Umbrella (2022)

The Drama of 2022 That Has Everything You Could Ever Want

I think it's safe to say this is one of the best things I've ever seen.
I loved this drama so much.
I've never written any reviews on here before, but I think this one deserves it.

The drama has ended, but it will always be with me.
I was sceptical about the drama having only "16" episodes (there were so many stones unturned), but everything was executed well.
They gave us an excellent, satisfying ending; it has to be one of my favourites. Everything tied together perfectly at the end.
I have a lot of respect for the writer; it was their first drama, yet all the elements were perfect, and they included so much in just 16 episodes!

The characters were all complex and interesting.
I love Kim Hye Soo, and she was brilliant in this. Her character is one of the best female leads I've seen. She's strong, understanding, kind, and just the best. All of the Grand Princes were perfect; they had their flaws, but that's what made them so lovable. I adored getting to know them and their stories.
All of the characters were fantastic, including the Queen Dowager in all her evil glory (I despise her guts, but her character is admirable).

I think Under The Queen's Umbrella is severely underrated; people automatically deem it boring because it's a historical, but I have to say, I never felt bored, not even for a second.
This is one of those gems that surpasses all your expectations. (Even though I actually had a lot of expectations because I love Kim Hye Soo)
Historicals have a stereotype, one of being boring, but sometimes you need to look at the broader picture and give things a shot.

This drama is full of everything you could want: mystery, action, romance, politics, strong characters, and more!
This was a heartwarming and lovely show, and it is one I will rewatch time and time again.
Highly, highly recommended!

If it's not obvious already, I give it a 10/10.
No, scratch that; this drama deserves a 1000/10. (I still can't believe it is the writer's first drama. Everything, and I mean everything, was perfect.)

Leggi di Più

phenomenal

This drama is historical and I've been seeing a lot of complaints towards the genre as a whole, saying it's boring. I haven't looked too into the review for this one, but I can say my opinions towards it are very positive.

To start off, I think it is incredibly underrated. The production of the drama is insane, and it is beautiful in every shot. Every shot is detailed and adds to the premise of the story, and none of what is shown is filler. It comes down to even the little moments that focus on hands, rain, etc. The cinematography is stellar and from a directing standpoint this drama is nothing less than that. What comes down to making this drama really good is all of the elements coming together. A lot of shows can have a good cast with a bad script, or a bad cast with a good script. This one pulls together what it had so well and is not overdone. The cast is pretty much star-studded, quite literally as you have SF9's Chani included as well. I have seen some complaints about the secondary characters not being acted as well and that the main lead Kim Hye Soo is carrying the show, and to that I will explain. Kim Hye Soo is a veteran actress who has been doing this for years, and she is by far the best actress here. I can see that she may overshadow, but it is all the credit to her. She is just one of the best actresses out there and her co stars are young and haven't done it as long. What I am getting at is that she is amazing and the other acting isn't bad at all, she is just so so so good at acting that you might compare her to her co-stars.

With that being said... I am pleasantly surprised by all the acting efforts of the whole entire cast. With some new faces that I haven't ever seen personally in a drama, none of them are over or underacting at all. The story is pretty easy to follow, a Queen's ambition for one of her sons to succeed and become a crown prince. The story may be simple, but every character is picked apart and that makes it very interesting.

Each prince has their talents and things they are good at, but they are all very flawed. Each flaw gets its turn to shine, and each talent does as well. You can sympathize with even the princes that aren't directly the Queen's son. Every young person in this drama has a lot of weight held over them and they don't take the situation they are in lightly. The drama starts off lighthearted, but it descends to be deeper and more emotional. It's a story about family and survival, and a beautiful one at that.

There are a lot of characters in this show and you would think I would forget a few or get lost. I haven't gotten lost at all, instead I grow further intrigued by each episode and scene with every character.

The only complaints I have is the Queen Dowager... I hate bad people just thinking they are superior without having anything to back them up. She feels superior having put the King in his position. She wants to have everyone wrapped around her finger.. I dislike that woman so much honestly but that can't really be a complaint. It is credit to the drama for doing its job to make me dislike her.

To wrap it up this drama is so good and I recommend for someone that wants a heartbreaking, heart-racing watch.

Leggi di Più

Connection of Mom with her children

One of the finest Korean historical series I ever watched. this drama is all about mom protecting her children no matter what and making her children better prince through education. there is only few series which are made representing the women of ancient Korean history and it is one of them.

fight with in-laws and concubine to make their children future king of Joseon and making queen their relatives to gain power. Maybe first historical drama which represented LGBTQ(cross dresser) community in main stream television. actually it shows history of women of ancient Korea, how women try to gain power, or win favor of king, and who is behind the actual power.

Kim Hye-soo as Queen Im Hwa-ryeong is the best part in whole series. In terms of acting Kim Hye-soo is chameleon, she can rule any role whether it is lawyer or thief or police. she is like Meryl Streep of Korea. other supporting character are also perfect in their role. story is great. direction is great. diversity in character is fucking great. everything is fucking awesome in this series. It is totally worthy for your time.

Leggi di Più

MOTHER

In most dramas, it typically gets less interesting as the episodes go on, but this is not the case with this gem. As the story progress, its getting better and better and ended with the most beautiful and perfect denouement. Yet, viewers can also continue the tale if they want to in their imagination.

The acting and the music is top notch. The pacing is excellent and the comedic timing, chefs kiss.

Also the way she was portrayed as a queen, a mother, and a woman was so pure and glorious. The queen is a mother , not just to her offspring. depending on the circumstance, can be firm or gentle demands, and they are all made out of genuine love and concern, women protect women. This also shows us that just because they are a mother and an adult does not mean they are right all the time, and I think that is so okay and humane.

A must watch for its one of the best historical dramas to have recently been released. It has good writing, smart decisions, and is intriguing.

As the queen says if I remember correctly, "Even between parent and child, it takes time for wounds to heal, such that some things are unspoken but still understood," .that is so real. And at the end of the day, the children will also protect their mother.

Leggi di Più

A Golden Umbrella ☂️

I have to applaud the writer for being able to incorporate so much into one drama as we don't see that often and only a few shows are able to pull that off well.

This drama is absolutely golden and beautiful. It was so good in just episode 1 I thought it was too good to be true, so I waited for 4 episodes before leaving this review.

Many seaguk don't focus or touch more on polygamy which was obviously present at the time period. I like that this drama is realistic and very informative. It touches many subjects and shows the lives of so many characters.

I foreshadow some tragic events but one thing I've learned from watching many good dramas is not to let the tragedy overcome many good parts of the drama. Overall It's very heartwarming and beautiful.

I absolutely cannot hate on any of the princes as I can see why they act the way the act and how their family have influenced them growing up.

Lastly, the crown prince is such a beautiful soul ❤️


Edit: I completed all 16 episodes and have to give credit to the queen for being such a strong woman. This drama gave me so much comfort.

Leggi di Più

A masterpiece in every way possible

I think this may be one of my first reviews here but this drama was SO good that it deserves my review.

i started watching it because i saw everyone was raving about it and i'm so so glad that i did. if you're onw of those people that are always afraid to watch something if the majority loves it, so go for it. you'll completely understand why we all love it so much.

from the beginning i just love love love the queen. she's different from all the queens in historical drama, they're almost always boring, let's be honest. she's just SO SO bright and so caring, loving, sincere that you can't help but love her from the get go. her personality is golden every since the beginning.

now the children: i just loveeeeed every single son of the queen, i love how they're all very distinct from each other and they have such a beautiful bond.

the bond of the family, the queen with her children is one of the highest points of the drama and i'm always a sucker for it, her love for her children and her bravery when it comes to protect them is out of this world. she's one of the best characters. and the princes, their love for each other, specially the first crown prince and seongnam's love for their brothers is what drives them forward and it's so beautiful to see.

the king was such a pleasure surprise, i also normally hate kings in historical dramas bc they're always full of themselves and never do anything to help neither the palace or the people, but he's different, he has made his mistakes (you'll see them), but he paid for them with his life, till the very end of the drama.

the villains. THIS IS SOOOOO GOOD, i'm a sucker for dramas that make me pull my hair out with rage with villains and this is one of the dramas, the highness queen (i think that's what she's called, the mother of the king) IS THE WORST PERSON ALIVE she made me angry every single chance she could, i was kinda disappointed with her ending, but it was good nonetheless.

anyway, i won't be going too much about the story itself, but every single episode left me on a cliffhanger, i couldn't help but click onto the next episode and the next and the next, till the point that i finished it in a day and now i wanna forget it all so i can re-watch it.

this is one of the best dramas i have ever watched in my life and it's not even a stretch.

they brought so many important topics in this drama, gyeoseong story was so so pure and beautifil till the end.

the photography, filming direction, writing, acting, everything in this drama from the beginning till the end is pure gold and you should watch it. you won't regret it.

Leggi di Più

Under the Mom's umbrella!

At first i dropped it after watching the beginning episode but GLAD i had started watching again bcz what a masterpiece i was gonna miss!!

The Queen's character is the best Mom character I've ever watched in any kdrama...The ending Credits where grand Prince seongnam hold the umbrella for his mother,the queen..summarizes the drama in all aspects...all the Prince characters were well written and the character developments were EPIC ... very little fight scenes unlike other historical dramas, & comedy elements and light scenes are well proportionated besides serious emotional scenes.

Really had a wonderful watch throughout 16 episodes in emotional rollercoaster! Gonna miss my fav characters Yi Kang aka gp seongnam and yoon cheong Ha...! Goodbye Under the queen's umbrella!

Leggi di Più

A MUST WATCH

Outstanding. Nothing describes this drama better than the word “outstanding”. Right from the start till the end, you really enjoy the story as it goes. It keeps you hooked right from the first episode, right from the first scene, and the way it developed is something to forward to!
The QUEEN! Absolutely loved Kim hye soo’s character as the queen. The love she has for her sons is something that highlights the entire drama. You can just tell that she loves them more than anything else in this world and that they mean everything to her! The way she loves them, protects them, cares for them and is even ready to sacrifice herself is JUST something very appreciable! The way she accepted the bitter secret of Prince Gye Sung and also supported him throughout definitely was my favourite topic from the entire drama. The scene where his portrait was being made and she was waiting for him in the rain, literally has my entire heart!
Not only her children, but also the love she showed to all the princes was something that made her character stand out. While every concubine was busy making her own child the crown prince and playing dirty politics, the queen was just concerned for their safety. Even when Prince Simso tried to commit suicide, she was the one who got him out of it, she was the one who consoled and soothed Prince Bogeom when he was forced to quit the competition. She was there for everyone when they needed a hand to hold and the shoulder to cry on. She was truly the umbrella that protected the princes from the rains.
Kim hae sook as the queen dowager was the perfect villain and I’m fully satisfied with her performance. God, she never disappoints! What actually surprised me was Ok ja yeon as Consort Hwang! She could literally kill people with her looks..omg! Her acting was top notch and she portrayed her character really well!!
Choi won young as the king and his chemistry with Kim hye soo was really underrated. The love they had for each other and they way the understood each other proves that they were deeply devoted to one another.
I really really loved all the grand princes and princes! The chemistry between all the grand princes was so heartwarming! To be honest, Chani as Prince Uiseong was a very bad person but ngl, I felt very bad for him in the end. It hurts to know that he was told to kill his own father:(((
Overall, the queen’s umbrella has to be one of the best sageuk dramas . I’m a very picky and selective person and very few sageuk dramas actually fit into my taste and ‘the queen’s umbrella’ has to be one of them. Right from the plot, to the cast, cinematography, OSTs, everything was fantastic.
And the ending, of course. When the Crown Prince holds the umbrella for the queen in order to protect her from the rain was his way of telling her that ‘you’ve done enough, now it’s our turn to protect you’.. so heartwarming this was<3

Leggi di Più

A very intersting story of power, deceit, family, and love.

I approached with series with a little bit of apprehension about the story line. I tooka few episodes to get into it; however, once I did it was gripping. It was an interesting story and you hold on right to the last half hour to see how everything turns out. But, well worth the watch.
Particular credit must be given to Kim Hye Soo for her excellent protrayal of a Queen who values and protects her family, her hisband (the King), the people she comes in contact with, and the country. Kim Hye Soo was excellent in this role.
Also worthy of mention is Oh Ye-ju as Yoon Cheong Ha. As a relatively new actress, she was excellent in her part. Bubbly, energetic, empathetic, and in-love she brought light and energy to every scene she was in. I suspect we will see much more of her.
And, this a bit of a spoiler, the cameo appearance by Jung Ji-hoon (Rain) in a scene with Yoon Cheong Ha was entertaining and fun. Oh Ye-ju is an actress under Rain's agency and it is said that his cameo was in support of his actress.

Leggi di Più

Wall to wall hard-core intrigue and girl-power

I’m not in general a great fan of historical dramas centred around court intrigue, but if that’s your thing then this one is pretty good. Kim Hye Soo makes it so in her desperation of Queen Im Ha Ryung. Add to that beautiful performances by other female actors, in particular, Ok Ja Yeon as Royal Consort Hwang and Kim Hae Sook whose cold calculation as Queen Dowager Cho is chilling and believable, and you have a strong women drama par excellence. This is a drama that examines how and why women take power and exploit it.

The writer, Park Ba Ra, has no other dramas listed against her name on MDL. If she is new to drama-land she is definitely someone to watch. Her ability with female characters is reminiscent of Kwon Do Eun (Search WWW, 25/21) a writer whom I always watch out for. However, they share the same propensity to under-deliver on male characters. Whether that’s a weakness or a deliberate strategy so as not to bring competition into the mix is unclear. But the result is disappointing male characters. They are likeable but lack depth and contrast, or in the case of antagonists, are fairly one-dimensional. The male characters here are lightweights in comparison to the women and are merely the pawns shunted around the board in an effort to reach the goal of becoming a court piece.

The first three episodes had me enthralled but then it started to become a long political power struggle and very little else, with no real character interactions and developments and I found myself enduring it rather than enjoying it. But Kim Hye Soo is such a compelling watch that I had to continue.

With so many characters the plot was way too complicated and unwieldy. It often introduced minor characters as a convenience. Also, characters with vital information conveniently disappeared for long periods of time and failed to pass on that information even to their allies. This had an undermining effect on the credibility of the action and increased the perception that the characters are merely there to serve the plot. This drama contains a handful of really strong characters and imo it would have been much improved with far less characters (particularly the princes and consorts/concubines) and the time saved spent on developing core characters. This would have streamlined the action and given it more way more depth and credibility.

In amongst the wall to wall intrigue are a few lighter moments of quasi romance that sit uncomfortably alongside the wailing wall of desperation. They were also totally unbelievable in terms of the expected behaviour of noble, unmarried girls.

The mainstay of this drama is the towering presence of Kim Hye Soo, whose intensity doesn’t drop below deep saturation from start to finish. Impressive? Yes, very. But a little shade in the blinding light helps you to endure the intensity for longer. By half way through I felt like I’d been enduring questioning by the secret service for eight hours and all I wanted to do was curl up and sleep. However, even though this is not my type of drama, I recognise that in its genre it is outstanding, hence the generous rating.

What my rating means: 8+ A great drama with interesting content and good writing, direction, acting, OST, cinematography. But didn’t quite have the requisite sparkle to bump it into my all-time fave list. Worth watching.

Leggi di Più

I love this drama.

I finished watching this drama and the scenery, costumes, acting, plot were just perfect. One of the best dramas I've ever watched. It took a place in my heart next to Moon Lovers. I highly recommend watching it.

-----------------------------------------
I love this drama. This really is one of the best dramas of 2022.

The queen will do anything for her sons. The queen will do anything for her sons. I also like that the king seems to respect the queen and her opinions. He seems to be fair and is not easily influenced by the scholars and the dowager queen. I'm curious to see what will happen to Grand Prince Sung Nam and Cheong Ha. Will they fall in love and be together?

I love Queen Im Hwa Ryung. The title of the drama really fits the plot. The queen protects the grand princes under an umbrella and I really like references to that. She is understanding and her support for Grand Prince Gye Sung was touching.

Great plot, actors, acting, costumes and cinematography. 10/10 for me.

Leggi di Più