K-Drama “Queen of Tears” Rewrites tvN History Amid Mixed Reactions Over Finale

Until the final episode of Queen of Tears, tvN‘s “most viewed” K-Drama, which had the highest viewer rating, remained Crash Landing On You since February 2020.

The grand finale of Kim Soo Hyun and Kim Ji Won-led weekend series, however, has rewritten tvN history!

Episode 16 scored 24.85% in viewer ratings (nationwide, 28.381% in metropolitan areas), beating Crash Landing On You‘s previous 21.683% and becoming tvN’s new record-holding K-Drama.

While the flow of Episode 16 received mixed reactions for “skipping through” a lot of moments that Koreans had wished to see, like the main characters getting the “ups” in life, and rather focusing on the death of Hong Hae In instead…

• “I liked how it ended, LOL.”
• “I heard the scriptwriter switched up how it ends… I’m relieved. I was worried that Hong Hae In’s condition would be incurable. The happiest ending of them all.”
• “The finale has me in a chokehold. Kim Soo Hyun’s voice in the soundtrack that played in the background was elite, too.”
• “The scriptwriter is a queen of plagiarism. Stop watching her stuff. This goes to show she doesn’t have what it takes to produce a solid show. I hope I never hear about her making K-Dramas again.”
• “I’m re-watching the ending scene, and I guess it’s not that bad. At least we know that Hong-Baek Couple lived in peace until 2074.”
• “I prefer knowing that Hong Hae In lived and died in peace. It’s closure. I would not have liked if she died in 2034 as the scriptwriter had in mind for the original finale.”
• “I don’t know. It seemed like the scriptwriter gave up and wrote whatever came to her mind. I wasn’t expecting a lot.”
• “Y’all are getting mad about the finale, too? LOL. But I get that, after all the leads have been through, people wanted to see them in their happiest moments, too. Viewers did stick around to see Hong-Baek Couple get their life back on track… So it makes sense that the ending in death makes no sense, haha. What I didn’t understand is the whole gunshot scene. That was comical.”
• “I loved it, though. But it could’ve been because of Kim Soo Hyun singing the soundtrack in the background.”
• “So f*cked up.”
• “Yes, it’s the happiest ending. But I don’t know if I’m satisfied with it. In fact, if asked, I’d tell them that I hated it… Like, was that the best the scriptwriter could do?”
• “This was the stupidest K-Drama ever… I realize I’d kept watching it for the lead actors. I was dumb.”
• “I couldn’t quit watching because the acting was so good… But the finale? That was the weirdest finale ever.”

…it seems the “Hong-Baek Couple’s” happily-ever-after—even after death parts them—had certainly kept the viewers all watching.

영원히 사랑할 백홍의 마지막 이야기🤍

"어느 날엔가 한 사람만 남겨지게 되면
그땐 다른 한 사람이 마중 나오면 되지

그럼 하나도 무섭지 않을 거야
같이 있을 테니까"#눈물의여왕 #QueenofTears pic.twitter.com/zzQCLLANt7

— tvN drama (@CJnDrama) April 28, 2024

This makes scriptwriter Park Ji Eun hold both the “Most Viewed” and the “Second Most Viewed” K-Drama spots in tvN history. The remaining eight spots in tvN’s Top 10 most viewed K-Dramas belong to Guardian: The Lonely and Great God (20.5%), Reply 1988 (18.8%), Mr. Sunshine (18.1%), Mr. Queen (17.4%), Crash Course In Romance (17%), Under The Queen’s Umbrella (16.9%), Vincenzo (14.6%), and Our Blues (14.6%).

K-Drama “Queen of Tears” Scriptwriter’s Past Scandals Resurface Amid All-Time High Viewer Ratings

Will tvN be able to produce another mega-hit K-Drama to compete with Queen of Tears? K-Drama fans remain hopeful for hotter cast lineups, stronger plots, and better mise-en-scène to come.