Lee Thean-Jeen’s latest drama opens with a scene that television viewers would be familiar with: an unidentified body washes up to shore. This is Christopher Yeh, presumed dead after he went missing 15 years ago.

The happy event is overturned by the slight yet ever-present tension that flits through even the sweetest moments. (As a pair of siblings reminisce over late-night ice cream, the muted, green tint hints at something corrosive, even if we can’t quite put our finger on what it is).

The series is by no means perfect. Much of the dialogue could use some polishing. Characters, on their own, are unremarkable. Together, however, they are forcibly bound by shared tragedy, deftly told by the match cuts—non-chronological flashbacks to a different time and place. We’re never left without a reminder of what happened during The Disappearance. Even as characters wrestle to maintain their hard won normalcy, the past haunts them just as it does the audience. Despite its flaws, the show is bolstered by its sharp editing, enveloping score and tight plot.

In Reunion, characters help and damn each other in equal measure. No one is acquitted.

15 years after his disappearance, Christopher is found alive — frail, faint and with little memory of his past. Any expectation for this to be met with relief by the four friends who were with him that fateful night is promptly subverted by the overwhelming sense of dread that consumes them instead.

Reunion, a 13-part drama series, builds this dark story of friendship and lies primarily on recurring flashbacks that drop hints about the truth, a technique that may not be as compelling as one might think.

The script’s obtrusive lack of naturalistic dialogue also poses an obstacle for viewers to immerse themselves into Reunion’s world and for the actors to deliver believable performances.

Despite this, I found myself particularly convinced by model-turned-actress Cheryl Chou’s performance as Jasmine as she conveyed her character’s innermost feelings through an impressive display of control over facial expressions and body language that belies her relatively recent entry into the entertainment industry.

Reunion’s path to establishing itself as a riveting local drama is hindered only by protracted pacing that may lead viewers to prematurely lose interest in a story that could surely win over those who stick around.

Reunion, one of Mediacorp’s new series, opens with a refreshing thriller scene. Christopher Yeh, the son of a wealthy Singaporean family who went missing fifteen years ago, is finally found on a desolate island. Not quite something you’d see in a local drama. Chris’ return quickly sends his family and gang of five friends into a frenzy. Everyone seems strangely nervous and fearful that he is back instead of happy. Soon enough, a series of plot twists unfolds, sending us reeling with dark secrets everywhere and eventually, the truth of betrayal. It quickly hit me—Reunion is not some casual family drama despite its domestic underpinnings.The series lent me a looking glass into the world of the rich which is a fresh sight in tiny Singapore, but the nondescript shots and camera angles threw me off a fair bit, and the non-immersive acting. For instance, I could see that Jasmine, Chris’ sister, is a stubborn career woman, but not feel it. The script was also lacklustre, with lines as dry as typical daily conversations. The story, however, stands strong as it delves deep into human choices made amidst strained friendships, moral dilemmas and society’s scrutiny on the wealthy and powerful.

Reunion, a new aptly-titled drama series about the return of Chris, who disappeared from his friends’ lives fifteen years ago, offers plenty for viewers to get obsessed with. The plot focusing on betrayal and misadventure is developed into a complex narrative that brings in elements of the personal, family, and the corporate together in the mould of a mystery-thriller.

Reunion relies on flashbacks to illuminate what has been unaccounted for during Chris’s absence. Executed passably due to the amalgamation of non-diegetic sounds with effective editing techniques, allowing viewers to toggle between the present and the past effortlessly. The director’s treatment of suspense provides huge tension as secrets begin to unravel gradually. However, as this technique is used on numerous occasions, audiences are likened to suffer the loss of anticipation over time.

While the attention may be on Chris, its supporting characters are also offered equal weight by providing their current state of mind and personal circumstances. Viewers will have a hard time rooting for a particular character, signalling depth in character development. All in all, Reunion is thoroughly engaging, and I would highly recommend anyone who is looking for a local series to catch!

Reunion, created by Lee Thean-jeen (who brought us Code of Law), is a rare mystery-drama series produced in Singapore.

The story centres around the reappearance of Christopher Yeh, who was presumed dead after a camping trip gone wrong 15 years ago. The intrigue is taken up a notch as we see his best friends scramble to hide the roles they played on the night of his disappearance.

Like most mystery-dramas, Reunion is intense and serious, which can be a turn-off for viewers seeking more light-hearted fare. It takes itself too seriously sometimes, causing jokes to fall flat. It also doesn’t help that the personalities of the main characters are mostly lacklustre.

None of the main five are compelling on their own, making it hard for audiences to care about what Christopher’s reappearance means for them. However, their relational dynamics make the show more engaging. Although they are friends, there is an obvious tension amongst them, and they regularly make use of each other for their own gains.

At its core, Reunion seems to be about how easily partnerships can turn to betrayal and asks whether people are connected through friendship or simply convenient alliances.

As a foreigner who’s been in Singapore her entire life, the first two episodes of Reunion hit close to home. Can my family really be my family if I haven’t talked to them in years? The thought makes me uncomfortable.

Reunion takes that up to eleven as it follows five friends coming back together after the reappearance of Christopher Yeh, thought to have died 15 years ago. A refreshing spin on the concept of reunions, the exploration of what time and trauma can do to familial bonds and “lifelong friendships” was, to my delight, delicately handled.

Above all, the music and sound design really stood out. The scene in episode two where Christopher recalls his experience of being kidnapped—the close-up of his despaired expression, accompanied by sounds of caning and crying—was chilling.

On that note, I would’ve liked to see more lighthearted moments of the characters’ other relationships. I enjoyed the tension, but the constant suspense can get monotonous.

Reunion has its ups and downs (like any reunion), but I look forward to seeing how its story develops!

What happens when your best friend whom you thought you lost forever washes up back into your life after fifteen years? Reunion, created by Lee Thean-jeen, tells the story of a group of friends whose lives are changed (yet again) when this exact thing happens.

We would naturally wonder, “What exactly happened all those years ago?” Like undoing an elaborately-wrapped present, their story unravels slowly through the snippets of their lives before The Disappearance. We also see how the different friends react to this new change in their lives and how they deal with the baggage they have been carrying for the past fifteen years.

The dialogue can appear to be overly dramatic, with certain lines feeling tacky to me, particularly when they deal with revelations or even normal conversations, and the excessive use of the phrase ‘Go to hell’. However, I was able to overlook this as the plot intrigued me enough to continue watching beyond the first two episodes and uncover the full story.

Reunion is a 13-part local mini-series that revolves around the sudden reappearance of a childhood friend, Chris, and the lurking secrets the ‘Gang of Five’ wish they could bury behind in Pulau Ubin 15 years ago.

On the surface, this 2021 local drama seems like another thriller but its pilot episode proves us wrong. In a no-nonsense fashion, the first scene already invites viewers to investigate the truth behind Chris’ disappearance. Why do his friends seem troubled by his return? Is Chris’ father hiding the truth?

The sound effects do keep you in suspense most of the time, and sometimes make you worry for the characters. Like Chris’ memories, our understanding of the story is still jumbled up but the flashback scenes make comprehending Reunion a simpler task. Though not overused, l feel that it would be more creative if the transitions to these flashbacks were represented by something more than a black intertitle.

Another work by crime drama Forensik co-director, Reunion sees Lee Thean-jeen carefully pacing the story so as not to drop too much information at once but generous enough to reveal glimpses into the characters’ secrets—carefully piecing bits of memories together, as though fixing a puzzle.

A camping trip amongst five friends takes a drastic turn for the worst when one of their own goes missing without a trace. 15 years have passed when Chris suddenly returns from the dead with amnesia. The mystery surrounding Chris slowly unravels itself in Reunion while his friends remain haunted by the secret of what truly happened that night.

The 13-part suspense drama draws us in with its flashback reveals, slowly uncovering character relationships while also building upon the mystery. Its use of two different timelines simultaneously is reminiscent of past TV shows like Lost and Arrow that rely heavily on flashbacks as part of their storytelling. I did find the pacing of this drama to be a little slow though, with dialogue that’s a little cringy at times.

The show was a little vague and inconsistent when it came to Chris’ memory loss. I found this to be quite jarring and confusing. I feel that the show’s inconsistency with how Chris’ memory loss works might throw viewers off the story.

Despite the above, I found the plot of Reunion to be cryptic enough—tensions arising when dark secrets behind friendships unfold—to keep me on the edge of my seat.

An exciting and engaging new drama has surfaced on the entertainment platform, meWATCH—Reunion, as it is called, is a 13-episode series that revolves around Chris, who disappears and returns 15 years later.

Touching on the topic of truth in the mould of a mystery, the series may not have any shocking or mind-blowing twist (at least from the first two episodes), but there is something about it that hooks me and compels me to keep watching.

Personally, I do enjoy that Reunion employs flashbacks to differentiate between the present and the past. Lee Thean-jean, the show creator, gave us such an intense and emotional drama that watching it feels like being on a roller coaster.

Other than the storyline, the music, and the use of sound effects, colours and even the font of the intertitles that help to transit between flashbacks and the present complement the intensity of the series. I am interested to continue watching to find out more about what has happened—or will happen—to the characters, and what secrets will be further unveiled.

Imagine living with the guilt for the loss of a childhood friend for 15 years, and suddenly receiving a call that he has been found. This is what Chris’ friends experienced as Reunion, a new local drama series, begins with the reappearance of Chris. Jasmine, who is Chris’ sister, is particularly hit hardest as dodgy family relations come to the fore and past trauma and secrets slowly come to light.

There is a saying that “blood is thicker than water”. Although human sympathy lingers, there is an emotional distance amongst Chris’ friends for his return. Chris’ amnesia, a significant plot point in the first two episodes, also makes it hard for everyone to unravel the truth. Little details are revealed bit-by-bit through flashbacks that pull in the viewers’ trains of thoughts, allowing them to try piecing the narrative together. As their friendships gradually mend over time, the pieces of the puzzle begin to fit—or not.

Meeting your childhood friend is usually a nostalgic and happy moment. But what if the friend is the very one you have been trying to forget for years? Reunion puts the spotlight on an amnesiac Christopher Yeh, who finally reunites with his group of friends after being missing for 15 years. The 13-part drama slowly reveals secrets about his disappearance, leading you to chase episode after episode to unravel the truth behind all the pretences put up by his friends.

As the drama affords viewers a closer look at the characters at every arc of the story, you might be able to guess their internal emotions and thoughts about the reunion. These are my favourite parts of the drama—the dynamic character development of all five friends that allows you to observe how they have changed since Christopher disappeared.

At the same time, Reunion depicts the painful reality of adulting and how our child-like innocence can dissipate as we grow older in our unique social backgrounds—not unlike the struggles that many of us face. If you have gone through these 15 years in their shoes, would you be happy about the reunion?