Rain may pour down on Queen Im Hwa-ryeong, but nothing can stop her from protecting her sons in Under The Queen’s Umbrella.
Birthing a lot of sons with different concubines, highly driven mothers make the best of their sons who could possibly inherit the throne. Like tiger moms in the historical period, viewers may find themselves cheering for their own bet.
Opening Week Rating:
Marcie Line watches Under The Queen’s Umbrella on Netflix
Under The Queen’s Umbrella Opening Week Story
“Pillars cannot stand straight without a foundation.”
Urgently looking for her son, Queen Im Hwa-ryeong fetches Prince Mu-an who slept the night with a girl in bed. Unlike Prince Mu-an, the Crown Prince visits Queen Dowager, wishing her to live long.
Meanwhile, the King is stern about never letting his people starve, so to resolve the issue of sending supplies to the plagued village in Seochon, the King suggests building temporary relief stations nearby.
While other princes ride their palanquins to Jonghak, their eunuchs line up and reserve seats for them. Meanwhile, Prince Gye-seong lines up by himself and calmly chooses his spot.
Queen Hwa-ryeong wakes up Il-yeong for Jonghak, but barely arrives at the same time as the Queen Dowager and the King. The lesson starts with the King’s question about ice becoming water, and Prince Ui-seong, Gye-seong, and Bo-geom participate in class.
Catching everyone’s attention, Prince Seong-nam comes in late for class. After the class, Queen Dowager invites Consort Hwang for tea. She also scolds Queen Hwa-ryeong for the grand princes’ behavior. However, speaking up to that, Queen Hwa-ryeong defends herself for not pressuring her sons in academics since kings are trained in Sigangwon.
Leaving Queen Dowager, Queen Hwa-ryeong feels delighted for speaking up and also hearing that the Crown Prince received outstanding marks.
Walking together, the Crown Prince faints, and the Queen becomes busy taking care of him, forgoing Queen Dowager’s request to see her.
“One’s criticisms only ring hollow unless one earns their right.”
Aware of the reason why Prince Seong-nam attacked her son, Consort Hwang punishes Prince Ui-seong for criticizing the Queen. Unmoved by it for being the real firstborn of the King, Consort Hwang reminds her son that he should earn his title.
Calling in a physician, the Queen hears that the Crown Prince has Hyeolheogwol, the same disease that killed Crown Prince Taein. Keeping it a secret while believing it is still treatable, the Queen attempts to ask for the King’s permission to bring in Royal physician Cho Guk-yeong who may remember the remedy he used on the past crown prince.
Ready to go to the King’s quarters, the Queen postpones her visit seeing the shoes outside the King’s place. Coming back to her quarters, the Queen sees Queen Dowager waiting for her outside in the rain.
Insisting to talk outside, the Queen hears that the grand princes were punished for attacking Prince Ui-seong, and she releases them from their grandmother’s punishment.
Because of the topic of the tutelage of relations, Prince Mu-an becomes motivated and participative in class about the right approach to sexual intercourse.
In the meeting called by the Queen, a new concubine arrives, Court Lady Park, and the concubines argue on which side distinguished concubines should sit. Arriving at the meeting, the Queen announces that the cohort of the crown prince is vacant. While most concubines were enticed in letting their sons apply for it, Consort Hwang sees that it may be either an opportunity or a trap.
Inspired by the Queen Dowager, the concubines rush to the Dowager’s chamber, but Consort Tae arrives first even after receiving the blessing of the Queen for Prince Bo-geom’s participation. There, she learns of the book that the Dowager used to make her son the king.
Since royal physician Cho is away, the Queen lets go of the urgency for the physician in front of the King. Walking back to her quarters, the Queen hears how the Dowager requested the cohort selection and gave Consort Tae a book.
Back in her chambers, she is shocked to see the Dowager who discovered the Crown Prince’s disease. Only caring about the King, the Queen Dowager questions the grand princes’ worthiness in inheriting the throne just because of being legitimate.
To earn the concubines’ loyalty, Queen Dowager delivers copies of her book to them in secret.
“Nothing is more enraging than something that happens unannounced.”
Visiting Consort Hwang at night, the Queen Dowager uses a metaphor to describe the Crown Prince’s condition and encourages her to let Prince Ui-seong participate in the cohort selection.
Though unwelcomed at first, the Queen hears from Queen Yoon how Queen Dowager made her son the King despite being a concubine. She hears about how the past crown prince really didn’t die because of the disease, and her other sons’ lives were endangered since they were seen as a threat even though they have no desire of coming back to royalty.
To anger the King more, Queen Dowager decides to keep her silence on the Crown Prince’s disease. Concubines become busy following Dowager’s book, and Consort Hwang reassures Prince Ui-seong that they can restore what’s rightfully theirs.
The Crown Prince regains consciousness, and the Queen takes the past queen’s advice and prepares to persuade the grand princes in participating in the cohort selection.
In her best efforts to avoid yelling as suggested by Court Lady Shin, the Queen loses her cool and directly tells her sons to participate in the cohort selection. Prince Gye-seong volunteers to join while the rest remains disinterested and prefers to get married to leave the palace.
Hearing again Prince Ui-seong insult the Queen, Prince Seong-nam grabs him by the neck even with all the eyes surrounding them.
Consulting Lord Min, the Queen hears none of the grand princes can qualify not because of their intelligence, but instead their lack of determination. Moreover, princes Seong-nam and Gye-seong are at risk of being labeled as delinquents.
Curious why Prince Gye-seong is at risk of that label, the Queen follows him, and feels shocked at what she saw. Court Lady Shin finds the Queen crying in the same place as when she just entered the palace, and as she also saw what the Queen saw, the Queen relies on her.
“I need to stay strong. Who else will protect my sons, if not me?”
The Crown Prince visits Prince Seong-nam, and the two recall their fond memories together in Seochon. Sounding like he’s leaving asking his younger brother to look out for his son, the Crown Prince encourages Prince Seong-nam to join the cohort selection.
Prince Seong-nam arrives on time just before the list’s collection. News about the participation of all her sons in the cohort selection surprises the Queen. The King also feels amazed by the overflowing interest in the selection since he wishes to select a prince opposite to the upright crown prince. While other concubines hire professional tutors for their sons, the Queen scans the Sigangwon books and marks possible questions herself.
Moreover, she also looks for records on Crown Prince Taein’s disease, but most of it was said to be lost in the fire. Alternatively, she becomes determined in looking for a witness named Yoo Sang-uk who is impossible to be found.
Preparing her disinterested sons, the Queen stresses the importance of preparing hard for the selection. Prince Seong-nam confronts their mother for giving false hope, but she vaguely explains herself as wanting to protect them.
Going again to the abandoned chambers, Prince Gye-seong gets followed by Consort Ko who is curious about the Queen’s preparation for the cohort selection. Peeking through, she feels shocked to see him wearing makeup in feminine clothes.
Under The Queen’s Umbrella Opening Week Musings
Like any other historical drama, one may not fully grasp what makes it unique and interesting not until the second episode’s revelation of shocking secrets. While an impending power struggle begins to brew, a lovely brotherhood with distinct personalities can be found in the bunch.
No longer a good guy in the series, it’s refreshing to see Chani as Prince Ui-seong, who has a great desire for power. Actor Moon Sang-min as Prince Seong-nam shows his potential in portraying a major role in a full series after being in web dramas.
Much of the conflict has been properly introduced in the opening, and the Queen Dowager contributes largely to it. Though she has a point in scolding the queen’s mischievous sons, her observable fondness for Consort Hwang shows her dark motives.
Since the opening, Queen Im Hwa-ryeong has been shown busy and stressed with all of her sons, yet Queen Dowager implies she is still lacking. To some extent, she’s liable for being loose on the grand princes, but at the same time, she’s just a mother refusing to put pressure on her sons for an aimless cause.
However, knowing now the crown prince is sick, Queen Hwa-ryeong does her all for her other sons to participate in the cohort selection. Despite her quick feet and loud voice to her sons, the grand princes have shown their will to cooperate, and their promising determination for the first exam can be anticipated in the next episodes.
Cheer for Queen Hwaryeong as she straightens up her sons to be worthy of the throne in Under The Queen’s Umbrella every Saturday and Sunday on Netflix.
Photos: tvN Drama
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K-Drama First Look: “Under The Queen’s Umbrella” Beams On a Competitive Race of Kingmakers
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