This review may contain spoilers
A modern storyline under the pretext of a historical sageuk, which it is not.
If you want a drama true to its period, thus deserving the title of historical, even if a period fiction, don’t watch this one…the weight of customs, laws and traditions is purely and simply blown up here, to only keep a minimum.That’s what partnering with Netflix does. Even if under the wings of Studio Dragon.
This being said, this is a quite a gripping and entertaining drama.
The modern fiction storyline is mixed within a sageuk, the sageuk being the pretence to succession schemes, palace plotting, murder, revenge and pardon, or not….
I loved that the queen character is a truly unconditionally motherly mother, and that her sons are all warm-hearted without a hint of wickedness. That is the reason for my 10. The title says it all. She makes the drama, supported by an outstanding cast.
It is fast paced with hardly any dull moment.
There are a lot of topics that are addressed by the drama.
Spoilers:
Why a modern fiction? because the Queen will not only accept and protect her transvestite son, but also harbour and hide the baby another of her sons has out of wedlock with a gisaeng - brought to the palace by her - to be raised in secret by that son in the palace, the gisaeng being hired as a wet nurse in the palace …or when the future crown princess, the daughter of the war minister, is able to travel for many days on her own, to follow her love interest, without safety consideration, not shy in the least, speaking also freely, expressing her feeling and interest in an extremely bold manner, without any serious blame in the end.
A thousand situations that have no historical credibility in the past, but that nonetheless make it entertaining if you consider that this is after all a fiction.
What I didn’t like at all.
1. The very poor filming /production by the night crew, with shaky images when filming close up scenes that will make you uncomfortable.
The quality and beauty of the production just doesn’t stand the comparison with dramas such as The red sleeve, Yanxi palace, Love like the galaxy or Ming Lan, which is too bad because the costumes are beautiful. It makes me wonder about the director’s choice.
2. Big spoiler: and the reason for my -1, because the drama lets down here: The unraveling of the revenge plots in ep. 14 and esp. 15, is really a bit too far fetched with the twists and turns that don’t stand to close scrutiny (I watched the end after ep. 3, so I was very attentive during the unfolding of drama) - esp. with the 2 doctors storyline / one being the son of the former deposed queen and mastermind, having had a son with a concubine passed as one of the king’s sons , or the older doctor who is curing in a plagued village at the beginning of the drama, and who ends up being another revenge mastermind…. But since this is a drama to reflect on motherhood and entertain,, and not aiming at being true to the customs of that period….
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One of the best. Like literally.
This drama has a very special place in my heart for real. It is SO SOSOO GOOD. One of the very few K-dramas that don't have forgotten plotholes that aren't actually forgotten, it gave us everything we needed so it's safe to say it had a satisfying end. The acting was on spot, the actors did what they had to do, and they matched the characters so well too, so it's safe to say it was a perfect cast. ESPECIALLY Kim Hye Soo, I genuinley believe I wouldn't love it as much if she didn't have this role. And for once in a blue moon, they showed what an actual mother is like in a K-drama. She was harsh when she needed to be and soft when she needed to be, but she was still a loving mother thinking of her kids in all of the situations.Everyone really needs to watch it's so underrated T-T. Even my mom who's not a fan of K-dramas really enjoyed it (She was the one that introduced me to it LMAO, a bit ironic I think)
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This review may contain spoilers
Hunger Games - Joseon version
TLDRThe dark comedy tag probably comes from the irony and discrepancies found in series. The funniest thing in this kdrama are the court officials labeling actions as treasonous and recommending to resolve it with actual treasonous solutions - and all the king does is glare ?
The show was hinged on the lack of information sharing - a trope less used in kdramas compared to the worn out "misunderstanding" trope. And why da peck do they keep on discussing their secrets just loud enough for eavesdroppers to hear? ? ?
This entire series would have been a lot shorter if the mother just told her sons their entire line would be annihilated if someone else becomes the crown prince. Because of the lack of information sharing, they remained petulant, unmotivated, and just overall childish.
The Characters
Old granny who hungers for the "Queen" privileges she never experienced decides it was time for her main character era so she flexes and show who is boss.
The queen consort who tries her hand at being authoritarian after years of permissive/neglectful parenting but gets pushed back by her sons in spite of her efforts to shield them from the realities of palace life.
The grand princes who live a life of the idle rich and couldn't wait to leave the palace. Shielded from the realities of palace life, they remain ignorant of how their lives were already in danger just by misbehaving.
Background
Prince Sado did a lot worse than what the grand princes were portrayed to have done in the series and was not punished for a long time in spite of the atrocities and body count he left behind so I was not expecting the Queen to actively put in effort to rein them in.
Inconsistencies
I am surprised at the corporal punishment shown given how by court rules a royal body could not be defiled - but then again, it is fiction so let's shrug it off.
Considering how the kdrama wanted to portray the queen as having switched to authoritarian/authoritative parenting, it didn't make sense that she was not forthright about what would happen if they did not start behaving. One would expect a mother to be honest to her sons about the possibility of their lives being in mortal danger.
Ultimately, this is a story about women in the background pitting their sons against each other for the sake of status, pride and survival while the men strut about in their robes thinking they were actually the ones in power. A true Confucian masterpiece.
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Heartwarming and family-centric
??? Dramabeans' review-recaps summarized everything I might have wanted to say, especially the ones covering the last episodes: www.dramabeans.com/2022/12/under-the-queens-umbrella-episodes-15-16/I think the main cast just really stayed with me: their poignant moments, their warm and rich relationships, and their complex characterizations. IMO one of the best uses of death of a loved one as a motivating force. The flashbacks of the previous Crown Prince's warm and playful moments with his mother and his brother that are flashed to the audience at just the right moments never fail to make me feel emotional. I do also love the complexity of the revenge political plot in the ending, although the ending was rushed. Not without its flaws but I LOVE a middle-aged woman as a protagonist (like EEAO), and the focus on mother-son relationships. More please ?
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Best Korean Series Ever
Greetings, trust me it was really amazing and understandable political, strategical drama. Most strategic series are either too tough to understand or watch along or the other case, it will be very boring, "UTQU" was very entertaining, I did not skip even one scene.Please watch it, the production set was built amazingly.
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WOMEN!!!!
Absolutely going in as one of the best historical dramas have to offer. Half murder mystery and half court intrigue, I think every part of this is very well-crafted and if there were small flaws, it is very hard to remember (or acknowledge that) personally in the full context of the show. It has everything: emotional moments, lighthearted moments, well-written characters, women supporting (and destroying) other women in equal measure, and the age old question of, how far would you go for (maternal) love?Kim Hyesoo stars in a truly once in a lifetime performance -- the writer really took great care into writing her character and portraying it a very multifaceted way, and Kim Hyesoo had shown up every day in that set embodying every quirk of expression, every pitch of voice that I truly felt Im Hwaryung was truly alive in these scenes. I'd also say this is one of all-time best female acting performance, and the best this year.
But to talk about Queen Hwaryung without mentioning the Queen Dowager Cho is discounting the core of the show. While I stumble the criticism of the Queen Dowager as a one-dimensional evil, I personally think that her character is the perfect antagonist -- especially in regards of Queen Hwaryung: she is, after all, a mother who, instead of taking her child under her umbrella, instead had given him the brunt of the guilt of her past sins. And she treats her subjects the same. She is the perfect opposite of Queen Hwaryung.
This is, at the end, a show about the intricacies of motherhood; and in the palace, a queen is also mother to her subjects.
Do give it a try especially if you're new to sageuk! I feel like this is a perfect gateway drama if you want to delve into something historical -- the story is light enough not to be too complicated. How they portray the story and the character takes the centerpiece in this :)
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This review may contain spoilers
I wanna rewatch it again for the first time
I mean just wow. The performances, the music, the story is just on point. I absolutely adored every moment of it, especially the strong subplots. However, the environment and the music really take this up a notch, with the deeply moving tracks used at key moments and how rain/umbrellas are used throughout it.Now for the spoilery part, read at your own discretion (but I'd recommend waiting until at least a third of the way through the series).
I didn't expect it to have a trans character and so it was absolutely awesome to see that. I loved how wonderfully they executed the whole thing, even with the last credit scene. It felt so genuine and raw seeing such a nice parent-child relationship with an actual happy ending. I hope more kdramas can show off queer characters this well and more often, in subplots or main plots.
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Best of this year!
I rarely rate drama's 10/10 but this was it!No drawn-out plotlines, characters with clear motives, alliances, and personalities. Queen was truly one of the best characters I have seen on television, the perfect blend of loving and badass. She wasn't a pushover, nor was she a bulldozer in palace affairs. Queen was incredibly true to her character and protected her children with unconditional love- actually, she loved other people's children equally, especially with how well she treated the other princes, her daughters-in-law, and co-wives.
I loved how each son got his own plot line, but none overshadowed the main plot for too long. The plot was clear, protect her family, or who is left of it. and it was delivered.
As any saeguk goes, this one also did not disappoint in terms of costuming, set and visuals. The music aligned well with the story and added more emotion to every scene.
I was hooked from ep 1 till 16, never a dull moment (which is rare nowadays).
1000000/10 recommend for everyone.
P.S. I loved the Transgender plot line so much and it made my heart warm that it was a happy ending!
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PERFECTION
A synonym of PerfectionHow can this drama be so perfect in each and every way. A little tiny miny spoiler that the drama is well ended they didn't left even one charachter hanging or after the drama you will not felt that what happened to that charachter they covered small small details that is remarkable in its own way
The acting the drama the story the topics it touch is remarkable in every way.....
This drama truly depicts how a mother can go to extents to protect their child I am not just talking about The Queen but also Queen D. Consort Hwang, Consort Ko and other mothers.....
A truely great drama watch it.................................
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Better Than Expected
I initially expected to see an overbearing and annoying mother who hovered heavily over her spoiled children and was pleasantly surprised that this wasn't the case. While the overall palace politics wasn't very unique, the dynamics between the royal family was heart-warming and fun. The switch between the Queen hilariously running around hectically trying to manage her duties and turning somber and hardened when necessary was done really well. Her sons also had great chemistry with one another with the major focus on the crown princes.What does really make this series unique is how they tried to implement different facets of issues with women's rights, which is normally not highlighted particularly in historical drama. And while the Queen is typically a powerful figure, she wasn't portrayed as consistently having to bow to her King or being overly manipulative in order to get what she wants. While manipulation is still naturally rampant, the main relationships are relatively straight-forward with one another and it's also quite refreshing. The best part is nothing was too overly dramatized as with many historical dramas- no drawn out sappy romance scenes and no repetitive and incessant political conversations.
There were a few tearjerker moments but the general overall feel you get from completing the series is cozy. My only two nits is that because the dialogue is spoken pretty slowly at times, I did apply mini-skips to move it along just a tad. And some areas were also a bit overly idealistic but nothing that takes away. Overall, this was one I couldn't help but to binge on with many hours of sacrificed sleep.
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Magnificent piece of work
I was memorized from the first episode until now . I'm currently viewing the 12th episode and I'm still riding this emotional rollercoaster! Kudos to everyone especially the writer (s) because without the foundation and concept of this magnificent piece of work this story would never be told. Bravo to the director for his foresight to bring this drama series to the screen; along with everyone involved with the making of this project!! All I can say without including any spoilers is to watch it for yourselves and you will know exactly what I am talking about ☺️. Breathtaking scenes, cinematography etc. Especially the camaraderie amongst the princes and the dynamics of being a mother!! I want to give "thanks," to all the subbers for giving me the opportunity to embark on this amazing historical journey!! Bravo, bravo ?Was this review helpful to you?
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Best Joseon Queen in Korean Drama
I don't even know where to start this review. I began watching this without much expectations in mind, all I know is it's not the typical saeguk dramas that puts much focus on romance. The series started with a blast, I already know what's bound to happen on the crown prince but nonetheless I appreciate the appearance of Bae In Hyuk here. I love how the Queen's always one step ahead of her rivals. She kept this drama interesting from start to finish. Her acting was on point, I couldn't imagine a greater Queen in a drama set up than her. Under the Queen's Umbrella is a drama that I wish I can watch again for the first time. It was well written, well shot and well executed! One of the best dramas of the year!Was this review helpful to you?
