Under the Queen’s Umbrella season 1 episode 15 recap & review

In episode 15 of Under the Queen’s Umbrella, Yi Ik-hyeon’s identity is revealed and he is being hunted down by different members of the palace for varying reasons. The episode is now streaming on Netflix.

Recap

The Queen confronts Yi Ik-hyeon and tells him to admit that he killed the late crown prince and asks him why he did it. Ik-hyeon says that he’s sorry that an innocent person had to die but he has no regrets because his brothers were innocent as well and they were murdered.

Yoo Sang-uk is discussing the plan to attack the palace with the other rebels when soldiers raid the place and arrest everyone. Soldiers chase after Ik-hyeon but he manages to escape.

The queen informs the king about physician Kwon’s true identity and he insists that he will make him pay for killing the late crown prince but he does not wish to reveal his true identity to the public.

Yi Ik-hyeon goes to Uiseong’s place for help. Councillor Hwang lets his daughter know that many of the rebels have been arrested and Ik-hyeon is on the run. He tells her that Uiseong could be in trouble if he continues to remain in contact with them.

The Queen reveals to Seongnam that she has Crown Prince Taein’s autopsy report even though she told the king that Yi Ik-hyeon might have it. She told Royal Physician Cho Guk-yeong that the queen dowager is looking for it and his paranoia led to the location of the report.

Now she plans on using it to lure Yi Ik-hyeon to her. The king visits Yoo Sang-uk and orders him to reveal everything about the rebellion. Sang-uk disrespects the king and tells him that he’ll only be remembered in history as a traitor who usurped the throne.

The king orders Yi Ik-hyeon to be killed as soon as he is arrested so the queen goes to the queen dowager and uses the autopsy report as leverage to force her to find him before the king does. The queen needs Ik-hyeon alive to prove that the late crown prince was murdered.

Cheong-ha collapses and when the doctor checks her condition, he announces that she is pregnant. He is initially unable to feel her pulse and her court lady informs the queen that Cheong-ha has always had an irregular pulse.

News of Cheong-ha’s pregnancy spreads joy in the palace among Seongnam’s supporters. The queen dowager does everything she can to look for Yi Ik-hyeon.

Uiseong and Yi Ik-hyeon converse with each other and Uiseong asks him if he has any family. Ik-hyeon says that he has an old mother and a son and he wishes to reclaim an old house of his where he can stay with them.

Cheong-ha is seen running in the palace and a rumour spreads that she’s pretending to be pregnant. The queen dowagers wishes to use this rumour to her advantage and calls the physician that announced her pregnancy.

The physician says that she is not pregnant and that he misdiagnosed her because of her heart disease. The queen dowager is enraged to hear this and calls an audience with the queen and minister Yoon.

She tells them that she will have Cheong-ha deposed as heart disease makes it risky for her to have a child. The queen realises that it is just a plot by the queen dowager to get her to bend and she agrees to hand over the autopsy report.

Cheong-ha says that she ran to catch a glimpse of Seongnam while he heads to his lesson and that is what started the rumour. She apologises for not being with child and Seongnam says it’s alright because her health is a priority.

The Queen dowager actually bribed the physician to lie about CHeong-ha’s pregnancy in yet another attempt to gain power over the queen.

The queen hands over the autopsy report but implies that she has another ace up her sleeve. She asks Gyeong-u for the secret draft of that day’s events but he says that he handed it to the king and asked him to destroy it to avoid chaos in the kingdom.

The king has the secret draft but he holds onto it for longer. The queen dowager orders councillor Hwang to find Yi Ik-hyeon and then reveals that she knows Uiseong is not the king’s son.

Councillor Hwang lures Ik-hyeon to the palace and informs the king about it but just as it looks like he’s cornered, Yi-Ik-hyoen takes councillor Hang hostage and escapes. As they get away, he kills councillor Hwang as revenge for the death of his brothers.

Seongnam tells the Queen about what Ik-hyeon did and she predicts that he’ll go to the queen dowager next. Ik-hyeon reaches her quarters but soon realises that he has walked into a trap.

Consort Hwang is also there and she finally learns his true identity. She asks him if he actually cared for her and he says that he used her to further his bloodline.

Uiseong rushes in and says that he has to kill him to have a chance of surviving himself. The queen dowager met him earlier and says that she is aware of his meetings with the rebels so he must do something to ensure he doesn’t get punished.

After Uiseong stabs him with a sword, Ik-hyeon reveals that he is Uiseong’s father and that he must survive at all costs because he’s supposed to be heir to the throne.

The queen arrives too late as the queen dowager burns the autopsy report and tells her that Yi Ik-hyeon is being murdered inside.

Review

  • The queen dowager is relentless when it comes to making sure the queen doesn’t have things her way and she takes the cruel mother-in-law character to a new level of hatred. The character is well-written and Kim Hae-sook gives a fantastic performance.
  • The side plots of Gyeseong’s gender identity and Muan’s child out of wedlock appear to have fallen by the wayside due to their relative insignificance to the main storyline and that feels a little lazy. They were introduced and given some minor attention before being ignored.
  • With the Queen backed into a corner before the final episode, a lot is expected of her and it will be intriguing to see if she manages to come out on top.

Also Read: Under the Queen’s Umbrella season 1 episode 14 recap & review

Nadeem Abdul
Nadeem Abdul
Nadeem is an editor for The Envoy Web and an avid fan of films and shows. He has spent a significant amount of time taking in all kinds of genres and has a particular interest in the sci-fi and fantasy realms including series like Doctor Who, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and Young Justice among others.

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