conflicted

i don't even know how to feel about this one. you know how sometimes you're js sitting there like: "ah, so the plot thickens" or whatever? yeah well i had that moment probably like 16 times, which is quite a few too many times. The plot felt a bit convoluted, but at the same it wasn't confusing, it just felt like too much. there were so many times where i felt like the show could've just ended right there, but nah the plot thickens LOL. BUT at the same time the concept, and parts of the story were definitely very interesting.

However the reason i stayed was because of the actors. i am absolutely a big fan of han hyo joo, and she is the reason i watched in the first place, and i think her and lee jong suk both did great jobs in their roles. kim eui sung also did a great job with yeon joo's father.

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gateway drug

This show had a choke-hold on me for a good chunk of it.

To preface, this is actually my first full romance drama (yes, I know kinda illegal), other than Soundtrack #1 (yes, I have not watched CLOY, I will one day). I didn't think I'd ever find myself watching a 16 episode romance drama, but here I was waiting anxiously each week for the episodes to come out. To address the title, after catching up to Queen of Tears about 5 weeks into the show, I started watching a lot of dramas, I think my watch-time went from 3 days to 6 LMFAO.

Some things that were absolutely amazing about this drama were the OST, and the leads. This soundtrack is absolutely amazing, and many of the songs are very capable of being stand-alone songs even without the context of the drama. Maybe I'm easily influenced, but the songs paired with the acting of the two leads never failed to make me tear up, or even flat out cry. I think a couple of these songs can go down in history, similar to those in CLOY, like IU's "Give You My Heart" or Yerin Baek's "Here I Am Again."

Now, I'm pretty new to the K-Drama scene, but I've never really been attached to any of the characters in the shows I've watched (this is probably because I would mainly watch action shows). But the main couple in Queen of Tears made me absolutely fall for them. I fell in love with their characters of Baek Hyun-Woo and Hong Hae-in, as well as the respective actors. This was the first time I've ever seen KSH or KJW in a drama before, but I absolutely loved their performance in this drama. As per any drama ever, it is very important for the main leads to act well and convey the emotions to the audience, and these two did wonderful. I think I may have shed multitudes more than the boat load that the main leads shed (jk, maybe not as much as KSH LOL). Maybe there's something wrong with me, but every single time one of the main leads started crying, my eyes could just not control themselves. But there's also more to just tears despite this show being named Queen of Tears. This show violently threw me around from grinning like an absolute idiot, to punching air, to cheering, and of course to tears.

Now, the plot may not be anything special to a vetted K-Drama watcher, but despite having a trope that I particularly dislike, I think the show executes well enough to ignore that. That brings me back to the title of this review. I won't say that this show is perfect by any means (is there even a perfect drama), but I will say this show is a very strong gateway to the world of K-Drama, as it has that emotional attachment that I think you may have to the first show you watched, or something similar. A lot of times someone's favorite show may not be the most perfect by any means, but to them it made a heavy impact. I think that's how this show was to me, as it sucks me into a rabbit hole of dramas. And that means I need to watch CLOY!

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