Under The Queen’s Umbrella

Starring: Kim Hye-Soo, Choi Won-Young, Moon Sang-Min, Kim Hae-Sook
I am not a fan of Korean period dramas, those elaborative head gears, uncomfortable looking clothes and continuous bowing, are something I can’t relate to. However, when I realised that I had not watched a single K-drama starting with the alphabet Q, I had to find one. There were a lot of dramas featuring Queen, however, this one for some reason caught my eye. I think I got drawn to it because it was a story of a Mother Queen, and nowadays, I am looking for dramas with which I can relate to, and that should not be just a mindless romance.
Queen Im Hwang (Kim Hye-Soo) is the mother of 5 royal princes, the eldest of whom is the Crown Prince. However, the Crown Prince soon falls sick and before her eyes, the helpless Queen seeds her eldest son withering away. Later on, she comes to know that the Prince was poisoned. In the palace, apart from the Queen, there is the Mother Queen who is not only an evil person but also hates Im Hwang from the bottom of her heart. She wants to dispose the Queen and her sons, and wants one of the princes of the many consorts and concubines of the King to be the Royal Prince.
In order to retain her position as the Queen, it is imperative that one of the remaining four sons of Im Hwang be the next Crown Prince. It’s not an easy feat, her four sons are lazy and irresponsible, and now suddenly when they are asked to fight to be the Crown Prince, they don’t take the suggestion kindly. But to fulfil their mother’s wish, they get into the conquest, albeit half-heartedly. A few sons give up in the middle, while few compete till the end.
What is important is not who becomes the Crown Prince, but how the entire story pans out. Kim Hye-Soon as the Queen is exceptional, she has carried the entire show on her shoulders. If not for her, I would not have watched the show at all.
The story is riveting, and all the characters, whether playing evil or good, have well contributed to the show. The dirty politics of the palace, the interesting war of words between the Queen and the Mother Queen, kept me hooked till the end.
In the end, I admit I was fascinated with the beautiful brocade gowns and the huge headpins the ladies of the palace wore.
Watch “Under the Queen’s Umbrella” for a peep into the palace life and politics of the Joseon era.
This post is a part of #BlogchatterA2Z 2023.
I love period dramas. This has been on my watchlist for some time now. I think ill finally give it a watch!
You will enjoy it Careena. That’s my assurance.
Wow- this sounds intense. So much drama and that also period based!!! I am actually tempted by this one Anshu. Lets see if I do go for it 😉
It was quite intense, and the cliffhangers at the end of the each episode were too much for me to handle. I finished watching 16 episodes of 1 hr each in 3 days flat. You can imagine the curiosity and excitement 🙂