Fascinating Trope Reversal: Queen of Tears – Ep 1 & 2 Review + Recap

This is the review + recap page for episode 1 & 2 of the 2024 kdrama Queen of Tears.

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Episode Recap

01 & 02 (you are here) - 03 & 04 - 05 & 06 - 07 & 08 - 09 & 10 - 11 & 12 - 13 & 14 - 15 & 16

SPOILERS BELOW

N.B. I wanted to test out an idea. Instead of writing a super detailed recap that my SEO checker will hate (and that everyone else is also writing), I wanted to try focusing on the main elements of the story. Like, describing the opening scene or inciting incident and such. Let me know if it's useful or not!

Episode 01 & 2 Recap

Act 1 - Opening Image:

We see snapshots of a happy couple, almost like a slideshow you might see at a wedding. Photos from their childhood, photos from when they dated, and then their wedding and other happy moments. This fades into a time presumably years later, to an interview with the husband (Baek Hyun Woo) and wife (Hong Hae In). In this interview, they say they're happy, but we can see that they're not. In fact, it looks like they hate each other and are lying through their teeth about their happiness.

Act 1 - Set Up:

Baek Hyun Woo fell first back when they were interns. He didn't know that Hong Hae In was a chaebol who was being groomed for a high position in her family's business. When he found out, he initially freaked out and ran away, but she convinced him that she would always have his back. As the years passed, she didn't. They spend most of their time avoiding each other - that is, when Baek Hyun Woo isn't being told what to do by absolutely everyone in his wife's family. He hasn't been allowed to make suggestions or give advise in many years, and feels like he can't do anything. His wife acts like she doesn't care, and even supports the orders her family gives, so he wants a divorce.

Act 1 - Theme Stated:

I'm horrible at spotting themes. But I think one of them might be, "don't trust what people say" or, "strike them before they can strike you," because these kept coming up a lot. Baek Hyun Woo had to decide how he felt about these things. Even his own family were saying things for their own benefit, and trying to get him to do certain things for them.

We can see how people feel about this theme (whether they agree with it or not) through many different scenes. For example, the grandfather/chairman shows that he believes he has to bury people who leave his side, whereas Hyun Woo appears to be horrified by this. Although, Hyun Woo might be starting to change his mind about it in episode 2 during the family hunting scene when Hae In's former boyfriend invades his territory. He sends a clear warning that the ex should keep to his own turf or there might be consequences.

Another one might be, "Love can Conquer all." We've already seen that Hong Hae In believes in this, but her husband has lost faith in it. The family around them also have various beliefs around this idea, too. Like the "crazy" aunt who wants revenge for her mother, and thinks that her father's mistress is a monster. She also goes after her cheating ex with a vengeance in episode 2. Her belief seems to be that no one takes love seriously, and therefore it cannot conquer all - so instead she'll make her own justice.

As the show goes on, I might come back and edit this if there's more big lessons that I notice.

Act 1 - Inciting Incident/Catalyst:

Hyun Woo has finally worked up the nerve to ask for a divorce. But at the same moment, his wife Hae In, asks to share her news first. She tells him that she's dying - she only has three months to live. He decides not to tell her that he wants a divorce, even though he previously learned that he's not included in her will if she passes on (aka, he gets nothing). Instead, he embraces her and says he loves her. She looks shocked. Then we go into an epilogue that shows how much they both loved each other at their wedding 3 years ago.

Break into Act 2 - Debate:

I'll have to watch episode 3 to see for sure if the debate ended in episode 2. But I think it did. Hyun Woo decided not to divorce his wife since she only had three months to live. At first, it was probably from shock and realising that it would look bad on him. But as he got talking about it with a friend, the friend gave him the idea to try buttering up to her so that he could get her to include him in her will. His other options: divorce or be widowed and get nothing.

Hyun Woo begins to be extra nice to his wife after that, but she's weirded out by it. Hae In is an intelligent woman, and always had to watch her back even against her own family. She only relaxes her guard when she sees that Hyun Woo was researching survival rates for rare terminal cases. He goes back and forth on whether he should stay with her and keep trying to get in her good graces if she's going to live longer than three months. But he continues to show up for her at important moments after this internal battle.

I think the end to this debate might happen in episode 3 if the ex continues to butt his nose into things.

My TMI for this recap:

I'm honestly quite shocked after watching the first episode of Queen of Tears. I didn't think that big name actors and actresses usually took roles in slice of life kdramas. But it's definitely well done, and the acting is really good. I especially think the actress they picked for the female lead is perfect. She's pulling off the duality of the character so effortlessly, and it's giving me major Tsundere vibes. It makes sense why she keeps her feelings to herself, though: she's had to protect herself from everyone in her life.

But there's one thing that's annoying me. This show almost seems like a medical drama because of how many times they've mentioned different procedures and treatments that only doctors can do. As someone who's had to rely on natural healing methods for a while, now, it does irk me a bit when shows don't even consider those options.

ESPECIALLY because one of my psyc courses showed us that people in higher income brackets are the ones who access natural treatment options *the most* out of everyone. As this show deals with super rich people, they should have knowledge and access to those resources. But my suspicion is that they're trying to write something relatable to the audience that's viewing it.

There was a subtle nod to it when Hae In mentioned she did all the healthy options since birth, but they didn't really get into all of what she was doing. Just that she had done that, and felt wronged to be sick despite her best effort (which she's totally valid in feeling - that is a frustrating experience). The one good thing this accomplishes is bringing depth to her character. It shows us (without telling) that she really cares about her health and what's happening to her even though she presents a tough exterior to the world.

Note on the Recap Style:

This recap feels so short, and it's weird not recording all the details. But I've also been studying story structure to understand how stories are put together. So I wanted to try that with a kdrama because these stories are always so good. The parts in bold are called "story beats". This method is called "Save the Cat."

If you're also an author, maybe recaps done this way will help you reflect (and organize) your own work? That's sorta what I'm hoping will happen for me as I write these, too. No matter how many times I read the beat sheets over and over...I still feel like I need more examples and practice.

If you're also watching this drama, let me know what you think over on X (Twitter)!