Park Sung-hoon is nailing his character as Yoon Eun-seong in Queen of Tears, but when I say that he makes my blood boil I really mean it. Also that Mo Seul-hee is shady af, I wonder if she and Eun-seong are working together in secret?
Oh, and I stan Hong Beom-ja the chaotic queen ππ
I know I need to calm the fuck down first but one word to describe episode 6: STRESS!!
πI love seeing Hyun-woo and Hae-in having a...sort of second honeymoon in Germany but I couldn't really enjoy every scene because I'm stressing out at how fucking OBLIVIOUS the Hong family is like bitch y'all are surrounded by snakes and they're so complacent πππ I mean it's not really their fault that there are opportunists who'd earn their trust first then slither their way to bite them in the ass, but I just find it ironic at how protective they are at their family business and wealth but they can't see through the REAL people who has every intention to bring them down.
πSpeaking of which, I have read a fan theory somewhere that Mo Seul-hee is the mom of Eun-seong and Da-hye. Could be, OR Grace could be Da-hye's mom considering how Grace acted towards her. But why are they so keen at bringing the Hong family down?
πMaybe it's just me but I don't think Da-hye is that bad, I have a feeling that she'll eventually come to her senses and take Hyun-woo's side and expose Eun-seong and co.
πMy overthinker/delulu self thinks that Soo-cheol and Da-hye's baby is actually Hyun-woo and Hae-in's kid. I mean, it wasn't shown how they lost their baby...yet. So Hae-in either miscarried, or she gave birth to a still born child? But what if the child is actually alive and one of those evil bitches cooked up some shit to make it seem like Hyun-woo and Hae-in's baby died, and then that baby was registered as Soo-cheol and Da-hye's kid? I know it sounds insane, but we're only on episode 6 so more crazy shit could happen in the future episodes, you'll never know. But my normal self says I've watched too many Filipino dramas growing up (and yes, that shit happens a lot in Filo-dramas).
πSpeaking of that kid, another theory is...what if that kid is actually Eun-seong and Da-hye's? Soo-cheol is a dumbass, and again, those bitches could have manipulated that baby's DNA test result or something. Again, that's just me being an overthinker, also I hate my Filo-drama mindset.
πAunt Beom-ja being so concerned about Hae-in and her dad but I also appreciate the fact that she respected her niece's request to not tell anyone about her illness. I also hope that she'll be able to help Hyun-woo clear his name and uncover Seul-hee and gang's dirty little secret.
πBUT Y'ALL KNOW WHO STRESSED THE SHIT OUT OF ME THIS EPISODE? BAEK FUCKING HYUN-WOO!!! I am so freaking annoyed that he didn't tell Hae-in about the divorce when he had the chance. He was probably worried at how Hae-in would react plus the latter was going through medical treatments so he probably didn't want to put too much stress on her, but Hae-in was bound to find out either way so...yeah I do get why he chose to keep the divorce to himself but he could have just told the truth and suck it up, and perhaps they could communicate better when it comes to issues like this.
πOne thing I noticed about Hyun-woo is that he's brave in so many ways but also a coward on one thing. I mean he talks with Hae-in about nice things and all, and he is his wife's confidante, but I don't think I've ever heard him talk the way Hae-in does, meaning he never had the balls to talk to his wife about the..."unpleasant" side of their marriage. Hae-in was able to talk to him about her illness, the last will and testament that her mom pressured her to write, and Hyun-woo didn't even think about bringing up the divorce papers.
Prior to episode 5, I really thought that Hae-in was the one who shut him out but it was actually the other way around. Wifey may seem cold and nonchalant but if there's one person she'd listen to, it's him. Perhaps he doesn't want to say something that would upset Hae-in but the point is...she's his wife, she's supposed to know what he thinks, how he feels about certain things, even the not-so-pleasant side of their relationship. I really hope that in the next episode or the episode after that he'll be able to communicate better.
πHae-in's mom is terrible af. Imagine blaming your own daughter for the death of your son. I mean she didn't deserve to lose a child, but it's unfair to put all the blame on Hae-in (like why?). It's not like she endangered herself on purpose, and she had the audacity to be upset when Hae-in did something nice to her in-laws? Like what is wrong with this woman? Why can't see realize her own mistakes?
πI kind of teared up when Hae-in was telling Hyun-woo about the things the latter should do when she dies. She could die, and this show might give us a bittersweet ending but when that time comes I'd be really, really hurt. Also, Hae-in confessing that the only reason she wrote her will about Hyun-woo not getting anything should they divorce was so that she'll be allowed to marry him π (just shows she fought hard for him and she'll do absolutely anything to be with him). God I hate her mom! And yes the epilogue was so cute, now we know that they have always been in-love with each other. But I guess...they need a time-out π€·.
The Hong family, minus Beom-ja, is so fucking stupid. Hyun-woo has been a part of the family for 3 years now and has seen the power and pull they have. Like, if Hyun-woo were going to do something to swindle the family, do they really think he would be so obvious about planting listening devices where the transmitter would need to be within the housing complex? Or, that he would leave the transmitter device and an external hard drive with incriminating evidence against him in his desk when he could have had it somewhere outside of the house or in the SAFE that was right there? Like, they should just take a second and do some thinking here.
TBF though, Hyun-woo has been a bit stupid too. Jealousy of Eun-seong aside, Hyun-woo has some pretty legit reasons to be suspicious of him. If I learned that the man I'm suspicious of is staying in the guest house, which is connected to the whole housing complex that people can get to each other's houses through the basement level, I would be worried that Eun-seong could get into my house and potentially go through my stuff. And because of that, I would be especially cautious about what I have in my room, especially if it's related to something that I'm investigating where my wife could have gotten killed by a boar. I also wouldn't be leaving a copy of the divorce agreement I drew up if I wasn't going to go through with it. And if I needed a copy, I wouldn't leave it in my room even if it's in the safe. But, we'll see what stuff he has up his sleeve.
On the surface this seems like just an ordinary romantic drama with an interesting premise. It turned out to be a master class in acting, editing, cinematography and (even) writing. I loved these characters and was genuinely sad to see it end.
What Worked
The two leads were amazing. Kim Soo-Hyun put in his best performance so far, and Kim Ji-Won did an excellent job making you like a character that was written to be cold and unlikeable. I'd say it was her best role, but you know My Liberation Notes was still better.
The rest of the cast was great too. Park Sung-hoon was great at playing the villain and making him both sympathetic and contemptible. Kwak Dong-yeon did an excellent job at turning the biggest idiot kid brother into someone you were cheering for at the end.
This drama, more than most, also did a standout job of using editing and film work to help set the mood for the story.
What Didn't Work
This show is as close to flawless as you can get. There are things that I wish they'd done differently, but those are more about taste than quality, because the show was excellent.
The Performances
The cast was excellent across the board. I've already mentioned the two leads. I could probably go through and say something nice about each actor, but that would be way too long. There were a few actors that were new to me that especially liked watching.
Yoon Bo-mi as "Secretary Bestie" Na Chae-yeo. This actor did an excellent job of grounding the scene and making Kim Ji-won's character more human and likable. She was also very funny on her own.
Lee Mi-sook as "Worst Mother Ever" Moh Seul-hee. The show didn't do much to explain the whys of her character, but Lee Mi-sook was so interesting to watch, that I mostly didn't care. Really good performance overall.
Kim Jung-nan as "Fighter Auntie" Hong Beom-ja. I had a hard time taking this character seriously at first, but the actor did a great job of showing you how much Beom-ja cared about her family, which made me start to care about the character. Alot of fun to watch (even if they should have given her a proper loveline at the end).
Jeon Bae-soo and Hwang Young-hee as "World's Best Parents (2024)." It would be hard to make Hyun-woo's parents unlikeable, since they get to be the moral center of the show in some ways, but it was also important to make them interesting in a cast of over the top characters. The actors did a good job with that, and I really enjoyed watching them play off the rest of the cast.
TL; DR:
If you like K-dramas you've probably already seen this. That being said, I like K-dramas and I still haven't watched this writer's other big hit Crash Landing on You, so it YMMV. Bottom line: it's your precious little life, choose wisely.
In this ep. the showrunner show a little light from the past of our couple, how Hyun Woo was so attached to Hae In and how he wanted to protect her, also we can see some flashback from an accident that happened to Hae In.
The ep. begins with Hyun Woo sleeping peacefully in his bed (like the weight on his shoulders were lifted) but it did not take too much to start to feel βguiltyβ about his happy mood and start to think how sad he should look like.
He goes to check on his wife because she was running late, he was caught (by her) checking if she was still breathing because in his eyes, she looked dead, and he kissed her out of the blue in a way of not being seen suspicious about his thought.
Latter on the episode, he is chatting with his friend and also reveal the secret that his wife would be dead in three months, so his friend propose to just start to act more lovely towards her with the purpose to get in his hand her inheritance* and so he does it, helping her in every way possible (even with her family) and buying flowers because of their marriage anniversary.
Hong Hae In point of view.
She was feeling suspicious of her husband because he was acting out of character, he was acting like the old him (the one that was always taking care of her, the one that she followed to the country side in a helicopter, just to come back with him), but after she caught him browsing her disease, she got faith that maybe he was sincerely concern about her condition.
She even called him when once of her "enemies" try to bully her because she went alone to an event where it was needed to go with their partner. She felt hopeless because Hyun Woo was in a trial and he was unreachable to her and she needed him to win over her bully and clap her back, and out of the blue he showed up at the event.
I did not mentioning the following objects because I want to discuss them here, it felt pointless to highlight them above, because is not part of their POV.
As far as we know, Seon Hwa (FL mom) hates her because she was the cause of the death of her/his sibling?ΒΏ (I personally think this was an accident, and that accident affected her in way she start to be more logical and objective oriented)
About the inheritance* I think she sign a doc where she gives all of her money to Hyun Woo in case something happened to her.
We have Hyun Woo getting jealous about this new character (sorry I forgot the name and I am not sure if the name was Yoon Eun Seong D:) and yes, he is in denial about this jealousy.
We know that Hae In did not showed up at the meeting with her husband (ep.1) because she did not wanted to go, but because of her condition. So once again I am saying that she LOVES him but thanks to her trauma (the accident with her sibling) and condition she looks cold in the eyes of Hyun Woo.
So we know she have a brain tumor, that is inoperable, but miracles may occur.
I think the "feeling" or "faith" Hae In is having towards her husband does confirm at the end of the episode where Hyun Woo shot at the wild boar was on his way to attack her. BTW the CGI was horrible.
Hong Soo Cheol i do not know what to think about him, he can't be that weak?ΒΏ I mean he is the opposite of his sister... and Seon Hwa babysit him alot.
Hong Beom Ja (Hae In aunt) I like how her character lights up the show, she may getting in jail by killing her dad girlfriend, she does not trust her and she is doing right.
Talking about Mo Seoul Hee (Beom Ja dad girlfriend) she will take the fortune of Hong Man Dae (her bf) by asking for that favor she won playing go with Man Dae. She is fishy!! I said it.
By now I just feel the family of Hyun Woo does not have consistency to add or vital information about the story aside for the flash backs from when he was living with them. I may be wrong but by now that is.