Queen Woo – K-drama Episode 1 Recap & Review

The King Must Die

Queen Woo episode 1 starts with the reign of King Go Nam-u who is on a mission to reclaim lost territories that the Han Dynasty took away during the previous king’s reign. He is currently in a battle, away from the palace.

At the palace, he leaves his Queen, Woo-hee and the Prime Minister Eul Pa-so. In the king’s absence, the Western authority, Hae Dae- bu, has started to covet regal power. On the other hand, the Northern Queen family is pressuring her to give the king an heir.

The scene opens with an intense battle and when the blood is spilt and victory is left for the winner, a woman adorned in a warrior outfit appears. The woman turns out to be Queen Woo-hee. She sneaks out of the palace to meet with an ironsmith. She pays the ironsmith to restore a bronze sword, and he says it will take a month. She asks him to be careful with it and leaves.

On her way out, she is joined by her bodyguard, but some men try to follow them. They are unaware she is the queen and are hoping to make some quick buck by stealing from her. Fortunately, the queen and her bodyguards take them out and reinforcements arrive, announcing she is the queen.

Back on the battlefield, King Go Nam-u is determined to reclaim the land the Han Dynasty took from his kingdom. He is with one of his trusted men, Mu-gol and a fellow prince. The Great Shaman, Sa-bi is also performing a ritual to see the King’s future. She sees him dying on the battlefield but lies when he asks for her prophecy. She tells him that she has seen his victory, and he sets off with his army after an inspiring speech. A fierce battle soon ensues and King Go Nam-u gets injured while protecting Mu-gol. Nonetheless, he keeps fighting until he reclaims victory.

Meanwhile, things are getting tense at the palace. The Hae family are pressuring the Prime Minister to make quick decisions on several state affairs. Eul Pa-so refuses their suggestion and the Queen steps in to back him up. The officials are surprised that the King left his throne to the Queen and gave her the right to make decisions on his behalf. After the meeting, the leaders of the Hae and Go clans secretly discuss the possibility of dethroning the Queen since she has no heir.

Even though they plot secretly, Queen Woo is aware of the other clans’ desire to dethrone her. However, she is concerned with how the battle is going on. Eul Pa-so informs her that the enemy switched strategy and King Go Nam-u might lose. Queen Woo is intelligent and theorises a way that her husband can win. This shows that she is well-versed in war tactics and a quick thinker. Her wisdom leaves Eul Pa-so in awe, joking that if the queen had been born a man, she would have been a king.

With the King sending word that he is returning victorious, everyone in the palace gets ready to welcome him. The Queen cleans up and wears her best outfit. However, she is shocked when she visits the King’s chambers and sees him getting treatment while surrounded by concubines. Even though she is hurt by his actions, she doesn’t show it. She focuses on asking about his injury and watches as the doctors treat the King’s wounds. After ensuring the King is okay, she heads to the banquet to calm the officials’ worries. 

As expected, not everyone is happy about the King’s return. Many officials from the other clans were hoping he would die. The only clan that prayed for his return was the Woo clan. As the King is married to their daughter, their survival depends on his safety. Mu-gol also blames himself for the King’s injury and gets locked up in the palace prison. 

While the Queen heads to the banquet, the King talks to Eul Pa-so about his concerns for the Queen. Eul Pa-so has a plan to protect the Queen from the King’s enemies, but the King is wary about his intentions. Eul Pa-so maintains that he is only trying to protect the Queen and there is no other option but to follow his plan.

At the banquet, the Hae family leader raises concern that the King is too severely injured to attend the banquet. Suddenly, the King makes a menacing entrance as if mocking his enemies. He checks to see who came to the banquet and seems pissed that Jolbon is absent. He then makes a toast to all the soldiers lost in the war and calmly sits on the throne.

The Queen advises him to get some rest and return to his chambers, but he refuses. He says he is concerned since he knows the officials are like wolves waiting for a chance to tear them apart. He is hopeful that as long as his three brothers protect their regions, he will be able to maintain power.

As the banquet continues, the Go family presents the King with gifts to celebrate his victory. They try to use the King’s injury to bring up the importance of having an heir and ask for the dethronement of the Queen for failing to give birth to a son. The King cautions them to stop, but they continue. This annoys the king, and he gets up and asks them to leave.

After the Go family leaves, the King also heads out. However, the Go and Hae families are only getting started and a third clan tries to position itself to secure the new queen position if the chance arises. The Hae family moves to get in touch with their secret spy, The Hidden One.

Myeong-rim’s bold move to ask for the queen’s dethronement worries the King. He talks to Eul Pa-so about the issue and insists he will handle it. Later, Eul Pa-so continues his chess game with the Queen. Even though she is cornered in the game, the Queen refuses to give up.

The King meets with her and explains that he has to dethrone her before his enemies do. He wants to protect and give her a chance to run before his enemies get to her. He promises to set everything up and send someone to escort her safely. In this trying moment, the Queen recalls a happy time with the King when he told her about his messenger bird. 

After her conversation with the King, the Queen starts contemplating her options. Out of the blue, a servant walks in and informs her that the King has died. The Queen is left speechless as she processes this great loss, feeling overwhelmed by the shock.

The Episode Review

Queen Woo starts with the perfect balance between drama, action and mystery. Jeon Jong Seo and Ji Chang Wook did an incredible job with their performance. The scene where the King enters the banquet is quite memorable. Ji Chang Wook did a great job of conveying the King’s emotions through his eyes and his powerful walk. It takes a lot of acting prowess to execute such a scene. 

The first chapter sets the stage for what happens to Queen Woo and her journey to protect the kingdom and herself after the king dies. From what we have seen in this first episode, she is a formidable woman and she will put up a fight before quitting. The only question is, will her fight be worthy enough to secure her survival? 

We still have no idea who killed the King but ‌it could be anyone. He has so many enemies and everyone wants to take the throne. We are also curious about The Hidden One. Who did the Hae Clan place in the palace to spy for them? Let us dive into the next episode to find out some answers!