REVIEW: ‘Queen of Tears’ Episodes 9-10

The first half of Queen of Tears would always lead Hong Hae-In (Kim Ji-Won) and her family to ruin. Queen of Tears Episodes 9-10 begin the series’ next phase, with Hae-In and her family trying to crawl back to the top. With the help of on-again-off-again husband, Baek Hyeon-Woo (Kim Soo-Hyun), Hae-In may be able to find solutions. But with her health steadily worsening and Yoon Eun-Sung’s (Park Sung-Hoon) threats, it’s a race against time.

Queen of Tears Episode 9 starts with a little backtrack. Protesters are outside of the family home, preventing any of the family from entering without conflict. Grace Go (Kim Joo-Ryung) calls Hae-In’s mother, Kim Seon-Hwa (Na Young-Hee), luring the gullible woman to direct the family to the back entrance. What the family doesn’t know is that it is a trap. Grace aims to humiliate them and has set up paparazzi in place to do so. A confrontation occurs when the family learns of Grace’s true colors. Thankfully, Hyeon-Woo saves the day and their dignity.

Much of Queen of Tears Episodes 9-10 takes its time. Episode 9, in particular, is meandering in pace as it focuses more on fleshing out the family. The message that money can’t buy happiness or friendship reads most poignantly in this episode. For Hae-In’s mother and father, the lack of wealth is a rude awakening. They can’t rely on their connections to save them. With their family in ruin, no one wants to associate with them.

Of the parents, Seon-Hwa cracks the most. While Hong Beom-Jun (Jung Jin-Young) struggles with the changes, Seon-Hwa struggles to acclimate to being without. Whether stepping in cow dung, sleeping on the floor, or now being at Hyeon-Woo’s mother’s (Hwang Young-Hee) level, she is ill-equipped for the change. This manifests in an increase in her immaturity and insecurities. She’s definitely not winning mother-of-the-year awards.

Queen of Tears Episodes 9-10 highlight Hong Soo-Cheul (Kwak Dong-Yeon) ‘s struggle with loss. He’s kept the truth of his heartbreak under wraps as much as possible but fails at subtlety. In Episode 9, we learn what was in Cheon Da-Hye’s (Lee Joo-Bin) note. She points out her frustrations that he didn’t immediately recognize her and how easily fooled he was. Ending the note, Da-Hye reveals that Soo-Cheul is not the real father. It’s a complete K.O. finish move. Thus, Soo-Cheul spends his time in Episode 9 being positively weepy.

As for Hyeon-Woo and Eun-Sung, in Episode 9, they spend their time circling each other. Hyeon-Woo still works for the Queens Group, but Eun-Sung doesn’t buy his nice guy act. Hyeon-Woo plants enough seeds to distract him, but his inability to get Eun-Sung Hae-In’s location still keeps a target on Hyeon-Woo. Despite everything he’s done to bring her family to ruination, Eun-Sung still wants Hae-In by his side.

This forces a confrontation with his mother, where he takes action that in Queen of Tears Episodes 9-10 will unravel their plan. While the depth of his emotions renders an otherwise calculating character strangely dumb, it provides some much-needed drama. However, after all this build-up of his calculating villainous nature, the pivot to emotion ruling him reads a bit disingenuous.

Meanwhile, Hyeon-Woo is piecing together his case against Eun-Sung. He undergoes humiliating assaults while trying to get evidence and reaches the lowest lows while acquiring information. However, he pieces together enough to learn that fraudulent means were used to acquire land before the takeover of Queens Group. This gives him something to chase after. But his big business moves put him face-to-face with some gangsters at the end of the episode.

Episode 9 ends with Hyeon-Woo’s fate up in the air. Hae-In happily waits for him to arrive home, only to be confronted with Eun-Sung’s shadowy figure. Nothing good can come from his appearance. As it turns out, in Queen of Tears Episode 10, his appearance comes with coercive threats. He demands she make him her guardian, or he’ll inform her parents of her condition. Eun-Sung doesn’t leave fast enough, so a confrontation between him and Soo-Cheul ensues, but it is rather one-sided. Trying to save face, Hae-In reprimands her brother, but the threat lingers.

Queen of Tears Episode 10 meanders much in the way Episode 9 does. The tug-of-war nature of Hyeon-Woo’s and Hae-In’s relationship proves more frustrating this late in the game. This is despite the underlying feelings between them. Hae-In applies ointment on his cuts. Hyeon-Woo is still hunting down clues, threatening and forcing Grace onto their side in the process. But neither are still really meeting in the middle and communicating about their intentions.

Given how the episode transpires, this lack of communication helps with surprises. Eun-Sung, hoping to force Hae-In’s hand, issues a company-wide announcement removing Hyeon-Woo from his position. The reason? Malpractice. A phone call from Hae-In to Eun-Sung verifies that Hyeon-Woo is now fair game. He will ruin Hyeon-Woo’s life if Hae-In doesn’t comply with his desires. This is more like the Eun-Sung we know, but it is still a foolhardy decision.

The next day, Jeon Bong-Ae, Hyeon-Woo’s mother, overhears Hae-In’s conversation with the doctor. This sparks an intense conversation between Hyeon-Woo and Bong-Ae, where we finally see Hyeon-Woo break down about Hae-In’s health. With no one else to turn to to share this news, he’s been bottling it all in. Bong-Ae, who truly deserves the Mother of the Year award, rightfully does her best to take care of Hae-In. This further provokes Seon-Hwa’s jealousy. This jealousy comes out when Hae-In heads to Seoul to fix things for her family, but Bong-Ae saves the day.

Hae-In and Eun-Sung prepare for a press conference to announce her return to her position at Queens Group. Hyeon-Woo learns this information too late and tries to stop her. Hae-In has other plans. At the press conference, things take a turn when it’s Hae-In’s turn with the teleprompter. In front of the journalists, she reveals that Eun-Sung has threatened her and her husband. And after many episodes of secrecy, Hae-In reveals to the world that she is dying.

Queen of Tears Episodes 9-10 feel much slower than previous episodes, and the episode lengths do not help. While much of Queen of Tears Episodes 9-10 focus on character development, specifically fleshing out Soo-Cheul, Bong-Ae, Seon-Hwa, and Beom-Jun, not enough is done to push the plot forward. In fact, there’s almost a retread of longstanding conflicts. This becomes most clear in this case when we look at Hyeon-Woo’s and Hae-In’s relationship, and how they dance around the same kinds of conversations as before.

Despite the heartbreaking nature of their relationship, Hyeon-Woo and Hae-In are overshadowed in Queen of Tears Episodes 9-10. Soo-Cheul’s heartbreak is resounding. His reaction almost highlights the stark difference between his upbringing and Hae-In’s. Her mother’s indifference punishes Hae-In at every turn, whereas Soo-Cheul has been coddled. But Soo-Cheul genuinely cares for Da-Hye and her son. Even when he finds her on a videogame, his first thought is to remind her what to do when her son needs shots.

The saving grace that Queen of Tears Episodes 9-10 may have in finally pushing our main lovebirds forward is in the epilogue. In these epilogues, we get tiny pieces of the puzzle that flesh out the romance between Hyeon-Woo and Hae-In. In Queen of Tears Episodes 9-10, the epilogues highlight the depth of Hyeon-Woo’s feelings for Hae-In. First, how he spent so much time trying to find her in their childhood after she misplaced her MP3 player. Secondly, when he drunkenly admits his love in front of her bedroom door after plucking the leaves off a branch one by one.

The ending of Episode 10 opens up the door for all sorts of possibilities. Queen of Tears Episodes 9-10 kept things – for better or worse – calm and slow. However, now that Eun-Sung will be forced into a corner with Hae-In’s offensive maneuver, it seems the remaining round of episodes will escalate things quickly.

Queen of Tears Episodes 1-14 are now available on Netflix, with new episodes airing on Saturdays and Sundays.