Queen of Tears Episode 16 Recap and Review: In the last episode, Hae-in wakes up post-surgery to Eun-sung. Without any memories, she believes all his meaningless lies – even the ones about Hyun-woo. She is isolated from her family, friends and even people at work by Eun-sung, out of the fear that she will regain her memories.
However, many interactions with Hyun-woo and even following him around in his hometown gave her the idea that the picture painted by Eun-sung isn’t as good as it seems. She discovers the diary that she wrote to Hyun-woo before the surgery. She rushes to meet him but suddenly disappears from his line of sight and Hyun-woo meets with an accident.
Queen of Tears (눈물의 여왕) is the romantic comedy that began airing on 9th March 2024 on tvN as well as on Netflix in selected regions. The 16-episode series stars talented actors like Kim Soo-hyun as Baek Hyun-woo and Kim Ji-won as Hong Hae-in along with Na Young-hee, Jung Jin-young, Kwak Dong-yeon, Park Sung-hoon, Kim Jung-nan and others.
The romantic drama is written by Park Ji-eun, the mastermind behind popular dramas like Crash Landing On You, My Love From the Stars and The Producers and directed by Jang Young-woo and Kim Hee-won.
Queen of Tears Episode 16 Recap
The finale episode continues with Hyun-woo being taken to the hospital after the accident. He thinks back to his proposal to Hae-in at the aquarium. She warns him about her family and how their difference might affect him. He takes it all in stride and tells her that he will always be with her no matter how rocky their boat gets. In the present time, his parents rushed to see him but they were too late because he left the hospital without receiving proper treatment.
Hae-in, on the other hand, wakes up in the hunting cabin and panics. She sees Eun-sung outside walking around with a shotgun. He questions her angrily and to appease him, she agrees to marry him and leave the place. He calms down and tells her to follow him by dawn.
Hyun-woo ploys with Grace Goh to ignite a fire within Sol-hee by talking about Eun-sung and Hae-in. Through them, he finds out that Hae-in is at the hunting cabin and he takes his friend’s help to reach there. Despite being in a lot of pain, he insists on saving her.
Sol-hee meets with Eun-sung after she finds out that he has taken all the money and converted it to dollars. Through their conversation, Hae-in and the viewers find out that Sol-hee caused the accident at the beach many years ago. It also shows how Eun-sung still believes his mother cares for him after many years but her greed for the money made him feel lonely.
Hyun-woo reaches the hunting cabin and rescues Hae-in in time but Eun-sung stops them. While police surround them, Eun-sung tries to convince her to go with him but she refuses – telling him that despite having no memory, she still feels unsafe and uncomfortable around him. Triggered by her words, he gets ready to shoot her but Hyun-woo takes the bullet for her and Eun-sung gets shot down by the police – closing the chapter on Eun-sung forever.
Hae-in cries her heart out, thinking of some memories that had Hyun-woo and feeling guilty for treating him the way she did. Hyun-woo’s parents rush to her and introduce themselves. She apologises and his mother holds her as she cries. Her family watch the scene unfold before with tears in their eyes.
Hae-in’s mother takes care of Hyun-woo’s mother and informs her about the new-found information regarding the incident on the beach. They realise that the person Hyun-woo saved was Hae-in. Both families wait in anticipation for Hyun-woo and the doctors assure them that he is out of danger despite the multiple injuries.
Sol-hee silently holds a funeral for her son and immediately gets on getting the money back as well as taking her place as the chairman. She takes the tablet with the incriminating evidence against her and throws it into the sea – hoping that she has tied all loose ends.
Hae-in waits for Hyun-woo to wake up and pretends as though she is dizzy. Hearing that, he wakes up and the first thing he asks is if she is alright – causing her to burst into tears again. The family walk in and shed tears as they see Hyun-woo doing well. For the next few days, Hyun-woo and Hae-in share many moments as the latter is still getting to know the former. The families look happy to see them get along.
Hae-in’s family – including the estranged eldest son come together to fight Sol-hee. With the help of Hyun-woo as their lawyer, they go to court to take back their rightful place. Da-hye decides to help them by talking about her hand in the plan and tries to convince Grace Goh. Initially, she does not want to do it but after helping them get the evidence against Sol-hee, she goes to jail along with Da-hye and Sol-hee.
The Hong family and Hyun-woo make their comeback to Queens post winning the case. It seems as though Hyun-woo and Hae-in are back to getting to know each other slowly. Hae-in assumes Hyun-woo will jump the gun regarding their marriage but he paces himself – irritating Hae-in. They share a good conversation about their marriage after Hae-in is riddled with her worst memory – the miscarriage. They decide to love each other despite the past.
Years later, Hae-in’s father gives the chairman position to his elder brother and stays at Yeongdu-ri with his wife to live an easy life. Despite feeling sad about the current situation, Hae-in’s mother enjoys spending time with Hyun-woo’s parents as well. Da-hye leaves jail to reunite with Soo-cheol and their son – they share a beautiful moment.
The series ends with Hyun-woo and Hae-in visiting the place in Germany with their daughter – Baek Soo-bin. They grow old together and in 2074, an old Hyun-woo visits Hae-in’s grave. He meets her in the afterlife as she waits for him at the lavender field. They finally got to keep their promises as they continued their love story even in the afterlife!
Queen of Tears Episode 16 Review
Despite the speculations based on the previous episode, the writers managed to give a good end to the series – especially to Hyun-woo and Hae-in’s story. However, the story in the second half of the series seemed more like a thriller instead of a romance drama. There was a lot more importance given to Eun-sung over Hyun-woo and Hae-in’s story.
The writers tried to incite sympathy for Eun-sung through his flashbacks but his crazed look and plans in the present leave no room for sympathy. They could have spent more time showing the chemistry between Hyun-woo and Hae-in throughout the story – instead of giving small doses of love here and there.
Kim Soo-hyun is a talented actor who has shown his calibre again and again. His commitment to Hyun-woo is commendable and his expressions are enough to feel the emotions during the episode. I didn’t think Kim Ji-won could top her performance in My Liberation Notes but she continues to show a wide range of emotions.
Queen of Tears is streaming on Netflix.
Also Read: All of Our Queen of Tears Reviews