Chernobyl 1x2 "Please Remain Calm" - Reaction!! | Couple Reacts

[@charlize1253]

Scherbina: "[Evacuation] is my decision to make." Legasov: "Then make it." Scherbina: "I've been told not to." Perfect summary of how a poorly run bureaucracy works

[@ghoffmann821]

...or any bureaucracy.

[@threemarksat210]

*communism

[@cardellkenith]

​@@threemarksat210You're wilfully ignorant if you think this doesn't also happen in capitalist societies.

[@threemarksat210]

@@cardellkenith The Chernobyl disaster didn't happen in a capitalist society.

[@cardellkenith]

@@threemarksat210 so Chernobyl is the only time of poorly run bureaucracy?

[@Steve19055]

Common mistake most people think that the radiation ruined the helicopter. It hit the crane wire with one of its blades and then crashed.

[@cbmx1x1]

The filmmakers didn’t explain that because it seems so much more dramatic to leave the audience thinking it was the radiation.

[@Steve19055]

@@cbmx1x1 i dont think it was on purpose to make it look like the radiation killed the chopper. You can clearly see on this show that the rotorblade hit the wire😅

[@rjeizzay9619]

It's easy to discern the radiation destroyed the electronics in the chopper thus it loses to control and crashes into wires and such

[@Eddy0042]

I believe the radiation affected to communications, and you hear this depicted in the show. The 2nd helicopter was talking them through getting close while avoiding the wires, because they couldn't see the wires from their angle. When the radio comms failed, they didn't have that assistance and hit a cable. This show didn't explain it (can't explain everything in a show this length) but they also didn't lie about it either. Call it what you will, in the end the radiation affected the radios, which led to them hitting a cable and falling out of the air - so did the radiation cause it (not directly) but YES!

[@jacklarkson4505]

@@cbmx1x1 we didnt watch chernobyl for dramatic bro...we watch it for real crazy shit that happens before some of us even born.

[@YolandaAnneBrown95726]

The breathing in the dark as the sounds of the monitors getting louder and louder is the most terrifying moment ever.

[@sebastianstoica578]

21:25 If you look closely, you'll see the rotor clipped the crane's wire. And indeed, it is a real event and there are videos of it on KZbin.

[@threemarksat210]

Yes. I've watched a bunch of reactions to this show, and everyone always assumes the helicopter crashed because of radiation. It's rotors hit a crane wire. There's another moment that bothers me in the final installment, in fact at the very end. No spoilers, but the USSR ended very shortly after this disaster. If you know you know.

[@wakkadakka9192]

The helicopter chashed a year and half after the incident, when level of radiation was already significantly lower - ofcorse it crashed because rotors hit a crane wire. It's just one of those lies for "overdramatization" that this show is full of.

[@jayman58016]

I don't know how the General fit in the truck with balls that big

[@heffatheanimal2200]

Ohhh yeah. Even before his work at Chernobyl, General Pikalov was an absolute legend. During World War 2, as an teenage soldier he fought in the battles of Stalingrad, Kursk and Berlin, all ranked as some of the bloodiest and most brutal battles in human history. Not only surviving, but fighting through any one of those living hells took incredible courage

[@Short_Round1999]

2:09 See, in practice, the RBMK reactor literally, like actually has no way to fail to explosion. They just ran it with such negligence that they achieved something that, on paper and in theory, is impossible

[@BigBear--]

Yes and no. There was negligence involved. However the design flaw is real. They did have a problem with it years prior at another reactor/plant. However that reactor was not held at half power for as long as they held it in Chernobyl. They were able to deal with the immediate power spike upon insertion of the graphite "tipped" rods (technically they're not "tips" the rods had water separating the main boron rod from the graphite at the bottom third or quarter of the end of the rod construction. So first into the reactor would go a bit of water, graphite, a bit of water, boron rod). There's also water in the rod channels as well, as the rod begins to be inserted it displaces the water flowing through the rod channels in the reactor, which removes a moderator, then a decent piece of graphite enters, which instantly increases reactivity. This immediately burns off the remaining Xenon (which is what crashed the reactivity after being held at half power, and the only thing really keeping the reactor moderated). So reactivity skyrockets, there are no boron rods moderating, no water, and no xenon. Thats when the reactor power output shot up like crazy in a split second. Point is this is still a design flaw, as besides running tests, there are real world scenarios that might force a similar situation. The flaw is that a feature designed to safely shut down the reactor, instead can act as a "detonator". These reactors had some other design issues. They were not built with a protective shield/dome, which are usually rated to handle up to a direct airliner crash, as well as an internal reactor steam explosion. There are still 7 or 8 RBMK reactors operating in Russia. Supposedly they have been retrofitted since the accident at Chernobyl. Though some physicists are still unsure about their safety envelopes. I don't want to sound anti-nuclear power. I'm all for it. It's the best, cleanist, energy source we have access to. Modern reactors in the West are extremely safe...and I'm all for building more of them.

[@Mizgrievoux]

Watched a ton of horror movies but the ending of this episode scared me more than 99% of em. So good.

[@cliveklg7739]

Iodine 131 from the test at the beginning is the radioactive iodine. You take stable iodine to prevent the radioactive iodine from collecting in lymph nodes.

[@Short_Round1999]

20:15 I will say, he couldn’t just make that call cuz his superiors say he can’t. He’s still not in a position to be able to make that call

[@Short_Round1999]

21:34 There’s actual footage of the helicopter crash. The main rotor hit a crane wire

[@cuesegue]

People: we have a serious problem. Higher ups: there is no problem. Can you imagine what the world would have been like if they had maintained the line of denial?! I’m so glad they had some people who not only listened, but actually heard what was being relayed.

[@efricha]

There were Soviet reactor accidents that were covered up successfully through the end of the USSR.

[@cuesegue]

@@efricha on this similar level?

[@efricha]

@@cuesegue Two accidents, one referenced later in the show, a second in Central Russia where the fallout didn't leave Soviet territory.

[@misterG2006]

"Our power comes from the perception of our power" - Interesting. I wonder if he really said that?

[@michaellofting4579]

8 milli roentgen is 8 thousandths of a roentgen. For them to be worried about that level just underscores how Legasov was worried about 3.6 roentgen, 500 times higher.

[@shihonage]

About the stipend of 400 roubles. I grew up in USSR. Monthly salary for most people was around 70 roubles.

[@EduYT07]

23:54 The USSR actually had to pull so many buses from Ukraine and Belarus, that even the CIA got to know that there were something big happening, because their agents in Kyiv were notifying it that labourers were coming late to work because of the lack of buses

[@RoboSteave]

This is a fantastic docu-drama. Some parts have been dramatized, but they will show you what at the end of the last episode. Stay tuned.

[@ccwt]

The final episode explains all how it happened, why it happened.

[@coffeindrinker2581]

HI , my wife woke me up the morning after the accident and told me about what happened in Ukraina and our nuclear power plants here in Sweden had reacted to the release from the power plant over seas and here in Stockholm the alarm went out about what happened but no one really took it seriously because the threat was invisible , odorless and people did'n care. But everything changed quickly and the ban on drinking fresh milk , picking berries and mushrooms was banned plus farmers were forced to slaughter and grain was destroyed and to this day it is forbidden to pick berries , fruit and mushrooms in certains areas of Sweden along the east coast. And we can be very lucky that Gorbachev and no one else sat at that table and made decicions around the accident.

[@DandFReacts]

😱😱

[@adamwells9352]

Gorbachev was a great man.

[@kylereese4822]

@@DandFReacts It was known by the KGB that is had a design flaw but it was built anyway. It`s twin Ignalania had the same issue also.

[@grauerstarr]

its the same in germany in some areas you should not eat mushrooms from forrests

[@cassandrabellingham8486]

I was working as a nurse in the Shetland Isles (Scotland) in the late 90’s. They were building a new cancer clinic to cope with the spike in cancer diagnosis 10 years after the accident. Millions of people around the world WERE affected. It’s just never been properly collected data wise.

[@captainofdunedain3993]

Every single time when I watch this, I hardly hold my tears. What makes people laugh about this, I honestly do not know.

[@davidmarsden192]

@7:35 - no one is answering because (in the last episode) that KGB man said all the phone lines will be cut - to contain the spread of misinformation.

[@iche50]

Remember, this is a true event. And its pretty accurate..... Some things are in reel worse, but they have to make it milder. All your answers you wil have in EP 5. (....And beware of EP 4..............)

[@buddystewart2020]

There are people that go to work every day at Chernobyl, today. They have monitoring crews. Of course, a year ago, Russian troops were shooting at Chernobyl, thanks Russia.

[@heliotropezzz333]

The current population of Belarus and Ukraine is now 48m (down from 1986) and predicted to reduce further.

[@multiplemiggs5189]

Check out 3 mile Island, every country behaves the same , all that differs is the style

[@IcarusDrowning-gz8se]

It seems most Americans born since then have never heard of the 3-mile island disaster. Most English people have never heard of Sizewell, either. You have a valid point.

[@ElyonDominus]

Three Mile was fine. Chernobyl was a story of hyper corruption. That we let the babies shut down Three Mile is a pathetic mark on us. The other reactors at Chernobyl continued just fine for years.

[@Akopov4]

Accident with helicopter was real, but it happened months later after explosion. It happend because pilot hit the crane because of the smoke, which was to dense. There was built confinement building to cover the reactor. It is possible to walk in some areas around the town, but not for a long time, and you need to take radiation detector with you. Because pollution there are big

[@alanfoster6589]

Was there in 2011. Further instructions: no open-toed shoes, don't touch the vegetation, and do not lie on the ground.

[@davidbaca7853]

Actually it wast smoke but the glare of the sun from the angle of his approach. He helped guide the first chopper into position but had no one to guide his approach in.

[@alexgammino]

The helicopter crashing wasn’t the radiation. The helicopter clipped the crane in real life

[@mordiv9]

They show exactly that in the TV show also, you can see it, it's just people that can't really see it properly when first time watching and assume it's the radiation that caused it.

[@gregpeacock5497]

One thing you have to keep in mind is that this is the USSR, the "perfect" society. Nothing can be wrong or it will ruin the perfection. What happened will be explained, but as designed, if run correctly, an RBMK rector will not explode, that is why the hgher ups could not believe it did.

[@NotYourBusiness-bp2qn]

Actually the incredulity was kind of justified. It's very hard to make enriched uranium go supercritical and it was considered impossible in reactors using non-enriched uranium which Chernobyl was one of. As episode 5 will explain a very particular set of circumstances had to happen and even then it was a surprise for the nuclear community that it could.

[@mickem4322]

I remember being a kid here in Sweden when this happened.. We were told for several years not to pick Berries or Mushrooms ..I mean, 2 Hiroshima bombs every hour for a week or even more.., thats no Joke.. and also, If I`m correctly informed, Gorbachev actually had some basic graduate in Natur Science, this might have saved the situation and the decisionmaking a bit.. This is the best hard lesson in Physics, Biology and Humanity ever made.. , btw, LEGASOV + several others and the 3 workers are bigtime HEROES forever.. and Yes, I do believe they must have gotten Iodine pills before entering that basement..// Several of the actors are Swedes and I know Stellan Skarsgård himself remember this catastrophe very well.. // Prepare for next Episode .. its getting worse.. !!!

[@petrkdn8224]

5:53 i assume you are from the US, so i have to explain, prefix Milli- means one thousandth, so this is 0.008 roentgen

[@alanfoster6589]

The dosimeter they give you to use while you are there measures in millisieverts.

[@gottagowork]

@@alanfoster6589 But Roentgen measures Exposure, Sievert measure Equivalent dose and Effective dose. To expand further, after disaster, we used Becquerel here to describe (radioactive) activity, and in Fallout (show and games), Rad measures absorbed dose (where 1 Rad = 0.01 Gray). The units roentgen and rads are not SI units. Pretty sure they went out of their way to make this as confusing as possible. 😅 That's from wiki, I'm not educated in nuclear sciences.

[@Dizzyruptor]

The docimeter sound is bloody terrifying.

[@shounenbat510]

I literally just found and finished watching your episode 1.

[@YolandaAnneBrown95726]

Ditto! Weird, huh?

[@memnarch129]

Gorbachev listened to Legasov because before he was premier he was a scientist as well, specifically biology. So he understood the thinking of a scientist and understood that somthing must be horribly wrong for a scientist to sound THAT concerned.

[@petrkdn8224]

cant wait for ep3 ep4 and ep5

[@EnZo7992]

You’ve made lava 😐

[@Sir_Lauchboy]

The helicopter hit a crane chain due to bad visibility….And Munich is 1792km away from Chernobyl

[@Big_Bag_of_Pus]

Munich? How did Munich come into it?

[@mg42mg42]

Hello. In reality, 50,000 people were evacuated in 2 hours. Most of the buses were Hungarian-made Ikarus. Not what they showed in the movie. And the buses were manufactured in my country...

[@kjetilknyttnev3702]

When the Fukushima accident happened 15 years ago, the elders of the community volunteered to clean up the radioactive waste, because they had the least time left of their lives to lose. Women want to meet the bear in the woods because they do not trust men, but carelessly forget the sacrifice men made to keep them safe already.

[@SixFour0391]

I wish more people understood this.

[@Andizu1]

Found the misogynist.

[@Waterford1992]

Good thing they made this before 2020 as if it were made this then Legasov would of been played by Will Smith

[@iraf.official]

😎

[@TS84NO]

Can't remember if I said this in the first episode, but I would recomend reading the article called "Chernobyl: Hollywood vs reality", after watching this show :) Yes, the show adds some info at the end of the last episode, but there's still a few important things left out.

[@Sustinhos_1989]

This happened during the cold war, There's no way the US would land a hand to the Soviet union 😬

[@Big_Bag_of_Pus]

The U.S. *did*.

[@MBX5baller]

America knew about it when it happened. But Russia would never ask us for help.

[@efricha]

We know Lyudmilla's story because she lived to tell the tale. We know Valery's story because the tapes are real. The divers and their names are real, but the reason why is a combination of two incidents, for simplicity. The lights really did go out. Their solution, however, is made for TV because the reality was not easily put to film. The blades of the helicopter really hit the crane, and if you watch that again, you can see the hook on it dropping off as the cables were cut. In reality, it wasn't the first helicopter. The General is a real person, a real badass, and never gave a task to someone if he wouldn't do it. However, when asked why later, he stated that one of his men would not be believed. The rest of the world offered help, but Soviet pride wouldn't let them accept. The female physicist whose name I forget is a composite character, but I won't say more. 🙂 This is a fictional telling of the stories, but much of it is very real.

[@TrashskillsRS]

The USSR (Soviet Union) made men and women pretty equa in gender roles very early on, so u had a lot of smart Women in the workforce even back in the 1920's and 1930's. So in the 1980's u had just as many if not more smart strong women

[@sigmatau6108]

It's not 8 Roentgen. They said 8 MILLI Roentgen = 0,008 Roentgen. Middle school physics.

[@AprezaRenaldy]

31:04 1 rubel= 2usd. At this time.But because the Soviet Union's economy was not connected to the world this comparison was actually useless. In usa 1986, median income was $972,5 per month.And now median income in usa 2024 is $3.685.41 per month As reference ln the Soviet Union. Minimum wage 70 rubel per month . The factory worker's salary is 150 rubel per month. The salary of doctors and scientists is 200 rubel per month. The salary of the factory director and mayor was 300 rubel per month. And the highest is the president's (general secretary) salary of 800 rubel per month. This low salary is because Soviet very much have Lots subsidized like = Free house , Free health care, Free education up to college ,free child care, Paid maternity leave, Pay parental leave.Large subsidies on public transport and bread .

[@efricha]

The nurse is actually a doctor. Female doctors were common in the USSR, because they promoted equality and actually tried.

[@adamwells9352]

They did a lot better job than the US in having opportunities for women in careers, especially in math and science. Equality was enshrined in the law, unlike in the US, where we still can't even get the ERA passed. ...USSR still pretty horrendous at giving women access to political power, though.

[@shihonage]

I grew up in USSR. Yes, we had "equality". In the sense that everyone was poor and most of the off-work time was spent dealing with scarcity of everything starting from food to basic medicine. Do not try to portray USSR in a good light. Any good that may have been present, was completely and totally overshadowed by the bad. Someone who grew up in a capitalist country wouldn't even have the mindset to survive in Soviet Union. it is beyond what you can imagine.

[@efricha]

@@shihonage Don't get me wrong -- I understand that. But woman doctors was nowhere near as common in the US as in the USSR. So, Americans of that time frame are not aware of it, and you'll hear westernerners call Soviet doctors as nurses. Don't worry. I was a Cold War kid. I knew several "escapees" -- their words -- from behind the Iron Curtain. I'm still friends with one. Congratulations on surviving that hell.

[@SixFour0391]

​@@shihonage Yeah. The most dangerous people are the ones who think that this ideology actually works in practice. It doesn't.

[@zXSleeZy]

I suggest you save the googling for after watching the show. and also perhaps watch a real documentary about it afterwards.

[@sld1776]

Distance to Moscow is about a 12 hour drive. The Russians occupied the region for about two months early in the war but had to withdraw.