Under the Queen’s Umbrella (슈룹) is a historical Korean drama series directed by Kim Hyung-shik, and stars Kim Hye-soo as Queen Im Hwa-ryeong, Kim Hae-sook as Queen Dowager, and Choi Won-young as King Lee-ho. Others joining the show include Moon Sang-min as Grand Prince Seong-nam, Bae In-hyuk as Crown Prince, Yoo Seon-ho as Grand Prince Gye-seong, Kang Chan-hee as Prince Ui-seong alongside other cast members.
The series takes on tvN’s Saturday-Sunday 09.10 PM timeslot previously occupied by Little Women. Under the Queen’s Umbrella Episode 7 has a runtime of 63 minutes.
Netflix describes the series as:
A SPIRITED QUEEN TRIES TO REIN IN HER ROWDY SONS IN ORDER TO MAKE ONE OF THEM THE NEXT KING OF JOSEON, WHILE HER COMPETITORS VIE TO SNATCH THE THRONE.
-Under the Queen’s Umbrella Episode 7 Recap Contains Spoilers-
A furious Queen Hwa-ryeong personally threatens to kill the Grand Heir’s nurse-maid for having played an atrocious ‘game’ and pricked his thighs with a needle. She demands to know who was behind the poisoning act but since the maid’s family is held hostage, she kills herself instead, claiming that the one responsible for it all is far more able and sinister than anyone else so the Queen’s support would be of no help to her.
Hwa-ryeong’s quarters were almost set on fire as well but saved just in time. The Crown Princess wishes to leave the palace because she knows the murder attempts will never end. However, Hwa-ryeong asks her to hold her own and protect her son within the premises.
The confrontations between Queen Dowager and the King continue as both of them pin the responsibility and burdens of the dark past on each other. Dowager commands him to give his consent for ‘taekhyeon’, if not, she’ll do whatever it takes to bring the Queen down.
All the Grand Princes are worried about their mother who’s locked herself inside her quarters. They bring her food and ask her if they’ll all be killed if ‘taekhyeon’ is put into motion. Hwa-ryeong assures them that she’ll never let such a thing befall her family. Meanwhile, Seong-nam plunges forth to take responsibility for having brought the medicine from outside and comes clean to the King, his father. Hwa-ryeong keeps up with her investigation but nothing turns up to her aid.
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Court Lady Shin is summoned by Queen Dowager, who punishes her for not informing her about Hwa-ryeong meeting up with the deposed Queen. This time though she retorts back and claims that despite running a few errands on behalf of her, she’s always served Hwa-ryeong since the beginning. She and Hwa-ryeong discuss why Dowager hasn’t mentioned anything about the deposed Queen in the interrogation, to which Hwa-ryeong reveals that Dowager confessed her role in killing Crown Prince Taein, which is probably why she fears bringing this issue up in the court.
Hwa-ryeong and Chief Councilor Won-hyeong can’t seem to stop butting heads with each other. She makes haste to the prison to ensure that Physician Kwon isn’t being tortured to alter his statements but Won-hyeong has his own ways of consolidating the royal commands, forcing her to turn away. His daughter, Consort Tae, visits Kwon and comforts him later.
Seong-nam rushes to search for Master Toji to support his claims and innocence but Toji has no plans of getting caught in the mess. Back at the palace, the interrogation resumes with reports of no poison having been detected in the autopsy. Royal Physician Cho maintains his words of the unidentified medicine being the cause of his death.
And though the King already knows the answer, he officially asks Kwon about the source of the medicine, thus eventually blurting out the Queen’s name. Hwa-ryeong is left with no choice but to respond to the allegations. On being further questioned about who handed the medicine to her, she mentions the Crown Princess’ name instead, which leaves the entire court in shambles, but puts an end to the interrogation.
The King’s councilors raise the idea of deposing the Queen and the Grand Heir, with Won-hyeong leading the notion as always. However, the King has had enough of it and leaves. Seong-nam returns empty-handed but beseeches him to not give up yet.
Hwa-ryeong visits Dowager’s quarters unannounced and threatens her about Crown Prince Taein’s murder. She agrees to keep it quiet only if she’s able to convince the Chief State Councillor to stop going back and forth against her. She gives her word to demote the Crown Princess and the Grand Heir to commoners and nods to the idea of ‘taekhyeon’ so that neither of them is executed. In addition to that, she also gives her word to step down as the Queen if neither of the Grand Princes is able to attain the stance of the Crown Prince.
Dowager has a different way of interpreting it as a scheme meant to discard the Crown Princess but Hwa-ryeong chooses to play along. Won-hyeong, however, once he meets his daughter has other plans to pursue the elimination of the Grand Heir, just as she wishes.
All wishes of relieving Kwon from his position and demoting the Grand Princess and the Grand Heir are acquiesced by the King, while also forbidding any kind of interaction with them. As the two are being exiled from the palace, Seong-nam makes it in time to meet them, especially having lived the same sentence all through his childhood. And just like the Crown Prince had promised to bring him back to the palace one day, Seong-nam asks his nephew to wait for him as well.
Won-hyeong’s command of executing the Grand Heir is echoed as the Crown Princess and her children are being taken away from the rest. Simultaneously, Hwa-ryeong looks at the procession in her disguise. Once it’s time to seal the deal, the guards lift up the veil of the carrier and are astounded to find no one inside. As could’ve been expected, it was Hwa-ryeong’s plan all along as she accepted the Crown Princess’ wish to be let out of the palace, but in turn, also secures a safer place of dwelling for them and promises their return to the palace in time.
In another flashback, Seong-nam accuses his mother of having sacrificed them for her position. Yet again, she outrightly agrees that she can only protect her entire family if she stays in power. As her final response, she asks him to join her and take his brother’s place as the Crown Prince, who’s more than willing to risk everything to achieve this.
Under the Queen’s Umbrella Episode 7 Ending
The second lady-in-waiting in Hwa-ryeong’s court comes back with a letter left behind by Kwon, whose whereabouts can’t be traced anymore. In the letter, he apologizes for his confession at the interrogation as he couldn’t endure the painful torment. He guarantees her that the medicine wasn’t responsible for her son’s death. Later, he joins Master Toji, and his original ties with him are revealed. Hwa-ryeong has another mission to find all his past connections and origins.
Her and the King’s exchange regarding ‘taekhyeon’ is also visualized wherein the former hopes for the absolute meaning of the process to find its footing this time in choosing the worthiest candidate who fears his people and not the court officials. Laying her trust in her sons, she believes in them wholeheartedly but also requests the King to choose the most deserving candidate no matter what happens. And with that, the doors for ‘taekhyeon’ are opened by him with the condition that his say in the matter will be final, as the concept wasn’t about being favored by the officials but about proving one’s worth.
Prince Bo-geum pays an unexpected visit to Queen Dowager and returns her secret book, with the firm belief that the book had nothing to do with the ascension of the King to the throne, rather it was Dowager’s effort that pulled through to make him into a worthy candidate. As a result, he urges her to make it happen for him as well.
With all princes now back in the race as per the King’s declaration, they’re all secretly pulled into the contest with the first match being a race.
Under the Queen’s Umbrella Episode 7 Review
Goosebumps all the way. The seventh episode was a delightful turn in the story that kept up with the race and loosened the harness when it was required. With a balanced emotional outpour leading the way, this episode is a clear winner. Although it isn’t an original statement at this juncture, Queen Hwa-ryeong is still the best aspect of the show, who reins the rest of the better strings to draw out a web that is enough to pull us all in.
The King and Queen Hwa-ryeong’s relationship is another such winning aspect of the series that only keeps getting better with each outing. Their mutual respect and trust in each other is a gift to us all, and a worthy opponent to Queen Dowager’s vile ulterior motives. Hwa-ryeong’s absolute belief in her sons and their loving relationship with each other has kept the show grounded since day one. Her affection for her entire family is a golden vision that could’ve easily been weaponized by Dowager, as she attempts to do each time around. Nevertheless, it has only strengthened both her character and the glistening respect in their eyes for her.
My absolute favorite bit of the lot is that the series doesn’t drive Hwa-ryeong to the edge to pick one of the two – her family or her royal position. Each conspiracy that is put as an obstacle in her path further bridges the gap between the two, an unusual feat especially for women characters in the mainstream and our society as well.
Generally, women are constantly forced to make their pick out of the two and leave the other behind. However, with Hwa-ryeong this image of ‘otherization’ of the second option doesn’t work because the safety of her family is innately linked to her stance as the Queen, which too isn’t thrown in as a token to be appropriated, rather she takes pride in her Queenly duties just as much as she’s willing to go against all odds to protect her family.
What makes her the best in the lot isn’t that she is the Queen but the fact that she’s a rounded character who not only knows how to keep her head above the water but also has the strength to pull everyone’s act together seamlessly.
Under the Queen’s Umbrella Episode 7 is now streaming on Netflix.
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