In Korea's newest drama, “Queen of Tears”, Kim Ji-Won, who starred in Descendants of the Sun, and Kim Soo-Hyun, the main character of My Love from Another Star, star as husband and wife fighting through a rocky patch in their marriage when love miraculously begins to bloom again. Baek Hyun-Woo (acted by Kim Soo-Hyun) lives with his powerful and rich in-laws in a toxic family relationship as they continually verbally undermine and abuse him. After three years of marriage, he finally decides to get a divorce, when Hong Hae-In (acted by Kim Ji-Won) is diagnosed with a rare type of cancer that allows her only three months left to live.
The two fall in love again through their ups and downs as various entities threaten both Hae-In's company and her fragile relationship with Hyun-Woo. With only two episodes left in the drama and two more special episodes, fans are praying for a happy ending that ends with the two married and alive. Will Hyun-Woo and Hae-In get the happy ending they deserve?
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There are numerous hints throughout the drama that have fans debating about whether Hae-In will survive her illness or not. Hae-In suffers from a lack of white blood cells and her first baby with Hyun-Woo had previously died because of a lack of white blood cells in her body. Pregnancy, as mentioned in the drama, raises the level of white blood cells in the body, hinting that the drama may end with Hae-In getting pregnant and surviving her cancer.
Pictures in her bedroom also hint at this happy ending as well. However, others have pointed out that Beom-Ja (Hae-In's aunt) had a friend who recovered from cancer, only to relapse and die. They believe that Hae-In will give birth to a child and seem to recover, only to die in later episodes, with Beom-Ja's friend acting as a dark foreshadowing of what might happen.
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More fans have pointed out that the hint to the ending is already in the name of the drama, “Queen of Tears”. In the name, Hae-In is the “Queen”, the CEO of the company who is about to join the Trillion Club. Hyun-Woo is “Tears” because, in the end, Hae-In will make him cry when she dies. This will add greater irony because she told him at the beginning of their marriage that she would never make him cry (which is referenced to multiple times when Hyun-Woo confesses that she made him cry numerous times during their three-year marriage).
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Another hint to the ending of the drama lies in the order of the soundtrack released when Queen of Tears was released. So far, the soundtrack has dutifully followed the drama with each song corresponding to its episode. The last several songs have lighthearted and happy themes in them, suggesting that the final episodes will end in a renewal of their marriage and Hae-In surviving her cancer. The full soundtrack can be found on Spotify and YouTube, but it includes “Tell Me It's Not A Dream” by 10CM and “The Reason of My Smiles” by BSS (SEVENTEEN).
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However, greater problems arise with the symptoms of Hae-In's cancer. Her symptoms arise in the form of first forgetfulness of time, then hallucinations, then memory loss. In the final few episodes, Hae-In begins losing her memory and hallucinating, unsure of whether Baek Hyun-Woo is Eun-Sung (his rival).
Hae-In finally loses her memory of Hyun-Woo and the people she loves in Episode 14, suggesting that there are greater problems than death itself. Even if Hae-In survives her cancer, they may not have a happy ending together either way. Now, the question is not only whether Hae-In will survive her death sentence but also whether she will regain her memories in this heartbreaking drama's finale.
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“Queen of Tears” is breaking records worldwide, with impressive ratings of 18 percent in Seoul and 16.5 percent worldwide. Over three million hours have been viewed online in its first week by 1.2 million viewers. Now, there are almost five million viewers around the world, clinching first place on Netflix's Global Top 10 (non-English category).
The screenwriter of Queen of Tears has also written the classic, and perhaps the greatest, romance drama of all time, Crash Landing Onto You. The director, Lee Eun-Bok, directed Guardian: The Lonely and Great God (a.k.a. Goblin) and Descendants of the Sun, which starred Song Joong-Ki (who, incidentally, arrived in the eighth episode of Queen of Tears as Vincenzo Cassano, Hong Hae-In's Italian divorce lawyer). Whatever happens, we can expect that both the screenwriter and the director will hurtle us through a rollercoaster of emotions from beginning to end.
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Will Baek Hyun-Woo and Hong Hae-In get their happy ending? Will Hae-In beat her cancer and live happily ever after with Hyun-Woo? Will they have a baby together and live the joyful marriage life they lacked in their first three years together?
Fans have scoured the existing episodes for hints at the ending and many believe (and hope) that they will. However, until April 28th, when Episode 16 releases, we will not know for sure. With ratings and viewership increasing at an exponential rate, fans are left with just under a week left, hanging on the edges of their seat, ready to laugh, cry, or do both as we fall in love with Hyun-Woo's sincere and wholesome character and Hae-In's beautiful and compelling nature, and “Queen of Tears” ends with a guaranteed heartwrenching finale.
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