As someone who is inclined towards romantic comedies as a genre in any medium, my excitement for Queen of Tears was at its peak. And, the show almost delivers on all fronts, almost. What made Queen of Tears work as well as it eventually did is its leading pair. Kim Soo Hyun and Kim Ji Won are masters of their craft, and it’s seamlessly displayed throughout the drama. Soo Hyun’s comic timing shines through as does his melodramatic side, while Ji Won gets a platform to truly showcase her versatility.
Just like the mayhem sparked by Hyun Bin and Son Ye Jin’s chemistry in Crash Landing on You, Kim Soo Hyun and Kim Ji Won’s captivating chemistry assists in bringing to life the complicated love story of Baek Hyun Woo and Hong Hae In.
However, there’s one complaint I have as a viewer — there were too few scenes of Hyun Woo and Hae In together when compared to their individual scenes. With such passionate chemistry, why wouldn’t you want to capitalise on that in your story?
The scene stealer of Queen of Tears, for me, was Park Sung Hoon. As Yoon Eun Sung, Sung Hoon’s character shimmies away from the usual “second lead syndrome” treatment and rather becomes a truly vindictive antagonist.
On the other hand, Kwak Dong Yeon and Lee Joo Bin keep you invested in the marriage between their characters — Hae In’s younger brother Hong Soo Cheol, and his wife Cheon Da Hye — despite not having their storyline as fleshed out as I would have originally liked.
Even with a stellar ensemble performance, Queen of Tears falls incredibly flat when it comes to the storyline. Unlike her previous more nuanced works, Park Ji Eun’s convenient script is filled with twists and turns to the point of extreme exhaustion. Most questions, that took their own sweet time to build up in each episode, are answered haphazardly in the series finale, rather than giving each story arc room to breathe. While I’m satisfied with the ending for Hyun Woo and Hae In’s love story, as well as all the other characters, the way to the finish line wasn’t without many plot hurdles.
Kim Soo Hyun and Kim Ji Won had to carry the burden of a weak story and trudge along the 16 episodes. That’s not to say the storyline had a few wins to its credit, which it does. What Queen of Tears gets right is playing with viewers’ emotions. In spite of my reservations regarding the overall storyline, I was still reaching for my tissue box at the end of every episode, while eagerly waiting for new episodes to drop every week. It should probably be renamed ‘Viewers in Tears’.
Equally alluring as the cast was the majestic cinematography in Queen of Tears, whether it be the intimate montages of Hyun Woo and Hae In’s romance or Hae In’s weather-driven hallucination sequences. However, there were many continuity errors that you can’t just skim past. A K-drama for me is incomplete without its OST, and Queen of Tears’ soundtrack exquisitely captures the different phases of Hyun Woo and Hae In’s love story, particularly Fallin’ by Isaac Hong.
Strengths
- Kim Soo Hyun and Kim Ji Won’s soul-stirring performances
- A strong supporting cast, with individual character development of their own
- Striking cinematography that enhanced the viewing experience
- A pitch-perfect OST to back the storytelling
- A satisfying ending to Hyun Woo and Hae In’s love story
Weaknesses
- A mostly convenient storyline that relies heavily on the lead and supporting cast’s performances
- Major plot points and questions were haphazardly answered in the series finale, instead of fleshing it out
- Kim Soo Hyun and Kim Ji Won had fewer scenes together than one would have liked to see in terms of Hyun Woo and Hae In’s romance
- Many continuity errors throughout the series
Is Queen of Tears worth watching?
In conclusion, I would say that if you’re a fan of Kim Soo Hyun or Kim Ji Won or both, it would be a disservice to skip Queen of Tears. Because they’re truly the best they’ve ever been, so far. In spite of the plot holes in the storyline, if you can make it through the first few episodes, you’d find yourself involved enough with the characters to watch the show through the end. But would I rewatch Queen of Tears? That would be a no.
Where can you watch Queen of Tears?
You can watch Queen of Tears on Netflix as well as HiTV.
