The main character had a completely different fate.
On April 28, KST, the tvN drama Queen of Tears aired its final episode, breaking the record of the highest viewership in the network’s history with a 24.9% rating.
Despite this great achievement, the finale drew mixed reactions from viewers, mostly for “skipping through” the happy moments between the lead couple, Baek Hyun Woo (Kim Soo Hyun) and Hong Hae In (Kim Ji Won) and focusing more on Hae In’s eventual death.
Most fans, however, were relieved that the finale did not go for a sad ending, as was anticipated due to the storyline establishing from early on that Hae In was a terminal patient. The concluding moments of the final episode showed Hae In and Hyun Woo walking with their daughter, which transitioned into a scene showing Hyun Woo with gray hair visiting Hae In’s grave. The tombstone said that Hae In passed away in 2074, implying that the couple got to live a long life together.
But now online communities are abuzz with the speculation that the show was originally planned to have a sad ending, with Hong Hae In passing away in 2034. A supposedly leaked picture of Hae In’s original tombstone has been circulating online, which substantiates this claim.
Some also argued that the epilogue showed pictures of Hyun Woo and Hae In with their daughter at a very young age only. There were no pictures of the daughter growing up, nor were there photos of the lead couple at older ages.
Many are speculating that the drama team might have filmed two different versions of the ending and chosen the happier one at the last minute. Interestingly, it is speculated that scriptwriter Park Ji Eun planned two different endings for her previous drama Crash Landing on You as well.
Netizens are divided by the possibility of an alternative ending. While some feel it would have been devastating, others argued that it would have been more impactful.
