Chernobyl Episode 2 'Please Remain Calm' REACTION!!

With untold millions at risk, Ulana Khomyuk makes a desperate attempt to reach Valery Legasov and warn him about the threat of a second explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Here's our reaction to episode 2 of Chernobyl.
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#Chernobyl

[@Crazyasianman286]

Welcome to Soviet Russia in the late 80s. The physical manifestation of the “This is Fine” meme.

[@blaster915]

This

[@VTRDC27]

and America today!

[@Cassxowary]

Mid 80s but still and exactly

[@messikimoshi69]

@@VTRDC27 god shut the fuck up, you giant baby

[@ichmeiner4531]

As if other countries dealt with nuclear accidents any differently 🙄 If you think that the USSR was the only country who swept every accident that could be hidden under the rock, you're delusional.

[@gpeddino]

"You are dealing with something that has never occurred on this PLANET before." This line always gets me.

[@thanatosstorm]

Yes.

[@theeddytor3490]

bruh true

[@DaemonKeido]

For me, it was "We are asking for your permission to kill three men."

[@thekinginthenorth7274]

For me it’s with the miners when they say “ you ain’t got enough bullets”

[@genesfel]

The purest form of "There is literally no Standard Procedure for this shit"

[@messi7008]

Best way of a show to put fear into the audience - not zombies/monsters/jump scares, just REALITY

[@gregs2965]

the reality is human beings are far more scary then any hollywood monster

[@ariochiv]

The super creepy music helps, too. :D

[@braddollahite7589]

yea, you really want to put the fear of god into someone, dont show them zombies or monsters or scary movies like that, show them something that can or has happened in real life.

[@A_massive_wog]

@@gregs2965 I disagree. It's the fear of the unseen, the unknown that is the most scary.

[@pvtj0cker]

@@A_massive_wog It depends, in my opinion. You might get scared beyond belief by the sight of an alien being that is grotesque beyond any imagination; but rest assured that l would prefer having an alien burst out of my chest that getting into the hands of the Inquisition or people exercising similar forms of creative torture.

[@TomH2681]

14:40 If that's how Nikki reacts to a dog running after a bus, episode 4 might actually kill her. Just sayin'.

[@goldenageofdinosaurs7192]

Tom Hey I just watched someone else do an episode 4 reaction & I truly think she shouldn’t watch it. When I saw that they were doing this series, it was the 1st thing I thought about. I posted that, since the show wasn’t going to be a regular reaction, maybe they should just not finish it. I don’t want to watch that reaction. It’s gonna be awful. 😞

[@gpeddino]

Agreed. I think Nikki needs a heads up about a portion of episode 4 that she just shouldn’t watch.

[@melaniesonier6493]

Episode 4 was a hard one to watch but its the truth, they really did do what was shown.

[@goldenageofdinosaurs7192]

Mélanie Sonier I think that reason right there is why Nikki should skip it, or at least be told about those scenes in advance. She already takes fictional animal deaths so hard. I’m sure when she knows that it really happened she’s going to be pretty upset.

[@kaylastewart6160]

I have a feeling Nikki will just get up and walk out for the rest of the scenes, or maybe even the episode. And I wouldn’t be surprised if she didn’t finish out the show at all. Steven will watch and he can share with her his reaction and what happened.

[@Filiman22]

I know it's really difficult to watch this show (it was for me) but in my opinion I think this is something everyone should see. Thank you for your reactions.

[@devin1442]

Filiman Absolutely.

[@ESPirits87]

EVERYONE needs to watch this, this is a bi-effect of nuclear energy, a system that needs to be replaced asap.

[@522abet]

ESP87 it’s not going to be replaced. In fact most likely it is our future of energy. What Chernobyl was and what Fukashima is, is Nuclear Fission. They need to perfect and replace it with Nuclear Fusion. Much safer and yes it is most likely the future of our energy.

[@devin1442]

ESP87 Nuclear energy is the most efficient and environment friendly means of energy (if done safely of course.) Nuclear plants actually release less radiation into the environment than coal burning plants.

[@nicodemusarchleone2735]

@@ESPirits87 The takeaway from this show is not the dangers of nuclear energy, statistically the safest and cleanest energy we can currently produce, it's that trying to do it on the cheap whilst covering up potentially catastrophic design flaws is not a good idea.

[@marinesinspace6253]

Those three men standing up and volunteering to walk in to hell is perhaps the most perfect and beautiful representation of heroism I have ever seen on television.

[@LancerJak]

Also amazing how they were able to walk with such massive fucking balls between their legs.

[@thehoodedvagabum7375]

The fact they also have their own statue on their honor, I love it. I wouldn´t have the balls to do that tbh.

[@jeremysmith54565]

They didnt die if you're talking about the three divers, two of them are still living and one died in 2006 and it wasn't due to radiation he died of. They actually worked in that part of the plant as well, is purely dramatics in the series whats show in it, but in reality coilddnt be further from the actual truth.

[@Icekiller7]

@@jeremysmith54565 You clearly haven't watched the show. It tells you that they survive.

[@MuppetsSh0w]

@@jeremysmith54565 Shut the fuck. Stop undermining people who did more in 30 minutes than you'll do in a 100 of your lifetimes. Pathetic af.

[@justinholliday2268]

This show is so suspenseful. The people who made the music for this series recorded sounds from an actual power plant to give an authentic/eerie vibe.

[@oberynmartell7758]

Might be one of the coolest things a Sound FX supervisor has ever done for a TV show👌 my Lord its so spooky and fills you with dread. I cant wait to see the awards this show wins

[@PrinsPrygel]

Not only any power plant, they recorded the sounds at Ignalina, Chernobyls sister-plant.

[@kazimierasmickus8097]

@@PrinsPrygelPrinsPrygel they filmed in Ignalina in Lithuania, but control room was filmed in Vilnius, there was a control room copy used for training, they could not use the real control room because plant is still decommissioning, some buttons were still working and were was some nuclear material left, plant management was afraid that actors will press some buttons which causes trouble. .

[@JakeTS1992]

It was Hildur Goodnidottir

[@locustfire75]

The composer, Hildur Gudnadottir, used real audio and sounds from a real nuclear power plant. I agree, sound design and music is eerie. Best horror soundtrack, to be honest

[@JCarey1988]

FYI - Explanation of what the two scientific ladies on the phone are talking about: 1. They are speaking in code about the situation in Chernobyl, because phones in Communist countries are wiretapped 24/7 without warrant. No guesses what happens if they're caught saying something besides the official story of the Chernobyl situation. 2. "Our 'friend' - the one in the 'country' " - The 'friend' of course is the nuclear reactor and the 'country' is the USSR. 3. "It's extremely hot" - "hot" is a general nuclear term referring to elevated levels of radiation. Obviously, the situation there is very "hot". 4. "But his nephews are flying down and they always bring cool weather" - referring to the helicopters coming down to try and put out the fire 5. "Oh which nephews?" - "what are they trying to use to cool the reactor?" 6. "Simka, who's 15 and little Boris who's 5" - Look at the first two letters of each name. Si and Bo. Silicon and Boron. The 'ages' of the 'nephews' refers to their number on the periodic table (which is why the camera briefly focuses on that). This refers to the borosilicate material being poured on the burning reactor. 7. "Though children can make you hotter when they're pouring all over you." - the stuff they're slathering on the reactor could potentially INCREASE the temperature/nuclear fission, at least temporarily. 8. "Maybe I should visit" - "maybe I should come and help these idiots before they make things worse."

[@stycroft942]

Holy shit.

[@KeViNZP]

I didn't know this. Holy shit, this is incredible.

[@JCarey1988]

@@KeViNZP I thought I should post this explanation since i didn't see it ANYWHERE else and it would go over the heads of most people. Thanks.

[@KillerChair1]

When I first saw this scene I was completely blown away at their ability to communicate in code. You're right, this went right over most people's heads!

[@Kaldurahm1]

I'm just jumping in to make a slight point of correction. "in authoritarian countries are wiretapped without warrant". There's nothing inherent to Communism that requires wiretapping nor is wiretapping without warrant only in communist countries. Bit of a throwaway line there but I figure it needed to be said.

[@TheZeyon]

A geiger counter going nuts is one of the most terrifying sounds

[@SirPaladin]

Not only did the 3 in the water tanks succeed, they lived another TWENTY YEARS. The first death from the team wasn't until 2003...

[@Smicky]

SirPaladin | 2 of them are still alive.

[@DaemonKeido]

the death wasn't even directly connected to his work, it was a heart attack iirc

[@columbiaforte876]

That was a miracle…

[@shineinouzen7412]

they must have been blessed by the universe for being such courageous self-sacrificing individuals, and outstanding examples of Humanity.

[@KaiserDaChoom]

@@columbiaforte876 iirc the rubber in their suits helped a lot not a miracle, just science

[@MyNameHandle]

5:18 That actor is Stellan Skarsgård, who is the father of the guy who plays Floki on Vikings. The whole family is big-time actors.

[@Official-OpenAI]

his other son plays Pennywise the "IT" clown

[@malekith3344]

Yea just like the Hemsworth's

[@hotsauce69247]

I think I mainly recognized him as Selvig from a few of the Phase 1 Avengers movies

[@lilybats7215]

@PeterOlds2020 I will forever think of him as Erik Northman.. from True Blood.

[@LoveGemma]

Yess!! I know Nikki and Steven are Truebies so I know they appreciate this! Alex is just 😍

[@andyb1653]

"They probably died very painful deaths" **Chernobyl Episode 3 wants to know your location**

[@proudmomofac.d.h.survivor565]

Stellan Skarsgaurd and Jared Harris are such talented actors.

[@ldkusa71]

Especially since in Jared Harris's case, he memorized a lot of scientific dialogue and made it sound so natural. :)

[@wratchedlore5015]

Jared is as good an actor as his dad, and that's saying something. And if Stellan was a tad better looking I'd call him the modern Max von Sydow.

[@CyberBeep_kenshi]

Best we have in our generation imho. Jared was in fringe too. Brilliant

[@darthveatay]

If you two want to know the craziest thing about Chernobyl is that today the city itself has been reclaimed by nature. A forest has taken the place where people use to live and endangered species have come back to live in the former town. They somehow live there despite the radiation

[@GustavSvard]

reply 2 years later: Pretty much all the animals there live much shorter lives than us humans. They generally don't have time to develop cancers like we do. And most of them have a breeding strategy of having as many offspring as at all possible, and even if a few suffer from infertility or other defects it is still less harmful to population size than the impact we humans and our civilization have! That said, there is very much still work ongoing to contain the radiation from the accident. Huge new shielding over the site was put in place not long ago. Constant monitoring is needed. We humans created this, but it is also we humans who keep it contained now.

[@cathyvickers9063]

@@GustavSvard Addendum: as the war in Ukraine has shown, Russian education is apparently as shitty as the US version! Re: the Russian soldiers who dug trenches in the forest around Chernobyl & ended up hospitalized with severe radiation poisoning. Shouldn't the military higher-ups have known about the nuclear disaster & its consequences to the local environment; & passed that information along?

[@Kamina.D.Fierce]

​@@cathyvickers9063Seems the Russians learned nothing in the years since.

[@tismoialvarado6656]

Two missionaries went there and documented it. It's called Travel the Road. The video is called Chernobyl.

[@gavinrad1]

@@cathyvickers9063 Why are you spreading Nazi propaganda? The background count throughout the vast majority of the exclusion zone would not give anyone "severe radiation poisoning" even after a stay of several months.

[@chanmi1957]

One thing you need to remember when watching this is that during these times the Soviet Union was not going to let any negative news whatsoever escape without their spin on it. People were not allowed to leave the country without the approval of the government. They still to this day do not release the real numbers on how many people were affected by the radiation released by Chernobyl. Thanks for the video. ✌

[@elroysez8333]

This is true. I remember the stories well. It was nearly impossible for regular people to leave the Soviet Union back then. Leaving meant the Soviets couldn't exert control over what you would say about the government. If you had to go for whatever reason, you could expect repercussions to those of your family left behind if you embarrassed the state. People today just don't hear those stories anymore so they just dont get what it was like.

[@sydIRISH]

And some people in America REALLY want communism.....fucking idiots.

[@TheRealDarrylStrawberry]

The scene where the nurses are putting the clothes into a pile gives me serious chills. There are pictures of clothes and boots piled up exactly like that, untouched since the explosion, still radioactive. The show is very subtle when recreating exact moments from this disaster.

[@SingWhileYouMay]

Local party officials have no importance at all when things escalate to become a national concern. That's why the old guy had to get on the bus with the regular folk.

[@PrinsPrygel]

In truth the party leader had already been evacuated before the general evacuation order came out. They we not willing to put their money where their mouth was.

[@ariochiv]

It's probably a dramatic embellishment, but it's easy to believe that they wouldn't allow personal cars on the road during an evacuation -- they would clog the roads. Not that most people under the Soviet system were allowed to own personal cars.

[@ingabaranauskiene5889]

@@ariochiv Yes, a member of the nomenclature would have been evacuated on a party Volga. though on the other hand even members of the nomenclature were neglected and in this particular case marched out on the 1st May parade with their children and grandchildren.

[@ghostnote-6]

@@PrinsPrygel True, the apparatchik and their families were secreted away to Moscow, while locals were told to stay put.

[@jamesricker3997]

The old guy got his start under Stalin. If it wasn't good at denying reality and pushing the party line he wouldn't have survived. He was one of Stalin's boys, that's why he is in a backwater like Chernobyl instead of in Moscow

[@kmoore02809]

The scene at the end where the three men are wading through hyper-radioactive water with Geiger counters wailing in the background has to be one of the most terrifying things ever filmed for television.

[@TheTsar1918]

Amen. The breathing practically gives me a panic attack.

[@PeterPing]

They nailed the helicoptor crash scene from the real footage.

[@DavidMartin-sw3wx]

Yes but the crash didnt happen until like 6 months after the initial explosion blades hit I believe a cable to a crane that caused the crash

[@arudenko87]

@@DavidMartin-sw3wx Correct

[@Arty_McParty]

There is actually a real footage of helicopter , 4 soldiers died in there and a pilot No one knew reactor would explode it was impossible at that time. Everyone was in denial :( The fireman clothing are still in the hospital in the basement one of the highest recording radiation still going till this day! :( Specially the boots!

[@johannesschilling2611]

The helicopter crash was months after the incident in reality. They simply hit a cable. Can be seen in the series too.

[@thanatosstorm]

Never say anything is impossible. Ever.

[@Impulsbombe]

They were lucky that they had someone like Legasov

[@ruthannkizakavich3325]

They were very fortunate indeed.

[@Azreal20]

Dont forget that Legasov wasn't alone as the epilogue in Ep.5 shows, there were many working on how to "resolve" this disaster, at least as best as possible someone could...

[@PallaviSingh-ot2mf]

And someone like scherbina. Without a reasonable person in administration it's very difficult to get things done however smart a scientist is.

[@ragdaj]

yes, they were. the incident response team was really great, with wrong people the damage would be far far worse. but they completely failed communication process, it always seems not so important, when you are trying to contaminate the disaster.

[@Justanotherconsumer]

@@PallaviSingh-ot2mf Legasov’s comment about Scherbina is spot on - many, many scientists could tell them what happened. The horror is that no one would listen. Even Scherbina had to have some very rude wake up calls before he snapped to.

[@Nyx__]

10:43 "It will burn and spread it's poison until the entire continent is dead" Steven: "Way to go guys" LMAOOOOOOOOO

[@LadyVenomWay]

What really got me is when they said "Theyre not letting kids play outside" in germany!!! OMG and right there we see kids just walking by, people just exposed. That shit hurt me so much. Real life is so so scary

[@rockCity777]

Just FYI, there was some creative licence taken to drive that point home. It took a couple more days for the information to spread accross Europe and advisories to go out about avoiding contamination from the ground, not playing outside, not eating that summer's mushrooms and berries etc. Pripyat was long empty when Frankfurt-children were forbidden from going outside. But the alarms in Sweden did go off before anything was done to evacuate the plant's surroundings.

[@johannesschilling2611]

I was one of this kids.

[@ComradeHugo]

​@@rockCity777 Swedish scientists at Forsmark detected high levels of radiation in the morning of April 28. Pripyat was evacuated in the morning of April 27. The show definitely lies here unfortunately.

[@Iceeeen]

@@ComradeHugo I know it was earlier but even today officiall evucation time is the afternoon of 27th. 2pm to be exact not morning. Cant find the official time for obeservation in Sweden, but in Finland it's 28th april 10.00 in the morning, Nurmijärvi being the first to report it with 5µSv/h at highest level

[@ComradeHugo]

@@Iceeeen The problem is that in the series it looks like the decision to evacuate was made after the fact of the accident became known from the outside and this fact kinda saved people in Pripyat, otherwise the soviet authority would prefer that they die to hide the information. And this is an obvious manipulation, because the decision to evacuate was made before radiation was detected in other countries. Eyewitnesses claim that Shcherbina decided to evacuate on April 26th. And it sounds reasonable, because evacuation of 50,000 people is a big deal so if they started evacuation on April 27, they should have started preparing much earlier.

[@AirShark95]

23:36 I understand why you might be so affraid of Nuclear power, but you need to keep in mind the factors that lead to Chernobyl. These factors will be discussed later on in the show, so I won't spoil it. But you must understand that nuclear power, despite the catastrophes at Chernobyl and Fukushima, is STILL the SAFEST form of power out there. The new 3rd and 4th generation reactors that are currently operation and/or being built today are designed so a Chernobyl or Fukushima like disaster is impossible. These nuclear reactors are incredibly clean and put out very little waste. Even better, they generate the greatest amount of power out of all known forms of electrical generation. Nuclear reactors do this WITHOUT contributing to greenhouse gasses that come from coal, oil and natural gas power plants since nuclear reactors produce steam, not greenhouse gasses. Now consider how devastating oil/fossil fuels have been to our environment and society (think of all the oil spills, contaminated water, wars, explosions, climate change, etc...) and oil/fossil fuels is still is a FAR more dangerous form of energy than Nuclear power. For nuclear power to work well, you need to respect it. Sadly, as you will see, this did not happen at Chernobyl.

[@andrewryan3307]

I was 5 when this happened, and for a whole year my parents didn't give me milk or other products with high chances of contamination (I live in Italy btw, that's pretty far but still the effects were tangible). Great reaction, it's gonna be tough to watch but I truly believe this series is a masterpiece so it's worth it...

[@billstephens396]

I was 11, and we lived in California of the US at the time, even my parents were worried and we had an entire ocean separating us...

[@immerklein3416]

Same here but from Germany ❤️

[@shvabzee]

I was 4 and lived in Kyiv Ukraine in 200 km away of Chornobyl.

[@RamenUA]

@@shvabzeeI was 0 and lived in Kyiv Ukraine in 200 km away of Chornobyl. 2001.

[@sandraback7809]

Same in the UK. I was in early stages of pregnancy (he was fine) and I remember we were all anxiously watching the weather reports/wind direction. Many farmers faced restrictions for decades afterwards.. All these people, good, brave and misguided should be remembered. JMHO

[@scottwilkinson8378]

The writer says two of the volunteers are still alive and the third died around 2005-ish . . .

[@voiceofraisin3778]

Turned out the water absorbed a lot of the radiation, protective gear and iodine pills took care of the rest but it was believed to be a suicide mission when they went in.They got lucky. On the other hand they simply conscripted every bus driver in kiev into the evacuation. Their fatality rate within 10 years was reputedly100% Radiation is a lottery, sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.

[@madaz952]

@@voiceofraisin3778 Yup ! It's all about encountering the wrong atom at the wrong time ! If they manage to get to you , you're kind of fucked

[@locustfire75]

Yeah, two of the three divers, as they're called, are still alive to this day. The third one passed away in 2005

[@notimportant3686]

@@voiceofraisin3778 yeah, i was still a small kid but i remember my parents high tailed the fuck out of kiev the moment they heard... it was summer at grandma's time anyway

[@BossesJa]

I'll guess someone's already told you, but the Swedish director Johan Renck who directed all Chernobyl episodes, also directed episodes in Vikings, Breaking Bad and other series. He is absolutely amazingly good at what he's doing!

[@КристианНиколов-и7ч]

I can't imagine how Nikki will go through episode 4 considering her emotional reaction to the running dog...

[@lucianaromulus1408]

I skipped through any animal scenes lol

[@maxinesmith3801]

So did i 😢​@@lucianaromulus1408

[@mohanicus]

"you are dealing with something that has never occurred on this planet before"... man... that's a powerful piece of dialogue!!!....that room where those nurses are throwing all of the firefighters uniforms is still blocked up to this day... its a total no go zone.... plus that helicopter crash was recorded on camera as it happened... the pilot got a fatal dose directly from the core and his distance judgement was totally fucked so the helicopter rotor hit a crane that was nearly by...its crazy seeing the actual footage.... i was 8 years old here in ireland at the time this happened and im 41 now.. i remember seeing this happening on the news but you know an 8 year old kid i didn't think much of it at that time... i remember every household in the entire country got 3 packets of iodine tablets because of this and those tablets are still in my dads house to this day... this is an exceptional show and one of the best tv shows ever done.... absolutely terrifying.

[@superswede80]

Yeah I know they still lay in the same room

[@Mansplainer2099-jy8ps]

That's one of the last bits of info at the end of the series.

[@dualtronix4438]

@@PerformanceY the radiation on those suits its still measured as something as high as 1.3 mSv (0.0013 Sv (2 Sv will be a fatal dose)). Veritasium's video on "Most radioactive places in Earth" addresses this zone

[@PerformanceY]

@@dualtronix4438 i went to Prypiad last winter and spent there 2 days . I measured radiation around the city and it was normal. Something around 0.13 mSvh. The highest levels i measured was next to the famous mechanical claw they used to clean graphite with, it was 94 .50 msvh. According to that video firefighters uniforms radiating something between 50.0 and 90.00 msvh

[@dualtronix4438]

@@PerformanceY sorry my bad then

[@DanielMcGregor]

That episode is one of my favourite because that cliffhanger works so well. Just imagine being strapped into a lead lined diving suit that weighs a ton, wading in radioactive water that is nearly hip deep in a cramped space, a dosimeter clicking like mad and then your torch fails because the radiation is so intense that it destroyes the battery. I would have lost my mind.

[@ESPirits87]

You kept the "Sweden finding out" part, thanks. It's important to talk about, no secrets are allowed when disasters like this occur.

[@aligaines8476]

Exactly. I remember I was stationed in Sicily and found out about it. It's a real shame that a lot of the younger ones, up to 40 even, know nothing about it or the mindset of the Soviet Union at that time. It's not like you could have said, "I'm not going down there", or admitted it was your fault. Had it been before Gorbachev, it really wouldn't have got out. They kept denying (mind you we had sur. pics already and readings from bases), and insisted everyone did May Day, kids go out and play, etc.. I had a lot of friends, all dead now from Kiev and parts of Ukraine that told me of big shots getting out of dodge while no one else was told anything... All was good, it was safe. Saving face has sure killed millions.

[@kristagemini]

@@aligaines8476 Absolutely

[@PrinsPrygel]

At Forsmark nuclear powerplant in Sweden the alarms went off. They first thought that they had a leak at their own plant, but as they started to analyse the results and based on the radionucleid "fingerprint" they realized that the leak must come from Soviet, and to be detectable in Sweden, it must be a massive leak. I grew up in the northern parts of Sweden. Whole herds of reindeer, tens of thousands, had to be slaughtered and destroyed because of the radiation in the meat was over 40-50 times above the "acceptable" limit. As a teen I was making alot of money picking wild blueberries, lingonberries, cloudberries and mushrooms in the forests and selling to producers. We were forbidden to do this. To even enter some parts of the forests was dangerous.

[@rtm27]

There is a KZbin channel, USHANKA SHOW, who grew up in Kiev and talks about what he remembers about that time (he was a young teenager) and what he found researching Russian and Ukrainian websites for firsthand accounts

[@Ruimas28]

I know this is the official recorded story. But I somehow get the feeling someone else detected Chernobyl and had it watched from very early on. I find it very interesting how fast the USA pinpointed it and got pictures. Like….you need time to coordinate your satélites and spy planes. So I get the feeling the USA were quite aware and just gave it a delay to wait for some civilian facility to be able to spot it. The USA likely had lots of stuff monitoring the soviets but a lot about it would be classified military stuff.

[@norricdaoc8746]

What's amazing is that those 3 guys survived. One died in 2005 from a heart attack, and as of 2015 the other 2 were/are still alive.

[@Zac_Frost]

Yeah, turns out that the water was ironically keeping them safe, as it was constantly rinsing the radiation from them as they were going through it, as well as moderating the radiation around them. Water. Truly the essence of life.

[@gregb869]

The most horrifying aspect to me isnt that actual disaster, but the soviet government's response during the disaster, and the parallels I see with the u.s. government currently, which is full of yes men

[@MrButtlettuce]

That’s garbage.

[@silverspike1]

I think most governments today probably wouldn't have handled a criss like this much better. I know the UK wouldn't have. Today It's all about hiding or twisting the truth sadly.

[@Valzahd]

No one wants to admit failure on such a grand scale. Plus a good thing to know in this case the core exploding was considered impossible at the time.

[@silverspike1]

Yeah, you'd wish hon. lol

[@silverspike1]

@Rav3nTail Exactly. :)

[@Kanesabel]

Jared Harris is a amazing actor, jesus hes good

[@cremeofclubs]

I live in the UK and was 12 when this happened. I can remember watching it on the news, people were scared of the rain, it was pretty crazy.

[@EdwardNygma007]

Homer Simpson is safety inspector of Springfield's nuclear power plant. I don't know if that's hilarious or terrifying after watching this show. 😂😂😂

[@SubZeroCommander]

Wiki up Three Mile Island accident for the american counterpart of this series. 'Cleanup started in August 1979, and officially ended in December 1993, with a total cleanup cost of about $1 billion.'

[@bujin1977]

It's ok. He knows how to prevent this sort of thing. "Eenie meenie miney mo..."

[@polinadenisova8665]

my dad worked for 30 years at a very similar job, and he cannot watch The Simpsons, almost gets panic attacks lol

[@alexejfrohlich5869]

it's ok, homer is not working at an RBMK reactor ;)

[@randomtryst5487]

This is the most chilling series I have ever watched. You don't need fake horror films to make you scared when you watch this and realise how bad it was at the time.

[@mojosodope45]

The sad truth is that the radiation from Chernobyl will never ever fully go away.

[@Zac_Frost]

It will.... in 24,000 years. The half-life of Uranium is that long, and that's what's causing the worst of the contamination.

[@ESPirits87]

I live 30 km (18.6 miles) away from the plant in Sweden that noticed the downfall of radiation, it's called Forsmark, i was born 1987 but my mom told me they got iodized tablets for my brothers and themselves from the state almost immediately after the disaster. Worth mentioning that this was during the Cold war and nuclear threat from Soviet was imminent, us Swedes had ALOT of iodized tablets ready to go.

[@karlmoles6530]

Some of the animals of Pripyat survived. There's a population of stray dogs and cats in the exclusion zone today descended from them

[@patrykm7342]

Hold on Nicki, she is so empathy, it will be hard. And the hardest thing is this not story, its reality, it happend 30 years ago. They show this in brutal way, but keep in mind, that this will be soft version of real effects. Couse reality would be not posible to handle for most of us.

[@GermanNightmare1976]

I was 9 years old in the spring of 1986 and I recall that we weren't allowed to play in the sandy playgrounds when I was in 4th grade in Germany. There are still patches in German forests that are so highly irradiated that to this day, wild boar and mushrooms from there are not safe for human consumption here.

[@gregb869]

I love that you're reacting to Chernobyl. Thank you

[@jawbreakergito7154]

Its crazy that the helicopter actually crashed in real life THE SAME WAY IT DID IN THE SERIES

[@adamkocian2296]

Nope, different day and that helicopter actually hit a steel cable by accident and crash

[@Kalif89]

@@adamkocian2296 look closely, the helicopter hits the steel cable by accident before crashing.

[@KiraVexing]

Sad we didn't get to see your reactions to "we'll be dead in 5 years" but I know there's just too much to include everything.

[@BangTanPrettiNikki]

Not that you have too but this is the prime reason I love having Patreon. They are allowed to show the entire/extended reaction as to where on KZbin they are only allowed a small amount of time. But I understand this is not possible for everyone.

[@KiraVexing]

@@BangTanPrettiNikki Ooh didn't know that. Thank you

[@BangTanPrettiNikki]

@@KiraVexing My pleasure!!

[@GMontag]

@@KiraVexing To be clear, there's nothing stopping them from posting the full reactions on KZbin. The full reactions on Patreon don't have embedded video and you have to watch it in sync with your own copy of whatever they are watching. Not that I'm begrudging Nikki and Steven their attempts to monetize and get support for what they do through Patreon.

[@oberynmartell7758]

Maester Luwin was a member of the Local Committee and once Brukhanov and Fomin were dismissed Sherbina took over. Luwin left cuz he wasn't needed anymore

[@TeddymanYT]

I just want to touch on the fact that Nuclear Power is probably the cleanest there is, and as long as operated well it's extremely safe. The reason for disasters like this is failure on all parts. Which you will understand as you watch more of this.

[@WordBearer86]

As a counter I'd like to point out that despite nuclear energy being clean, nuclear waste on the other hand, is not.

[@nevanleong5954]

@@WordBearer86 it can quite easily be just locked away, unlike carbon dioxide in the atmosphere caused by fossil fuels

[@jacobmielke1223]

@@WordBearer86 They've figured out ways to recycle nuclear waste, so it's not nearly as bad as it was.

[@martinskadikis5542]

You have to go into this tv series keeping in mind that the oficial USSR policy was that soviet system can never make any mistakes. When something went wrong - it was simply ignored and written off.

[@garethpendlebury7996]

I remember walking to work on a 6 - 2 shift shortly after we found out about this, it started to rain and I was worried. Sounds daft, but at the time it was disconcerting.

[@kristagemini]

That's not daft at all. Eventually everything rains back down on us, even if it's thousands of miles away.

[@williamsims5830]

As I said earlier, we had weather reports from the local news warning us about getting caught in the rain due to the radioactive fallout in the Greater CINCINNATI, Ohio area. And the warning went on for some time .

[@kristagemini]

@@williamsims5830 yes it's really scary. We tend to think of ourselves as individual regions of the world but on the whole we are sharing everything, everything is one. Borders are just a man-made construct. Right now we're having that problem with the Glycophosfate, don't know if I'm spelling that correctly, but it's the highly dangerous chemical pesticides that they spray all over our crops, which is banned everywhere else in the world except for the US. This spray is so toxic and they put it on our food and they use it in farming States but they're finding traces of it in rainwater that is nowhere near those farming States. There's traces of it all over the United States now because it's evaporating into the air, it goes into the clouds and it rains back down on us

[@bettinanielsen6336]

I remember the fear too.

[@BeeDenver]

I was in high school and it was an outdoor campus. It rained one day not long after the accident. I remember us nervous laughing wondering too...

[@elisabethlarsen4282]

Steven, I have commented some times about your editing and how much I like it, but I just feel a need to elaborate, because it is consistent in every upload. I am not so good with explaining, especially in English but will try. I really like how you always, with every show bring in the visually cool scenes from an episode, and not just dialogue and action. Like with Breaking Bad, I dont think there was one time where you would not include the hyperlapses. And the music, you focus alot on what the music does for a series, and always mention it and bring it in the reaction. And how the little screen cuts directly to nothing, and not to a black screen between scenes, you show something happening and then jump straight to your reaction with a full screen, I hope you know what I mean by this. And I LOVE what you sometimes do in Vikings, where you show a full screen scene from an episode, you know just those few seconds of a big screen and then back to you. And you always narrow it perfectly down to 10 minutes, even tho that must be SO hard with some episodes, especially with GoT. And your whole setup, with you guys on the couch (remember that ONE time you guys switched places and the world ended 😂), I just mean it is iconic, your couch that keeps building with merch, and just yeah, there is not one thing I do not like about you guys and your reactions, at all. I felt a need to specify, because I again wanted to say "Steven I love your editing" but I wanted to tell exactly what I love ❤️ Edit: wow, this turned out way longer than it should have, I just needed to get it out!

[@oberynmartell7758]

Its never inappropriate to recognize an actor from another role regardless of how serious something is. Its way cooler when both of you point out actors that you recognize. The more references the better👈

[@allieaalto4675]

I agree. It's so intense, and terrifying, and incredibly important to watch.

[@JayWelton92]

5:17 Just in case you didn't know, that is Stellan Skarsgård, the Father of Gustaf Skarsgård who plays Flóki in Vikings, he's also in Thor and played Bill Turner in Pirates of the Caribbean. His other sons are Bill and Alexander Skarsgård, Bill played Pennywise in IT and Alexander was in the Legend of Tarzan as Tarzan, amongst other roles.

[@i_love_rescue_animals]

Alexander was great in Big Little Lies! Another good show...

[@dwnkaomwn3953]

One of the sons was on Hemlock Grove.

[@ariochiv]

It literally is terrifying. It's like watching a horror movie... except it was real.

[@nicodemusarchleone2735]

Nikki & Steve I'm really glad you're watching this. However, I implore you to keep in mind that the message of this show, according to its creator, is not to malign Nuclear energy but rather an indictment of the political climate that directly led to this preventable disaster.

[@whattheflyingfuck...]

that is what the creator wanted us to realize, well we do BUT MUCH MORE we realize how little mistakes can make problems for 50.000 years - nuclear industry is not worth it, especially not in "terroristy" times.

[@MrDeengels]

AMEN!!!!

[@valebliz]

@@whattheflyingfuck... don’t believe fossil fuels will go in anyway better. We’re literally killing our ecosystem.

[@michaelccozens]

@@valebliz Sure, but fossil fuels don't threaten to render the homes of 60 million people and the breadbasket of Europe unusable for hundreds or thousands of years at a stroke. They, at least, take decades or centuries to do similar damage. One nuclear incident can kill continents, and, frankly, there is no nuclear industry in any country whose safety record isn't a horror-show of near-misses. And all that's without accounting for the issue of highly-toxic and -radioactive byproducts that won't decay for 50 000 years or more, or the ability to turn civilian nuclear waste into dirty bombs or the most devastating weapons known to humanity, etc., etc., etc. We are toddlers with a machine gun with this stuff, and that's a highly-charitable comparison.

[@timj9466]

@@michaelccozens how are we to make nuclear power safer if we don't use it more often

[@horrorcide13]

When the first plant worker volunteered, I broke down. They knew they would most likely die painful deaths but they did it anyways. It is so horrifically sad but tragically beautiful they were willing to sacrifice themselves.

[@Braincleaner]

i remember being a kid in the UK when this happened and we couldn't eat Welsh lamb due to herds of sheep being infected by the radation, Wales in about 1,700 miles from chernobyl.....

[@MARYWTHER]

And people in Belarus today aren't heard when they say that the governement puts caddle for the meat industry in the contaminated zone...

[@bujin1977]

Yup, I remember this too. My dad always had a "theory" that it was actually the UK government covering up some sort of leak from Trawsfynydd, but I guess that's just down to not understanding the scale of the Chernobyl incident and how the radiation can spread. Incidentally, the actor playing the guy who drives into the plant to measure the radiation (and comes back with the 15,000 figure, ~10:00 in this video) is from my little village in north Wales.

[@sniperhawk6969]

HBO: Tells the story of Chernobyl Everyone: NUCLEAR POWER IS HORRIFYING LET'S PROTEST AGAINST IT Nuclear physicists: 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️

[@marching27]

yup.. the real lesson is........... abuse of power and hiding truth, not listening to professionals.....or science....

[@pirmaluco]

True stories are always the scariest, specially when it can happen again today at any time...

[@ruthannkizakavich3325]

Yes,I agree!

[@melaniesonier6493]

It did happen again, in 2011 Japan... Fukushima, 3 reactor exploded because of the Tsunami that happened. It was a level 7/10, the exact same as Tchernobyl. People to this day dont have a place to live. Radiation contaminated sea animals, live stock, people... we saw evidence here in Canada, British Columbia. I dont understand why we still have nuclear power plant. We should be smarter and use something else that isn't as dangerous for mankind like wind or solar power...

[@TheSouthernWriter]

The Soviets didn’t require containment buildings be built around their reactors like we have in the US, Europe, etc, which is why the Chernobyl event was so extreme. Fortunately, the vast majority of reactors in the world now are much safer than the ones at the time in the USSR were. Which doesn’t eliminate the risk of course, but does reduce it.

[@TheSouthernWriter]

ukkowalski - That’s interesting. I know the containment buildings are useful in helping to mitigate the effects of lesser events, but I suppose with an explosion all bets are off. The explosion also happened because of the defect in the reactor the KGB had covered up. I suppose that’s probably the biggest risk in totalitarian countries, but hopefully given the example of Chernobyl, they’d know better than to risk anything now. Scary to consider otherwise

[@pirmaluco]

Yes it did, but the efects in the short and long run were less severe thanks to a quicker and more efective response. Still it was pretty bad, as it always will be in a nuclear disaster, there is no room for error, and even when there is no error, we have to take into account natural disasters like it was the case in Japan.@@melaniesonier6493

[@Vaeleagle]

Every Liquidator in Tchernobyl was a true hero. They gave their lives to rescue much much more!

[@BlackIvey07]

I cried too when the dog ran after his family in the bus.. it's alright Nikki..we will be fine

[@jordanmullenhopkins]

She isn't gunna last through E. 4 and the animals.

[@Mama-Dee1969]

aw Nikki I was right there with you over the dog bawled my brains out better bring tissues to next viewing ....really you will need them :(

[@Hobbie375]

I highly recommend listening to the Chernobyl Podcast with the Writer/Producer and Peter Sagal from NPR. It gives a lot of episode by episode context

[@lawrencegough]

Hobbie375 best podcast I’ve ever listened to

[@doctorxfilms168]

I live in Lviv (500 km from Chernobyl). I was two years old when my dad ran to the house and began to hurry to close and glued windows. Forbidden to leave the house. I could not understand for a long time what could kill us, but I clearly remember my first memory in my life ... Chernobyl ....

[@malifex9922]

What makes this so horrifying is that radiation as a "villain" is something you can't really contend with. It has no motives and is simply anathema to life. It's easy to grasp threats that you can defeat, like evil people, despots, armies, aliens, etc. It's another thing entirely when you know there's a constant, lethal assault from an invisible force that can only be contained but not destroyed.

[@oberynmartell7758]

The names will get easier to remember like most shows.

[@whitelabrat]

Your reactions remind me just how effectively this series was made. I have rarely seen a series that communicated it's emotional burden so effectively.

[@sethashby530]

Steven : let's watch the next episode Nikki : I don't wanna watch the next episode

[@JoeOtero]

One other thing, the takeaway for the show is not that nuclear power is horrible, because it isn't. Consider 1 kilogram of uranium provides as much power as 3,000 tons of coal. The manner in which the reactor was developed and managed is the issue. Everything from the point of the incident and beyond is just tragic, however, ultimately played a very important role in the collapse of the Soviet Union (according to Mikhail Gorbachev).

[@nichellec.1752]

I'm sure someone has already told you, but the accompanying podcast is really good too and informative

[@Mama-Dee1969]

scariest thing is that sound of that Gieger counter going off ....who would have thought that would send chills down you

[@OsloRS]

love hanging out with you guys in your videos. always an interesting take with the two of you together :)

[@briansmith8846]

i was in my 20's then and remember very little information reported by the news. We were told when the radiation was going to be passing over the US, but nothing else. This is the third time I have watched this and it still leaves a very sad feeling afterwards. It was horrendous.

[@steveoooooo09]

14:40 0_o uh oh....Nikki going to be in trouble

[@tleonard2511tl]

Radiation come from the microwave the vents the telephone poles, cellphone anything by a power plant. Sad isn't it. Great Reaction

[@paulmurphy4723]

Even though this is a dramatisation of real events, I found that this left me with a very Black Mirror-esque disquiet after every episode. I don’t know if that’s a comment on the utter bleakness of Black Mirror or the tv-show-ness of Chernobyl. I think it’s the former. Either way this is the standard superb HBO fayre. 👍👍

[@firesturmgaming]

It was actually pretty rare for the USSR to report accidents. So when they reported the Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster, people were surprised and the US government suspected that if that they reported it, it means that it is extremely bad. It was even implied that if the wind wasn't blowing the radiation cloud all over Europe, they wouldn't have said a thing about Chernobyl. Also why they took so long with the evacuation. The people were told that this evacuation was only for 2 days so they took their time. Who knew then that they will never return to their homes ever.

[@hareecionelson5875]

In 22,000 years they can go home. Another stupidly big number. All the numbers in Chernobyl are stupidly big. The radiation, the possible explosion, the amount of boron to smother the reactor. I can only laugh at these numbers, because my brain can't understand them, it's like a disaster movie, but it's real.

[@WoncoTheSane]

Oh goodness. Blood Eagle to Chernobyl is soooo harsh! Love you guys. Stay strong.

[@HalkerVeil]

Those 3 volunteers saved more people than those who died in both world wars combined. And we can't be bothered to know their names. Alexei Ananenko Valeri Bespalov Boris Baranov

[@Grumbo91]

Didn't expect to see another Chernobyl so soon. Thanks guys for squeezing it in!

[@elbruces]

I appreciate that Nikki dressed like a Soviet laborer for the occasion.

[@420thlegioner8]

After these 5 series, I hardly can watch Homer doing his job.

[@alexejfrohlich5869]

to be fair, springfield's power plant is most likely NOT an RBMK reactor ;)

[@sonofjack6286]

@@alexejfrohlich5869 Even if Burns is a cheap-ass, he's not *that* cheap.

[@kaylo492]

Yeeesss!!! Couldn't WAIT for this reaction video!!! It is so great seeing the speechlessness you guys have because it happened to all of us as we watched!! This series is AMAZING. I'm watching it again through your eyes. Remember the question asked at the top of Episode 1: "WHAT IS THE COST OF LIES?" The lesson? Lies are even deadlier than radiation.

[@robertkelly9433]

I have 1 good news for U : from those 3 men diving in a water 2 of them are still alive in reality. They live now in Ukraine 😀

[@My-Name-Isnt-Important]

Two of the three men who went down under the reactor to reach the tanks are alive today. Which none of them died due to the radiation, Boris Baranov died in 2005 of heart failure. Alexei Ananenko and Valeri Bezpalov are still alive and Ananenko still works in the nuclear power industry.

[@TheAmadeo15]

Please watch the next episodes please 😭🙏🏼🙏🏼

[@Reicker1954]

Nothing will ever beat the tension created when all 3 lights burn up in the flooded basement and the workers are left in the dark. Great television.

[@samfetter8191]

I was one of these german kids not allowed to play outside they are talking about. This show brings back memories. Not too pleasant ones. There are areas in Germany, mushrooms are unsafe for human consumption to this day because of the radiation fallout of Chernobyl. Happy to see a few decent Americans not shying away from a reality check. You guys are awesome. Keep it up. 😎

[@elisaschiffner4142]

I was one of them, too. 6 years old and clueless

[@samfetter8191]

@@elisaschiffner4142 11...And scared as shit back then 😑 No longer 11...still scared. 😶

[@Kamina.D.Fierce]

How long did that lock down go for in Germany? (If you don't mind me asking. If it isn't pleasant to talk about don't worry about it.)

[@Crazyasianman286]

Believe it or not, those three divers survived way into the early 2000s, with one of them dying in 2005. The other two are still very much alive, and almost unbelievably are reported to still work in the nuclear industry

[@meowmeow6676]

One of them died*

[@ct5625]

I'm glad you're still watching it. It's going to get harder, especially for Nikki (believe me, I feel ya) but the desperation and the heroism of the people who stopped the worst from happening genuinely does make it all worth it. It's infuriating, it's hard to watch, and it will be worse before it's over, but it's absolutely worth seeing all the way through if just to be in awe at the people who sacrificed so much to save millions of people.

[@mro2352]

A fact that I saw on another video is that the high dose dosimeter maxed out at 15k. They didn’t learn their lesson the first time, gave them the number they had without including the huge caveat that it’s maxed out as well.

[@No0neAtAll]

The one thing I keep telling myself while rewatching this with you is Think of all the people who Volunteered (the free will ones not the forced one) knowing the consequences. They were a shining light in this dark history.

[@heatherwheeler8330]

according to Jared Harris, they used the metaphor of bullets , since as the professor, he figured that if he used scientific jargon, he would lose them, so he used wording that they would understand,like bullets to the back of the head.

[@Seanhaggs]

the earth isnt dying in 50,000 years. only we are.

[@bujin1977]

@Thomas Muller Several billion years yet, so you've got time to pop down to the shop for a pint of milk. And it isn't going to explode. Just expand and consume at least the first two planets, and roast the Earth.

[@ewanwalker6784]

LDAR Boy another 5 billion years from now

[@SSIronHeart]

As someone who loves the Metro series... the sound at 19:19 is beyond terrifying...

[@CarstenGoldschmidt]

Thank you 4 doing this. It´s important to do it, please keep going.

[@scottlouis]

When those dudes stood up I got emotional. 🥺🥺🥺🥺

[@fxbear]

Those 3 men standing up and volunteering their lives gets me every time. Absolute courage and bravery. I’d like to think I would do that but the reality is I’d probably still be sitting in my chair.

[@lucianaromulus1408]

Amazing men that I hope history doesn't forget. Beautiful people

[@benediktfreischlad1258]

I once heard the 15000 roentgen measurement was also not true because 15000 was the limit for THAT gear

[@naynay3710]

I know you actually watched all this last year, but my heart hurts for Nikki, in particular because, having watched the whole thing myself, I know what's coming. I know, it's silly since this is a year after the fact. But me, watching these reactions now, I'm feeling like the first time I saw this show.