[Drama Review] Walk With Me 谢谢你出现在我的行程里- A Local Youthful Drama To Revive The Drama Scene

A local version of Reply 1994? Sounds promising, doesn't it? For the past few weeks, I've been addicted to the Channel 8 9pm drama 谢谢你出现在我的行程里 Walk With Me. The drama has a title that's quite a mouthful but I'm glad to say the content is quite full as well. 😛

The drama first attracted me with its strong and emotional theme song "再见 My Love" before the start of every episode, showcasing its highlights.

THE GOOD

PLOT 

The plot is reminiscent to Reply 1994, where they had a boarding house and people from all over Korea came to stay over. In 谢谢, people from China, Taiwan and Malaysia came to Singapore to stay over at Yuxiu(played by Fann Wong)'s house. In the show, Yuxiu has a daughter, Jiaqi(played by He Yingying) who came back from studying in the UK.

The best part is that we the audience can relate to the plot and though similar to Reply 1994, it's not a ripoff! Haha 😂 They incorporated elements that we can relate to, especially since many foreign students come to Singapore to further their studies.

Some parts I can relate to include Yuqin(played by Bonnie Loo)'s worry when her father has some serious illness but refused to visit the doctor for a detailed checkup. Additionally, I felt a sense of connection to Huiyan(played by Hong Tuya), who rejected Chengguang(played by Danny Lee) not outrightly but gave him a glimmer of hope to give herself some time to consider getting into a relationship with him. However, Chengguang put in too much effort that it made her feel pressured and burdened. As an independent modern woman, Huiyan does not want to feel tied down by relationships and wants to go to school on her own, and given a full sense of trust while she goes about her busy schedule.

CASTING

The casting was also very suitable, with Bonnie Loo from Malaysia to act as a Malaysian, Hong Tuya to act as a Chinese from Sichuan, Danny Lee from Taiwan and Willy Yao from China. Though I have not really heard of them, they were suitably cast from their respective countries and have potential to ace main roles in the future. Furthermore, their acting was realistic and you can put yourself in their shoes whenever they feel angry, misunderstood or sad. For example, when Huiyan was worrying over not being able to pay her school fees, had an ethical dilemma and then proposed for Qinghao to cheat in his exams. If he passes his exams, he would lend her money to pay her school fees. And also when Yuqin argues with Qinghao and feels super misunderstood and agrieved. Fann Wong's acting also pulled some heartstrings and you would think local parents would react the same way too if put in the same situations.

TECHNICALITY

Overall, as a media student who learnt the basics about films, the framing, shots and editing in this show are generally well done. The pace is just right, it does not dwell on the same issue for too long that it starts becoming draggy. For example, for Yuqin's father's illness issue, it was resolved within 3 or 4 episodes or so. I would give the framing and shots a solid 9/10 because there are moving shots before the scene which made the framing quite interesting and mixed things up.

Though not the main drama, Walk With Me: Stories of Us 谢谢你出现在我的行程里:那年的我们, which can be accessed on Toggle, is slightly lower in quality in terms of framing and colour grading. In the second episode, Huiyan's head shot was cut at an awkward angle above her neck, leaving viewers with a weird view of her face. Additionally, the colour of the scene outside the branded goods stall was bluish, not in consistency with the other scenes.

However, Stories of Us is Mediacorp's experiment to put extra content on Toggle and check how well-received it would be with the audience and whether the audience will take extra steps and time to access it. It's quite good as it tells of the backstories of the character and why they came to Singapore. For example, how Chengguang got bullied in Taiwan that resulted in his estranged relationship with his father and extremely introverted personality. To leave these awful memories and people behind, he chose to come to a totally new environment- Singapore to further his studies. It's like restarting his life's canva on a brand new page.

TO IMPROVE

CASTING

While many foreign cast members brought out the essence of Singapore being a melting pot of cultures, I felt that the drama was lacking a Singaporean cast. Perhaps not as the main cast but as supporting characters? For example, some Singaporeans can play as classmates and friends of these foreign students so that this drama also gives a chance for young local actors and actresses to shine. I'm sure they have considered this issue because they cast He Yingying, a young local actress, as Xiuyu's daughter to add a local relatability.

CONCLUSION

All in all, 谢谢is an entertaining, relatable and enjoyable show with a strong cast and local elements. It keeps me glued to the TV screen everyday and I'm looking forward to the next episode's plot progression. I believe this show has caught the local audience's attention too. This is because of the many external advertisers (not Mediacorp shows) advertising during the show. This show really proves to me that local TV is upping their game. Give local a chance, you won't regret it. ;)

Cheers,
Glissie