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Old K-Drama Vibes
At the start, I was very intrigued. I thought it beginning with a married couple with one wanting to divorce was unique from most K-Dramas that are about a couple falling in love-- but this being a married couple falling back in love was different for me. Both characters were also both flawed, and I didn't really like them at the start, but, by the end, you really care about them and their families. I was shook like halfway through the series, they had already kind of addressed or answered some of the most burning questions, so I had no idea how the show as gonna go. Yet, they surprised me, they kept adding new drama and chaos each episode. The villains were wild, and the plot twists were so old-school. It felt like an old K-Drama for real. I was mixed on the ending, but it was technically happy. I just wanted more happy moments, and answers for some side characters' stories.Amazing acting, OSTs, and cinematography. Funny moments despite lots of tears shed, and iconic cameos for K-Drama fans! I'm just mixed about the story and ending.
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“don’t make me want to live”
first i would like to thank whoever casted kim jiwon and kim soo hyun for their roles. no one could have ate these roles like them. the church scene, the truck scene etc. they were so good. the story started so strong, i was really invested in baekhong’s story but it went down in last 2-3 episode. ep 11 was their peak, but the rest wasn’t that good. they mixed everything up like why hyunwoo got hit by a car and WHY DID HE GET SHOT IN THE NEXT EP?? i was rooting for haein then she recovered but hyunwoo was in the hospital?? i actually wanted to watch baekhong’s marriage story while waitin haein to recover like how they were like in their early stages of marriage, how they got sick of each other, how they lost the baby 1031… i wanted to see those but we only got some scenes. also, grandfather’s third child, he was irrelevant to story? his only role was the unwanted child like why did we even see him if he wasnt going to do anything. anyway, it was good overall i liked the ending but they didn’t have to kill off haein like what do you want from her? instead we could have got he baby scenes. however it was still good i would recommend it, because everyone needs to see my divorced parents,Was this review helpful to you?
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Queen of endless villain meetings
The drama boasts an exorbitant runtime that's around 90 minutes per each of it's 16 episodes but it's filled with constant meetings of the villains planning, enacting, or going over what they did for their schemes instead of strengthening the relationships of the characters, the most important one being the main pair Hae In and Hyun Woo. Their chemistry really fluctuated as to when the writing really understood them as characters with history, which the scenes when they are at odds at each other capitalized the most well on, giving them pathos informed by their shared traumas, whereas it's the weakest in the romantic sections where the writing and direction portrays them like teenagers dating for the first time rather than estranged spouses whose years of resentment (that lead to Hyun Woo to the point of celebrating the news of Hae In's terminal illness) stemmed from shared overwhelming grief over a miscarriage and miscommunication. There are moments where their current romance reflects on moments in their dating past that gives their current relationship a bit more depth, but otherwise there is this astronomical void that is never reconciled so Hae In and Hyun Woo falling in love again, all the sweet scenes, and emotional declarations feels hollow. It doesn't matter if they kept meeting each other throughout their childhood into their adulthood and elderly Hyun Woo is the one visiting her grave in Germany after she has passed from old age in the future if the biggest obstacles that utterly destroyed their love for each other is never addressed properly.The most affecting relationship of the show is Soo Cheol and Da Hye. Soo Cheol is a comically petulant man child who can't do anything right, but he understands that he's been sheltered and stunted by his parents and wants to step up to be a good husband and father and he absolutely is. His pure unconditional love and acceptance for his wife and child even after he's discovered that Da Hye had scammed him and he's not the biological father of his child and every moment that he will do whatever it takes to protect them are the most powerful emotional parts of the show. The key moments are Soo Cheol waiting endlessly until Da Hye logs in to the game not to confront her, but to send her their son's shot records, not allowing his parents to speak down to his wife, learning to ride a bicycle so he can teach his son, learning to take hits and to box to protect his wife, calling her over the lost and found speaker, him choosing to recontextualize her confessions of picking on him when they were little in the sweetest way, and waiting for her release from prison. It's so sweet the both of them share a genuine enjoyment of gaming together. We get to see Da Hye have very good knife skills, chopping up copious amounts of vegetables swiftly. It would have been nice if we could have seen Da Hye and Soo Cheol work together for a business for themselves or something instead of the endless villain meeting scenes.
Kim Soo Hyun did a good job portraying Hyun Woo from his sweet vulnerable side to his cold combative side. Kim Ji Won's Hae In was most effective as the past version where she manages to be balance being cocky and romantic in a charming way. None of Hae In's supposedly comedic moments hit as funny in the current day portions. Hyun Woo's friendship with Yang Gi and the lawyer crew as well as Secretary Na being the closest thing to a best friend that Hae In has were also enjoyable. It would have been nice seeing Hae In explore her friendship with Secretary Na some more. It was trippy to see Sebastian Roche show up as one of the German doctors and seeing the German nurse station where they gossip about the situation, filmed in that specific kdrama style. Hae In's rare brain tumor being magically healed with no resulting issues other activating an amnesia plotline is also another wasted opportunity in the writing. There's a lot of potential in this drama, it's a shame that they couldn't edit the show down and focus in the writing stage to the more important parts to keep a good momentum and give more substance to the story of the main leads recovering from their broken relationship.
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What if the gender roles were reversed in a Cinderella romance? Could the relationship survive or would the man feel too emasculated? Could he find a way to be a man while being the less powerful, less wealthy half?
The initial premise becomes weighed down with large scale conspiracies, sickly sweet morals about the 'common people,' and lots of sickness/death wish fulfilment. Ultimately, the show is completely unrealistic, full on daytime soap level drama, but with extremely slow pacing.
The two actors have little chemistry, the music is just OK, and besides one scene early on where our male lead rescues the female lead, there's nothing here I would rewatch.
This is one of the most popular KDramas, with prestige actors, and so I've been trying to suffer through but I can't anymore . . . I'm dropping.
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Trust me, when you realize that what you wish you want is never truly what you wanted..YOU CHANGE
First of all, this is my first kdrama. I have watched more than 80 cdramas but I haven't watched a single kdrama yet.. Recently, I admitted to myself that k drama directors are really innovative and somehow I thought of watching one... I just found this drama name interesting and I started it reluctantly... just imagine, I thought of watching a single episode each day but I ended up finishing the 10 episodes in less than a day only to realize that this is still ongoing series and I really doubt if I can control myself till April 28... BHW & HHI are the main leads and trust me, I found it so realistic and their thinking is so natural and the story is too perfect. I still kind of feel bad for HHI but somehow I can't see anyone better for her than BHW.. Trust me, when you realize that what you wish you want is never truly what you wanted ... YOU CHANGEWas this review helpful to you?
It is too superficial
As so many here stated - the production of the series is top notch. The visuals, the camera angles - everything adding up to be a mesmerising and enjoyable watch. Unfortunately, the production is the main (and only) good feature of this show, every other aspect, especially the story, is extremely lacking.1. The episodes are very uneven in their plot progression as well as invoking emotional roller-coasters. Sometimes, when the story is lacking in a film or a show, creators will overcompensate with trying to make their viewers emotional over certain parts. I am noticing a lot of that tactic here.
2. There is not a single likeable or relatable character. There are parts of certain characters that are sometimes likeable / relatable, but other that that, I have not yet seen a single one of them admitting and owning up to their past mistakes or misconducts. Everyone are over the top, self-centred, greedy bastards, to whom such a beautiful and light-hearted atmosphere of the show is not suited. It just gives off "Uncanny valley" effect. The villains are comical and boring; the protagonists have barely any screen-time to develop deeper connection between each other and, also, the audience.
3. The initial selling point of the drama (shaky relationship between rich wife and a husband who married into her family) is soon forgotten in lieu to the villains' convoluted revenge plans. At this point in show, there are far too many talking heads in rooms and not enough deep dives into the trauma of such selfish families, into the struggles of the protagonists - how did they come to want to marry each other, how did they grow apart (we might know the "why", but not the "how").
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NOPE!
I started skipping entire episodes after watching the first two, so out of 10, I watched only four. The only redeeming value of the production is that the actors did their jobs well. I can't blame them for the shite script.It's just a stream of cliche characters who are mostly presented in an over-the-top-slap stick comedy kind of way...I might have liked it when I was 14.
The FL character is a total 'b'...the way she treated the people around her made it impossible to feel any sympathy or empathy toward her.
The ML character deserves to be in an intelligently written series, this sea of backwash is undeserving.
I'm quite disappointed that it is getting the ratings that it is as it will encourage companies to produce more of this tripe...
I will not recommend, I will never attempt a re-watch let alone a full watch.
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DON'T WATCH IT! I LOST MY TIME
It's bad. wouldn't have finished it if it wasn't for my bf that wanted to know the ending. there's absolutely NO REASON for it to have 16 episodes. they make the most just to make the episodes LONG AND BORING. also, if you don't like lack of communication, that's not for you. really. I warned you. I gave it 0.5 bc it's required. otherwise it would be a -100. just blah ?. The songs are boring also. A kdrama better than this is Crazy Love. really, the songs, the script, the plot. everything. thanks for reading my rant. also, why can't I give a 0.5 rating? or even 0?Was this review helpful to you?
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Could have been worse...but could have been better. Two Reviews in One!
~~~This post has two reviews...my first review here that I did 6 episodes in:Netflix labeled Queen of Tears as a comedy....but a comedy this definitely is not. I am enjoying QoT - the acting is excellent and the 'realness' of their struggles with love in marriage seems realistic. Sometimes you don't want a fluffy romcom...sometimes you want a more realistic slice of life. And, sure, we aren't all going to marry a chaebol, but we might have periods in our relationships that are more strained than other times.
I have not finished watching QoT yet, however, I popped into the reviews to give a heads up that Netflix lumps a lot of things into their 'mature themes' warning. While Netflix can't spell out everything you'll encounter while watching a show, watcher beware that not only is terminal cancer a theme, but pregnancy loss appears to be a theme as well. As someone who has dealt with pregnancy loss those scenes of tearing down the nursery and looking at the ultrasound pictures post-loss hit very hard. If I had known it was in the show I would have not watched it right now given recent events in my life.
Will I finish the drama? Absolutely -- despite this I am really enjoying it. I plan to update this review once I'm finished with the episodes. Just spreading the word that the category of 'mature themes' that Netflix puts on its shows covers a myriad of topics and some folks may want to choose the time in which they encounter themes like these.
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And now that I'm finished, here's my final review:
I have such mixed feelings about Queen of Tears.
On the one hand Kim Soo Hyun's and Kim Ji Won's performances were excellent. They were probably the main reason I kept on schedule with this drama. But as much as I enjoyed their acting, I felt this drama suffered a bit during the second half of the show. I was really engaged at the beginning when Hae In was determining her diagnosis and the drama with her internal family politics against Baek Hyun Woo was going on.
(and here's where the spoilers start...)
But then the focus of the show shifted away from her family problems (and the family dynamics being a type of villain which I found really interesting) to traditional villains. And wow -- they sure lathered on the villain-hood really thick. Sinister glances, brooding expressions, evil henchmen...not much subtlety or texture to be found there. But whatever. Despite my whining, I enjoy a good "Muahahaha Villain" at times.
No, what got me was the usage of that tried and true kdrama trope -- the "a main character loses his/her memories" plotline. When Hae In discovered she could get surgery but, oh no! there was a side effect -- I thought, "please be more original than losing your memories...please be more original..." But alas and alack! It was not to be. We spent episodes on the angst of the decision as well as the amnesiac character being easily duped because...well...amnesia. I am so so so burned out on main characters losing their memories.
And once she gets the surgery there's not ONE more mention of cancer. Was she cured? We see her popping pills as part of "her treatment" once...but is she in remission? Did the uncurable cancer get cured? We fast forward from the surgery a month to see her going home to Seoul with no word on whether she's cured or not? Did I miss it? Even if it was one line and I did miss it...this was THE major plot point at the beginning of the drama. It needs some resolution. Obviously she lived a long life from the end of the episode montage, but we literally invested SO many episodes in the "Oh no - Cancer!" and "Will she or won't she get surgery?" only to write it all off the second she loses her memory? And while we're talking about unsatisfying loose strings, what happened to the secret fund? How long did Mol Seul Hee get put away for? How long was Da Hye away for?
Queen of Tears feels a bit like two dramas in one. The first half of the drama was an interesting glimpse into family politics/drama, a relationship in crisis, and how health troubles (including miscarriage) can impact a marriage. The second half of the drama was a little too trope-y for me leaving too many strings hanging around.
Do I recommend it? Sure...it was an enjoyable story despite my gripes over the repeated tropes. Will I rewatch it? Nah...I'm good.
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overrated
The story is boring at first, then it is catchy for a few episodes in the middle then it just goes downhill.Actor Park Sung-hoon carried the show.
I didn’t catch any feelings from the main leads, such a letdown!
Their relationship isn’t fully explored, not in the past, nor in the present, and they should have talked at least about their problems not act like they never happened, that’s what I kept thinking.
A mature married couple unable to talk to each other honestly .
loved a few of the main actress’s outfits though!!
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Queen of tears? Queen of Hearts <3
WHAT A SHOW!!!
A spectacular cast with a very good story line, love every bit of it, made my 2 months weekend really good looked forward for the next episode.
Not a single episode went by where i was bored or found it dragging.
Each and every character was very well portrayed and played by the cast, in my opinion not a single cast felt out of place.
A show that might not bring a new story to the table but it still ate with the perfect acting, pacing and the chemistry.
Huge fan of Jiwon and she owned this character and style love it.
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Cute drama that missed the plot...
This started out as a touching romantic drama with incredible leads who play off each other really well. It had potential to be a fully fleshed out romance that went beyond cliche sweetness.I didn't like that it ended up taking a melodramatic turn and relied more and more on tired tropes. I didn't sign up for a soap opera but by episode 12 that's what it felt like. Pity.
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