Summary
Queen of Tears continues to be intriguing thanks to its ambiguous character dynamics and motivations.
Like Episode 3 before it, Episode 4 is a real step up for Queen of Tears in how it digs into the fundamentals of Hyeon-woo and Hae-in’s backstory and marriage, while also establishing Eun-seon as a sinister villain with a mysterious motivation. Season 1 remains a fairly slow burn full of deliberately inscrutable characterization, but that’s the point, and thus far it’s working pretty well.
The most essential question remains the most obvious – how does Hyeon-woo really feel about his wife? Initially, it seemed pretty cut-and-dry that he had fallen out of love with her and simply wanted to ensure that she left him something worthwhile in her will when she passed away. However, it’s clear that Hyeon-woo still has lingering feelings for Hae-in. He was jealous about Eun-seon’s advances, stepped in to save her from a charging boar in Episode 2 rather instinctively, and remains confused about how he really feels.
And his confusion isn’t good for Hae-in either, since it results in confusion of her own. She assumes he’s trying to win her back, as she wouldn’t assume he’s trying to worm his way into her inheritance, but the clincher is that he might be trying to win her back without even realizing it yet. As it turns out, this is quite a compelling basis for a character drama.
What is Eun-seong up to?
Every drama needs a villain, and in Queen of Tears that is clearly Eun-seong. Initially, he seemed like a love rival, trying whatever he could to sow more discord between Hae-in and Hyeon-woo, but Episode 4 reveals him to be an enemy of the Queen Empire in general.
Eun-seong wants to initiate legal proceedings against Chairman Hong Man-dae on the basis of some financial shenanigans. It’s a classic takeover mission, meaning that Hae-in, with whom Eun-seong continues to feign interest in, is just a convenient “in”. This also elevates the importance of the family dynamic, and Hae-in’s mother’s bias towards Soo-cheol, whom Eun-seong targets in business dealings.
Queen of Tears remains class-conscious
Another interesting underlying theme that we highlighted yesterday, and that very much persists in Episode 4, is class, which goes some way towards explaining why Hyeon-woo and Hae-in’s marriage was so unsuccessful.
The respective families are so far apart socioeconomically that their orbits never really intersected. Hae-in never really made an effort with Hyeon-woo’s family, and thus Hyeon-woo’s family felt demeaned and ostracised.
This isn’t strictly a failing of Hae-in, it’s more of an inevitability of circumstance, something culturally baked in. But it matters because marriages are, for the most part, unions between two families, and not just two people. Hae-in and Hyeon-woo never had that, and thus never had the support and understanding it brings. Hae-in goes some way towards rectifying this here, but is it too little too late?
How does Queen of Tears Season 1 Episode 4 end?
At the end of Episode 4, Hae-in visits Hyeon-woo’s hometown after receiving a message from his sister. Her father is running in a local election and Hae-in’s presence could help him win the seat. So, she goes along, stirring up a fuss in the town with her mere presence.
This is confusing for Hyeon-woo, who rushes back, but he’s just in time for Hae-in to slip into another one of her fugue states. With no idea where she is or how she got there, Hae-in is once again “saved” by her husband, only further implying that their marriage is far from over.
