Under the Queen’s Umbrella – K-Drama Episode 5 Recap & Review

The Fate Of The Realm

Episode 5 of Under The queen’s umbrella begins with the news about the health of the Crown Prince spreading throughout the palace. When the King discovers that he has Hyeolheogwol, he is shocked. The King demands that the Prince be examined again, but the doctors warn him that more examinations could cause the Prince even more harm as the disease is in its advanced stages. Hwa Ryeong, who has a history of homophobia as well as the words of Master Toji still ringing in her head, tells them to not do this.

The King suddenly springs into action. He orders the palace guards to imprison Physician Kwon, and escort Hwa–Ryeong back into her chambers. She has been banned from any palace activities and she is not allowed to see Crown Prince. Her sons are also banned from palace activities and can’t see the Crown Prince.

The Queen Dowager arrives to tell them to leave. But Sangseon resists and refuses to listen. This is a very common occurrence between them, as we can see from a flashback from the Dowager telling Sangseon to do the same.

The Queen continues to work tirelessly as she is tasked with transcribing Confucius’s text and Dodeokgyeong in punishment for her actions. Given the five days she has, Court Lady Shin suggests that she slow down and pace herself. She doesn’t listen and transcribes the entire thing. The Royal Eunuch immediately calls her and asks if the Crown Prince is still breathing.

Hwa-Ryeong encourages the Royal Eunuch to not leave the Crown Prince with anyone, particularly Physician Cho because his life is in danger.

Hwang, the Chief State Councillor continues to plan and decides that patriotic scholars should submit petitions to King. It would strengthen them all together, and the Queen Dowager would oversee everything.

All of these men have come together to try and depose the Crown Princess and exile him. The papers are signed anonymously, of course. The palace is filled with scholars who speak one after another until the Chief State Counsellor stops them all and says they must wait. The King declines to take any action immediately.

Outside, the Chief state councillor smiles at Minister Yoon and tells him that he refused it immediately in order to throw off any suspicions of the King. This may have been an indication that he had instated one of his sons to run the country, particularly if he felt the Crown Prince was in peril. They will wait and take their time.

Prince Bogeom, who is well aware that there are scheming activities, speaks to the King that afternoon. He tells him to not fall for the Scholars’ scheming schemes and to stay vigilant.

Seongnam sneaks into Hwa Ryeong’s house that night and discovers that the alternative medicine might actually have been effective. After all, it’s not the reason for the blood. Kwon, Physician Kwon, confirms this and promises to keep quiet about the medicine from the outside. Seongsan is not the only one who feels this way. Queen Dowager orders her men to blindfold Seongsan and demands answers from Kwon. Kwon then reveals that he works for the Queen.

Hwa-Yeong, despite this, uses her contacts to get alternative medicine for the Crown Prince. She works with different individuals from different parts of the palace and trades medicine and messages. The bleeding seems to have stopped, but the Crown Prince remains unconscious.

Hwa-Ryeong knows she must get out of her chamber. She disguises herself and heads there alone. Hwa-Ryeong pretends she is a court maid, and since most people haven’t seen her face but are more interested in other things than her, she can sneak into different areas. She would have if it weren’t for all the ministers outside of the King’s quarters bowing and chanting to the Crown Prince to be deposed.

Hwa-Ryeong escapes and arranges a meeting with Queen Yoon to discuss her belief that Crown Prince Taein has been murdered. Yoon believes this and points out that the puppetmaster was Queen Dowager.

The court officials suggested the Taekhyeon that was performed during the previous reign. However, this was clearly done under Queen Dowager’s orders. Now, Queen Dowager appears to visit the King following the deposition and asks him to agree to their request. The Dowager continues to question the King’s ancestry, saying “You will not have to stop them.” He won’t be able to inherit the throne without their support and could even lose all of his wealth, as he is a son to a concubine.

Hwa-Ryeong arrives in her usual attire and confronts the ministers. She questions their actions and wonders if they are just. She points out that while she wants the best for the Kingdom, she also believes in destroying the lineage and causing chaos. She asks, “What is it that you really want?” Chief State Councillor responds and questions her.

The situation escalates and looks set to explode until the King informs them that any plans to overthrow the Crown Prince and kill him will be considered treason. This is especially true when the Crown Prince is still struggling to stay alive. The scholars’ coup is ended, at least temporarily.

Hwa-Ryeong discovers that the Crown Prince is awake, and only for a second. Hwa-Ryeong rushes into his chamber, but it’s too late. The Crown Prince has died. Hwa-Ryeong is stunned and recalls the words of her son, telling her to remain strong and take care of her sons.

The Episode Review

Things are not looking good. Many questions remain over the throne now that the Crown Prince has died, including what the future holds for the realm and who will be the Crown Prince. The Queen Dowager has been attempting to retake his position at the top. However, now that the Crown Prince is dead, it’s likely that she will double her efforts to wrest control of the King.

It is amazing to see Hwa-Ryeong use her determination and strength throughout this episode. This reinforces how strong she is throughout all of it. We haven’t seen much of her other sons which is disappointing. We’ll wait to see if that changes.