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iris-sistibly · 13 hours

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My final take on Queen of Tears? It was a one hell of a fucking journey + Thoughts on the finale

[Warning: Long-ass post ahead]

Queen of Tears released its final episode last Sunday, April 28. The show made history as it became tvN’s most watched drama, surpassing the 2019 hit Crash Landing on You. Park Ji-eun was the writer for both shows.

The story is about a couple who underwent a crisis in their third year of marriage. However, a significant event will not only change their lives but also pave the way for them to rediscover their love for each other.

I personally got hooked into this show for three reasons:

First, the plot: Marriage tropes in a lot of dramas are usually about infidelity, toxic and abusive relationships that end in a nasty divorce. It happens in real life sadly, but I appreciate the fact that Park Ji-eun took a different route and gave us another realistic side of marriage. A couple who once had this warm, passionate love for each other became cold and distant over time because of one tragic event that left them wounded and broken. There were also other factors that added salt to the wound which caused them to drift further from one another. I’m not gonna go into details because I have already discussed this in earlier episodes. However, I love that there were a couple of flashbacks that tells the viewers of how their love story began, plus some extra bits and pieces in the epilogue that were either related to Hyun-woo and Hae-in’s past, or a particular scene in the current episode that was told from either of the character’s point of view.

Switching from light and funny scenes to a more intense one then back to swoon-worthy moments and then the last thing you knew you were bawling your eyes out because of the heartbreaking scenes felt like a roller coaster ride, needless to say I was always on edge and I sometimes had to pause in the middle of the episode so I could breathe. That’s how intense the emotions were in this show. Like I have said before, this is not a rom-com but more like a heavy drama with a couple of light and funny scenes.

But the part in this story that appealed to me the most is that it will make you question, how much love can someone truly give? How far can you go to be with the person you love? And when everything seems black and white, would you be willing to stay? Or walk away?

Second, the characters: Immediately, I was drawn to Baek Hyun-woo and Hong Hae-in. Usually in KDramas, it’s always the male lead who is cool, cold, nonchalant and rich af and the girl is the bubbly, cutesy-cutesy, overly dramatic, and broke. I absolutely LOVE the role reversal. Hae-in is the cool and badass wife while Hyun-woo is the cute, dramatic hubby and together, they make an ✨iconic couple✨. But on a more serious note, a lot of characters nowadays are into the red light/green light spectrum and don’t get me wrong, I love it. Who doesn’t love a green light character right? But again, Park Ji-eun wrote them in such a way that you wouldn’t perceive them as this ultra-perfect, no flaw character, but they aren’t toxic either (except for the main villains of course). A lot of the characters in the show have a good and flawed side, and I love it because that’s what makes them human, they are multi-layered which makes them complex, but at the same time, they were written in such a way that the viewers could have a deeper understanding of the characters, and even relate to them in some ways.

Again with the exception of the villains, the character developments were so good. Witnessing this whole-ass process of them being flawed and broken characters to becoming the best versions of themselves were just the best.

Third, the cast: Ah, I can go on and on about how every actor in this show was absolutely amazing! Again, Kim Soo-hyun has proven why he is Korea’s highest paid actor. I love that he can switch from this handsome, smart, and sexy lawyer, to a super cute, loving hubby, and then a man who would fight for his woman no matter what it takes. BITCH! The acting range of this guy is fucking LIMITLESS! As for Kim Ji-won, this is by far her best acting performance in my opinion. Hong Hae-in was such a difficult character to portray, but I love how she was able to effortlessly deliver Hae-in’s stoic, nonchalant exterior and when you look into her eyes you’ll see that vulnerable part of her that no one else except [her husband] sees.

SooWon’s chemistry on the other hand is GOD-TIER! They were born to play Baek Hyun-woo and Hong Hae-in. Whether it’s a funny, romantic, or heavy scene, they nailed it to perfection! These two are the most married couple I have seen in a show. I feel sad that I’m not gonna see them together on-screen for sometime but I am hoping that they’d be able to work together again in the future. Although my delulu self is manifesting for them to be together irl 😂🤧

Park Sung-hoon, I have said before that he is so good at playing a villain. But I hope he gets to show his ability to portray a nice guy in the future, I need a break from him playing evil.

Kwak Dong-yeon and Lee Joo-bin’s performances as the second couple deserve to be applauded as well. Despite their characters going through crazy shit, I love that they were able to deliver it on a lighter, heartwarming note in contrast to SoWoon’s heavier scenes.

Special mentions to the following 🗣️:

The Official Playlist of the Show- When I tell you that I have listened to every song in this playlist, I really mean it. I don’t understand the language, but everytime I hear a song from QOT, I can instantly imagine a particular scene from the show, that’s how magical it is. My most replayed song is The Reasons of my Smiles by BSS, but I also love Heize’s Hold me back, and the song that makes me the most emotional: Love you with all my heart by Crush.

The cinematography: I’m not gonna go into details about the technicalities, but everything was perfectly shot, especially the scenes in Germany–it was dreamy, romantic, and beautiful.

The crew members who worked behind the camera also need to be praised for the hard work, effort, and dedication they’ve put into making this show.

There are things however about the show that I didn’t personally like or I think they could have done better. Here’s the link of why I think the storyline isn’t as good as I thought it would be:

The final episode didn’t turn out the way I hoped it would be, although there were some parts of it that were really good like:

📍 Cheon Da-hye and Grace choosing to take accountability for their past actions (also Grace being the key player in bringing Mo Seul-hee down was the cherry on top) and has been given another chance to live honestly was one of the best character redemptions.

📍The Hong family reclaiming what’s rightfully theirs, that was such a powerful scene.

📍Hyun-woo and Hae-in looking at each other after Mo Seul-hee was proven guilty for killing Hong Man-dae and all the other bullshits she did to Queens and the Hong family, as if saying, “It’s finally over,” and they did it together was so power couple coded.

📍Aunt Beom-ja and husband #4 [really] taking their time to get to know each other…like literally. Her facial expression when Yeong-seong kissed her on the cheek instead of the lips like she was expecting was GOLD.

📍Mama and Papa Hong choosing a simpler and quieter life and hanging out with their besties (Mama and Papa Baek).

📍The family portrait of the Hong and Baek family 🥹

📍Hyun-woo and Hae-in taking their time to rebuild their relationship, then goes on to get married and have a baby, then visiting Germany every so often was the most heartwarming scene.

📍I would say that the ending was a bittersweet one. Hae-in’s premonition came true, she died first and Hyun-woo never failed to visit her grave, and then eventually reuniting was one of the most realistic endings in a Kdrama. They lived a good life, they built a family, grew old together and reunited in the afterlife was beautiful but there was a certain ache in that part, perhaps a reminder that no matter how painful it gets, there is always a silver lining, and if you’re meant to be, you’re meant to be.

However, in addition to my linked post:

📍The first half of the story started really strong, but it dwindled the moment they added all of these ridiculous subplots. One Tumblr user commented that Hyun-woo and Hae-in’s marriage had enough issues as far as drama is concerned and I couldn’t agree more.

📍I get that Mo Seul-hee is a shitty person but I don’t even know why she chose to prey on Hong Man-dae of all people. She could have done the same to other wealthy families (I mean he’s not the only gullible man out there with tons of money), but the question is, what did the Hong family do to her? Surely, there must have been a deeper meaning than just wanting money but alas, it's a question we'll probably never get an answer too.

📍The good thing is that we now fully understand why Yoon Eun-seong acted the way he did. He has mommy issues, abandonment issues, anger issues, etc. My prediction about him dying in the finale was correct, but there was no character redemption for him thus I don’t see the point on why they had to extend his Hae-in obsession arc towards the end. Take out all the irrelevant subplots, and the story still would have worked.

📍One of my biggest frustrations in the show was the fact that they only addressed BaekHong’s miscarriage after Hae-in lost her memories when they could have done that in the earlier episode (the scene where Hyun-woo and Hae-in had a heart-to-heart conversation about their failed marriage), it’s like the writer forgot about that part–which by the way was such a crucial part then she just inserted this scene somewhere in the finale.

📍I was also disappointed that Hae-in's mom wasn't the one who comforted her during that scene where Hyun-woo was undergoing surgery after getting shot. It would have been such a perfect opportunity to heal their relationship. Also, I would have appreciated it if Mama Hong was the one who personally apologized to Hyun-woo for being harsh towards him.

📍I know I said that the ending was a more realistic one, but babes we were ROBBED! I would have loved to see a BaekHong wedding part 2, their pregnancy journey and moments with baby Soo-bin but alas, we were deprived of that too. As much as I find the finale realistic, I wouldn’t say that I was satisfied either.

📍I just remembered this now, but Papa Hong's and Aunt Beom-ja's other sibling could have actually contributed to ending the villain arc. He could have made moves to unravel Seul-hee and Eun-seong's crap, but idk writer-nim just placed him there just because 🤷.

Overall, do I think that this show is over hyped? Storywise, yes. As far as the actors’ performances go, they deserve it.

Is the show worth watching? I’d say it’s worth checking out if you’re someone who likes heavy, intense dramas. If not, avoid this. Again, this is not a light rom-com.

Would I rewatch? For BaekHong, yes but I’ll skip the irrelevant parts.

Ratings:

Performance: 100/10

OST: 10/10

Cinematography, Editing, etc.: 10/10

Story-telling: 6/10

#kdrama #netflix #tvn #park ji eun #queen of tears #kim soo hyun #kim ji won #kwak dong yeon #park sunghoon #lee joo bin #baek hyun woo #hong hae in #hong soo cheol #yoon eun seong #cheon da hye #soowon #my roman empire

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baenxietydad · 1 month

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An Incomplete List of Kdramas Mu-yeol Makes Hatter Watch With Him

@davidhatter

He tries to avoid anything from like .... pre-2017 if he can help it bc HOLY misogyny and toxicity from these male leads Batman, but sometimes a show is either A. GOOD, B. iconic staples for the genre; or C. so awful he must subject him to it.

This list only has some of the good dramas lmao

Her Private Life

A cute romcom! He started him off with this one. It includes some classic kdrama tropes: memory loss of a specific traumatic event, childhood connection, rich man not rich woman, long-lost brothers. It's cringe and camp enough to be a good primer for K-dramas-- it's good, great even, but not so good that it ruins every drama after it. But it also does avoid a lot of the most annoying and cringe tropes, things that an avid drama watcher might eat up but not good for a first look into the genre. The leads, Park Min-young and Kim Jae-wook are two of Mu-yeol's favorite actors so it's worth it just for them. Also, it goes into fangirl culture and idol fandom which, fan culture IN Korea is it's own interesting subculture that he can use the drama to explain that aspect to him.

Vicky said Hatter's review of it was positive, he had a nice time, which means now Hatfish watch dramas together lmao. Mu-yeol explained that after HPL there were five plans of attack for first-time drama watchers he explains to Hatter:

A. you like the lead actor a lot, so you watch something else he's in (Crazy Love, Marry Me, Mary, or for a small role when he was younger Coffee Prince)

B. you like the lead actress and want to see her in something else (Healer, What's Wrong With Secretary Kim, Forecasting Love and Weather, Marry My Husband)

C. you liked the second male lead (Eun-gi's actor) and want to see a drama where he gets the girl (See You in My 19th Life)

D. "we go to Netflix or Viki and watch the first thing that I've seen before and liked" (Crash Course In Romance, Jealousy Incarnate, Flower of Evil, When The Camellia Blooms, It's Okay That's Love, Oh My Ghost, Twenty-five Twenty-one, Reply 1988)

E. "we go to Netflix or Viki and watch something I haven't vetted yet for cringe level"

Crash Course In Romance

A cute romcom about middle aged people falling in love! Also there's a serial killer subplot lol happens a lot, you and Hatter will get used to those in K-dramas. The female lead is a single mom! Well, tech aunt but that's HER CHILD she raised her!

Jeon Do-yeon is a cutie, amazing as the female lead and Jung Kyung-ho as Choi Chi-yeol is so pathetic (affectionate, highest praise.)

Reply 1988

This is one of Mu-yeol's favorite dramas! Anything set in the late 80s-early 2000s is so nostalgic for him. This is a great period piece for 80's South Korea. It also delves lightly into the political turmoil at the time which he'll happily pause to explain to Hatter in more detail. It's his favorite in the Reply series, even though he really enjoys Reply 1994 and Reply 1997 too, which he eventually makes Hatter watch but not all back to back.

The song that open's Reply 1988, To You by Shin Hae Chul is like one of the most iconic Korean songs. Your cat knows this song if you live in Korea lmao. It's so beloved that EXO, a current K-pop group (well 3rd gen but still active) performed it a few years ago and this massive audience of people who were not around in the 80's when it came out were screaming and singing along, so ofc Hatter had to listen to the whole song too lmao. Just getting a full Korean pop culture history lesson.

Prison Playbook

UGH Prison Playbook is so GOOD. It stars the male lead from Crash Course In Romance alongside Park Hae-soo, one of the leads from Squid Game. It will make you laugh, it will make you cry, it's about friendship! It's about family! UGH!!!!

Twenty-Five Twenty-One

Another one that is SO GOOD. This one deals with the 1997 IMF Crisis that rocked Southeast and East Asia. Mu-yeol has detailed memories of this time period and explains what that time was like as he observed it while they watch this. It's a drama with a bittersweet but realistic ending, it will rip your heart out it will make you laugh, it's everything.

Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha

Another romcom! This time with a proper happy ending! But not without ripping your heart out too :):):) Gongjin is giving Swynlake lmao Mu-yeol thinks Hatter will really like it.

Jealousy Incarnate

Now, this is MY favorite drama. I've watched it 6 times straight through. It's so good and the description doesn't do it justice! I love Gong Hyo-jin but find a lot of her characters frustrating and just not good characters despite her being a great actress. But this drama gives her an interesting character!

And the soundtrack? AMAZING.

Youth Of May

Another drama that takes place in the 80s! This one is centered around the Gwangju Uprising which happened the year before Mu-yeol was born. This one is really good for Mu-yeol pausing to explain history lmao but oh my god this drama is UGH I loved it, he loved it.

When The Camellia Blooms

Another Gong Hyojin vehicle! She's a single mom! Good drama for explaining several aspects of Korean culture, stigmas, norms, etc around single parents, orphans, the concept of your fate affecting people around you.

Welcome to Samdal-ri

I'm watching this one right now. I like it a lot!

It's Okay, That's Love

One of the only sympathetic portrayals of schizophrenia I've seen in media ever. EVER. And the soundtrack of this drama? One of the best.

Also D.O. from EXO is in it!

Love To Hate You

A good palatte cleanser after some heavier dramas. Not the silliest of silly romcomc but a romcom nonetheless. Also Kim Jihoon and Yoo Teo are hot!!!

This scene lmao

Money Heist: Korea

Based on the Spanish show, also slaps. Mu-yeol finally gives Hatter a Manly TM show to watch after making him watch romcoms. A dudebro show, as a treat. Except it's actually really good!!! and it's got hot middle-aged men (Kim Ji-hoon, Park Hae-soo) for them to look at!

Hell Is Other People

It's homoerotic, it's got Lee Dong-wook, it's got serial killers, it's got homoerotic serial killers, what more do you want?

Touch Your Heart

A cute romcom! Yay!!!

But honestly, Mu-yeol thinks Lee Dong-wook's chemistry is...kinda wack with women. His on-screen chemistry playing opposite other men like in Goblin, Bad & Crazy, and Tale of the Nine-Tailed and Tale of the Nine-Tailed 1938 is SO good, but to him (and me) it tends to fall flat with women.

He's cute here with Yoo In-na though!!! But in Tail of The Nine-Tailed his best scenes are with Kim Bum lmao

Summer Strike

It's just so good!!!

#r: hatfish

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