Thank you @unit for the recap!
I have to agree that as much as I like Baek Hong, the villains are very tiring. I wish Kim Ji Won more success and recognition foe her acting.
I feel bad for Park Sung Hoon for getting hate for his role here. I too hope he gets a romcom or non-villain role after rhis to wipe out Eun Snake from the audience memories.
Also I hope Kwak Dong Yeon get a great lead role after this, he deserve it.
Meanwhile for the drama itself, it is also a mixed bag for me. There are parts I love (Baek Hong, their parents friendship, Soo Cheol's chadacter growth, BeomJa and Yeong Seong) and there are parts that couldve been written better (the villains and their motovations, makjangy storylines and elements like the TOD/SOD, amnesia). I will remember the good parts fondly especailly because of KJW and KSH, their BaekHong was loveable.

The old man Hae-in saw in the cemetery during their honeymoon was actually a foreshadow of old Hyun-woo visiting her grave in 2074. And I thought that was just early signs of her illness.😭 Also, can I flex the fact that me and Hae-in are both born on August 22nd?

Revealing her exact fate was unnecessary but I'm satisfied enough that BaekHong stayed together for 50 more years till the latter leaves first. And glad that everyone else got a happy ending as well (even Amazing Grace)

Although I’m not satisfied though with Eun-bullet going out without proper punishment but Mistress getting the Park Yeon-jin treatment in her cell is good enough, I guess.

QoT is definitely one of those generational dramas that I won’t be surprised is the reason that will get a lot of first timers to enter the dramaland lore. Quite a ride everyone😊

Awww so this cross-country makjang track of a show finally comes to an end and i am just relieved both leads survived in one loving piece. I didn’t love this final two episodes but the cast esp our leads did such a stellar job that i don’t mind the 14 episodes we spent in
tears. In fact, my conclusion is that QoT was best when it was wringing out tears from BaekHong and us. The rest of the plot was paper thin and nonsense. It’s funny that Show had such a long run-time but the ending felt rushed and crammed with every possible scenarios the writer could think of 😅
But my final word is that i love BaekHong, they are so beautiful and i hope to see them in another drama soon. KSH please don’t wait years to grace our screen again! ❤️

Waiting for recaps to load has an interesting side-effect, which is that it allows my first impressions to percolate and I end up feeling quite differently by the time I post...

I've been truly invested in the OTP in this show 💖 and that has got me through various other issues around plot holes, annoying side characters etc.

I felt pretty good about the last two eps (I always watch them back to back so the ridiculous Ep 15 cliffhanger wasn't too trying) in that it did give us a happy ending for our lead couple (and even a slide reiterating it was a 'happy ending'! 🤣.

But, a bit like a fast food meal, after a little digestion I felt more empty. The main thing that frustrated me was

I understand that they want us to know that both our leads led a long life together, but honestly I felt cheated by the lack of swoony romance beats.

For me, instead of endless shots of the back of some guys' head who is meant to be 80-something Hyun-woo, I would have given us a few beats of their remarriage, or even better - the day they finally move back into the same bedroom.

I feel like after the endless trauma and tears we suffered we deserved skinship rather than eventual death and 'heaven'... call me shallow! 😁

What a ride and a fabulous ride at that. This drama wasn't perfect and there were some few issues, but for it was worth every second. I enjoyed it so immensely. I cried, I laughed, I sighed, and I smhed. It embodied all the best parts of a kdrama and all that eye roll worthy aspects of a soap opera. I enjoyed all the actors immensely. My singular criticism is there were not enough kisses😜. Outside of that KSH will always have my heart. I have always liked KJW and fell for her in My liberation notes, but she continues her outstanding work here. I will echo everyone in PSH getting another lead role, he was excellent in Memorials, and I would love that for him again.So thank you QoT and I will see the actors and writers in the next drama.

I honestly didn't have very high hopes for the finale given how incredibly makjang the recent episodes have been but that was a pretty good finale that wrapped up most plot points.

1) Wasn't expecting Eun-seong to die pretty early in the finale. I would have liked him to live the rest of his life in prison but it wasn't to be.

2) So Hae-in's mum discovers that it was Hyun-woo that saved Hae-in from drowning when they were kids but I don't think either Hyun-woo or Hae-in knew it was him that saved her. They certainly didn't talk about it. That's a shame.

3) I was not expecting Park Ji-eun to bring back the miscarriage story, I thought she had forgotten about it! So good that they talked about it. When Hae-in said ,"Maybe we can give it a try" is that referring to giving birth again?

4) I guess the main plot point I felt wasn't addressed was Seul-hee's identity and how the team realised she was living under another identity but did nothing about it.

5) The old Hyun-woo we see at the end is actually the same Hyun-woo that Hae-in saw while hallucinating in an earlier episode! For all the amnesia and truck of doom nonsense, Park Ji-eun is still more than capable of bringing magic 😂

https://twitter.com/heybaymax_/status/1784734003368710301?s=46&t=Kx4DKY9Byrg9zqqbNQoc9Q

6) This show had an alarming lack of kisses. There was only one kiss - at the end of ep 5 in Germany. And I for sure would have liked to have seen more skinship in the finale. But at least they got a child 👩‍🍼

7) Overall, despite some lazy writing at times, I still really enjoyed this show, largely in part to the terrific performances from our main couple. From what I've read from interviews, they filmed over 11 months, that's absolutely crazy. I thought kdramas filmed for around 6 months. Hope they all have a well deserved rest 😴

I hope this show will propel Kim Ji-won to be an A-lister in Korea now. She's been too underrated for her talent, stunning beauty and kind personality. She's made a huge challenge to claim the throne of my no.1 bias from IU but for now, she will have to settle for 2nd place 😂🥈

8) Hong Hae-in is my second favourite kdrama character after Jang Man-wol. I fall so damn hard for a beautiful tsundere who teases and banters with ML, shouts at him in a cute way, is incapable of expressing their love and being a softie... and they both dressed so darn well 💃

Wish Eun-Seong had survived to face prison. Dying even in a hail of bullets was too easy.

Grace's mouth movements deserve a special mention.

You’re amazing, Grace!

The most annoying of all was the case with the villainous duo who were like ketchup on fries. They started off adding flavor to the show until they became downright messy...

Classics quips of the recap genre, @unit. Utter classics!!!

Now, where did we put our "sexy-brained SNU lawyer??" He was just around here somewhere...😘

Side-note: I want to commend the writer for the portrayal of Eun-Song as a toxic abuser. He is a classic example of someone who could seem charming, and romantic in his supposed long-term 'love' for Hae-in, but for me the man was a walking red flag from the outset.

Men like this confuse 'love' with possession and his increasing need for control and the way his sympathetic mask slipped at various points, like when Hae-in left without telling him where she was going, was very realistic and telling.

My only issue was in his final scene. This is exactly the kind of person who will rationalise 'if I can't have you, no one can' that leads to such tragic outcomes for their partners/exes. He would have decided to try and kill Hae-in anyway, but the way it was filmed made it seem as if the idea only occurred to him BECAUSE Hae-in said she would rather die.
Frustrating to make it seem like she was in any way 'responsible'.... but otherwise great job and happy to see him done and dusted. Don't want him in prison because he was truly OBSESSED and would have still come after Hae-in after 20 years or whatever....

This has been my favorite show until now (Note that I have to qualify that simply and only because my wife and I finally started our watch of SHOGUN).

Yet I understand Unit's sense of disappointment because Park Ji-eun, the writer, has written dramatically better shows:

CRASH LANDING ON YOU
THE LEGEND OF THE BLUE SEA
MY LOVE FROM THE STAR

Perhaps not quite as dramatically excellent but very well regarded were THE PRODUCERS and MY HUSBAND GOT A FAMILY.

I think that Unit was well justified in her sense of disappointment because this writer has proven that she could have done better.

It was still a very good show, and I am glad that I watched it.

I don't like the 2 last episode, so many plot hole and so many dragging
just like I said before, after ep 8, the pace turn slowing down and the story has many filler story that not necessery to the main plot.
and the video that Hyunwoo record for haein doesn't come out again until the last, so is haein know or watch that video or not ?
I need say again, If the main lead not Kim Soo Hyun and Kim Ji Won, I will drop this drama around ep 13/14.

A daughter!!
Squeeeeee!!!

They had an interesting story to tell. I enjoyed the earlier episodes and was rooting for the couple as the episodes progressed. But as the episodes went by, it felt like we were going in circles. They kept adding plot to make their love look epic and fresh but I was exhausted. It almost felt like the writers didn’t believe the audience will be interested in a married couple who are already in love, so they kept making them fall in love again and again. Where was the intimacy? The kisses?
I would have rather seen the couple and the family come together and work as a team against the villains. And may be even see how the new family dynamics work.
The leads pulled a lot of weight. They were great. But I don’t want to see them both in a drama anytime soon, where they have to cry!!

KDY was fantastic in the role given to him. Please give him a lead role dramaland.

To be honest, I don't really like the last eps. The case is resolve too fast and quickly and feels like makjang to me.
But the last scene is stealer. Soo-hyun voce really beautiful.

i’m honestly so disappointed. a fun concept, a running start, a stellar cast, and amazing chemistry—all written into the ground. baekhong didn’t even kiss in the last episode 😭😭

ive always disliked amnesia tropes but this drama had potential to use it well, the set up was laid out decently but the execution and timing was abysmal. if haein had gotten the surgery earlier (like say ep 11 or so), we could have had a “woo-ing my wife” plot thread which would have been very fun romcom material but instead we got some really weird pacing…. 😢 the whiplash between romcom and corporate thriller and insane stalker who's holding my wife hostage made the plot frustrating as hell. drama was so busy juggling all this bs; didn’t even give us a kiss.

the whole ending scene was like? lmao was that necessary? we could have spent that time watching baekhong make out. ugh. 😢

there was no point in making hyunwoo save haein from drowning—it’s only ever discussed between the moms and has no impact on baekhong. honestly it would have made more sense to have eunseong save her so that he felt entitled to her; which would’ve added to his character. btw have i mentioned how we didn’t get a kiss in the last ep???? 🙄

anyways, despite having a long long list of complaints (no kiss last ep r u serious??!!), baekhong is a couple that’ll still be dear to me. their chemistry and moments were really painful and tender and just lovely. chances are slim but i do hope that kim jiwon and kim soohyun will reunite for a better drama someday. 🙏

I loved the rollercoaster ride of a show with its plot twists and turns. I also liked the little vignettes of country life in comparison to city life except that even then politics can be influenced by money (Think free soup and food trucks) :D The acting was superb but I still can't get over the fact that a major surgery for brain cancer requires no shaving of hair and Haein has immense powers of recovery to have been on her feet and back at work by 1 month. Likewise Hyun-woo who was hit by a car cracked his ribs and ruptured a liver was able to rescue Haein. Truly Love Conquers All! :D :D :D

Ramblings:

I loved the ending. So beautiful. Scenery and voice-over. I had chills realizing Hae In's honeymoon vision was of elderly Hyun Woo visiting her grave. A reminder of her thought then, how wonderful to have been loved like that. A miracle of a life together.

Oh my gosh where do they find these incredibly adorable toddlers?? Geon Woo and the little girl are just so so cute!

Two impactful scenes were the jail visit and the aquarium. Hae In could see what genuine caring looks like on Hyun Woo's face. And doubt everything!! How sweet that she had planned this second proposal for him where he'd proposed to her. This was the place where their relationship began, both times. Also I had been waiting for her to notice his hand.

I do wish they could have given us viewers lots more time on our OTP dating and falling in love again!! There were some happy scenes in ep 15 that I enjoyed. But there could have been more sweet and squee worthy moments. These two fabulous actors can do passion well, show us some please!! Dates, hugs, kisses... More please. Finish the villains plot by ep 14 or earlier. Skip brother's rent due on the building and sister's divorce plans etc., sooo unnecessary. And spend some time in healing and rediscovering.

Loved the final relationship between the two families. The Hongs discovered who truly cared when they were in need. All of those relatives who came for the memorial rites never appeared again. And haha, in the hospital, mom Baek was strong while dad was falling apart, "He said ILY to Hae In, not you!!"

Glad the dog was still doing well in the end and helped Hyun Woo. Another severely injured hero out there trekking through snowy woods intent on rescuing his damsel in distress. Flashback to CLOY. Speaking of which our goofy investigators never returned, and no appearance by RiRi. Icing opportunity missed.

I was happy that a couple of my predictions/hopes from my posts last week came true. One, that eldest brother would become CEO, and Hae In's dad would take a much smaller role leaving plenty of time for visiting the Baeks. He was never very ambitious. And second was Hae In returning to her old position but with a better work life balance.

I'm glad Da Hye and two-faced Grace both served time as they ought. Inviting Grace back was a risk but at least they know how much to trust her. She did help in important ways in the end. It was nice to see that Day Hye actually had loved Soo Cheol.

Overall, Queen of Tears is a mixed bag for me, but I have more positive feelings than negative ones.

Exactly this, @unit, and thank you so much for your stellar recaps! I fell so hard for BaekHong and loved every moment they had on the screen. They could be doing the most mundane things and I would have watched for hours. I loved Hae-in's bluntness - did it get even sharper after her memory loss? It was hilarious! - Hyun-woo's devotion to her, and the way they made it through their valley of despair to rise up again. The little moment with their daughter at Sans Souci was perfect. I also loved the photo montage at the very end - a lifetime of great memories and relationships captured, and the way the camera panned over it, sometimes lingering, sometimes hiding details was chef's kiss.

I appreciated the ways the two families developed and became good friends: the portrait of them all together was such a good way to capture how far they had come. I also appreciated the generosity that was shown by many of them in their new lives: Mrs Hong going camping with her husband, Grace being invited back into the fold after prison, Aunt Hong patiently waiting for Mr Rat to be ready and so on. They learned to love and forgive. (However, I have to admit I never felt great concern and affection for them as I did for the Ducklings or the NK Ladies - there was something missing in the writing there...)

The villains were annoying, and episodes 15 and 16 really did us no favours. Eun-seung and his mother outstayed their welcome far too long and robbed us of scenes we wanted to see. I needed to see BaekHong move back in together in the little apartment, and it is a travesty that KSH's kissing skills were not put to use: what were they thinking??!!

Not perfect, but thoroughly enjoyable and absolutely mesmerising when KSH and KJW were on screen. Loved reading all the Beanies had to say about it!

Wonderful recap, @unit!

I think this is the type of drama that probably doesn't hold up very well to scrutiny, but in the end, I have only love for it. I've wanted an epic romantic drama centering on a married couple for a long time, and although it fell short on this front in the end (honestly, the lack of kisses at key intervals was a real problem, but more on that below) I had the same feeling from QoT as all of this writer's dramas: it wasn't perfect, but it was so distinctively her work, and thus, so very kdrama-y in all the best (and worst) ways that I have no regrets about watching it.

These last two episodes weren't the best of the series, but they had many standout moments and lines:

--Secretary Na had two of my favorite pieces of dialogue: "The heart will follow the body" line unit quoted in the recap, and her definition of falling in love as the moment you wonder "What's up with him?" The heart doesn't necessarily swoon first; it's the brain that wants to figure out the puzzle of this person getting under your skin. So true.

--The full circle aquarium meeting was lovely and bittersweet, and the expression on Hyung-woo's face when he finally realized why the space was empty the day he proposed was perfect and reminded me of Hae-in previously teasing him for missing the obvious by asking "How did you graduate from SNU?" Among his many talents, KSH does "smart guy being dense" very well.

--I actually loved the way they decided not to remarry right away. They had been through so much intense drama and strife and near-death experiences that it made perfect sense for them to take the time to get to a point where trivial disappointments and miscommunication won't immediately kill their relationship. To that end, the time skip was sweet.

--Just like in CLOY, I loved the visuals of the scenes shot in the snow. Hae-in and Hyung-woo running through the storm in their matching dark coats with their (perfect) dark hair was beautifully shot.

Disappointments:

--I haven't griped much about the villains because they seemed in-line with the type of antagonist the writer has always favored: simplistic, obsessed, and just on the verge of insanity. I didn't need any more development of either Ms. Moh or her controlling and abusive son. They served their purpose well up until the end, when they suddenly became the main source of (external) conflict for the Hongs, and we shifted away from the more engrossing internal conflict of their own clash of personalities and miscommunication.

--We really, really didn't need for Hyung-woo to get hit by that car AND shot in the back. One or the other would have been sufficient for the plot, and the poor actors playing his parents wouldn't have had to act out essentially the same grief-laden scenes back to back. They pulled it off, but the emotional impact was not what it should have been because of the repetition.

--Finally, I've said before that there's no need...

BaekHong definitely carried the drama. Kim Soo Hyun and Kim Ji Won sold their love story. All the tears and cute, swoony, humorous bits. I liked Kim Ji Won before fine, but I really fell for her here. I'm glad she nailed this role. I saw one of her recent video interviews and she was so different from this character - quiet and shy.

Grace's and Da Hye's endings were acceptable. The fact that they did pay for their crimes made them more forgiving to me. They weren't on the same level as Eun Sung and his mother lol. Hae In's mother's redemption arc was satisfying too.

The community hall celebration was nice. It was totally cute and funny when Beom Ja got caught with her live confession! The pacing of Beom Ja and Young Song's love story was ok since we didn't see much progress during most of the drama. I didn't need to see a drastic change between them in the last hour.

First half was better than the second half. The second half became more dramatic without anything refreshing or special. I was very glad I watched EP 15 and 16 back to back despite groaning at the almost 2 hour length of EP 16! Hyun Woo getting that TOD didn't faze me. That's the thing about using the same ol' moves over and over again. I was indifferent and the camera lingered a little too long on that crosswalk, etc. Same goes with the shooting scene. They took too long - it was unbelievable that Eun Sung had time to get a shot in and the cops didn't react fast enough to shoot him before he took it.

Anyway, the OST was great. I'm a sucker for emotional ballads. Swept me up in all the heartbreaking feels.

Big round of applause for Unit for recapping this behemoth 3 1/2 hour beast and the 3 hour run time every week always filled with fantastic phrases and catchy names. I think you have outdone yourself with QOT's.
 Am I sad to see the end? No, it got a little too cray, cray for me towards the later part but I will miss the fabulous cast of actors. 
The leads were the saving grace of the show but I also want to highlight Kwak Dong Yeon who really stood out for me, hilarious in the comedic scenes and heartbreaking in the emotional scenes.
 I find myself unsatisfied with the ending as I don't feel the writer earned the "happily ever after" written across the screen and pulled the rug out from under our feet.
Too much of these extended episodes were spent on filler.
I still feel like I'm missing part of an episode that explains the motivation of why Ms Girlfriend devoted 20 years of her life to bring down the Hongs and desert her only son. 
We were never allowed to forget about Hae-in terminal illness and it was milked continuously to bring on the floods of tears yet in the end there was no pay off as we never saw her fully regain her memory. Yes, we were told that they had 50 years together (scene at the grave) but there is a big difference between telling and showing. I don't find that anywhere near as rewarding as showing an emotional scene or two with our leads and maybe upping the notch of the display of affection from PG13 to a mature audience level. 
I have loved listening to the OST because it is so beautiful with a lot of amazing artists. Does anyone know when it will be available on itunes? I keep looking but can't find the album, only the individual single tracks.
I will remember the show more so for the fabulous actors and characters they bought to life. 
Hwaiting Beanies.

Thanks for the recap @unit this really was a mixed bag with too much time given to the baddies, whilst still not explaining why this family was targeted. When the drama was good it really was a joy to watch so I am also in the glad I watched camp.

My issue with QoT is not with the drama but with the screenwriter. I didn't know I'd send another open letter to her worded: "Ma'am, it is not funny", in episode 16. Time in prison, an accident and bullet to the shoulder is way too much.
I know he's a knight in shining armor but he's not gonna do that dead.

My major joy in this was a certain dude who had a trip to the morgue but didn't return.
I do wonder the delusion in his plan to leave the country. Is he going to seize her passport so she can't return? Or he'll bar her from having a personal cellphone so her family can't contact her and vice versa? He should have just left the country alone.

I believe the reveal that he's the one who sank the boat that killed Su-wan had been known to us viewers aeons of episodes ago. There was no shock reveal for me, except to see the shock on the faces of the Queen family.

As the screen showed the date of death on Hae-in's slab, West Life's I Wanna Grow Old With You played in my head. And they did grow old together.

One other tiny quip...I didn't like how they wrapped Beom-ja and Yong-seong's arc. You can't tell me he had absolutely no ideas at all. I understand that he's shy. But I don't intend understand what the writer was trying show cause you can't tell me he's both shy and dumb. He's got married friends for crying out loud. And I'm sure TMI is a thing. So he must have picked a thing or two. That peck was patronizing.

In the end, there were more negatives than positives when it came to QoT. This show and its ratings highlighted the worst elements of kdramas. Aesthetics over any substance whatsoever. Just give the audience pretty things to look at, and that'll do.

Until the end, I expected a convincing explanation as to why Seul-hee embarked on a multi-decade-long con to sabotage the Queen's family, to the extent where she abandoned her only child to dedicate herself to this con. There was no answer.

I'm not sure why PJE felt the need to squash in the death montage at the very end of show. It felt like another ham-fisted attempt to garner emotion out of the viewers. All romances end up with one person pre-deceasing the other, so what was the point of the ending?

I'm interested to see whether QoT actually becomes a classic, once the initial feel-good hysteria of live-watching wears off. I feel like hindsight might be more critical of this drama.

A great summary of a great show! I liked the ending. It was a repetition of the idea that the person who loves you most will wait for you when you are dying, to make it less scary.

After a relatively long life together(--I mean, she's in her 30s, right? She's supposed to die 50 years from now? And she survived a brain tumor? It's not too bad!) She will wait for him when he dies, so that he will meet the young version of her in a romantic field of lavender. Their families will stay together and love each other. Everyone, even the villains, has someone who loves them to wait for them in death. I just found it very sweet.

I hear how disappointed you were that there was no Baek Hong kiss in the finale. I didn't really notice its absence! They figured out a lot of good ways to show "chemistry" through the whole show. I think my favorite bit in this last episode was Hyun-woo telling Hae-in that he wasn't afraid to take a bullet for her a second time, but he was afraid, as she was, that they would have conflict over small things.

Really the whole thing had symmetry and was put together very nicely.

Thank you again for your astute and funny observations through these recaps, @unit- they were what made me finally sign up on DB and join in the fun!
Everything has mostly all been said in reviews and comments, so I won't add more. I started the show for Kim Soo Hyun, and that hasn't changed- I will blindly sign up to watch anything he's in. I loved his dynamic with Kim Ji Won in this show too.

I just want to see them together again in a softer, more contemplative show, where they can just let their chemistry do all the talking- in the vein of One Spring Night or Tell Me That You Love Me.
I want to see them in something just *really quiet*, no revenge, no supervillains, no greedy people, no trucks o' doom- just a simple tale of a couple who've gone through trauma and the resultant miscommunication and lost their way, finding their path back together... How do you show them finding the ways they've each changed and falling back in love with the new version, learning to hold hands again, discovering each other physically again? How do you tell that person you thought you hated, that you actually still do love them, that you're willing to work through whatever drove you apart?
Just to take the small but charged beats that QoT did too little with, and gave the teenage aegyo treatment- the forearms, the petty jealousies, the accidentally-on-purpose shower scenes- and turn them into mature, consensual couple moments... My god, the swoon that would bring!!

I agree, it's not a plot that would rake in stratospheric ratings or more dollars in the bank, but I really think Kim Soo Hyun needs a show like this at this point in his career to show he's actually the King of Tears- he would absolutely knock it out of the park- he's done enough of the other type IMO.

Anyway... it was quite a ride, and this woman will dream, and listen on loop to KSHs beautiful singing (what can he not do?!) at the end of this show, while producing her own imaginary drama.

A love that transcends life is the message which was quite consistent throughout a drama that calls Hyun Woo and Hae In’s love a miracle. It was foreshadowed very early on in episode 6 too when Hae-in told Hyun-woo that very many years later she would be the one to welcome him in the afterlife as someone who loves him the most in the world. And her tombstone's "spending life with you was the only miracle in my life" particularly hits home after everything these two have been through.

I think Park Ji-eun writes the best endings for KSH's characters. I hated CLOY's ending, and LOTBS was very so-so, but both YFAS and The Producers had such great endings. In particular, I love the meaning behind these endings because they tell a story. YFAS’s message was that we should value every moment of our lives with the person we love because we never know if we will get another chance. For QOT, the message is that despite the many challenges you may face, living a happy and long life with the person you love most is the biggest miracle in life.

Tbh, I may sound like it, but I am not actually a hugely sentimental person. I ofc cry and laugh while watching something, but I am able to move on after that rather quickly. But I think KSH's beautiful voice singing one of the most beautiful and unforgettable OSTs I've ever heard really did me in. They wrote this song for that specific scene and it really shows because the impact of the lyrics was tremendous. I hope for those who watch via Netflix and dont engage online that this is translated. It gives this scene all the meaning it wouldnt have had. And when the final credits rolled and the written message saying "We hope you take the time to look back on the precious people around you and love them once more" - I felt quite the lump in my throat. Its the sort of ending that made me think of life for a moment and that feeling of poignancy just lingered for a long time.

Short ver: this drama is Welcome to Sam Dal 2.0.

Both shows are dramas that wasted their runtime on literally nothing, had the most annoying SLs ever, decided to make the entire show about the romance but gave the couple zero real development, the ML had no personality other than being there for the FL, and the FL didn't get to develop any other aspect of her life because the drama would drag her around for the sake of romance.

The only difference is that most characters in QoT were likeable, and the show recognized the SL was the worst.

I didn't hate this drama, but I will probably forget about it fast. Maybe it'll become a classic like DOTS or Heirs. I saw it once, forgot about it, and that's fine.

Long ver
THE GOOD.

1. Beom Ja.
Idk, I just love her. She seemed to be one of the characters in the show that felt like... A real person?

She had a complicated relationship with her father, she loved her family deeply, she would protect herself and her people, she wouldn't give up on finding love.
But what I really like about her is that she didn't feel forced. She didn't have to do much to prove the type of person she is. She didn't need to lose her memory, fight gangsters or almost get killed four times.

There where multiple things happening with her, she had some kind of development, but it didn't feel in my face. She was just living her life.

I hope the best for her.

2. The OST was always on point.

THE ALMOST GOOD?

1. Soo Cheol and Da Hye.
At the beginning I was rooting for them so hard, and I was so invested in their family. But in the second half it seemed like the writer didn't know well what to do with them, and especially, the writer had no idea how to make Da Hye part of the family again.

Her comeback was weird.
Except for the mom, the family seemed to accept her, but we didn't really see her be part of any decision/plan they made as a family. Most of the time, I kept forgetting she had come back.

We didn't see more of her and mom bonding and building a relationship as mother-daughter in law even after we saw the mom "accepting" her again into the family.

And we didn't get to see all the things Soo Cheol was planning to do as an independent man, and the head of his family.

But I did like those characters. Especially Soo Cheol. Imo, he was way cooler than the "perfect" Hyun Woo.
If you ask me, the best husband/father in this entire drama is Soo Cheol.

Thanks for the fast recap, unit!

I guess QoT did a reasonably okay job with how they wrapped most things up. Although the final montages had me go - HUH.

Starting with the positives
* Glad Eun-snake got fired upon so many times right at his most godawful point in life. Betrayed by his own mom haha. I might have liked it slightly better if he hadn't died and we got to see him and MSH tear each other apart in court. But okay, this is acceptable.
* Totally did not need yet-another-hospital scene for Hyun-Woo. It was a bit unnecessary imo though not a deal-breaker.
* Happy to see Soo-cheol come to Da-hye's rescue. I think the fight scenes were done realistically cuz it was unlikely that he could have levelled up significantly to take everyone down immediately. But he really did his best to take the punches, get the baddies to lower their guard, before knocking out the Jo asshole properly.
* Grace indeed redeemed herself after all . She clearly struggled when Da-hye brought it up, but went through with it in the end. And also got the team that crucial piece of evidence against evil MSH. To be included in the family reunion meal after she and Da-hye got out was actually quite heart-warming for me.
* Loved seeing MSH lose her composure in court, and get abandoned by her sycophant lawyer.
* Beom-ja's confession was mortifying but made sense for them haha. But I presumed that things were 'settled' after he finally chased after her. Did not need the subsequent scenes (at the restaurant or the kiss). I feel like those scenes were weak and ended up disappointing me.
* Hong daddy retiring made sense. And a nice throw-back to one of the early episodes where he told Hyun-woo that his old subordinate? lawyer? leaving him was betrayal. Guess Hong daddy was very much putting up the bravado. And the fact that Hong mama's main complaint was about the absence of kimchi - instead of complaining about camper life lacking luxuries - was another satisfying growth in her character.
* Hyun-woo's lawyer friends were awesome. I loved how none of them specialised in criminal cases but rallied behind him so well. Thankful the murder thing got wrapped up quickly.
* I appreciate that Hae-in didn't miraculously remember everything, but was somewhat jogged along to reassess Eun-snake's lies and her own impression of Hyun-woo by the diary. It feels realistic, and also gives room for character growth. When she started to recall the miscarriage and their fallout, I was worried she would be overwhelmed by her own pain, but the way she re-framed it this time was mature and touching. I thought it was a good way to address one of the root causes behind their failed marriage and give everyone closure to move on.

Things I'm annoyed about
* I don't get it. No one asked for any footage of "will Hyun-woo still visit Hae-in's grave when she dies peacefully in old age?" So that was just bizarre and pointless. I mean, proposal or wedding would be nice,...

I loved it. Gave it 10⭐ which is very rare for me but it kept me entertained and I got up at the crack of dawn (7:00 am) every Saturday/Sunday so that I could watch the moment it released on Netflix. They promised a roller-coaster and delivered. They promised a "fairy-tale" and it wasn't until the drama was complete that I realized that this was a crazy mish-mash of fairy-tale, comic book (Hyun-woo as Batman) and a sprinkling of faith and prayer sprinkled throughout

Regarding the ending - another fairy-tale ending of "happily ever after". 50+ years they stayed together and the hints are very strong that they lived them in Germany (Hae-in said she loved the cemetery because it meant you were "resting near your home." At the winter of his life, Hae-in was waiting for her beloved - just as she promised as well.
This was a love story for Koreans and Koreans loved it in return. I'm so glad it was written/produced/acted such that this non-Korean could love it just as much.

One major disappointment for me was the Hong's being reduced to spectators throughout the drama and taking pretty much no proactive action on their own behalf.

Huh, I thought I’ve seen through the end. But I missed the 2070s projection. I guess that shows how the plot may have lost me from ep 13 or thereabouts. A brain surgery with hair fully in place?! That’s among other things, eg car of doom survival. I fully applaud the acting though, BaekHoon and the villain. Unit, love your last line. KSH, we are in your hands. Take good care of us fans.

I never cared about the villains. I don't know why she had to wait for 20 years to take action, why she killed Hae-In's brother, etc. Her son was just crazy.

I watched this drama for the couple. And I really liked them. It was interesting to see them so apart at the beginning and to see how they met and fell in love in the flashbacks, what separated them and how they got back together. The illness was weird but their emotions about it felt real. I loved every scenes of their scenes. It was quite poignant Hae-In saw Hyun-Woo laying flowers on her grave before it happens and then the final scene with KSH's OST was beautiful. Both actors were great in their role!

Now, I still have the same issue, why the only kiss we really got was in the episode 5?!? And nothing after that? I mean what the point to write a romance between 2 married adults, if you treat this romance like a teenager one. They were good at flirting, what a waste of their acting!

The 2 families were weird, between Hyun-Woo's brother and sister who never spend time with their own family, Hae-In's mum who was awful with her daughter, Hae-In's brother who was a fool (but KDY was great in this role), etc. but I liked how they bonded and became a real family. Even amazing Grace 🎵 wasn't abandonned!

So… Psycho Mistress plotted to take over the Queens and torment Hong for few decades for NO obvious reason whatsoever???!!! Like no grudge or revenge? They didn’t do anything to her in the past?

@unit 10/10 stars for your writing. Absolutely brilliant and wish you had given advice to the drama writer for the last quarter of the drama.

Yes, the story limped to the ending with too many tropes, but the heart of the drama was Hae In and Hyun Woo's relationship which never wavered and stayed consistently strong. I loved all the tie-ups for the good people and little details like the family photo replacing the napolean photo, have the plot of Hyun Woo's sister hammer in the "communication problems" message than having our HongBaek give life advices etc.,

To me, Kim Ji Won turned out to be the star of the show and her panache characterisation was truely that of a queen. Of course, without Kim Soo Hyun, the chemistry wouldn't be possible, but he is already a star and he wouldn't fail to deliver his talents.

I loved all the full circles like Hae In's aquarium date and how Hyun Woo realized that he fell out of love with Hae In despite his promise to sail in the same ship.

The only con with the show is not with giving screen time to extras, but meandering with tye antagonists plot. Their backstory made 0 sense and their schemes were something from the 2000s drama. I also wanted then to spend a minimum of 15 minutes on talking about the point of their misunderstandings i.e., the miscarriage, but the show wanted "bygones be bygones" 🙄🙄🙄 That was a crucial plot brushed aside for other stupid subplots.

The first half was definitely stronger but the hard left into makjang hurts because there was so much more potential for better storytelling.

And am I crazy did we never see the scene where Hae-in tells Hyun-woo that she is a chaebol? They built it up with all the initial epilogues where he doesn't know but where was the pay-off? Did I just miss it?

still trying to organise my disjointed thoughts (both thrilled and on some specific aspects, slightly disappointed) so here goes part 1:

First off - AAAAGH IT'S SO FRUSTRATING watching the first 30 minutes but Hyun-woo being 'stalked' by a Hae-in who's irersistibly drawn to him despite everything, was easily my favourite part. Not so much the Hyun-woo in jail and Hae-in turned against him part though! This is why I hate amnesia plots, even if the seeds are sown for her natural suspicion and scepticism to start kicking in, quite fast. And to that end I'm SO PROUD of my queen Hong Hae-in, both before and after the amnesia, of course memories-intact Hae-in wasn't going to sit passively by and let Hyun-woo do all the work of keeping her memories! @ceciliedk mentioned last week that Queen of Tears from Hae-in's pov is a horror movie, and episodes 15 and early 16 really show it as exactly that - as if isolating her from her family and lying to her about literally everything isn't bad enough, he resorts to Stalker Tactic Textbook chapter 1 - she doesn't owe you answers about where she's been, slimy bastard! going to go into more detail about this when I'm not screaming and seething, but rest assured, i have a LOT to say.

(for all this drama's other faults, it has never wavered on the front of making it very, very clear that Eun-slimy-bastard is a toxic abuser whose so-called "love" is just obsession without care or respect for the feelings of the object of his obsession, despite her multiple, crystal clear and brutal refusals to give him what he felt entitled to)

while I have my frustrations with these final two episodes (too much makjang, some ridiculousness, too much time spent on side characters I don't care that much about and oh yeah, getting leads like Kim Soo-hyun and Kim Ji-won and not giving us anywhere near the level of swoony romantic onscreen stuff that Hyun-woo and Hae-in deserved - which was a LOT, KSH/KJW and their Hyun-woo/Hae-in deserve to go down in dramaland lore among the OG great couples), I have to give it to Park Ji-eun, she's written another classic even if the only real change I'd want to the finale is delivering on the promise of some of that swoon - and bedroom swoon - that was hinted at in episode 10.

My interest in QoT has developed antiproportionally to the ratings. In other words, the higher the ratings were, the less captivating I found the respective episodes, even though the first half was so incredibly promising.
Instead of 90 minutes per episode, 60 minutes would have been enough. Then the writer would have had to focus more on the main characters and we would have been less bored with the villains.

I liked the last episode better than episode 15, but it was definitely too long. I was most touched by the ending. The bittersweet scene where Hyun-woo visits Hae-in's grave and she later picks him up as an angel, combined with the almost ethereal music, gave me the same feelings as the end of CLOY.

If we have to deal with the amnesia plot, I would have expected a lot more of the scenes to be about Hae-in and Hyun-woo reconnecting, which would have had a much greater emotional impact than the umpteenth assault on Hyun-woo's life. In the end, I didn't care if he was run over, shot, drowned, strangled or poisoned. It had simply worn thin.

Despite all the criticism, there was a lot in this drama that I liked and which is why I stuck with it until the end. Besides Hyun-woo and Hae-in, there was Soo-cheol and Da-hye's love story. I actually shed a little tear when I saw Soo-cheol pedalling to Da-hye's rescue on his bike.
And of course Beom-ja. I just hope she gets a real kiss one day. But it'll probably never be more than that at this rate.
Not forgetting the humour, especially in the first few episodes. The black humour in the first two episodes may not have been to everyone's taste, but it was the reason why I was hooked.

I will take the happy ending like that, although I am not exactly satisfied ( I feel the same way as I did at the end of GOBLIN, where I felt the writer had given us a wonderful drama despite the many flaws only to kinda tank it with a subpar ending).
Up until episode 8, I could see the vision. The writer lost the plot after ep 8, which is a shame because there were so many more wonderful directions this could have gone in. But no matter. What the writer lacked, the cast and crew more than made up for with the cinematography and the acting - my goodness the acting! Every single one of them did a superb job, and they made this show. What a roller coaster of emotions! Kim Soo-hyun, Kim Ji-won, and Park Sung-hoon, the actors you are!

Also, thanks to @unit for the great recaps and all the beanies who have enjoyed this show: the discussions also compuonded the fun. ❤️❤️

I was excited for the Kim JiWon and Kim SooHyun pairing and they delivered. They are the King and Queen of tears and microexpressions. The subtle changes in their facial expressions reflect differing emotions.
KJW was on a balancing act of making HaeIn haughty but likeable, ice queen but vulnerable, serious but funny. Her moments when she's alone after being embarrassed (e.g. the ring, the bag) are so funny.
If KSH was really paid based on the rivers of tears that HyunWoo wept on this drama then he has loads of money to bring to the bank. He was so good at crying and loving HI.
I'm going to miss all the names that everyone has come up with for EunSung.
Did the story have plot holes? Yes. Did I want more kisses? Yes. But, ultimately, was I entertained? Yes.
Thank you @unit and beanies!