Queen of Tears (2024)

Exceptional at First, Horrible in the Middle, Kind of Redeeming at the End

The final review-
This drama was a wild ride. I started my review halfway through and focused mainly on its strengths. Now that I've finished, I'll go back to discussing the overall strengths, and also include the weaknesses because there are some big ones.
Strengths-
The cast - The cast carried this drama, especially during parts that were poorly written. The ML and FL were perfect in their roles, seemed to have a good vibe and connection during the story that made their love for each other believable. It wouldn't surprise me to hear that these two actors enjoyed working together. I really loved the actors playing Soo Cheol and Da Hye and were my favorite secondary actors.

The production value - whether it was sets, lighting, film angles, costumes, or the soundtrack, the production value was high. There were many moments during the drama that were just beautifully filmed.

The storylines/writing - The main plot and subplots were good overall. I'll discuss where the writing went off the rails later, but in general the storyline was interesting and made for a good drama. While there were problems with the writing in certain episodes, the final episode brought everything to full circle and wrapped up all the storylines well. The ending showing Hyun Woo as an older man putting flowers on Hae In's grave was especially beautiful and touching. I like the final scene with Kim Soo Hyun and Kim Ji Won facing the camera with their heads together and smiling. I just thought that was one of the sweetest endings I've seen. It was so easy to like these two characters, and this was just a perfect way to have an ending with these two.

Weaknesses-
The storylines/writing - Episodes 12-15 were especially hard to watch. I really believe that this story didn't have enough to stretch it to 16 episodes. But in order to do that the writing became repetitive, unbelievable, and stupid. There is already a certain level of unbelievability built into the typical Kdrama love story, but this took it way, way too far. Real human beings would never do what some of the actors did, the actors had to be overly dramatic and over act in certain scenes that bordered on comical because the writing itself was so poor, scenes in slow motion that stretched out exhausting and frustrating the viewer. It was a chore to watch certain parts of this drama. You can read more about my impressions below.

I think a missed opportunity that would have tickled the viewing audience would have been if Hyun Woo woke up from his hospitalization, looked at Hye In and said, "Who are you?" Now that would have been priceless. Overall, the writing in the first episodes was good, then it was just horrible, but came back to better in the final episode to wrap up the story.

After 14 episodes-
I was going to wait until I watched the final episodes next week, but decided to add to the initial impressions. I'm in the middle of episode 14, and I have to say I'm getting frustrated and bored. After Man Dae's death (Hae In's grandfather) the storyline goes downhill. Really good subplots kept this story going, but at some point, some of the subplots wrapped up, others plodded along slowly, and others seemed to fizzle. Attention came back to the main plot, Hae In's brain tumors and her inevitable death unless she receives a surgery that will destroy her long term memory. Here is where Queen of Tears becomes stupid, and I have to say, the writer missed an opportunity to show the realities of a terminally ill patient when faced with hard options. Instead we get to see a really selfish Hae In who refuses to get the surgery even as her husband and family dissolve in grief and sadness in front of her. Nope, she doesn't care in the least. She only changes her mind when faced with other womens' interest in Hyun Woo. Really?? Jealousy is what motivated you?? What a supremely shallow, selfish and controlling take on wanting to fight a terminal illness to live. Hi Darling, I've decided to live, not because I love you and want a future with you, but because even if I can't remember you, I'll be damned if anyone else can have you!!! Hyun Woo run away!!! Run as far from this woman as you can get!!! This borders on controlling and possessive behavior, and I'm disappointed in the writing. Most likely it is due to trying to extend the story to 16 episodes when really it could have been finished by 12 episodes.

The fakeness of her terminal illness really bothers me too. In the beginning it wasn't as fake as she first found out how serious the diagnosis was, but it certainly got to the point of unbelievability. I've known people who have had cancer and tumors. I've known people who have had major surgeries to remove tumors. I've known people who have had brain surgery. It's really an injustice to gloss over that part, keeping her healthy, looking perfect, and she comes out of brain surgery with a full head of hair and wearing only an oxygen mask. Queen of Tears has dissolved into scene after scene of overly-dramatic overacting that doesn't do the true storyline any favor. It's really a huge disappointment right now.

After 8 episodes -
I'll add to the review once I've finished this drama. Netflix is dropping only 2 per week. Let's start with the strengths:

The cast - The ML and FL are perfectly cast. I especially like Kim Ji Won. Talk about the Queen of Stoic! She is a master at keeping everything inside so as to remain cool, calm, and in control which is just what this part called for. Well done Ji Won!! Kim Soo Hyun balancing heartbroken, corporate, and comedic parts all at once, without missing a beat. The storyline of a couple getting into a marriage and it not being what they thought is not that riveting, but add the element of losing a child, a loveless marriage Hyun Woo's wants to end, and Hae In's medical diagnosis and you have a super-charged, "stick-to-the-screen" viewing plot that sucks you in. I'm loving it!

The Surprises - Vincenzo??! VINCENZO???!!!! OMG!!!

The sub-plots - How to take down a Chaebol family 101. Disintegrate from within. This sub-plot really keeps you coming back for more. Why? They keep revealing that those who want to take down this family are well-intrenched inside the main family. This took years! It's pretty impressive. This sub-cast of characters are amazing, starting with Park Sung Hoon, who plays dastardly so well! Kudos to the casting director for getting Park Sung Hoon, and kudos to the screenwriter Park Ji Eun for this impressive main plot and subplot intrigue. I'm glued....literally glued to the storyline.

The cinematography - There are many, many good shots, but one in particular was in episode 8 when Hyun Woo and Hae In are standing in the rain and he is helping her remember---the blending of tears, rain, camera angles, and the slow down of the rain drops with music was poetic in its dramatic value. Cinematography, editing, the music score, it all came together for so many moments in this drama. I'm looking forward to the remaining episodes.

The soundtrack - The music is really adding to the emotional highs and lows this drama takes you on. I haven't enjoyed a soundtrack this much since Our Beloved Summer.

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QOT MY BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT OF THE YEAR.

“What soapy tragic trope will we put in?” writers: “ALL PLS” ☺️
I think my harsh criticism comes with how excited i was for this drama, and how much I truly enjoyed it at the beginning. I tuned in week after week, I was sure this was one would be drama of the year but wow was I wrong—

I’ll start with I loved THEM. I really do love Kim Soohyun as an actor and really watched for him. I was really impressed with KIm jiwon despite not liking her previous work.

The leads were amazing they were a real match made in heaven. I think if there’s something the directors did good is cast the people they casted. The leads had such an amazing chemistry, and I hope they win couple of the year because they truly deserve it.

I’ll start with this drama was falsely advertised as a rom-com but its full drama which starts to fall apart by ep 12. I feel like the writers room was a complete mess and i don’t know what happened. Memory loss ✅ car accidents while crossing the street✅, murdering step mother ✅ kidnapping and lying to the amnesiac✅, taking a bullet for the lead✅, almost getting killed MULTIPLE TIMES✅, falsely accused of murder ✅ Our hero saved fl in the past ✅, met as children✅ villains stole all the money✅ I know I am missing so many more but-

NAME A TROPE AND I CAN GUARANTEE THEY PUT IT IN.

I’t was excessive in my opinion to the point it became boring and extremely predictable. i have to be honest and admit that after episode 12 I hated this drama and skipped all the unnecessary banter of the villains, and other characters I did not care for. I can be honest and say that WE DID NOT NEED THAT MUCH TIME FOR THE AUNTIES RELATIONSHIP like who cares?. The mother getting forgiveness so easily was another down-head. I can say at the beginning despite her being a horrible mom i did not dislike her and found her character quite entertaining. But after her being forgiven so easily is when my dislike began.

I think the biggest character disappointment was the grandpa. WHO THE HELL SIGN CONTRACTS BASED ON VIBES LMAO. Prob the most unbelievable story line of them all. I feel the writers couldn’t pick between making him a silly little guy or a serious chaebol grandpa.

The character I enjoyed the most was Soocheol i honestly didn’t expect to like him as much as I did, and if there’s anything to take away is that HE WILL STEAL YOURT HEART WITH HIS PURE LOVE FOR HIS WIFE. I am soooooo in love with him and his character and I am excited to see him acting again hopefully as a lead this time.

I thought I wanted this drama to win drama of the year and now that I’m pretty sure it WILL win i am feeling quite upset.

The writers put every single trope out there, and forgot the most important one which is the leads rekindling their love in the country side and she get magically cured with the power of love. Who really cares about a power fight? I just wanted to see THEM but even them reconciling was surrounded by hurt and bad energy that it’s hard to even feel relieved by the end. Why was she acting so weird by the end? After crying so much for him to wake up? I get wanting to get to know each other but then we should’ve gotten all that an episode before the end.

The ending was beautiful it was nice to see her welcoming him into heaven but i say this with a snear on my face because in the end i ended up hating this drama n and eating up all the praises i gave it at the beginning of the drama.

I have a huge feeling this will become a fan favorite and I’m already dreading it being called a classic in a couple pf years.

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It didn't really impressed me

I thought this drama will go to my favourite list at first. I really liked the first episodes but later it just kept adding more clichés to the plot. I felt like they added those on purpose to made the episodes longer. I also didn't vibe with the episodes length I just mentioned. Hour and half just seems too much to me and it easily gets boring.
This show isn't anything new. Rich female lead that have it all because of her parents and her husband that can't stand for himself and is stomped on by his wife. Like I do enjoy strong female leads in drama but this just wasn't it.
Also the fake illness? Was it really necessary? They couldn't think about something more realistic so they just put a fake one there. That made me really ask myself how dumb is this going to be in later episodes.
The only great thing on this was the visuals of actors and camera angles, nothing more.

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From Laughter to Tears!

I think "Queen of Tears" is definitely worth a watch, even though it has a bittersweet ending. Some viewers were disappointed with the last three episodes, but I felt it was a bit rushed, especially towards the end. There were a lot of cliché scenes that didn’t quite fit.

The first half of the story felt pretty realistic, but the second half leaned more towards melodrama, which might be what the audience wanted instead of a romantic comedy. Both main characters have their flaws, leading to a lot of misunderstandings and miscommunications.

The pacing is mostly good, although it slows down a bit in the middle and feels rushed towards the end. The cast is fantastic—Kim Soo Hyun really shows off his acting skills, and Kim Ji Won is surprisingly versatile.

The soundtrack is another highlight, especially "Hold Me Back" by Heize, which really stands out. The chemistry between the lead actors is undeniable; it's hard to picture them with anyone else.

Overall, I’d recommend "Queen of Tears" if you’re in the mood for an emotional drama. There are some unanswered questions, and I really wish they’d shown more about how they lost their baby. I’d love to see a season two or at least a prequel about their office romance. It's definitely worth trying, but I believe it's not going to happen because of how it ended.

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Don't fall for the hype, keep the expectations low and similar to what kdrama usually do

I had to fall for the hype and start it earlier than I planned, it was going well but you can see that the writers tried to mix storylines from multiple dramas without a core story.

Kim jung Nan character and acting is everything that is wrong with most kdrama, there's always that one character they get wrong by making them annoying and using them for all the dumb stuff no one else would do.

the leads chemistry and acting is spot on but how does one who is supposed so sick NEVER looks sick. is it part of contract to always make her look impeccable.

the ending is almost close but almost every single twist can be guessed long back due to similarities with other series so I don't have much hope but they will end it well as usual so a boring 7/10 as usual which is not a bad thing

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STUPIDLY OVERLONG

Soo-chul a waste of space: Da-Hye had a more meaningful arc & his dead brother had more impact on the story by the way his mother reacted to his death
The last 2 eps were a makjang meltdown. Clichéd & lazy. Makjang is fine in a makjang Drama, not here.Better as 14 60 minute episodes, with a different end.
BUT, some outstanding TRUE romcom - lol & sweet. The OTP worked, both of them. Lots of thoughtful and intelligent conversations between them, which was a delight And they dampened my eyes even when I knew how it ended, which is a tribute to the power of their acting.

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péssimo

perdi o meu tempo assistindo!! não recomendo e não sei como ficou TÃO famoso desse jeito sendo que tem tantos outros k-dramas que merecem reconhecimento e não teve!
começando com a Hong hae-in que foi o pilar do meu desagrado, ela foi extremamente abusiva com o baek o tempo todo, fez ele chorar durante todos os episódios com o seu gigantesco egoísmo, tratava ele igual bosta e ainda no final teve que "perder" a memória pra ser um ser humano melhor, e outra, quando ela estava tendo uma melhorada no comportamento abusivo teve a questão da cirurgia e quando ela foi questionada pelo baek se ia ou nao fazer o procedimento ela pega a mão dele e solta com tudo parecendo que ele que causou a doença dela e fez ela ficar daquele jeito! ela não mede esforços para fazer ele se sentir inútil em questão de tudo na vida dela, quando ela vai fazer uma mínima ação de bondade TODOS olham pra ela com surpresa pois todos estão sempre acostumados com a ignorância e frieza dela e principalmente o egoísmo.
a história dela tem obviamente tristeza, ela foi culpada pela mãe de matar o irmão pequeno, foi ignorada pela família e reprimida os sentimentos durante a vida mas mesmo com todas essas coisas ela não tem o direito de ser abusiva com ninguém!
vou dar um exemplo: o Dorama chamado "tudo bem não ser normal" protagonizado também com o Kim Soo-hyun, monstra a ko moon young que também passou por muitas coisas horríveis e também no começo foi abusiva com o principal tentando sempre trazer ele pra ela e fazer dele somente dela, porém, é mostrado ao decorrer que ela recebe a ajuda necessária e realmente muda por que ela realmente quer ele do seu lado e quer melhorar a pessoa dela! que no caso da hae-in ela não quer mudar e não mostra melhora significativa em momento nenhum.
achei super desnecessário fazer uma personagem com a personalidade tão abusiva desse jeito e colocar uma doença super preocupante para o público ter empatia com ela de alguma forma, achei desnecessário o jeito que o principal é feito de idiota o tempo todo, achei desnecessário o principal sempre tendo que dar um jeito da burrada da família, achei desnecessário o jeito que é narrado toda a história fazendo sempre ele ser o pobre coitado que faz de tudo pra ela tratar ele com um mínimo de respeito e quando ela ""melhora "' ela só fala: eu te amo e está tudo bem novamente sendo que não está tudo bem! .
as coisas que eu gostei do k-drama foi a história da família do baek e da tia da hae-in, gostei também como a mãe da hae-in melhorou com ela e se redimiu. tirando isso eu não gostei de mais nada. não recomendo de jeito nenhum.

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Masterpiece!

First of all! if you wanna start this drama, ignore the comments and review! just go in and find out if u like it or not!


Now finaly done with this drama and i give it a 9 because of the unnecessary plot at eps 15/16. they should have gave us at least a full eps 16 on how the ML and FL gonna rebuild and make new memory! they rushed it a bit in my opinion but at least we got a pretty final ending to Hae In and Baek Hyun!

Overal a very good drama and i can place this in my top 5! For some reason i can relate to Baek Hyun due to my own relationship. The fact that you can go to such lengt for your person made me fall in love with his character! But dam they made my boy cry a lot.

I hope that everyone that watch this drama can have his/her own opinion and don’t read to much into reviews because if someone doesn’t like this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t!

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One of the top dramas of 2024. Very special to me and I will rewatch it for decades to come!

**SPOILERS AT THE END OF REVIEW**

First I have to say that this drama helped me a lot personally. It's funny to me that the last episode dropped on April 28th, my 30th birthday. In one scene, Hae-in says something along the lines of "what's so wrong with aging, it's a blessing. It's a beautiful thing in life," in response to being told that Hercyna only wants employees under 27 years old to sell their products. Hae-in's reaction to life after being told she has cancer was written beautifully. It's the classic story of having a wakeup call after being told you don't have long to live. I've never had a terminal illness but as that 30th number was approaching me, I started to panic because I wasn't were I thought I would be in life. This drama made me realize how foolish I was and how I should be thankful that I'm living a healthy life. This show was made at the perfect time for me and I'm forever thankful <3

NOW as for the show, arguably some of the best acting, if not the best I've seen of any show out there (and I'm including Game of Thrones when I say this). Kim Soo-hyun and Kim Ji-won have set the gold standard in acting, so much so that it's actually inspiring. They made it so easy to feel how the characters felt. I also can't forget Kwak Dong-yeon. His bike scenes were all so special

Shout out to the villains, especially Park Sung-hoon as Yoon Eun-seong. The acting from him and writing of the character were exceptional. He portrays someone desperate for love perfectly

The soundtrack is one of the best I've heard and the visuals were amazing, especially the shots in Germany. The Germany scenes alone are enough to rewatch, especially the big kiss, which is by far the most genuine and passionate kiss I've seen in any movies or shows

No plot holes to my knowledge, just some things that could've been expanded on

**SPOILERS**

Now even though the writing was great overall, it seemed to have gotten lazy and too tropy towards the end. It was very predictable and everyone could see Hyun-woo being run over from miles away. Made me roll my eyes when I saw him across the busy street from Hae-in and again when he got run over

Also:
- Hae-in's journal being fine thanks to the rain was lazy
- No one even cared that Eun-seong threatened Hae-in, the people around him went about business as usual
- Hae-in's side effects seemingly stopped after some episodes to make more room in each episode. Not the most realistic thing lol
- That car hit on Hyun-woo was brutal. More surprising he survived that than the bullet in his upper back
- Wish to have seen Hyun-woo's reaction to finding out he saved Hae-in from drowning as kids
- Hae-in seeing old Hyun-woo in mourning as a ghost when on their honeymoon, while beautiful foreshadowing, is out of place for a non-fantasy show since modern Hyun-woo couldn't see him

The ending was perfect. It's sad to see that Hae-in dies at an old age before Hyun-woo but it's perfect since she told him before the surgery to mourn her for four seasons and then forget about her and live his life. I interpret it as when he got to the lavender field to mourn her there, he was about dead as well from the emotion and then died shortly after to be with Hae-in once again <3

In summary, the show was very worth the watch and I hope it teaches others lessons like it did me. I will rewatch this one for decades to come and will always think about it because of those lessons leading up to my 30th birthday <3 Will be rewatching with my sister very soon!

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It will bring you to tears

I can not believe that this kdrama has gotten such a high rating. It was average at best. I wanted to enjoy it, mainly because the actor is considered Keora's highest-paid actor, and this is the first movie I have seen him in. However, the movie was flat. I suffered through it, hoping it would get better. Come to think of it that is what it was missing: "hope" (well, besides the emotional draw between the main characters). Time after time, the main character tried to save the day, and the rug kept being pulled out from under him. I wanted to cry, too. He was finally the hero in the last episode; then they made him out to be supper human (hit by a car, back up running across miles of snow, saves his women, to track back down the hill, and gets shot). I don't blame the actors; I blame the script. It is too far bad that they did not see the script as lacking. Maybe they thought because they had him as the actor, it would help the script out. It did not work. This was not a good comeback role for Kim Soo-hyun. Tears alone are not enough to take away the Best Actor award, and that was his only strength in this show (his tears).

Amidst the disappointment, there were a few bright spots. The female villain, portrayed by Lee Mi-suk, was a standout. I found myself wishing for more of her presence on screen. She gave passion! So did Kim Jung-nan's character. It was a delightful addition. They inject some much-needed levity into the otherwise somber narrative.

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It's really good, still cant believe it overtook CLOY but it deserves the praise

I was hesitant to watch this show about a married couple, netflix preview made it seem boring so i avoided it for a while. I eventually gave it a chance and i'm really glad i did. The family drama had me intrigued from the first episode. Is this better than CLOY? absolutely not imo lmao. But, it's good. Really good. Queen of tears definitely made me tear up a few times, its an emotional exploration of what happens when tragedy strikes and people who dearly love each other drift apart. I figured it would be full of misunderstanding cliches but honestly its not. Its full instead of raw emotion, scandalous liars, and smart MCs who regrettably each deal with heartache in different ways and drifted apart. Yes this is the story of how they come back together, but its more than that. Highly recommended to watch, although CLOY is still my fav haha.

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