‘Queen of Tears’ K-drama review: Kim Ji-won and Kim Soo-hyun stand out in this tearjerker

Over the last month, Queen of Tears has shattered ratings records, spawned thousands of new fans from across the globe for its lead actors, and has had viewers singing along to ‘Love You With All My Heart’ by Crush. The K-drama, 2024’s biggest hit so far, was backed by a fair amount of hype. Written by Park Ji-eun who last helmed the smash hit Crash Landing on Youit brought together actors Kim Soo-hyun and Kim Ji-won as part of an ensemble cast full of familiar faces, and came with a noticeably superior production value, complete with scenes filmed abroad.

Queen of Tears initially seems like a drama about marital discord and a potential second-chance romance. Heiress and Queens department store CEO Hong Hae-in (Ji-won) and Queens group legal director Baek Hyun-woo (Soo-hyun) are stuck in a mundane, almost loveless marriage. Hyun-woo feels emasculated by his overbearing Chaebol family in-laws, and has little to no interaction with his seemingly aloof, cold wife. When he decides to bite the bullet and opt for a divorce, he finds out that Hae-in has only three months to live. Enthused by the thought of being free from the marriage without having to bring up a divorce, and hoping to change his mind about her will, he sticks around, starts sleeping better, and is counting down the days until he is free from his her predicament.

Freedom, however, isn’t as easy to come by. Hyun-woo begins to get jealous when Yoon Eun-sung (Park Sung-hoon), a friend of Hae-in’s, resurfaces after many years and gets involved with helping her close a business deal. He also begins to sympathize with his wife ella, and her deteriorating health ella finally starts becoming a cause for concern.

All of this slowly attempts to redeem Hyun-woo from being an utterly unlikable character, who rejoices at the thought of his wife’s impending death, to someone who seems capable of earnestness and remorse. Later on, there are a couple of scenes about what caused the once-in-love couple to drift apart, but we never fully delve into this or the miscommunication that prevails.

This is perhaps the show’s biggest drawback – that you don’t get to see enough of the leads, who make for the most interesting characters, and are played by two terrific, charismatic actors. In its eagerness to embrace a whole lot of greatness, several themes and multiple subplots, Queen of Tears It often ends up feeling overstuffed and overlong. This only leaves us yearning for more time with Hye-in and Hyun-woo, especially given how they begin to warm up to each other and seem to be on the path to mending their relationship, after the first six episodes.

The sweet moments that capture love blossoming all over again are wedged in between a whole lot of drama happening otherwise. The family is overthrown from their company and driven out of their house and Eun-sung is determined to kick Hyun-woo out of the picture and woo Hae-in despite her not being the least bit interested in her. All this happens while Hyun-woo desperately clings on to the hope that Hae-in can be saved from her illness.

The lighter, more wholesome stretches here are reserved for when both families are forced to co-habit at the village where Hyun-woo’s parents stay. Hyun-woo’s parents are the polar opposite of the Chaebol family they play host to — they are warm and friendly, always have a hot meal waiting to go with words of wisdom about everything under the sun, and fuss over Hae-in who has largely been neglected by her family throughout her life. An interesting bunch of characters are thrown into the mix here, resulting in friendships, and even unlikely romances.

The show becomes less and less about redemption, grief, and second chances as the drama seems to take center stage. While Queen of Tears remains largely compelling until episode 12, the last four episodes pack in a series of unfortunate tropes in quick succession, and twists and turns that are mostly unnecessary. In the span of four episodes, we get a miraculous cure, memory loss, a strategic coup, an abduction, and Hyun-woo getting run over by a car as well as getting shot. Why is it that, across K-dramas, the writing uniformly derails after episode 12? This chaos towards the end of the show seems wholly avoidable, especially given how the show reserves some beautiful writing and scenes for its final few moments. We would have loved to see more of this!

If the show leaves you bawling at several scenes through its run-time, the credit goes to Kim So-hyun and Kim Ji-hyun, who are perfectly cast in roles that will no doubt go on to be regarded as high points of their career . So-hyun, with his charm and expressive eyes he has always been an actor to look out for, but here, Ji-won is equally impressive. She switches effortlessly between being confident and embracing her vulnerability as she struggles with her diagnosis. Both actors sparkle on screen, share a comfortable chemistry and are a treat to watch.

While Queen of Tears definitely has its moments and is engaging in stretches, perhaps more time exploring the story of Hae-in and Hyun-woo would have greatly elevated the show. In the absence of an obsessed villain who doesn’t give up, and some unnecessary family chaos, we could have delved a lot more into the story of the much-loved lead couple.

All episodes of Queen of Tears are streaming on Netflix