Under the Queen’s Umbrella – K-Drama Episode 9 Recap & Review

Simson’s Plight

Episode 9 from Under the Royal Umbrella starts with queen Dowager doubling her efforts at making sure that none of Hwa Ryeong’s sons become kings. Following her confrontation with Hwa-Ryeong in the last episode, the situation isn’t looking good.

The other reaches out directly to King Seongnam and tells him about the assault on Seongnam and demands justice. The King is subdued, but Hwa-Ryeong insists that she’ll be adamant and seek retribution in the event of a repeat incident.

When the King goes off to visit his mother, Queen Dowager cleverly tries to convince him that she’s poisoned. Remember the cuckoo mug serving as a warning during the previous episode? With Dowager’s Court Lady present to confirm the story, Dowager takes on the role of the victim and pretends she’s sick.

The pendulum swings back and hits Hwa-Ryeong on the head since the King believes that Hwa Ryeong intentionally deceived him in an attempt to end the Dowager’s life. When the King finally does leave, the Dowager will be returning to her usual clever character.

Hwa-Ryeong is suspicious of something and wonders if Dowager has changed his mind about Uiseong in favor of Boom. And, perhaps, is deciding to back both horses. To try to discover the truth about her activities the Consort Tae is used by Hwa-Ryeong as Pawn. However, Dowager can see this coming an eon away and chooses to apply Consort Tae as a “simple” Consort for her use of her own shady devices.

Hwa-Ryeong will then go to meet the State Councillor. They will question his motives for the bandits that he sent to the island to capture Sangseong. As they’ve nabbed the co-captain in the first place, he’s more than willing to speak after the torture he endured last time and then immediately refers to the state councilor to be the person who issued the order.

As we all know, the State Councillor works for Queen Dowager, and Hwa-Ryeong too is aware. She reveals to the State Councilor about this she can, proving that he’s being blamed for this and asking where his loyalty is, particularly since the Queen Dowager is most likely to be backing Bogeom at the moment.

While the Princes carry on in their quest and some are more determined than others. Hodong is completely uninterested in the whole situation, while the competitors were reduced to only six contenders.

We know that Simso, Bogeom, and Sangseong are among them, as they are still being examined to determine who is capable of taking their reward back. Simson however, falls in the back of the palace with bruises all over his hands and is completely battered and broken. His mother is determined to get him to move forward, and she tells the guards to not accept Simson, comparing the situation to that of a begging man on the streets.

Ko’s desire for power and wealth has led her to turn to her husband. In actual fact, in her quest for power, she actually discovers the truth about Gyeseong’s past uncovering documents and sending the sketch of the composite before Consort Hwang. It’s a scandalous matter and could be used to sway Hwa-Ryeong to the point of submission.

The Consort Ko will see the Queen shed in blood, concluding that she’s to blame for Simso being unable to participate in the contest after showing the man kindness and welcoming Simso back into the palace. After her remarks about her son’s denial, Simson is found hanging from the rafters and tries to attempt suicide. Luckily, he’s cut and taken to a doctor prior to the problem getting worse. Thankfully, it’s not over yet.

Hwa-Ryeong lays delicate contact with the Consort, then tells her that she’s already received the worst punishment for her past actions and is hopeful that Simso will come back to her after he’s recovered

If Simso is able to regain consciousness, Hwa Ryeong is waiting to talk to him. She explains in detail her situation, and Simso confesses that he’s never thought of becoming the Crown Prince. In fact the idea of being one caused him to get a headache! In the end, Hwa-Ryeong says he wasn’t a failure completely, but he wasn’t completely interested in it.

Ko’s impulsive behavior could be explained by the fact that Simso learned to read at a very young age and consequently his mother was always having high expectations of his performance.

A subplot that involves the monk Hashim leads to tragedy when the monk is accused of killing a person named Choi Gil-Myeong. While Hashim is innocent, prince Uiseong is the actual killer, and worse is that he has committed the crime in an attempt to ensure the man’s return to the palace in order that he will be able to take on the crown prince role. This is the only way that this man can get his freedom, therefore it’s a bit of a puzzle.

Consort Hwang and the State Councilor appear to meet the Queen Dowager. She tries to dispel the rumors of her backing Bogeom. She laughs at the claims and instructs the Councillor to comply with her instructions and stop thinking about himself. She refers to the past and the State Councillor is furious, asking questions about what she’s planning on doing.

Hwa-Ryeong is next scheduled to meet Minister Yoon who is encouraging him to remain unconcerned between his State Councillor as well as Queen Dowager. If she succeeds in doing that she’ll offer an opportunity for him based on who is his next crown prince. However, this is complicated by the connections with Sangseong who asks his Minister of War to remain in Yoon Cheong-Ha.

The episode is about to end the episode, and Hwa-Ryeong discovers that Doctor Kwon was responsible for taking care of Consort Hwang. He was able to treat her stomach ulcers a few years ago. This is why Hwa-Ryeong realized that the two actually had a relationship. Not just that, but the Consort Hwang was the one who suggested he assume the role of his Crown Prince. Did they conspire?

The Episode Review

The Under the Queen’s umbrella comes to an end today with a dark and politically-charged chapter that continues to weave this web of lies and backstabbing. It’s clear now that Consort Hwang has been working with Kwon and that they could be involved in this together.

In addition, the Queen Dowager continues to strengthen particularly when the sketch composite of Gyeseong is now in their possession to utilize some time into the future.

The show has succeeded so far, keeping the character drama fresh and this Taekhyeon deciding who will become The next crown prince is a good method of giving everyone a reason to do while Hwa-Ryeong and the Queen Dowager fight. Everything is nicely set in the upcoming episode.