Chernobyl Episode 1 Reaction |

[@SolidSnake8295]

Game of Thrones: you can’t have a great season with 6 episodes or less. Chernobyl: hold my graphite.

[@Jeremy-83]

Omg the graphite...

[@funnylilgalreacts]

Hold my graphite 😱

[@Sawyer1982OAC]

Nope. There was no graphite...

[@shadowfire_08]

YOU DIDN’T! BECAUSE IT WASNT THERE!

[@georgesoultanidis]

For me, Chernobyl was the show that truly helped me move past the final season of Game of Thrones. Back then, I was watching HBO partly out of a sense of duty to finish GOT, but Chernobyl captivated me with its storytelling.

[@daviddahl1791]

I think one of the reasons i respect you and your reactions... is your level of empathy for what you;re seeing and experiencing. This show is incredibly powerful. Glad you're viewing it.

[@Jason_Pfeil]

"What is the cost of lies? It's not that we'll mistake them for the truth. The real danger is that if we hear enough lies, then we no longer recognize the truth at all.” This quote defines the entire world in 2024.

[@richardsteiner8992]

Not the entire world, just some of the more impressionable parts of it. Sadly, some of those parts are larger than I would like.

[@AniwayasSong]

^5!

[@suushii90]

@@Jason_Pfeil This is true for most right wing parties

[@tobiaswilhelmi4819]

It is a real pity that the show repeats the same lies that (real) Legasov told in the Vienna investigation, which resulted in the INSAG-1 report. I really would like to ask the author for their reasoning for this, as it is actually easy to get most of the lies cleared up nowadays.

[@Ellis_Hugh]

Last four years especially.

[@ksbsnowowl3569]

“It could be three times that.” Understatement of the century. 🤣

[@miller-joel]

It could be 10% higher!!!

[@555smo]

​@@miller-joel maaaaybe 15%

[@miller-joel]

@@555smo Let's not get crazy now...

[@H3llfire13]

Missing a couple of zeros there...

[@miller-joel]

@@H3llfire13 Spoiler: It was over 20,000 roentgens per hour.

[@chrisfraser5088]

Oh my…you’re doing Chernobyl, Angela??? 😮 This one will definitely hit you hard. We’re here for the ride with you.

[@CrazyChemistPL]

Episode 3....

[@eolsunder]

i saw this one she's starting and went.. oh no

[@TippisBRC]

Right. The series that can be defined with “oh, don't worry… it gets worse” right up until the last episode (and in a sense, even then since that's where the systemic level of “worse” gets highlighted). Buy napkin stocks now.

[@CrazyChemistPL]

@@TippisBRC In terms of gore it peaks in episode 3.

[@chrisfraser5088]

@@CrazyChemistPL episode 3 is definitely gonna be a rough ride for her.

[@DaveF.]

On the 'use the good meter from the safe' line. They're using 'bad' meters - they're using meters that were designed for normal situations. Like a thermometer you'd use to check someone's body temperature - it's not good for cooking because it doesn't go up high enough. They're in an impossible situation - one that no-one would have thought could be remotely possible.

[@Some_Guy_6]

Back then, the technology and knowledge about reactors and radiation where in it's baby steps.

[@tobiaswilhelmi4819]

It's also important to know that they could've gotten "good readings" with the "bad dosimeters". They just had to get enough distance between the reactor and the dosimeter to not have it max out and could calculate the real radiation levels. Wouldn't be super accurate, but precise enough to know what's going on. However, that's not so important, since the show doesn't represent what really happened anyways.

[@AL-fl4jk]

“It’s our moment to shine” “Because you’re irradiated” ANGE 😂

[@maksphoto78]

That was a glowing speech he delivered!

[@jankannemacher3929]

I was 20 when Chernobyl happened. The USSR tried to keep it under wraps (as if that was possible), but the Forsmark NPP in Sweden registered radioactivity on their grounds without finding any leak. After checking the wind patterns, it was clear that something had gone sour southeast of Sweden. As an aside, at the time there was an experimental reactor in Hamm-Uentrop, Germany, with a thorium-cycle high temperature pebble bed core. They had a problem just a week after the Chernobyl incident, and to cover it up alert devices were disabled to vent radioactive aerosols to the environment without being detected, then blaming the increased readings nearby on the fallout from Chernobyl. This came to light when an isotope analysis revealed that the stuff outside the Hamm reactor couldn't have come from Chernobyl.

[@vercoda9997]

I just posted about that above. Within days, radiation was being detected in sheep here in Ireland, as well as in Britain, in Scotland if I recall correctly. We knew - all of Europe knew - that there'd been a nuclear disaster in Chernobyl, but not yet the scale. Detecting radiation significantly higher than any background, naturally occuring radiation woke up every science department going in all of Europe's governments.

[@tubekulose]

@@vercoda9997 I'm Austrian. We had an extra serious fallout here (of course not comparable to Ukraine). It started raining when the radioactive clouds passed by over our country and we still have plenty of that radiation in certain ground layers.

[@CBDuRietz]

It's a rough watch, but it's worth it. amazing show. What's important to notice is the tag line: "What is the cost of lies". I'd say the show is actually not about the nuclear accident itself, but about how systemic lying and failure of management affects us all. The accident is used as a vehicle to explore those issues.

[@OrbitalCookie]

Can as well summarize the last episode much??

[@TimpanistMoth_AyKayEll]

Agreed. To me the most interesting frame is to use this show to think about about common human psychological & social biases, and how various human systems and institutions can be either helpful (e.g. the scientific method, rule of law) or harmful ('politics,' in the broad and negative sense) as tools to help us deal with the real world despite our flaws. It's very easy to simply scoff at the USSR system(s) in particular, but we'd learn more from trying to consider "when and how am I / my workplace / my organization / my country in some ways like this? which incentives are in place that lead to lies and cover-ups, and what does it take to go against that trend?"

[@CBDuRietz]

@@OrbitalCookie Yes, it's the sentiment of the entire show. Part of this is this whole thing about listening to experts - something that is really a current issue in this day and age.

[@CBDuRietz]

@@TimpanistMoth_AyKayEll "when and how..." Which is, unfortunately, more often than not - especially in large organizations.

[@TimpanistMoth_AyKayEll]

@@CBDuRietz Yep. Seems like it's just the nature of the beast. (see: Pournelle's Iron Law of Bureaucracy.) But it is possible to mitigate - or the opposite. In the same way, the vast majority of humans are probably always going to want to please a social superior - at least one they personally admire - and avoid their disapproval. But other factors can make the potential negative consequences of that tendence worse or better.

[@TheGoIsWin21]

It's important to remember the culture that existed throughout the Soviet Union at this point in time. While it was far from the Stalinist "Secret Police" era, that time had left a permanent impression on how the government worked throughout the USSR. Generally, failure and disagreement with superiors were punished equally, so for the average person the best thing to do was to keep your head down, your mouth shut, and go along with the narrative you were given. Because of this the incentives around this incident were cover your ass first, find someone else to blame second, and resolve the problem third. Everyone knew that the people who were blamed would be looking at being sent to a work camp was a BEST case scenario, and so in large part, everyone just wanted to make sure they weren't the one with the target on their back. Some other notes: -You're correct in your assumption that the "good meter" just has a higher range it can read. The smaller, low-range meters were meant as a first line sensor for a small leak to be detected, not a major incident. -I'm only in my 30's but my understanding is that Chernobyl played a SERIOUS role in the general public's understanding and appreciation for the dangers of radiation. While the atomic bomb drops in Japan made it clear to the scientific community, the role of radiation in those events was downplayed for political reasons (guilt, mostly), and most people thought of nuclear reactors as safe, and were generally unaware of how lethal radiation could be. -They will get into the details of what exactly happened in the reactor that night, but I will point out that, with the understanding they had of the science involved, it WAS believed that the RBMK reactor wasn't capable of generating the kind of reaction required to result in an explosion like that, and that information was hammered over and over by government officials as a point of pride. Saying that one could explode wasn't just taking a minority scientific view, but was also going against the narrative of the government.

[@Braincleaner]

small men, with their small corners of power doing everything they can to protect that power.

[@BPhillips2000]

Only comment I’d make in reply to yours: I think 3 Mile Island was more of a wake up call for the public’s awareness of the potential dangers of nuclear power (if safeguards & proper oversight are not in place). Chernobyl was more of an indictment of the Soviet state’s insistence on maintaining appearances, rather than actually making efforts to keep its people safe & facilitating cleanup efforts, as well as an actual investigation into what went wrong to prevent a repeat of that disaster…

[@TheGoIsWin21]

@@BPhillips2000 probably splitting hairs here, but my impression was Chernobyl woke the world up to how dangerous Radiation can really be (potentially world altering), whereas Three Mile was more of a "oh that can happen here?!" moment. Up until Three Mile, everyone assumed Chernobyl happened because of the issues in the Soviet Union, but up until Chernobyl, I don't think the general public realized that Nuclear Radiation could kill the world.

[@tobiasofverberg2189]

@@BPhillips2000 and to those that think that this kind of cover up, lies and blame by people in power would only happen in the Soviet Union, the 3 Mile Island incident is proof that it happens in the free US of A.

[@BanyanTree1]

There was substantial activism against nuclear reactors before this. The 1979 Three Mile Island plant partial meltdown in Pennsylvania was a probably more impactful on U.S. public opinion. Three Mile Island was a Level 5 event on the seven-level International Nuclear Event Scale. The only Level 7 events have been Chernobyl and Fukushima, which were orders of magnitude more serious.

[@senorelroboto2]

Nuclear engineer here. The show is ptetty good and I appreciate it greatly. There are some inaccuracies (the steam catastrophe issue in a few episodes is possibly the most glaring bit of sensationalism exaggeration). However, the show really highlights the due respect that nuclear energy deserves and the terror that it can mete out when that due isn't paid. I also love the explanation of the accident in the last episode which is both insightful and accessible. The emotional journey to get there is monumental.

[@The_real_Arovor]

The steam catastrophe is actually correct. The numbers mentioned there were indeed told to Gorbachev by scientists. But the numbers were wrong.

[@bloodymarvelous4790]

The steam catastrophe was reported as such. No, steam wouldn't cause a thermonuclear explosion, but the writers didn't pull it out of thin air.

[@travis3810]

@@senorelroboto2 Also the fact that they initially thought the explosion was the “control system tank”. What exactly does that refer to? Is that similar to a volume control tank in a traditional PWR?

[@senorelroboto2]

@@travis3810 they refer to it as the hydrogen tank elsewhere in the episodes, so I just assumed it was one of those parts of their version of the CVCS. That's also specific enough that I wonder if the writers confusing hydrogen for hydrazine, or they're blurring the two together for a general audience show like this.

[@travis3810]

@@senorelroboto2 Yeah I thought the same. I ask that because I am designing the CVCS system for an SMR company lol. It's just funny to see my work directly in a show like this!

[@Number0neSon]

Oh boy, you're going to love this show...and it's gonna tear you apart, emotionally. Stock up on tissues.

[@johnkubus8028]

If I knew what brand she likes, id buy some stocks at this point.

[@keithgoddard4192]

Indeed.

[@noahschultz9031]

Angie… I’m so sorry but prepare to be emotionally and physically destroyed from this show. What makes it so much worse is that most of this actually happened in real life…

[@windsaw151]

Not all of this. While I still think it is a remarkable series and much of this happened, they did their fair share of liberties. Sometimes understandable, sometimes not. Example: The "Bridge of Death" never happened. That was a myth that popped up in western media, nobody seems to know where it originated. To me, it was the low point of the series. Much of the other changes were understandable and at least reasonable.

[@LieutenantAlaki]

Aye. Some changes to make the story work for television (make themes and cultural context more visible, consolidate characters, etc.), some based on faulty info, and probably a couple bits of straight-up artistic license. Still quite accurate for the most part, and quite good for that matter. But even documentaries usually get things wrong, and a documentary this ain't.

[@Markus117d]

​@windsaw151 some say it never happened, Others say it did, Still within bounds for a docu-drama to include,

[@windsaw151]

@@Markus117d Some say the world is flat. I don't think that would be enough reason to include it in a documentary or a docudrama. Really, that incident was later researched a lot and not a hint of evidence could be found that it happened and quite a lot of evidence to the contrary.

[@Atlas_Redux]

@@windsaw151 Not exactly a critical change, and they didn't claim it was as such either. They just said that no there survived, nothing more.

[@cloudstone123]

Some context for Angela and the viewers for what we are getting into here because the show doesn't put it into perspective in terms of the math. There is a chart that can show radiation dosage and its effects on human tissue. It shows it in microsieverts and not Roentgen since Roentgen is an obsolete unit. The conversion is some complicated math but I will tell you that 3.6 Roentgen is between 26086.96 µSv and 34782.61 µSv. 0.1 µSv is what you get from an airport security scanner or eating a banana. 5 µSv is a dental xray. 100 µSv is a chest xray and 400 is a mammogram or the yearly dose per person from food. 1000 is the US government limit on artificial radiation to a person. 2400 is the average dose of natural background radiation per person per year. 10,000 is a CT scan. 50,000 is the maximum yearly dose allowed for US radiation workers. At this level we are above what 3.6 Roentgen is and that reading is per hour. 100,000 is the lowest yearly dose where there is increased lifetime risk of cancer. 250,000 is the limit for US radiation workers in life-saving operations. 400,000 is the max radiation at Fukishima per hour. 500,000 you will get a slight decrease in blood cell count before it would return to normal in several days. Now 1,000,000 is where you see temporary radiation sickness like nausea . 2,000,000 is where you have a very targeted dose of chemo. At 4,000,000 you start losing hair and bleeding. It will kill you in weeks without treatment. 10,000,000 and you are dead in 2 weeks. 30,000,000 and you start seizing and have tremors. Dead in 2 days. The chernobyl reactor core after meltdown was reading 50,000,000 µSv after 10 minutes of exposure. Terrifying.

[@seanmcmurphy4744]

Just to add to this excellent overview, the NRC website says a whole body dose of 400-450 roentgens in a short time is fatal (LD50 - half of people with this dose will die)

[@ThomasStClair-zr2lb]

Wow! Thank you for giving us so much perspective, and yes, terrifying.

[@CyberBeep_kenshi]

for my studies i unfortunately saw images and read reports. This show shows watered down effects. the real effects would be the worst ever images Ever. unfortunately i can't forget them....

[@The-Cosmic-Hobo]

@@CyberBeep_kenshi I have warned my kid to NEVER google information about Hiroshima, because some of the images that will come up you cannot forget.

[@CyberBeep_kenshi]

@The-Cosmic-Hobo that is a good thing yes. at some point maybe, but definitely not as a kid 👍

[@clairealderwood1928]

I was an young environmental scientist when Chernobyl occurred. I now work with a Ukrainian who is angry to this day that they were not told and were led to participate in May Day parades rather than to shelter indoors. This series is well worth the journey if only to learn the history.

[@davidpowell8249]

In north Wales, about 2,000 miles away from Chernobyl, livestock restrictions were only lifted by the UK Food Standards Agency in 2012, some 26 years after the disaster. Cesium contamination from Chernobyl was taken up by the grass, which sheep and cattle then consumed.

[@OrbitalCookie]

What amazed me was authenticity of all the set pieces. You know how everyone has the furniture you can tell is from IKEA from the first glance? Well, it was like that in soviet union, all items were standardized down to cutlery and trash cans, with the price stamped directly onto them. I live in a country (Lithuania) were we still have items left from those times, and it is amazing to see a movie made in USA recreating a proper film set for quite an accurate depiction of that world.

[@ferchrissakes]

It helps that they shot a lot of the show in Ukraine, but more so in Lithuania, actually. So no wonder it seems extra accurate to you especially. Much was shot at the Ignalina power plant, because that is a (decommissioned) RBMK reactor plant, just like Chernobyl.

[@purrceys7959]

It was filmed in Lithuania. It was a joint British-American production with all the cast (except for Stellan Skarsgård) being British. The creator, writer and producer (who's American) did a lot of research prior to writing including visiting the exclusion zone.

[@janmortensen9314]

31:30 No companies involved; this was the time of the USSR

[@BR81-iv6lt]

not true, they are just companies, but state-owned companies.

[@Justanotherconsumer]

@@BR81-iv6ltsame sh** different economic system.

[@Alex-wg1mb]

RIP my grandpa. He was a liquidator during the Chernobyl catastrophe, and he told me many horrible stories from those days when I was young. Negligence and lies were the main reasons why the peaceful atom became such a terrible thing. Nuclear energy is the middle step towards the clean Fusion.

[@potencjalnypracownik2966]

go away

[@crowfoot1199]

Ignore the jerk below, and RIP to your grandpa. The liquidators are heroes, as far as I'm concerned. I hope you're right about nuclear energy and clean fusion.

[@Alex-wg1mb]

@@crowfoot1199 Thank you. I prefer to focus on positive interactions. My grandfather was a proud Ukrainian who strongly disagreed with the Soviet system. Living conditions were very restricted then, with limited access to imported foods and quality goods, typically available only during holidays. In some ways, I find comfort knowing he passed before the 2014 conflict began. The environmental impact of recent events has been severe, with concerning effects on public health, particularly for vulnerable populations. It's a truly challenging situation

[@Ezio_intent]

I can tell you that I am sorry. But honestly I see hundreds of thousands of comments like yours and people who believe it. Some examples under the titanic videos can be “My grandmother was a surviving passenger” or “My great uncle passed away on the titanic,” are all fake comments. If your testimony is true and your grandfather participated, you could also make a video showing his honor pin or something to prove its truthfulness

[@crowfoot1199]

@@Alex-wg1mb yeah I can understand the comfort in him not having seen 2014. My heart breaks for the survivors in Ukraine who have had to experience Russian aggression yet again, and for the younger ones who are seeing it first hand. Slava Ukrainii

[@patrickwaldeck6681]

This series is a fascinating journey into how every single person in a huge governmental system is encouraged and often forced to lie about what they see directly in front of them because the consequence of speaking out about the obvious is too terrifying to even consider.

[@One.Zero.One101]

This show made me realize that people who are shocked by the incompetence are so lucky. In my country blunders in handling a disaster are so common. In fact every time there is a disaster we expect the government to botch the response and then lie about how everything is fine. It's gotten to a point when we are actually surprised when someone does a good job.

[@patrickwaldeck6681]

@@One.Zero.One101 Governments all over the world are woefully incompetent and just coast by on pure luck. Then something truly horrifying happens and the veil of the actual capabilities of these governments gets thrown off and it turns out nobody really has any idea what they are doing.

[@davidbodor1762]

33:30 - Slight mistake, it's the government of the USSR, not Ukraine yet. It's all Soviet Union during this time period.

[@willracer1jz]

I was going to say the same thing, this was the greatest failure of communism and the Soviet Union.

[@Laurie473]

@@willracer1jz Gorbachev's Perestroika & Glasnost , was inexorably ' kicked off' by this 1 x event of Deplorable disaster.....

[@vampdan]

Ukraine is older than the Soviet Union. It was the Ukrainian Soviet Republic in this time period. That's like saying Texas doesn't exist because it's the USA.

[@davidbodor1762]

@@vampdan I meant that they have not gained their independence yet, meaning the government is controlled by the Soviets, not the Ukrainians.

[@DraconX3]

@@vampdan Texas isnt strangle held in the "Union" by threat of military retaliation. Just ask Poland how that went till the Soviet Union collapsed.

[@nucularmechanic9623]

To clarify nuclear accidents, Fukushima and Three Mile Island were meltdowns due to loss of cooling. Fuel overheats and melts. Chernobyl was different, but I don't want to spoil anything from Ep 5.

[@TitterpigRancher]

Three Mile Island wasn't an actual meltdown. The reactor was not destroyed and continued operation until... I think it was 2019, but definitely later than 2010. Three Mile Island wasn't anything like an RBMK reactor, and its safety measures functioned as they were supposed to despite the operator errors. The radiation released in the steam was a single millirem above background, in other words, so insignificant as to be meaningless. The incident was transformed into a propaganda event by anti-nuclear activists. No deaths or injuries, or even local environmental effects, resulted from Three Mile Island's steam leak. Referring to Three Mile Island in the same classification as Chernobyl is an incredible level of disrespect and disregard to what the people at Chernobyl went through. Fukushima's disaster was caused by the largest fault slip on record, causing an earthquake so powerful that it was detected through infrasound by satellites orbiting at the edge of the atmosphere, shifted the axis of the entire planet by 6.5 inches and shortened the length of the daily rotation by almost 2 microseconds, and moved the entire island of Japan 8 inches across the Earth's crust. The Fukushima reactor melted down because its concrete containment vessel was literally cracked open by the displacement of the ground underneath it. Despite that, the design of the plant's failsafes, and the safety measures employed in its disaster management, meant that only 3 deaths at most can be attributed to actual radiation poisoning. Again, a totally different situation than Chernobyl, and the effects weren't even remotely comparable.

[@Markus117d]

Indeed, Causing what is ( normally ) considered a disastrous event being the necessary first step in containing the actual problem.. 😬😱

[@Markus117d]

​​@@TitterpigRancherThat and the plant operators hadn't moved the backup diesel generators for the cooling system up to the plants roof as requested by the government, And the failure* of the government to ensure it was actually done, So the Tsunami waters flooded the backup gens, And wham there goes the reactor cooling, starting the meltdown that the cracked containment could not contain..

[@StarManta]

Fukushima and 3MI were the kind of meltdown that Dyatlov was *trying* to prevent by pumping water into the core (that already no longer existed)

[@TheTangothrax]

Yes, there are accidents and disasters. Chernobyl was a disaster, its not even in the same ballpark as what happened at Fukushima or Three Mile Island. Almost worst case scenario

[@RetroHondo67]

Keep in mind, all Nuclear Physicists thought at this time it was impossible for nuclear reactors to explode. The fear with nuclear plants was meltdowns and leaks, very much disastrous, but for a nuclear core to explode is event that really should never happen. That is why the experienced people here were so quick to not believe people suggesting the core exploded.

[@asmrhead1560]

Wellll except for the nuclear physicists who wrote those papers about positive void coefficients in RBMK reactors... But not to worry comrade, the State has made sure those reports don't spook the public.

[@senorelroboto2]

That's not really true. For one, it really depends on the type of reactor you're talking about.

[@CyberBeep_kenshi]

not true. all the complainimg scientists were silenced or lied to, or lied in public.

[@scottwatrous]

Yeah it's one of those things where the assumption of a hydrogen tank exploding is the likely scenario and seems to fit at least the perceived magnitude of things. They're still there so it wasn't a full on nuclear explosion, and there's nothing really inside there that should explode otherwise, so unless someone put actual bombs in the reactor hall, what would cause it to explode? They're following a mindset of "if you hear hoofbeats think horses not zebras" and so then the horse must be something like the accumulator tanks that could very well detonate. There's probably also some elements of denial and hope, fear, and "if it really is the core we're all basically dead shortly so lets not make much ado about a foregone thing".

[@zzvvoonnee24]

it wasn't nuclear core that explodes, it was mistake in steps during test procedure that led to inserting extremely hot rods into water, when in practice rods already should be inside water when test started, following big mass of water instantly evaporated and steam under big pressure launched into the air, such strong force that blew up entire reactor roof I watched several documentaries on yt and they all explain it like this with some detail variety

[@shihonage]

I grew up in adjacent Moldavia, and was 9 years old when this happened. Remember seeing the announcement on our TV, it lasted 15 seconds. My mother has thyroid issues now. Identical to my classmates' mother, who had to have surgery. Curious how that works. They actually sent my dad, a reservist, to clean up Chernobyl. He arrived to the staging site, where people were putting on the ineffective crappy masks, and the commander said to him, "Wait, you have a child. Go home."

[@The-Cosmic-Hobo]

I haven't watched this series, so don't know if it shows it, but I have heard that the Russians ended up just going and rounding up local men from the area to help with the clean up. I'm glad your father was sent home.

[@jasonmarbach]

"You stop communication. That's how you stop misinformation, right?" Ah yes, the Soviet way. In Soviet Russia, Information Misses You!

[@BCPvideo]

My dad was a health physicist and his response to "3.6 roentgen" was "that's NOT 3.6 roentgen, that's Off Meter High, you should leave"

[@CBDuRietz]

Not great, not terrible...

[@RandomNPC001]

Look up the Goiania, Brazil 1987 incident. Also Guarapari beach, Espirito Santo Brazil and it`s low level radiation (That actually helps in keeping people healthy in the city, causing residents to having 67% less incidents of cancer compared to the rest of the world)

[@RandomNPC001]

@@moon-moth1 not what I said at all

[@Justanotherconsumer]

To a certain extent Dyatlov may be intentionally lying because he knows how bad this might be and he’s focusing on controlling the situation. If they died they died. He’s staying too.

[@andromidius]

I never get tired of this show. Its a masterpiece of true horror.

[@BrokenBrainGuy]

As someone else who grew up in the 80s like you, there is something I think you need to remember when watching this series. At the time, all of this technology and different reactor designs was new and in some part theoretical. Now that we have the benefit of reflection and knowledge because of this experience. Like you mentioned your own meters used in your work were a result of this incident. How we are dealing with Fukushima, is lessons learned from this event. A lot of people died because of a lack of understanding of the tech and also, you're dealing with a Soviet state where information is control. So politics / bureaucracy, state secrecy / control from officials coming out of WWII and the Stalin regime, the state itself will all be contributing deadly factors like the radiation itself. Cutting corners to compete with the West, not wanting to be held responsible for the cancer rates of Europe for the next 100 years, and the possibility of killing the ground water supply of Europe and the political reaction from the entire world against the USSR. What made this series so great it's because you're able to see what is like a giant plane accident and the various things that will come together over years to make this accident happen. And you should see the cleanup as its just recently finished building the worlds largest casket for building to contain the open reactor. And the fact that it's now in an active war zone with Russian forces in it. So yeah, it never gets better.

[@chadbailey7038]

The title of this entire episode should have been: “Gas-lighting” 😅. Ughhhh such an amazing series. So well done. I’m looking forward to your journey 🙌🏾 ⚡️

[@TavikoAshoms]

I was 3 years old living in Crimea with my family and I remember my parents worrying about the air if it could bring something from there through wind or rain. And even now a lot of people in Ukraine have thyroid issues. JFYI: it’s not a government of Ukraine but Soviet Union. There are a lot of tragedies that were covered by Soviet Union and russia.

[@nathanrood865]

Former US military here. This show gave me chills because I heard some of the same "no you didn't see that, because it never happened". I'm genuinely sorry for what you'll experience watching this show, it's horrifying. But it's as close to the truth as any of us will ever know. And the truth, however horrifying, is always the best for all involved over a pretty lie to make someone feel comfortable.

[@heavymetalhikikomori1322]

Yes, it's like the Americans call a man a woman and a woman a man, so that someone feels comfortable.

[@texasrattlesnake31637]

HBO's Best Mini-Series By A Mile! Thanks for the raw & heartfelt reaction!

[@DanielAura]

Her comments and her getting angry at their incompetence while looking into the camera is so hilarious. I went through the same disbelief and anger when watching this show for the first time 🤣

[@andres0v916]

wooooooooo, I just saw that you are reacting to this and... IT'S A MASTERPIECE OF A SERIES! I have a scientific background and I watched it with my ex (she was a nurse), so I had to explain some things to her. And yet, despite the complexity that is radioactivity, this series does such a great job at explaining the basics, make you understand the danger, create an atmosphere of constant tension, tell the story in such a good rithm, the sets, the music, the character development... I could praise this miniseries all day long, is one of favorites of all time

[@fghjconner]

For what it's worth, you don't need to be worried about radiation from your phone. Yes, the radio waves it uses are radiation, but so is visible light, and the light actually has way more energy. Radio waves are non ionizing and cannot cause cancer or radiation poisoning or anything like that.

[@Unashamed_Christian]

Quickly becoming one of my favorite reaction channel. You are so genuine and I really appreciate you!❤

[@broodhunter21]

"Thats as high as it goes, it could be 3 times more." Oh, my sweet summer child..,

[@broodhunter21]

The horrifying thing about this is not even the meltdown, it's Russian culture at that time. Everybody was afraid of the government, so instead of dealing with the problem, they played :Hot Potato" with the blame. This is a hold over from WW2, where the russian military would reward "success", so if your military unit was getting overrun, you would never call in saying you needed help, because you wouldn't get it. You would say "The enemy is retreating, I need more troops to pursue them." Combine this with the Russian government having complete control of the media, and even in the west, most people had little understanding of how Nuclear power or meltdowns worked. Nothing was really known until Sweden started detecting way higher radiation ratings. Russia had crappy equipment, crappy facilities and barely trained people who were fiercely loyal to the Russian government. Like they might not be the best people for the job, you got the people who the government felt were the most loyal to the party. Things went south fast and just kept picking up speed. It wasn't until Ukraine broke away from the USSR did how bad it was really came out, though the US knew quite a bit already as we had satalittes watching them all the time. People did not know how close we were to losing most of ASIA to this thing.

[@broodhunter21]

Oh, and the black stuff on the ground? That WAS graphite. Which is what directly touches the fuel rods. That stuff on the ground is Bad on levels that can't be described as "Bad": in the best of situations, with the core blowing out so that they are finding the gtraphite hundreds of feet outside the core... That is way up in the "Oh fuck" range. except you might not have a tongue long enough to say more than "Oh, F....."

[@Bearjamin-Cowen]

@@broodhunter21 What do you mean "at that time".

[@mimusmortuis1633]

@@broodhunter21 You know what the funny thing is? Nothing's changed since then. Hello from Russia.

[@broodhunter21]

@@Bearjamin-Cowen Well back then they could talk in half truths because nobody outside could verify anything. Now they dont say anything at all because everybody has satellites that can confirm everything.

[@ferchrissakes]

Love that you’re watching this! Some extra tidbits (I won’t spoil anything) 5:50 Dyatlov’s initial reaction is that hydrogen had collected in the system and exploded - which is a real risk. At the Three Mile Island accident in the US and at Fukushima Daichii in Japan, hydrogen explosions are in fact part of what happened. Nuclear reactors can produce hydrogen as a biproduct, and while hydrogen isn’t radioactive or inherently “nuclear-related” you don’t want it to collect somewhere and ignite, whether you’re in a power plant or on the Hindenburg. Dyatlov’s obviously an asshole, but he believes the core is perfectly fine, and there’s a “normal” fire somewhere else for the fire brigade to deal with. 7:38 Yes, radiation can cause a sort of acute sunburn; skin’s being damaged, the body reacts, just like if you tan too much. And if you’re exposed to severe radiation, you’ll taste metal - not because you’re bleeding (yet), but simply from the effects of ionizing radiation. 11:15 Protective gear? Why? There’s just a fire in a hydrogen tank, remember? Also, no PPE would help in the situation they _are_ actually facing. Like the high-range dosimeter that was kept in a safe - because why would you need it? - if there was heavy-duty protective equipment on site, it’d be in a special locker somewhere, not something anyone at the plant would throw on. 13:14 It’s not brought up in the show, but Dyatlov was actually around for a nuclear reactor incident on a nuclear submarine earlier in his career. In the podcast accompanying the show (can recommend btw), Craig Mazin speculated on whether that was at least part of why Dyatlov acted like he did; been there, done that. Couldn’t be worse, could it? 15:58 Never heard your pronunciation of Roentgen before. Rata-jen? Not complaining, just always heard it (in English) as “runt-gen” with a hard G, which tbf is closer to the actual German “Röntgen”. 16:50 To be fair, even today you won’t see nuclear power plant workers wear gas masks or lead aprons. It’s usually more like scrubs and a face mask, if anything; something disposable. Probably very similar to what you wear in your day job, honestly, when _not_ working with x-rays of any kind. Your average well-run nuclear power plant is safer in terms of exposure than your old-school film x-ray. And your catastrophically damaged nuclear power plant is potentially so dangerous that a lead apron isn’t enough anyway. 27:23 There’s a lot going on with the “institutional denial” we see from everyone. Not just cover-your-ass cowardice, or blind faith in “the state”, but something deeper. The way the Soviet system worked was kinda-sorta predicated on the idea of mind over matter. The economy will work this way because we _will_ it to work this way; society itself is a matter of willpower. So why not physical reality too? We see it these days when some spokesperson tries to spin the unspinnable - or when conspiracy nuts go the exact opposite way, and believe everything is opposite of what “the state” says. This is Soviet version of the present-day pathologically individualist thing of someone defiantly sitting on their porch as a hurricane approaches or refusing masks in a pandemic, because that’s just “guvnment bs”. People die from that too.

[@seanmcmurphy4744]

9:21 "They were saying it wasn't the right color" Some of the Chernobyl witnesses said that at night they saw a blue glow over the open reactor core due to radiation ionizing the air.

[@muffinmanrocks]

@@seanmcmurphy4744 the Cherenkov reaction.

[@tobindaily9961]

Chernobyl is in my top 10 TV series of all-time. It's phenomenal from start to finish. Incredible! Enjoy the series!

[@captironsight]

This show should be classified as part horror.

[@vegiimite]

it is shot like a horror movie

[@STUFFfromthegooddays]

Paul Ritter the guy who plays Dyatlov was such a great actor, despicable in this, but well beloved for his roll in a sitcom called Friday night dinner. Rip

[@icarus_falling]

Just a facial expression was enough at one point. He spoke no words but you know what the character was thinking

[@Vaultboy-ke2jj]

Lovely bit of squirrel Jackie

[@TheKonkaman]

Friday night dinner, its maybe one of the best british comedies of all time

[@geneticjen9312]

If it wasn't for several amazing performances I would say he stole the show. He was fantastic

[@neptunusrex5195]

Martin at Chernobyl: *explodes the reactor* Martin: “…S h i t on it!” 🤦🏻‍♂️😅

[@JohnBham]

I was in the Army when this happened; I was a Sergeant in the Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Warfare branch. In '86 I was stationed at Ft. Lewis, WA, and one of my duties became taking radiation readings around the base. For the two and a half years I was there, I was picking up trace amounts of radiation from Chernobyl- not nearly enough to be harmful, but I was always aware that even halfway around the world we could get dumped on. I knew other NBC guys I went to school with who were stationed in Korea and I talked to them regularly to track their readings as well (they were getting more radiation, but still within the safe zone). You bet I kept my personal gear and monitoring equipment in top condition and wore a dosimeter 24/7. Of course I didn't know just HOW bad it was until long after the fact, but I knew enough to be concerned.

[@Justanotherconsumer]

Thank you for your service.

[@gavscott]

I watch a lot of reaction content and you've just entered my must-see list. Very perceptive comments, smart, empathetic. Looking forward to watching more.

[@Justanotherconsumer]

That she has training in radiation safety puts her in that specific group where she knows what not to do. As a biologist that worked with radioactive materials in the lab… yeah. That they didn’t train the emergency response people on this is more than a bit terrifying.

[@mudshark5393]

The fall-out from the Chernobyl accident reached the north of Sweden at least 1000 miles away. The alarm sounded at one of our power plants 50 hours after the accident, about 700 miles away, and that's how the rest of the world got to know. Last year, out of 186 wild boars felled by hunters in that area, only 49 (31%) was approved (for food).

[@bujin1977]

In the UK, 10,000 farms were affected as the Food Standards Agency put controls restricting the movement of livestock. The radiation levels of the animals had to be monitored. These controls were maintained in Wales until 2012 when they were finally lifted.

[@jordanpeterson5140]

For the record, the getting emotional is why I love your channel so much. I think too many channels hold back too much so the reaction is, for lack of better words, palatable. I prefer the (seemingly few) channels that aren't afraid to straight up ugly cry. So keep on doing what you do. Hope you "enjoy" the show.

[@jaives]

this is the reason for us getting a slew of well written shows from games. this show gave craig mazin carte blanche with his next HBO project and he decided it was going to The Last of Us. Now everybody's chasing that gaming unicorn.

[@davidbodor1762]

2:00 - It's in Ukraine, it was briefly occupied by Russia during the invasion and some absolutely moronic Russian soldiers dug up the soil there to make defenses and irradiated themselves. The plant is secure now and safely back in Ukraine's hands, the scientists there are working as usual, though there are still occassionally Russian soldiers wandering close but getting pushed back by Ukrainian troops. If you want to know what it was like before the invasion and maybe see some very cute wild puppies, look up Kyle Hill here on youtube, he did an AMAZING series on Chernobyl, how they contained it, the ingenius security measures in place, and how wildlife reclaimed the land, including a lot of dogs that now live in the broader Chernobyl area and have become a breed of their own over generations.

[@Jeremy-83]

This single event was arguably the cause of the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The true cause is attributed to many events but this one specially took the full power of the Union to even contain and laid bare to the entire world, the incompetence of the bureaucracy in Moscow.

[@Justanotherconsumer]

This was the disaster that couldn’t be hidden. They had to admit there was a problem, and people who base their entire world view around the perfection of their leaders react… badly when they have to admit they’re lying to themselves and all of their faith has been in vain.

[@Jeremy-83]

@Justanotherconsumer Precisely

[@davidbodor1762]

39:22 - Chernobyl itself is mostly safe now, plenty of people ask to visit and go on tours around the facility and the scientists working there are happy to show them around. Unfortunately there's also tourists that are there without proper approvals and sometimes they take souvenirs home which is REALLY not okay. The NSC - New Safe Confinement - is honestly a genius piece of engineering, the way it was constructed and moved to cover the reactor is absolutely mind blowing. Kyle Hill was let inside the sarcophagus during his tour and he showed some footage, they negatively pressurized the ENTIRE sarcophagus, so in case of a breach air goes in, not out, so no radioactive dust will blow outside. They use similar measures in bio labs but this thing is HUGE, like insanely big, so to do it at that scale is just bonkers. They really went all out to contain the remnants of the accident there. The area itself has random hot spots with higher than usual radiation, and it's not a good idea to disturb the soil, but outside of that, it's mostly fine to just walk around, you get more radiation on a flight than in the vast majority of the land there. Of course you do want to be careful not to have any particles get inside of you, so washing hands, having a mask on and not eating dirt is advisable.

[@clarkmichaels822]

I mean, it's SLIGHTLY less safe now that a neighboring country decided to invade them, but I get your point.

[@davey2487]

When would eating dirt be advisable? XD

[@cassianand0r]

Mmmm Chernobyl Dirt

[@peterwolf4157]

@@davey2487 When you invade a peaceful neighbour.

[@davidbodor1762]

@@clarkmichaels822 They made the mistake of disturbing the earth around there, so that problem kind of took care of itself...at least partially. But in all seriousness, I am happy that Ukraine was able to retake the plant and the scientists that were there are safe.

[@MikeWood]

"Will you just listen!?" 5:36 (in Russian accent) In Soviet Union, Soviet Union does not listen... to you. You listen... to Soviet Union.

[@derrisreaditbefore]

Thank you Angela. This is the most emotionally impactful television show I've ever seen. Though my family moved shortly after this happened, at the time, we lived in the UK. I was only 7, and I remember not being allowed to play outside for what felt like forever. You're right to say that maybe this disaster is why we do what we do now. Yes. This was a defining moment in nuclear energy. That it happened in what was the USSR at the time, means that every instance of challenge or resistance to toeing the acceptable 'line' was harshly dealt with. The cost of lies indeed. Scientists need to be listened to.

[@jpscomgwtfbbq]

Sadly, not even all scientist, like Peter Daszak demonstrated in 2020

[@Mediocre_Chairman]

Yeah. This ones gonna be hard for you. The USSR was very concerned with how they looked to the rest of the world as a superpower, rather than the facts of the matter. There are tours of Chernobyl now and videos of what its like there now. Its a haunting thing to see all the large abandoned buildings being reclaimed by a radioactive nature. I recommend many tissues to hand for future episodes.

[@AnnArborIsAWhore]

I'm so glad you got around to this series, I think you're really going to like it. I had started the first episode the night it came out and around twenty or so minutes in I made the conscious decision to stop for the night. Outside of Das Boot, I'd never experienced a movie or TV show which did such an outstanding job of making me feel so uneasy and filled to the brim with tension. I knew if I didn't stop at that point that I'd have difficulty going to sleep so I stopped and did what have you for a little bit before laying down.

[@Markus117d]

In my country, Restrictions were placed on farmers livestock after the Chernobyl disaster, They had to be checked for radiation levels before they were allowed to be sold at market. The number of failing animals peaked in 1992, but some still recorded higher levels of caesium-137 as recently as 2011 These restrictions were kept in place for 26 years.and the lifting of these rules doesn't mean things have returned to normal, just that the risk has fallen to the point it's no longer worth the trouble, My country is the UK, And is over 1,500 miles from the site of the disaster. How other nearer countries were affected doesn't bare thinking about..

[@shihonage]

The reason they were so poorly prepared for emergency, is because life in my former Soviet homeland was EXTREMELY SCARCE. Our hospitals were basically rooms without monitoring equipment, we had no toilet paper outside the 2 big cities, ambulances took 3+ hours to arrive. Everyone from kids to adults had their teeth drilled w/o anesthetics their whole life. Some surgeries were performed without anesthetics, too - they'd strap you to a board. Systemic scarcity was the norm, ranging from clothes to medicine to spare parts for your old television. They told us the USSR was the light of civilization and the way of the future. We thought the whole world lived like us.

[@AlexSwanson-rw7cv]

This is a great series. Not a fun series, but a great one.

[@seanmcmurphy4744]

Thank you so much for doing this important show! I loved your reaction, your level of talking and giving us your questions as they occurred was perfect. By the way, since they are using the obsolete unit roentgen, the NRC website says a short term dose of 400-450 roentgen is fatal (LD50 - the dose at which half the exposed people die)

[@constanza86]

Yep people going about their business, as they are in the dark. That was the approach of authorities. My mother remember that on that Saturday she, with me in her belly, and the whole family spent outdoors, as weather was nice. No one knew that the radiation was coming from the east.

[@laioren]

I'm so excited for your reaction to this! And I swear it's not because we love to watch you suffer. It's SUCH a great series. I'm not going to spoil anything, but I will say that as you watch it, keep in mind that the show is really about the dangers of "belief." Believing in "government" or "the party line" or even "science." If you stop observing (which is the heart of real science), stop questioning, that's the real danger. And as much as Dyatlov is easy to hate (and he is), I'd also keep this question in the back of your mind, "Should you punish someone who does what 99% of people would have done if they'd been in his, unfortunately extraordinary, position?" But the actor playing Dyatlov... fucking nails that role!

[@johnmiller7682]

I'm not sure how far ahead you are, and I don't want to spoil anything. But you need to prepare yourself for the coming episodes.

[@akka8588]

Agreed

[@theaikidoka]

When they talk about the 'good' meter, they mean the high-range, high-precision meter. The dosimeters they have on the floors are designed to be accurate ENOUGH, and to warn you when the dose is too high for human safety. It's not important for them to tell you the actual figure, just whether or not it's high enough to be concerning. As Angela says, thiers are maxing out, so they have no idea what the actual dose is - they are just assuming it's within tolerance.

[@BCPvideo]

Loving on Jared Harris, you really should check out "The Terror" , it's excellent, and he's great in it.

[@elizabethparker4511]

Yes! I thought of that too.

[@genefaulkner8935]

We all can draw emotional support from those around us - so just know that all your channel subscribers are with you on this incredible unforgettable journey. Hang on tight!

[@icarus_falling]

Notice dyatlov (forgive spelling) looked out when he left the control room. He saw graphite on the ground as you pointed out, but chose to not mention this ever again. He knew from looking down that the core was cracked open at that point I think. He's a bastard but he isn't dumb

[@clarkmichaels822]

I think it's important to realize that the govt. was looking for a scapegoat. If he at any point had admitted responsibility, or even that it happened, he could have been sentenced to death. By playing dumb until the bitter end he might have kept himself alive. Looking at it through that lens, as frustrating as it is, it makes sense he never admitted to anything.

[@DaveF.]

One thing that people often do when they watch this is get frustrated that no-one will believe the people who are saying the reactor exploded. That they would have done this is entirely reasonable. It was a black-swan event - as far as everyone was concerned and knew, and trained, the idea that a reactor could explode like this was utterly preposterous - just like the ide that a black swan could exist. RBMK reactors don't explode. Till this one did.

[@davidbodor1762]

@@clarkmichaels822 yeah and it wasn't his idea to do the test to begin with, as hateable as he is, it's not really his fault the accident happened.

[@mahliz]

Dyatlov did look out of the window BUT the plant is so LARGE and reactor core 4 is so far away from the control room that the producer of the show (that where at chernobyl, visited the reactor room and saw how far away from the reactor it was) had no problem believing that looking out he may not have KNOWN that it was blown at that time. I think Dyatlov himself have stated that he knew it. But honestly we don't really know, we only know what people CLAIMS have happend the rest is speculation.

[@The_real_Arovor]

@@icarus_falling Dyatlov in the Series that is. Real Dyatlov defended his men till he died. The series did him dirty!

[@jerodast]

Okay, I usually wait til I finish watching to comment, and I usually read most of the other comments first to not just add redundant stuff, but there's no way anything else in this video is going to prompt something stronger than laughing grimly but uproariously at "it could be higher than 3.6 roentgen! it could be 3 times that!" Yeah this first episode is so much about the characters and us viewers just wrapping our heads around the scale of what happened. Having watched your BSG series, I'm sure this'll be a rough one, but so very worth it. And you'll even get the science stuff you mentioned liking at the start, courtesy of our man Jared!

[@nickblooruk]

An important note: This series is an excellent dramatisation of what happened in Chernobyl. It's based on real events (as we know), but as it's a dramatisation, there are some inaccuracies. This is obviously to be expected, but in dramatisations, people can be demonised and portrayed as villains when in actual fact, they were just doing their best in an impossible situation. Anatoly Dyatlov in the series, is portrayed as a bad man, but we need to remember this is a dramatisation. In reality, he may be (and probably is) very different.

[@Markus117d]

True, But enough people who actually knew him have said he could be like that at times, Too make it an not entirely unfair take. More a case of dramatic exaggeration than one of manufacturing it out of nothing.. 🤔

[@nickblooruk]

@@Markus117d Yes. He may be almost exactly like he is portrayed, but on the other side people have also said that he has been vilified. I guess it's likely the truth might be somewhere in the middle... That being said, I have no idea. Just important, to remember when concerning "real people", the truth may not be what's being displayed.

[@rainspren415]

IIRC, while he dismissed the first report that the reactor exploded (to be fair, it was very reasonable assumption at the time), he very quickly realised that it DID really exploded, and acted accordingly. Though apparently he really was a jerk, not that it really matters in the grand scheme of things.

[@ericstahmer720]

I’ve heard from other people who reviewed the series that the science of radiation was exaggerated but the bureaucracy of the USSR of that time was pretty accurate

[@janneroz-photographyonabudget]

I'm looking forward to watching you, watching this. One of the best reactions I've seen on KZbin was you watching BSG. I enjoyed your journey watching the Colonials journey, looked forward to every upload you made. I'm saving this, I'm going to watch two episodes at a time. It's ultimately depressing, inspiring, based on a true story. Thanks for all you do on here.

[@fusionaddict]

You might notice a VERY large amount of cast & crew crossover with Star Wars: Andor. There’s a reason that show was so absurdly good.

[@Tenshii_Artii]

Coincidences with me these days are so wild. Just a few days ago I kind of fell down the Chernobyl rabbit hole from a documentary video by Kyle Hill, then days later? You! One of my fave reactors!

[@janihaavisto79]

I was born in Finland in 1979, I do remember that even 10years after Chernobyl was a huge topic in our news because no one really knew how much radiation was spilled in the air and how bad could it be to other countries.

[@thseed7]

This is one of the most brilliant miniseries I've ever seen. I'm very interested to see your reactions along the way.

[@legendsofabhaile]

This is ONE OF THE BEST SHOWS! Gah it's so good. You're in for a ride, but it's worth it. The sound design reminds me of Oppenheimer.

[@funnylilgalreacts]

The sound design is such an effective piece of the storytelling. Dosimeter clicking in the darkness… I’d rather shake Freddy Kruger’s hand.

[@cloudstone123]

One more bit of very important context about the show that comes from the podcast that followed each episode. The show is an adaptation of the book Voices from Chernobyl, which is a collection of first hand stories from the people that were there. That means a lot of what happens in the show and what they do or say won't be scientifically accurate, but it is what the people believed at the time. This comes more into play later as the show goes on. This is something I appreciated about the show. They don't even explain it during the show because again, people don't KNOW something doesn't work that way and believe it works in another.

[@TheCrazyCanuck420]

I was born in 80 and didn't understand the scale of this disaster at the time. This show is an eye-opener. This takes place in Ukraine near the border with Belarus.

[@flatcat6676]

You're right. This is a tough one, but I'm glad you're watching it. There are a lot of lessons to take from this series - not about the particulars of a nuclear disaster, but human nature. The good, the bad, and the meh... As a fellow 80s brat, I remember adults talking about Chernobyl and 3 Mile Island. I also grew up near Oak Ridge, TN, which still has areas that are dangerous to go to due to the primitive way they used to dispose of nuclear material. They used to just bury it in the ground, and our region to this day has a higher rate of thyroid issues & cancer than most other places in America. That, and seeing what happened with the Fukushima disaster very much shaped my outlook on nuclear energy. Recently, I was challenged to read up on the modern systems for nuclear power production & waste disposal. It seems that the modern methods are much, much safer, but I'm still a bit wary of nuclear power because a serious accident or mistake could still poison huge areas for hundreds, or even thousands of years.

[@imgettingtoooldforthis]

I have seen this about 4 times…amazing and emotional each time and one of the best series/mini series ever made.

[@attackofthequasars]

Thank you for reacting to this. Such an important part of history that was visualized incredibly with top notch performances all around. Please take care of yourself, it's a hard watch. I was born in 1979 in Greece. I remember the panic -they wouldn't let us go out to play for many weeks. Nobody expected this could happen. Now we know and we're still not doing enough.

[@MarcoMM1]

Great reaction this serie is a masterpiece. Many people hate Anatoly Dyatlov and they are right, but many people forget that the actor Paul Ritter was just playing that character and he is not the real Dyatlov. So for months the actor received death threats and insults by people who cannot realize the differece. BTW Ep4 will destroy you and your soul. Stock up on tissues.

[@wendellbunn6195]

This wasn't a melt down, the reactor core exploded.

[@iggychan007]

The Expanse, Arcane, Ted Lasso, and now this !? I seriously had to pause at your opening segment, and prepare to cry with you, as I have with the aforementioned.

[@sail3695]

So glad you're reacting to this horrifying/beautiful series. Chernobyl broke my heart and sent me down historic/scientific rabbit holes a plenty. You're right; there are a ton of documentaries and written records to fulfill your curiosity. But after all of that study, coming back to experience this series through your eyes and emotions makes it every bit as sharp and poignant as the first time. I always come away from these feeling like I owe you.

[@ianrastall]

This such a great channel. Seriously. I have to admit I don't watch much of the content, as I haven't seen those shows, and every once in a while I wonder why I'm still subscribed. Then I see why. Every time. You're just really good at this. KZbin in recent years has been all about how to connect through the screen. You make that circuit, and do it effortlessly. Thank you for the work you do.

[@ianrastall]

I was so jazzed to see you dug on what I was saying, but it was some kind of quick change trick. That's just... oy. I don't know, man. I think I have to take an extended break from the internet. At least the talkin' part.

[@Lausatok-dh2fl]

I want Legasov to yell "Give the martians their water! We are no animals!" What an actor, it's so hard to recognize him.

[@madux42]

Haha. My reaction when I watched Chernobyl first was, how in the hell is Anderson Dawes suddenly a scientist??

[@TimpanistMoth_AyKayEll]

I was a kid in Norway. I remember being annoyed (even though I was mostly an indoor kid) that my mother didn't want me playing outside when it was raining that summer. Overcautious, but there was a lot we (at least the public at large) just didn't know about how this type of fallout would behave and propagate, including in the food chains. Reindeer, sheep and grazing cattle are still spot-checked for radiation in certain areas here as a matter of routine.

[@asmrhead1560]

This series is so incredibly well done.

[@jrod112278]

One of the best mini series I've ever seen. Looking forward to seeing your journey on this one. Hope you're not binge watching this because it will destroy you emotionally.

[@mistknights4675]

I really really hope you enjoy this series, but also knowing how drawn into what you are watching you get, you also have all my sympathies. Enjoy the show and don't worry about being emotional, I don't know anyone who watched this and wasn't and quite right too ❤

[@Zeesar]

this is one of the series where after some episodes i just sat there lost in thoughts... this series really got me.

[@Sanyaenyenwa]

One thing to keep in mind while watching this show: While it is brilliantly made and follows the real events quite closely, they did take some creative liberty. It is a drama, made for entertainment first and foremost, NOT a documentary.

[@Kleed44]

I so did not expect this series to be uploaded to this channel, but it's a nice surprise as this series is a masterpiece! Obviously, it's horrible what happened but so much care and passion went into this project - it deserves to be watched at least once I think! :) Thanks Angela! Also, Craig Maizen is a genius - he also helped make the Last of Us show too

[@SweetsourGamer]

One of the best shows I've ever seen. I'd say strap in FLG but you figured out pretty quickly that this show is an intense emotional rollercoaster. Looking forward to your next Chernobyl videos!

[@hubbabubba8083]

Can’t wait to see this! Found you through vox machina and I’m also a big history buff so I love when people check out these pieces! Can’t wait for the next episode!

[@ROLANDSONOFSTEPHEN690]

Looking good Flintstone. Super excited about watching this with you. It's a rough one, but it's quality television and incredibly informative. I wish you strength.

[@laakeri84]

@5:27 "Not nitrogen?" No, not nitrogen. It's quite hard to get nitrogen itself to explode. Dyatlov talked about hydrogen. It's higly combustible.

[@Justanotherconsumer]

Hindenburg calling! Oh, the humanity.

[@Thebrainymonkey]

Chernobyl is in northern Ukraine. Near the border to Belarus. You can go there. (or at least you could until Feb 22). There are organised trips.

[@okabayashijoe]

So glad to join you on this journey.

[@haventakloo]

i’m so glad you’re watching this! just started it recently myself. if you enjoy watching jared harris experience places/environments that are nearly inhospitable for human life in a limited series, you should definitely check out season one of the terror from AMC. the guy who plays the firefighter in chernobyl - vasily ignatenko - is also in that season! great show

[@mg42mg42]

Dear Angie. I also recommended this movie to you. I'm so glad you started. This series tore my soul apart and I couldn't get enough tears. I have gone through many reactions, but I think yours will be the most painful for me.

[@calebtoles3819]

“This is our moment to shine.” “Because you’re radiated.” A++ humor lmao Edit: If you want a good, logical and well explained answer to how Pripyet and the facility itself is doing, Kyle Hill does it well! He has many videos talking on the accident, and even visited the facility and city and did a mini series on it