Unlike my other previous posts which I give a rating at the end of each, this time, I will give my rating at the beginning of my article. I give Queen of Tears a rating of 6 out of 10. Yep, 6/10.
Being ranked 1st in national cable show viewership with 24.9%, 2nd in Netflix’s Top 10 for non-English shows, and surpassing other previous national viewership percentage records does not equal its quality. People may love the drama because of the cast, the swoon-worthy scenes, or the self-satisfaction revenge scenes. HAJIMAN! Again, it does not equal the overall quality of the drama.
Now now, don’t come at me too fast saying “How could you?!” or “I have no taste in K-Dramas”. If you watch a lot of K-Dramas, you might agree with me after I presented you, with my reasons.
About Queen of Tears
Before I start, here is a brief explanation of the drama background for those who have not yet watched the drama. It’s a story about a married couple; Baek Hyun-woo (Kim Soo-hyun) is a senior at an office under Queens Group, and Hong Hae-in (Kim Ji-won) is an intern. Hong Hae-in was a hot-tempered person and rarely did anything right in the office, so Baek Hyun-woo always came to help her out of frustration and his dedication to maintaining the efficiency of the office.
Little did Hyun-woo know that Hae-in was the heir of the Queens Group. She’s been asked to become an intern by her grandfather to understand the company better. Long story short, they fell in love and got married.
Alas, after 3 years, when Hae-in took over the Queens Mall she started to become occupied and indulge in her workaholic state which resulted in their marriage shambles. Living with his in-laws, the husbands of the family including Hyun-woo were treated like maids. They cook, they clean, and they need to treat their wife like a queen whilst all they get in return is indifference.
So the drama progresses from that point onwards, on how they get divorced and try to patch things up again when they find out Hae-in only has more or less 3 months to live due to a rare tumour in her brain.
Reason #1 Spoiled Build-ups
Let’s be honest, in the first 4 episodes, you kind of keep watching because of the hype. throughout the first 4 episodes, Baek Hyun-woo set up the series strong with his viral crying meme. People who hadn’t started watching the drama started to watch it because Kim Soo-hyun is rapidly becoming a genius at playing his character’s emotions drama by drama.
The peak of the first few episodes is when Hyun-woo starts to break down and explodes at his wife after years of suppressing everything inside. Of course, he didn’t start lashing out out of nowhere. He was a walking green flag. But after what he has gone through with the family, wiping their sh!t as the family’s attorney, jeopardizing his integrity, and being cuffed and treated like a dog for the family’s public image, he went mental.
I believe a lot of married couples could relate to that scene, especially wives.
Everything looked good – or so I thought. The dapdaphae feeling doesn’t last long and the drama’s build-up went down, down, and down, killing the momentum that Hyun-woo had set up. Luckily, at the end of episode 4, the drama begins to pick up momentum again until the end – with lots of tears rolling down viewers’ cheeks, at that.
Reason #2 Chairman’s Inconsistency
The Chairman of the Queen or the grandfather was depicted to be a very intelligent and cunning businessman. It’s thanks to his tenacity and meticulous planning that he’s able to bring Queen to where it is. Also, thanks to his meticulous planning he’s able to hide a large sum of slush funds in his hidden panic room in his huge mansion. This shows how the chairman is a man of a plan and deep thoughts. He built a mansion with this far-ahead plan in his head.
But, how can he become the stupidest character in the drama when it comes to his mistress? To say that love is blind, yes, it is. But, you need to understand that love is blind when you are not a realist and cold-hearted. The chairman IS a realist AND a coldhearted man of principle. It doesn’t add up to the setting. His wife died after she was alone with the mistress. His daughter warned him about the true face of the mistress, yet he never bothered to check. No meticulous person would ignore the slightest suspicion.
The thing that frustrated me the most was after he had realized the true nature of his mistress. You see, one day, the mistress poisoned him and he fell into epileptic shock. Shortly before he fell into unconsciousness, the mistress admitted to everything she did, from deceiving to poisoning to secretly planning to take all of his slush funds. After he woke up from the comma, his memory became hazy but he did regain his memory and ability for a short time like an electricity jolt. He managed to record his apology to his heirs.
Why oh why didn’t he just give his testimony on what the mistress had confided in him after she poisoned him together with his apology recording? He’s a man of a plan, remember? He managed to plan to kill himself by rolling down his wheelchair to a flight of stairs so the mistress wouldn’t get any of his inheritance. This is because if he died, the inheritance would be distributed according to his will and the mistress would not have any since they never got married and she’s not an official family. But he did not plan to catch the villain?
Don’t get me started on how he died from falling down the stairs. KKAEPPUL. No matter how fragile you are, you won’t die from just falling 18 steps of straight stairs. (How did I know? I know.). Don’t try that at home, you might get paralyzed.
Reason #3 Loss of Memory
No kidding, I was slapping my forehead hard at this turning point. it was revealed later in episode 13 that Hae-in might lose her memory after she undergoes surgery for her rare tumour. At this point, Hae-in and Hyun-woo had just re-ignited their love spark to refresh their relationship. At that moment, the family knew that if Hae-in discovered the side effect, she would bail out from the surgery which would cost her life.
Firstly, how dumb was that part of the plot? Hae-in could have prepared everything in advance to make her remember her life before she lost her memory. But they decided to rob that chance from Hae-in. Plus, what kind of doctor performs a major rare surgery without explaining the side effects to the patient directly? Only informing one of the guardians like passing off a gossip through the phone; “Oh hey, I forgot to tell you that Hae-in might lose her memory after the surgery. Okay bye.”
Great but Not The Best
Indubitably, the drama did show some outstanding performances. From the portrayal that you don’t have to expose your skin to be seen as rich as Hae-in did in the drama, to the cameo and cross-references from another drama like the appearance of Vincenzo for their divorce settlement and the reference to Unexpected Business by Hong Soo-cheol (Kwak Dong-yeon).
The tears and heart-breaking emotions depicted in the drama are sublime. It’s the Queen of TEARS indeed.
Remember what I said in my previous post about Marry My Husband? I mentioned in the article that Na In-woo was a bubbly and hyperactive person in other shows but he acted serious and charismatic in the drama. However, there is still some awkwardness in his acting. On the other hand, Kim Soo-hyun is also known as a cheerful and playful person in real life. You can watch some of the behind-the-scenes, not only for this drama but also for his other dramas. However, he managed to rid of that reality with his top-notch acting, and viewers are completely deceived – every time.
I think I could hear some of you saying that I overreacted, that it is what it is so that plot will expand. However, if you are a true fan of K-Dramas, you will know that K-Dramas are famous for their meticulous storyboards with minimum plot holes. At least, not major plot holes. Hence, even though I shed some tears, I am still a bit disappointed.
Moreover, the expansion of the plot should not be done in the last 4 episodes as it will either bring the drama to a momentum-killing or a rushing ending. In this case, it’s the first one. At this point, I’m watching the remaining episodes just to know how it ends, not to marvel at the plot anymore. Hence, even though the final episode records the highest viewership rating, some of them are watching it only to satisfy their curiosity after (maybe) skipping several episodes just to know the ending.
To close my article, I know this post may invite some disagreements. But, agree to disagree, we all have our opinions. If you would like to join us in writing reviews, you are always welcome as we encourage different genuine points of view. You may send us your resume here. Until my next post, TTO BOJA!
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