly when the drama started focusing less on the characters and more on piling increasingly unbelievable trope conflicts one after the other. One of the main leads has a a terminal brain tumor diagnosis and somehow it's not even in the top 5 most deadly things they have to go through in the latter half of the episodes.

The two villains, in particular the 'second male lead', dial up the makjang factor to eleven and his plotlines take centre stage for far too long. My short summary of each block of writing -

Episode 1-4 = Great acting, interesting and unique storyline - even if it wasn't a masterpiece yet, it was at the least intriguing. The leads had a dynamic very seldom seen in Korean dramas, let alone of a drama of this scale.

Episode 5-8 = Incredible, this is the stretch of the episodes that suckered me in. At their best worst enthralling, at their best emotionally devastating, this was the peak of the series.

Episode 9-12 = A fairly balanced mish mash of light and dark tones, the makjang kdrama tropes nonetheless start to intrude upon. Newfound complications start slipping in from the rafters but the central focus of the story still remains. The Queens Group story is still so boring, it takes a Herculean effort to not fast forward through all of the corporate nonsense that unfortunately overstays its welcome.

Episode 13-16 = WTF. How many times do the leads have to have tearful hugs two minutes removed from some unhinged assassination attempt in the middle of suburban Korea and Germany. Character development gets replaced by exploding cars, poorly written villains get more dialogue and screentime than the main characters.

A colossal letdown shouldered by excellent performances. A Big Mac served on a silver platter. If there is anything to take away from Queen of Tears, it is that believable tears can not mask an unbelievable story.

Read More

The premise is unique but the execution isn't

The story is about a married couple, Hyun Woo and Hae In who have lost and disconnected in their marriage. And after Hae In being diagnosed with terminal illness they try to reconnect and overcome their marital and life crisis.

In the early episodes, you might perceive ML as a jerk, which indeed he was. However, both the ML and FL exhibited similar behavior towards each other, indicating a lack of communication between them. So you should understand the distress experienced by the ML and his reaction to the preceding situation.

ML and FL undeniably have chemistry! They are one of the most eye candy couple one could ask for. However, the director seemed to overdo it in trying to sell their chemistry when it was already apparent. Repeating the same shot from 15 different angles and having them stare at each other for 2-3 minutes during every conversation felt excessive, especially given that they were already married. I also didn't like how they overly emphasized the childhood and fate connection between the leads.

I also thought this show would have the leads with in depth conversations between them about what went wrong in their marriage and why they drifted, showing their past love story was also a good move but I still felt that her illness magically resolved all their issues, conflicts and misunderstandings without much communication about their drift.

The drama primarily focuses on the familial and villain storylines, accounting for more than 70% of its content. If you're expecting a romantic comedy, I'd suggest skipping this one. It leans more towards melodrama than romance, so if you approach it with a rom-com mindset, you might be disappointed.

The most intriguing premise of the show was rebuilt of relationship between the ML and the FL, but unfortunately, we hardly saw any development on that front. Instead, the focus was primarily on a rich chaebol family facing a crisis.

This drama doesn't rely on action-packed sequences or rapid plot developments; instead, it embraces a slice-of-life approach with a leisurely pace. The drama has undeniable number of cliches although which are easily predictable, it couldn't categorized itself as "Cliche done right" for me.

Each character is meticulously fleshed out, their stories, personalities, and arcs fully explored. Almost every supporting character gets their own story arc. Initially, some seemed uninteresting, but as the drama progressed, even their stories became a little compelling,

A drama requires a balanced flow in it's story and narrative, but when you throw unnecessary tropes every episode without concluding the previously more believably it feels artificial that's what went wrong for "Queen of Tears", they threw plot twists left and right which were not even interesting or amusing rather cliche. Had they focused on one genre properly, like "Life" and "Action" offer two completely different paces so the simultaneous shifting from one to another disrupted the overall pace of the show, where some scenes were intriguing but some awfully filler and boring .

The writer overly focused on the villain arc. It didn't feel reasonable; instead, it felt forced to the point of frustration. This aspect significantly detracted from the overall vibe of the drama. Motive and the narrative regarding the villain was left underdeveloped despite so much focus on it.

The music is nice, but they played the same music during every sad scene, it lacked variety just like the plot LMAO.

With one of the highest budgets in the industry, the cast, locations—especially Germany with its breathtaking scenery—wardrobe, and the prominent Mercedes PPL ?, it served quality but it still isn't a criteria for a good drama for me.

Overall, this didn't offer anything particularly special. I've been watching dramas for four years, and there's nothing new I've seen here. While some twists here and there are amusing, the overall plot isn't too surprising. The writer chose the cliche route despite the unique premise, and the long 1.5-hour episodes didn't help either. The production and top-quality actors carried the drama because the plot was definitely lacking.

I lost my interest by Ep 10, watching the rest of it was a chore indeed.

REWATCH: It's really lengthy for a rewatch, and the only scenes id rewatch are of main leads, so id just watch a edit or mv of them, rather than the whole show.

Thank you for reading my review ^^
END

Read More

Rivers of artificial tears

I know, I know, this show is the talk of the town and rating its socks off. However, I’m going to be an outlier. Please allow me to explain.

The star power of our leads combined with the portfolio of our writer-nim (who penned CLOY, MLFTS, etc) should guarantee an instant classic. It is certainly a hit but after finishing the show, I am not convinced that it scored the home run.

At the start of the series, the relationship of the OTP is at their lowest ebb. Of course, the goal is to watch them rise above it all and make us swoon. The series largely archived this with consummate skill. However, this is also its Achilles heel from my perspective.

Even a few episodes in, I can’t help but feel that I’m watching a parade of hand crafted scenes designed to either showcase the visuals of our leads or to hit us with the feels, hard. There is no doubt that this is a S class production on every level. Of course, there are buckets of tears and our handsome ML brought his A game.

However, I feel that the material connecting these scenes are hollow and contrived. This is surprisingly loose and lazy writing coming from a writer of this calibre.

For instance, the plot surrounding the granddad’s mistress is nonsensical. She suffered and schemed for over 20 years because of greed. Really, just greed? She could have built a secret nest egg in far less time than that. Even in the end, it all comes down to a bit of luck and good timing. Ditto the involvement of several accomplices. The script tries to explain it all away, but it is a hard sell when you look beyond skin deep.

Don’t even get me started on the SML. He is obsessed with the FL yet his idea of winning her over is to shaft her family and take her beloved business away. Yes, he offered it back to her but with nasty strings attached. It all feels rather inept and superficial. That seems to be his modus operandi. Just do something over the top and she will submit but there is no solid reasoning behind his various machinations. The idea of him taking over the role of her finance after her surgery and framing the ML for murder is laughable and beyond tropey.

Almost every member of both families is cliché and unlikeable yet so much time is devoted to their petty contrivances. The makjang heavy plot basically seesaws between the protagonist making small gains only to surrender it back to the antagonist in the next scene/episode. There are many outlandish subplots involving the large ensemble cast. The tone of the show yo-yo all over the place because of that.

This highlights how much emphasis is placed on those storyboard scenes. If they were pivotal then I’m all for them but most of the time, they are a quick dose of fan service, or button pushing tropes. They are effective but also manipulative by design.

This brings us to the real kicker. The main theme of the show is the romance of the OTP. This is made painfully clear from the start. However, for this viewer, my first question is why are they even together?! There is nothing to ship. They don’t show any affection. They don’t talk (failure to communicate is a recurring theme). They live parallel lives. The ML suffers daily both at home and at work. This could have been a murder mystery for all I know. Yes, the writer turned it around towards the end, but it is hardly CLOY2, not even close.

A HEA ending is never in doubt once they played the magic cure card. The escalating dramatic tension drops away. All the implausible schemes fell apart as expected. Every subplot is tied off with a pink bow. Was it satisfying? I’d prefer to call it Functional Predictability. I’m sure fans are swooning and elated though. It all ends with an artificial sweeteners overload. Did it go too far? It literally left nothing to our imagination.

Regardless, the gods of makjang will be pleased. Am I being critical? Absolutely. I want this show to be great, nay, perfect. This is god’s gift to the fans of the leads but it is hardly on par with some of the most memorable k-dramas.

If I take off the rose-tinted glasses, I can see all the hype and traffic generated by the highly bankable stars. It served its purpose and made history. Am I the only one not hailing Caesar?

We came. We saw. We forgot™️.

Read More

Overhyped undercooked K-drama meal at its peak!

Before starting Queen of Tears:
"OMG I'M SO EXCITED" ٩(ᵔ0ᵔ)۶

Ep 1-8: OOOHHH, I'm enjoying!!! (ʃƪ˘з˘)

Ep 9-12: hmmm, ok...umm ( ˙-˙ )

Ep 13-16: EH? WHAT? WTH? (╯°Д°)╯︵ ┸┸

☑️Likes:
✓Leads bickering and them being mean to eachother occasionally

✓THE AUNT!

❎Dislikes:

Everything else other than likes. Starting with -
X FL's mean character and they dragged her sickness too long
X ML being a pushover
X The pacing of the story, it got damn boring at the end of the story, that I had to use +30sec and 2x speed button back to back.
X Slow sloth moments with all ballad OSTs had me yawn in every single episode.
X DAMN PEOPLE CAN CRY, I wouldn't know if I didn't watch this. They cried in almost every episode. Drunk crying, happy crying, cute crying, sad⁹⁹ crying, angry crying and so on.
(I shouldn't have picked this one to watch considering the title being filled with tears -_-)
X And WhyTF did that old selfish geezer escaped from this misery?! He's the root cause of this mishap, now when he saw he is in deep mud, run away without explaining, leaving his offsprings in pain. Strange!!!

If this drama was one of my first dramas, I would have loved it and rated it close to 10. But after watching hundreds of dramas I have outgrown this genre and developed a taste of my own where bleak plots like this completely failed to entertain me. They had big budget, star artists, pretty faces, crystal clear cinematography but lacked to grip attention of the audience with less intriguing plot.

This is an one time watch only. You watch, you finish, you forget and move on in life. But why did I watch? Because my completionist brain said "you've come so far to drop it now, deal with it". >⁠.⁠<

My Rating: 5/10 ʕ–_–ʔ
If I have to explain the drama in one word that would be, "BORING".

Read More

A Flash In The Pan

Common tropes and cliches abound in this poorly executed story, leaving loose ends untied and logic sorely lacking. The characters make questionable decisions that do not ring true to their development, such as Hae In blindly trusting Eun Song despite obvious red flags. The lack of critical thinking, like Hae In not hiring a lawyer to protect her memory through a diary, undermines the believability of the plot. The character of Grace switching sides serves little purpose other than to conveniently aid one side with the progression of the story, without any real depth or consistency. Even Hae In's parents' lack of visitation after her treatment in Germany contradicts their supposed love and support for her after learning about her illness. The most ironic thing of all is how Hyun Woo had to cook for the commemoration of Hae In’s grandmother. Viewers were under an impression in the first episode that how stressful it must feel to be in this powerful family. Yet just as the story progresses further we can see they are actually clueless and powerless, with the entire family surrounds Hyun Woo’s bed just to listen to what plan he has for them to restore their family power.

Overall, this narrative fails both its audience and its cast with lazy storytelling and reliance on tired cliches.

Read More

Lacks depth and substance

This drama takes on a very serious and nuanced topic -- marriage and divorce. Unfortunately, instead of leaning into all the difficult issues surrounding a failing marriage and dealing with them head-on, it skirts around all the important parts and instead delivers nothing more than Hallmark-type cheesiness without any real substance. A lot of people are saying it was good up to Episode 10 or so and then went downhill. But for me it was downhill, or flat, from the get-go. I don't really get what all the hype is about. Frankly, despite the fact that I love Kim Soo-hyun, I did not enjoy this drama, for several reasons.

1. Supposed to deal with marriage and divorce but fails to get into the real issues. This multilayered topic needs to be handled with maturity, depth, and honesty, and this drama just fails in that regard. While we are led to understand it was just a simple case of miscommunication (or lack of communication) between the leads that led them down the dark road to divorce, this matter is never really fleshed out or given any further treatment. We are not really made privy to what really happens between them. There is one scene that deals with a miscarriage, but that's it. No context or follow-up is given and it is hardly ever mentioned again. In other words, there is a lack of context and story development to enable the viewer to participate and empathize. The drama instead chooses to focus on external conflicts with one-dimensional, cartoonish villains. The failing marriage is dealt with shallowly and romanticized, and the real issues are swept under the rug. Suddenly, this couple has the perfect relationship and their only problems are actually how to recovery the company and vanquish the baddies.

2. Unlikable characters, especially in the first half. In the beginning, the ML seems to have been made deliberately weak. I felt like the drama was pushing some sort of feminist rhetoric -- subversion of the patriarchy and all that. But there is no need to emasculate the male in order to emphasize the strength of the female. Likewise, the female need not be an uber rich girl boss with a bad attitude in order to come off as a "strong independent woman." Anyway, Baek Hyun-woo is introduced as a seemingly shallow, silly, ill-intentioned weakling who could not even stand up for himself or make up his mind about what to do with his own marriage. He relies on a friend to tell him what to do. To make things worse, he actually seems relieved and even slightly elated to learn his estranged wife is terminally ill. Now, I like falling in love with my kdrama/jdorama men for the space of a few hours, and I definitely was not going to fall in love with someone like this. Neither could I relate with the wealthy CEO girl boss who was cold and arrogant and disrespectful and had no qualms about berating her husband in front of their colleagues. It just wasn't working for me. Even later when her arrogance is toned down, Hae-in just comes off to me as abrasive and unrelatable. Many people are saying the leads had great chemistry, but I never saw it. They're both great actors for sure, but there was something off for me about their pairing. Strangely, I felt like the FL was patterned after the typical Asian mom or aunt -- brash, brisque, pragmatic and unromantic, and the ML has the typical henpecked husband vibe. And their romance felt to me like I was watching one of my stoic aunts suddenly becoming lovey-dovey with someone. Goosebumps. But because the actors are both attractive, it probably seemed that the characters were attractive too. The writers seem to realize this and tones down everything in the second half, which leads to my third point:

3. Inconsistent characterization. I guess the writer wanted to show that the characters have a deeper dimension than what was shown in the first episodes, but somehow the sudden shift in the overall tone of the characters didn't work for me. Suddenly, the FL is vulnerable and in love (but still, just for me personally, unlikable and unrelatable). Suddenly, she is a silly lovelorn stalker. I mean, sure. One can argue that her coldness and arrogance were merely a facade or a coping mechanism and that she actually really is a softie, but somehow, that doesn't feel believable. And the ML suddenly becomes strong, capable, fiercely loyal, very loving, and knows exactly what he wants and what to do. Yes, writer-nim. This could have worked if you had written him that way from the beginning. Making a character's real personality a plot twist just does not work for me. I need to connect with the characters immediately or as soon as possible for the story to work. That is the most important factor for me in any story. The plot could go to hell but as long as the characters are well-written and feels real, I am in. I think it just is bad writing overall, the way the characters were set up. Again, the actors' face cards and sex appeal covered this up for most viewers.

4. The drama can't seem to decide what it is, and the main relationship lacks substance. In the beginning, it seemed like it was going to be a romcom. But wait, Is it a thriller? Is it a makjang? Is it a "beautiful love story?" It tries to be all of these but fails. The thriller part wasn't thrilling enough. The romance part was, to me at least, somewhat cringey (probably because of the Asian mom/ahjumma peronality of the FL). And the romcom just failed to show up. Instead, the drama seems to take itself very seriously and seems to think of itself as a "beautiful love story. " In order to show this, it resorts to cheesy lines and overly sentimental scenes that don't really show any real connection between the husband and wife, at least none that you could really feel or that is properly developed. Instead, their strongest and most powerful connection seems to be the dreaded "childhood connection thingie" that Koreans seem to adore -- unmyeong. In other words, their love is one for the books because they were fated for each other, as evidenced, apparently, by the fact that they had a chance encounter when they were children. This is a pet peeve of mine in kdramas. This is a very shallow type of sentimentality, IMO. Instead of trying to establish this childhood connection, why not focus on their current mind-to-mind, heart-to-heart, soul-to-soul connection instead?

5. The loopholes. In a romcom, I usually could look past the glaring leaps of logic because most romcoms are meant to be a little silly, and so the logical inconsistencies just seem campy, not a writing failure. But you can't really call campy on this drama because it takes itself way too seriously. One major example of a glaring lapse in logic is the fact that the villain manages to step in and claim to be the guardian and fiance of a patient who has lost her memory. What an insult to European hospitals! You're telling me, writer-nim, that the hospital does not have any protocols at all regarding patient security? Furthermore, Baek Hyun-woo actually sees the villain walk in as he was being scandalously arrested (another huh moment). And he doesn't do anything about it, apparently. Yes, he got arrested and dragged away to prison on false charges, but that should not have prevented him from instructing one of his lawyer friends (or hello, Hae-in's family) to immediately contact the hospital and inform them that that man should not be allowed anywhere near the patient as he is not family and not her authorized guardian. And why didn't Hae-in's parents, on their own initiative, do anything? A phone call would have done it if they didn't want to fly out to Germany to look after their daughter. They knew than man is dangerous and Hae-in is in an especially vulnerable position after having lost her memories, and not a single one of them tried to contact the hospital? LOL. There are many, many others. This is just one example. Very shoddy writing.

To sum up, again, this drama tries to be something -- an epic, sweeping, memorable, beautiful love story, or a deep dive into marriage and divorce -- but does not really have enough meat and bones/substance to actually succeed. Instead, we get a lot of cloyingly sentimental scenes, cheesy dialogue, a half-baked thriller element, and a kind of surface treatment of a serious topic that is more suited to a romcom or light drama, and a dancing or skirting around the important issues about love and hate in a relationship and all the nuances and layers of emotion that are involved in a marriage, and all the heartbreak of divorce. This weird, half-baked stew just didn't work for me at all. The actors did their best to hold it up, but it is not worth all the hype and is way too overrated, in my honest opinion.

Read More

(UPDATED) Already wanting to rewatch Episode 1 Absolute Perfection

This is sooo sooooo good.. Absolutely loving Kim Soo Hyun's acting.. Never knew he could be so funny and serious at the same time lol ?? I would rate his acting 1000/10 if I could ? super cute really ????

Loving the personality of Kim Ji Won's character here.. Both of them are really unique characters.. The writer nailed it ?

A perfect 1st episode ??

This is going to be a really sweet & heart-warming drama and I'm here for it.

Full of laughter and tears ?


Update :

This drama has been such a wonderful journey and I am so glad I watched it while it's airing with my super sweet Dramaland chingus ? It is such a beautiful heartfelt story and the actors did a wonderful job in portraying these characters.. This pairing is such a fun pairing to me tbh.. I think these two are my favorite characters atm.. They cried so much but still made us smile.. ?
Love both the families.. love how contrasting every couple on this show is.. even both the families are a contrast to each other.. I think this is what makes them click.. ?


Final Update :

(SPOILERS AHEAD)
(DO NOT READ BEFORE COMPLETING THE DRAMA)

This drama pulled at my heartstrings ?
I knew I was going to love this drama since Episode 1 but I never knew I would love it so much ?

The characters here are so on point.. and so beautifully portrayed. I knew she was going to fall in love with him again after losing her memories but I never knew it would be the same way she did the first time.. and oh my God how cute and lovely it was to witness that.. following him again ? jotting everything down hehee.. convincing herself to go meet him and not realizing the actual reason ?
God! The heart really is where our feet go ?
I love how they give meaning to these phrases ??

Love how the four-leaf clover brought back The Diary ?? I was actually elated at the sight of the diary covered in white ?? I was smiling ear to ear everytime they showed the diary and when she read it.. God the tears didn't stop ??

I love how Hyun Woo trusted his own love for her and always stayed by her side.. I love that Hae In booked the same Aqua to remind herself what's most important to her in life.. ?

The most beautiful moment.. for me.. when she kept saying his name.. ?
How do you do it? Can there be anything more beautiful than this?
Hae In was deprived of love all her life.. she kept waiting for her mum's love that she forgot what it even felt like.. to be loved and cared for.. Baek Hyun Woo was always caring and she wanted to have that in her life.. She wanted to remember him forever ?
What an iconic couple ?
Our Ice Cold Princess and our King of Tears ?
A beautiful drama indeed ??

Also,
Anyone who is disappointed in this review I would like to apologize to have disappointed you.

And anyone who has liked this review and would like to add positive comments, here are some questions for you if you'd like to answer :

1. Cutest scene
2. Funniest scene
3. The most beautiful moment in this drama for you


Thank you and Let's continue to support this talented team ?

P.S. I have got to get me a four-leaf clover ??

Read More

OVERHYPED - OVERRATED - Nothing Fresh Except for the CAST, One More Wasted Potential.

"Queen of Tears" is a highly anticipated drama that unfortunately falls short of its potential. Despite boasting an impressive cast and crew, including Kim Soo Hyun, Kim Ji Won, Park Sung Hoon, Director Kim Hee Won, and Writer Park Ji Eun, the series fails to deliver a truly groundbreaking narrative.

One of the main issues with the drama is its lack of originality in storytelling. While the initial premise may seem promising, the plot quickly becomes predictable and fails to introduce any fresh elements to keep viewers engaged. As a result, the story plateaus early on, leaving audiences wanting more. The drama's themes of love, family, and power were not explored in a nuanced or thought-provoking way. Instead, they were presented in a simplistic and superficial manner, without any real depth or complexity

KIM SOO HYUN - KIM JI WON :-
The chemistry between the leads, while acceptable, lacks the spark needed to elevate their performances. Kim Ji Won delivers a solid portrayal, but her character's development feels shallow and fails to fully explore the complexities of her role as the wife. Similarly, Kim Soo Hyun's performance falls short of expectations, with his character feeling one-dimensional and lacking depth, relying solely on the actors' performances without proper story and character development may not always yield the desired outcome. A great drama isn't just about having talented actors; it also requires well-crafted stories and fully developed characters. While strong chemistry among the actors is crucial, it's not the sole factor for success. Having talented actors is important, but writers and directors must also write a compelling story and develop strong characters. If they don't, the production will miss its full potential.

WHY 7.5 FOR ME : WHERE DRAMA LOST ITS 2.5 :-

ACTING & CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT.
The character development in Queen of Tears falls short, with the main characters feeling more like archetypes than fully fleshed-out individuals.
• Kim Soo-hyun's character, Baek Hyun woo, suffers from poor writing, with his motivations and emotions feeling unclear and underdeveloped. His acting performance, while competent, doesn't bring any new depth or nuance to the role, making it feel like a rehashing of his previous performances.
• In contrast, Kim Ji-won's character, Hong Hae In, is well-written up to a point, with a clear and compelling backstory and motivation. However, her development stalls midway through the drama, and her character feels like a trope. Her performance is decent, but not enough to save the character from feeling like a missed opportunity.
• Park Sung-hoon's character, Cha Jae-wook, is a one-dimensional villain, portrayed as a ruthless and cunning businessman with no redeeming qualities. While his acting performance is settled and convincing, the character feels like a caricature, with no nuance or complexity.
• Kwak Dong Yeon's current character is similar to his previous role in Vincenzo. He plays a lovable but clueless person again. He does a great job of making us feel happy and sad at the same time. His character shows how hard it is to prove yourself in a rich family, where no matter how hard you try, you always feel like you're not good enough. Director Kim Hee-woon knows how to bring out the best in Kwak Dong Yeon, so she used his character like same as in Vincenzo but bit characterization this time.
• The supporting actors deliver solid performances, adding much-needed depth to their respective characters. Kwak Dong-yeon, Lee Jo-bin, Lee Mi-suk, and Na Young-hee all bring their characters to life with their performances, making them feel more fully fleshed-out than the main characters.
• Themes of power, family, and loyalty are explored in the drama, but feel underdeveloped and lacking in nuance. The plot is predictable and formulaic, with characters making unrealistic and contrived decisions to further the plot. With some supporting actors manage to shine in certain episodes, the overall acting of the main leads remains stagnant. Additionally, while the cinematography may be technically proficient, it fails to leave a lasting impression on viewers.

SOUNDTRACK - OST :-
• One saving grace of "Queen of Tears" is its phenomenal soundtrack, which succeeds in enhancing certain moments throughout the series. However, this alone is not enough to salvage the drama from its reliance on tired tropes and underutilization of its talented cast.

TOP QUALITY PRODUCTION:-
The production's grand scale and impressive attention to detail make it a richness visual treat, leaving a lasting impression on ours with beautiful costumes and sets. Each character's design is unique and detailed. The scenery is amazing and makes you feel like you're in a different world. The production is big and impressive by TvN

PLOT PROGRESSION & PACING :-
• The pacing of Queen of Tears was sluggish and meandering, with an overabundance of repetitive scenes and a lack of meaningful plot advancement. This made the viewing experience feel like a tedious obligation, rather than an engaging and immersive escape. The slow burn of the narrative failed to build tension or suspense between the characters or main characters , instead, it felt like a monotonous trudge through familiar tropes and clichés. The repetitive nature of the storytelling made it difficult to become invested in the characters' journeys, and the lack of plot progression left viewers feeling frustrated and disengaged.

SAME CLICHÉS & SAME TROOPS, BUT LACKING FRESH TONE :-
• Rom-com and family-centric k-dramas often rely on familiar tropes and storylines, but that doesn't mean the execution can't be fresh and engaging. To breathe new life into these genres, it's essential to focus on character depth. By crafting relatable, well-rounded characters with unique personalities, backstories, and motivations, the story can feel more dynamic and unpredictable.

GOOD TO WATCH :-
• The cameo appearance of Song Joong-ki as Vincenzo in Queen of Tears was a thrilling surprise for K-drama fans, and we owe a huge debt of gratitude to TVN and Director Kim Hee Won for reviving the Vincenzo nation three years later. This impactful cameo was more than just a brief appearance; it brought a significant boost to the drama, particularly in Episode 8, leaving a lasting impression on the K-drama lands.
(Upto 8 episodes )
• In the intricate tapestry of the rich business family, Every character is precisely placed within the carefully crafted mosaic of rich business family's story The family setting, a complex web of relationships and alliances, is expertly crafted to reveal the intricate dynamics at play. From the cunning machinations of the queen dowager to the tender moments of familial love, every character's design and motivation is carefully orchestrated to drive the plot forward. In Queen of Tears, the family setting is not just a placement, but a living, breathing entity that shapes the destiny of our characters and the fate of the drama

ENDING:-
Beautiful ending :) loved it. I'm so grateful for the incredible cast and crew of Queen Of Tears ! .. thank you for giving your hardwork memorable drama to our kdrama fans.

FOR ME :-
Overall, Queen of Tears was a enjoyable one but a wasted potential due to its overreliance on tired tropes, poor character development, slow pacing, and lack of nuanced themes. With a more innovative approach to storytelling and character development, this drama could have been something truly special.

In conclusion, "Queen of Tears" disappoints as it fails to break new ground in storytelling and falls short of leveraging its impressive cast and crew to their full potential. If you're a fan of the cast, it's still worth checking out, but be prepared for a narrative that doesn't quite live up to its full potential.

Note -
Thanks for reading my review! I want to emphasize that my comments are solely my personal opinion and are not meant to offend or criticize any actors or the drama. I'm sharing my genuine thoughts and I'm grateful for your understanding. - @Shinnosuke_Lee

Read More

Overrated show that you will watch only for its leads

First of all...what the heck. Second of all...who in the world is writing this soap opera story. Anything is happening out of nowhere. I stopped making sense of the story after a while and people are not trolling when they said it is highly overrated. This worked only because of the two amazing leads. They are the backbone of this drama. I had this bad feeling from the get go that this story is walking on the edge of becoming a complete mess and guess what it did become one. Highly disappointed with the writers. It could have been so good but who wants that...better test out every single scene that comes to mind and create a story that will blow the minds of the viewers. And it did! In a bad way.
Don't watch this show with your logical brain, better throw it out of window, only then you can forgive the writers and move on. The family's reaction to everything and and second ml and his mother though promising in the beginning, made it into a soap opera after a while. I enjoyed every single interaction of the two main leads. Well, they were just wonderful in every single scene. Acting is promising and the music is beautiful. It's definitely a tear jerker and will leave you devasted many times (but don't worry writer won't cease to amaze you with their flawless ideas). If not for the main lead I would have dropped it half way but still watched it. Sigh. What a trauma!
Watch it if you are too happy with your life and want to check out if your tear glands are properly working or not. (I thought 'Penthouse' was the only drama that could make me this riled up...but unfortunately I was wrong.)

Read More