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.
“Crash Landing On You” stars Hyun Bin and Son Ye Jin | tvN
The grand finale of Kim Soo Hyun and Kim Ji Won-led weekend series, however, has rewritten tvN history!
“Queen of Tears” stars Kim Ji Won and Kim Soo Hyun | tvN
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.
“Queen of Tears” viewer ratings. | Naver
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…
| theqoo “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.
