This Finale Was PERFECT | Chernobyl Episode 5 Reaction

[@SpartanandPudgey]

Wow this finalewas a perfect wrap up to this series! - P.S. We are Starting Peaky Blinders and True Detective next week so stay tuned for more!! Want to watch 4 weeks EARLY and access our UNCUT reactions? Join us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/spartanandpudgey

[@VeneficusCubes]

Crazy enough, The disaster at Fucushima Nuclear power plant was caused by the same thing - lies Granted it wasn't exactly the same, no one uses RMBK reactors anymore But for the last 5 to 10 years of operating, scientics and safety controllers kept telling directors of fucushima's power plant that they need to make sure their backup generators are waterproof and their emergency pumps can survive earthquakes or tsunamis But Corporate heads didn't seem to care. After all it would be more expensive to replace the generators with waterproof ones. So then tsunami came, Fucushima is a beach side town, the basement of the power plant was flooded, the turbines shutdown due to sea water in their wiring. No fresh water pumped into the reactor, and it overheated. Granted, due to all the lessons from the Chernobyl, the Core in the Fucushima was made to have negative void coefficient so when reactor become dry, it just shut itself down.

[@iKvetch558]

So now you know...the Soviets built unsafe nuclear power plants and then did not tell even their own nuclear operators how unsafe they were, or even do anything to make the reactors safer. They lied to the entire world AND their own people for decades. The thing the show left out was that the Soviets knew how unsafe the RBMK reactors were since the beginning of their design in the 1960s, and that they covered up a bunch of incidents with the design that happened before the Chernobyl disaster, while all the while lying about how safe the RBMK was to everyone on the planet especially their own people.

[@Glasgow_kiss]

Search KZbin for video of Pripyat now. Still abandoned but limited admission in certain zones is allowed. Wildlife has returned and nature is reclaiming the city.

[@akashvig5007]

A not at all FUN FACT : If you search "Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant" in Google Maps and read the tourist reviews, well, thay are disgusting. People have made fun of such a horrific incident. Some wrote I got a mutilation from the radiation and now I have 3 eyes. Another wrote I have tails now and I glow in the dark. It is really disgusting 😢

[@alastairwallace6153]

Thanks for watching guys, its a tough one, really happy people are wanting to be educated on this terrible and easily preventable disaster - your reaction at the end when the "official" soviet casualty list is displayed as 31 - which even some russians in the comments are still trying to promote to this day through lies, they clearly have not learnt their lesson - its well into the thousands as you know just through common sense without any of the many facts presented. - that's why the Ukrainian war is more scary than some might realise - the russians should immediately give back the ZNPP power plant before they destroy it or worse - they are currently experiencing high levels of radiation and an incident (sounds a lot like Chernobyl) in the south of Russia at a different plant that they own and run due to a safety incident of some kind, lord only knows what the hell they have done again but it should not be allowed to happen again - they need to be stopped. Thats why I challenged their troll comments - look at what lies have done and continue to do, and they still to this day live like this.. and who pays.. the common folk And people wonder why the Ukrainians never ever want to return to the soviet union.. apologies "russian federation" You are correct about the writing of this series, the writer - listen to the podcast for Chernobyl - he wanted to make sure that we all challenge power and tell the truth where we can - because it will inevitably lead to a terrible situation like this.

[@ganthc]

One of the best parts of this episode is how Legasov and Boris explain complex nuclear reactor concepts in ways we can all understand, with the model and the colored placards. That, plus there were some awesome lines, like “Every lie we tell incurs a debt to the truth. Sooner or later that debt is paid.”

[@AlanCanon2222]

There are historians and nuclear scientists who have nitpicked the series on KZbin, and the writer Craig Mazin did a five episode podcast which explains some of the liberties taken for the sake of storytelling, but for a series like this, that always happens, and CHERNOBYL does it as well or better than some other productions along the same lines (The Imitation Game, Apollo 13, Oppenheimer). I studied physics enough to understand what is being said in the series, and the nucleus (!) of the true story does come shining (!) through. Enough to inspire the science-interested audience to do further reading on the accident. As someone who spends a good deal of time explaining science topics to friends, that is more than good enough for me. 5/5 in my book.

[@AlanCanon2222]

I like how the camera shows Ulana and Boris at the exact moment Legasov says the word "truth". Props to the director and cinematographer for these little touches throughout the series.

[@dontshanonau1335]

Yeah, uh, the tiny issue being that they completely misrepresent what the issue was, thereby explaining nothing whatsoever.

[@Tungar111-mv2hw]

@@dontshanonau1335 I wouldn't say they "completely misrepresent" what the issue was. It's not as complete as it could have been, but nobody is going to sit through a 3 hour lecture in an hbo show. The only thin I *really* take issue with is the wording of the control rods being "tipped" in graphite. To me that language indicates only a tiny fraction of the bottom has graphite when in fact it's the entire bottom half of the rod.

[@eve-llblyat2576]

@@AlanCanon2222 the problem isnt the tiny wrong deatails. its the greater picture, and the show paints its wrong. They tell the story of evil atoms and the invicible deadly radiation. its ment to scare simple minded who are not able to understand the topic or the show. The show tells lies about people dieing of the radiation who in reality llived beyond their 80s. A scientist who said the reactor became a nuclear bomb. A mispresentation of radiation sicness. The few people died there had radiation burns. radiation sickness from long exposure of a few weeks doesnt do much. A chemotherapy gives up to 40Sv fpr comparison. The story follows the narration of greenpeace and not the scientist who investigated. And as we see in the react and the comments. Simple minded people tkae the narration as the truth.

[@PeterDB90]

"They mistakenly sent the one good man..." I love that quote

[@peterwalkerden6778]

Sadly the actor Paul Ritter who played Anatoly Dyatlov, was in fact dying of cancer when filming this series. He was truly an incredible actor in both drama and comedy. You should watch Friday night dinner.

[@markjamesrodgers]

Makes his outstanding performance so poignant.

[@dennisvogel5982]

that guy seemed to have such an easy time to make us hate him in this series, wich is a proof of how good of an actor he was

[@Clyde_Frog]

I went to see clips of that show after watching Chernobyl, it was like watching a goofy version of Dyatlov lol I loved it

[@bumdiggory]

Friday Night Dinner was hilarious and it was so sad to see how swollen his face was in the 10 year anniversary documentary of the show shortly before his death

[@jaakkomantyjarvi7515]

35:28 Because the Soviet State was, by definition, infallible. Suggesting otherwise was treason. Trivia fact: Boris's reaction to the caterpillar was improvised; it just happened to be there, and Stellan Skarsgård improvised the line. The director kept it in.

[@adflicto1]

Wow

[@jacob4920]

Why remove it? It adds so much more to the scene, without ruining it. It was a good inclusion, even if the actual Boris never said those words.

[@jaakkomantyjarvi7515]

@@jacob4920 It was indeed good. But some directors are sticklers for going by the script and don't allow ad libs even if they happen to work well.

[@00binator]

Regarding the "New Safe Confinement", the new shell around the reactor: The shell is “only” designed to last 100 years, but is technically incredibly interesting. The air has a lower density inside, so that no radioactive particles can escape. There is also a remote-controlled crane in the shell, which is now supposed to remove the ruins of the reactor block piece by piece so that this highly radioactive debris can be stored in a final repository as well as possible. The aim is not to buy more time, but to complete the work within the next 100 years if possible. It is also WAY safer than the old one, because that was build in a hurry, on top of that radiating reactor back in the day. The new one was build a couple of hundred meters away and then slided over the current one. I think at the time it was the largest moving manmade object or something like that

[@Shiftry87]

I´m guessing u mean that the air inside the shell has a negative pressure to it compared to the outside so that if the shell ever were to be pierced it would always pull air in. Kinda like a large scale controllable vacume pump.

[@mariusrutkaus]

Wasn't this one of the biggest man-made structures that were moved?

[@alanfoster6589]

In 2011 you could see it under construction.

[@katieturner6685]

There's a very interesting documentary about its construction

[@wayneronnie7402]

i went on a tour of the place a few years ago before the ukraine war.. and we had lunch at the canteen there... still loads of workmen active there .. never knew what they were up to until now. I guess operating the crane and getting rid of debris.

[@DaveWraptastic]

Pudgey not understanding why dunking on the state is dangerous is kinda sweet really. The Soviet Union is now so long ago that grown ups can't even fathom how deep the fear and the secrecy and the lying ran, how every citizen had to be absolutely loyal to the most glorious country on earth. How making an anti government joke to a friend in the office could result in you being questioned for hours or even worse. Now imagine standing in front of a judge and telling him: the state covered up a design flaw and it resulted in a catastrophic disaster, just to save a few bucks.

[@mercb3ast]

Then there are people like you, who go the other way, and think that the USSR was a totalitarian police state in 1986. No dude, what you described ended with Stalin. There was secrecy and lying within the USSR after Stalin of course, but it wasn't at ALL what you described. People cowering in fear that their neighbor would narc them out, with the KGB enforcing Dear Leader levels of delusion on the population.

[@mvprime8]

People still fall out of windows or get assassinated in their homes in Russia for various reasons. Soviet era ended in name only. HBO has another movie in their catalogue, "Citizen X" (1995) that tells the true story of attempts to capture a serial killer in the Soviet Union, and how difficult it was because of the convoluted Soviet system that tried to suppress even the existence of such a killer.

[@PaleTyche]

The same guys (NKVD/KGB/FSB -- however you name it) are still in power in Russia, running it, the same lies and hierarchy, no value attributed to human life...

[@uggggggghhhhh]

I think she gets it but is expressing her frustrations with it. Totalitarianism will always spark anger and confusion. Shes fighting it instead of yielding. Imo. I ciuld be wrong obviously.

[@JCShadow0202]

Never looked at it like that, beautifully analyzed, but still worrying when people don't know world history

[@stonedmountainunicorn9532]

35:22 Pudgey after that statement: "WHY?!" People that know about the Soviet Union: 🤨

[@Lexisko]

My thoughts exactly :D

[@Knightowl1980]

This series just took everyone by surprise. Even HBO didn’t believe in it. They only greenlit it bc they felt like it was a story that needed to be told out of posterity reasons. They were t expecting its huge success and awards it gathered. -I saw minimal advertising for it And wasn’t particularly interested in it but HBO gets the benefit of the doubt from me and I was floored by how well this story was told .

[@kongvinter33]

the actors made this show. superb.

[@tealsquare]

And they even aired it on Mondays. Gotta say it also suffered from the backlash of the ending of GoT. People tuned out.

[@Knightowl1980]

@@kongvinter33 Jared Harris crushed it.

[@xxendersgamexx]

Well it came out suspiciously close to the the disastrous end of game of thrones. I for one salved my wounds with this one. I don't know if they saw the full series before it was finished, but if they did I can imagine that the release was timed strategically

[@HeisenStark13]

​@@tealsquare On the contrary for me, I needed something good after season 8

[@xXchrisXx010]

"fun" fact, when legasov was taken into the room, he looked behind the door, because it was common in the Soviet Union for a soldier to stand there and shoot the person coming in straight away

[@bvbxiong5791]

the drain in the floor is for easy cleanup...

[@AlanCanon2222]

@@bvbxiong5791 and the bucket is laying on its side because nobody cares to make the room too neat.

[@leathewolf]

@@AlanCanon2222 And the walls were ballistic tile.

[@phj223]

"Nice" touch, I had no idea. o.O

[@megageek8509]

Yes it was a kgb kill room.

[@MagguillZ]

It was perfect. Perfect, everything down to the last minute details

[@alexfilma16]

Yummers…

[@Neko-]

Best bit... remember the first sentence spoken in episode 1? Now compare that to the last sentence uttered in episode 5. ;-)

[@jacob4920]

The scene where all the poor puppies had to get shot STILL drains my eyeballs of every tear they have! I can't watch that scene. To this day I always have to skip past it, as best as I possibly can. Such a powerful scene, and it hardly involved any dialogue from the human characters at all. Didn't even need to show what was happening. All you had was the gunshots... And that was enough.

[@alexfilma16]

@@jacob4920 Some people would look at your comment and be like: “Oh my god it’s just a tv show stop crying." But what’s the point of watching a tv series if you don’t feel anything right?

[@jacob4920]

@@alexfilma16 Exactly. Those who downtalk TV shows to cover up their emotions are secretly the ones most guilty of falling victim to that which they laugh at others for. Insecurity.

[@tgram2307]

The guy who played diatlov died a couple of years back. He was in a sitcom called Friday night dinner. Hilarious. Seriously talented actor

[@wysiwyg2006]

Paul Ritter, died of a brain tumor . ironically his father worked in power stations around the UK

[@markjamesrodgers]

Right! This was one of the last things he did, and he did it so well.

[@jasonuk8333]

The difference between the eccentric Dad in Friday Night Dinner and Dyatlov couldn't have been greater. Superb actor. RIP Paul Ritter.

[@ryanhauck70]

damn i had no idea, i had heard he was tapped to play a role in The Last of Us but was surprised to not see him in that show

[@jacob4920]

@@ryanhauck70 He died before his filming session, so they scrapped the character from the show entirely. At least that's what I've been told.

[@PelosiStockPortfolio]

When you show up to court and lord Bolton is the prosecutor, you know you're gonna have a bad day

[@kapsi]

"The sentence is...flaying"

[@marisaipardo]

Pyp from the Night’s Watch, who died bc Ygritte shot him thru the neck in GOT episode 4x9, resurrected and then “paid it forward” to that cow in the beginning of episode 4 of this series. 🫡

[@nathcascen473]

RUS bolton perfect name for a soviet xd

[@keanancupido]

The ending where they showed the facts and the footage brought me to tears. It's horrible to think that this actually happened. A true horror story that could be a real life version of an apocalypse. This show easily became one of my absolute favourite shows. Just shows you don't need a thousand episodes to tell a compelling story.

[@ReddwarfIV]

The Ukranian funeral song was the perfect soundtrack for it, too.

[@keanancupido]

@@ReddwarfIV I totally agree!!

[@s1lm4r1l6]

The biggest irony is that Dyatlov, the most cynical and disbelieving of any of the characters believed that AZ5 would catch him if he screwed up. He trusted more than any of the other characters.

[@1GGG936]

I know it’s a true story albeit with drama added but the “character arc“ of Boris not knowing how a reactor worked in Episode 1 to his speech on one in this episode is amazing.

[@WarBird115]

I work with colleagues who's friends were the liquidators. Many of them are still alive. Im going into some rant now so if you dont want to read it, its fine: Many people dont understand how well the show shows the power dynamic inside the USSR workspace. You literally dont go against your superiors no matter how dumb the command is. My uncle who serverd in the USSR military (Im from Estonia and at the time it was part of USSR) told me a story of a conversation that he heard between your regular farmboy and a sergeant. (In USSR it was pretty common to go to villages and kidnap people into the military. That meant that alot of the serving men were not the brightest tools in the shed). The farmboy asked the sergeant. "Sergeant! I have a question! Do pigs really fly?" The sergeant was about to go red from anger "Soldier, what the hell are you talking about? Why are you wasting my time. Pigs dont fly you idiot" The farmboy said "But the Lieutenant said they did" The sergeant said really quietly: Well, yes actually they do...but at a really really low altitude so you cant really notice that. It shows how perverted the power structure was all over the place and the acting wasnt turned to 11 by any means. It really was as is shown in the series. You never sent a group of soldiers into battle under their former drill sergeant in fear of the soldiers turning on the sergeant. And we're seeing that in Ukraine today. Not much has changed. While the USSR has collapsed, it is under a new shade of $hit.

[@xedski]

Spot on. Living in Poland for over 50 years, i still see these soviet patterns when observing noadays ruZZia. It is somehow present in order generations ways of thinking, no so strong in PL as luckily PL was not incorpotated so closely like your country. Yes, ruZZia is a state of mind passed over for generations.

[@VladislavKrotikov]

@@xedski Russian invaders had a nice trip to dead forest of Exclusion zone where they dug trenches under orders from headquarters. It was reported that most of those who stayed too long had radiation poisoning. Too bad Ukraine can't compare by quantity of everything with Russia, still they make a good job at holding out, may be if some western politics find their balls they can put Russia in proper place.

[@atikzimmerman]

I heard it as a popular joke in russia

[@markjamesrodgers]

Early in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russian soldiers occupied Chernobyl as a part of their planned assault on Kyiv, Ukraine did not even attempt to defend it because the area is still so dangerous. The Russian soldiers were ordered to dig trenches and they stayed there much longer than they should have.

[@laserpanda94]

Their commanding officers told them it was safe so it must be...

[@mayapilkey3577]

​@@laserpanda94they actually released a shit ton of radiation into the atmosphere by disturbing the trees and ground. They caused another nuclear disaster in the exclusion zone

[@lornepribbeno3760]

Russia never learned the lesson

[@mayapilkey3577]

@lornepribbeno3760 they did. But putin is trying to rebuild the Soviet union with him being Stalin (Stalin was 100 times more evil and worse than Hitler. He had 10 times as many death camps and killed more than 100times more people in them than Hitler.

[@markjamesrodgers]

@@mayapilkey3577 and gave themselves elevated doses in the process.

[@salmarwow]

It wasn't experiment, it was a test. A small difference for some, but crucial for scientists or engineers. Experiment is when you experiment with things in order to learn something new, at least to you. E.g., experiments with charged materials can allow you to understand that there is a force between electric charges. Test is when you check everything is working as it was designed. Things in Chernobyl happened because of a test performed poorly, not because they experimented with something they shouldn't have.

[@ChristopherCraven]

You're not wrong, just a little "um actually."

[@laserpanda94]

@@ChristopherCraven I think it's a fair distinction to point out because it's important to understand the motives of the people involved and the culture they're working within. This wasn't a case of mad scientists recklessly performing experiments for their own edification, it was institutionalised company men focussed on ticking a box so they could fulfil their personal obligations. The outcome is just as likely to be catastrophic but the whole point of this show is to explain exactly _why_ you end up at this catastrophe.

[@ChristopherCraven]

@@laserpanda94 and while that may be the case, within the context of most prior episodes commenter's have been nitpicking these reacters over tiny trivial contrivance, in this example it just comes across a little Sheldon like, when the point of the reaction is to get their reaction and commentary, pointing out this difference isn't going to really encourage them to better want to learn the difference, they're just a young couple reacting to a tv show, they were feeling the emotional impact of the horrific tragedy that was Chernobyl, and coming in with a comment distincting the difference between an experiment and a test just comes across as a pseudo -intellectual way to highlight a criticism of their comprehension. I'm willing to fully admit maybe I went too far reading into your comment, and I do apologize if you are genuinely earnestly just a young person who is fascinated by science and wanted to clarify, using Sheldon as an example is slightly demeaning of me, but I felt it encapsulated the analysis of what could be perceived. Their reaction to the episode not being 100 percent on track with what was conveyed does not give similar consequences to something like Chernobyl itself, in this situation, I feel it's better to be more considerate of the interpretation than the truth (which I understand is slightly ironic in a commentary about Chernobyl, where the truth was hidden to placate those responsible with what feels better, but like I said, the consequences of that mistake aren't the same)

[@laserpanda94]

​@@ChristopherCraven I understand and I agree, people reacting to something for the first time is not necessarily the time get all forensic. To be clear, I have no objection to how they reacted to the show and to be honest they may have just been saying 'experiment' meaning 'test' as the OP meant it. In any case, I didn't even remember what they said during that scene. I wasn't necessarily implying they should have reacted differently, I just thought the OP had brought up an interesting point and it made me reflect on how two similar words could have such a crucial (in the context of this show) but subtle difference. I think it's good that comments give people the opportunity to clue reactors in on details, background, context or meaning that they may have missed but the problem is, depending how you read it, it can come across a bit pedantic or condescending!

[@ChristopherCraven]

@@laserpanda94 well I greatly appreciate you in turn also taking my comment in good faith! I generally do agree with what you are saying, I believe this may be a simple case of; I, a fellow Australian, was happy to see a reaction channel of other Australians, enjoyed their lord of the rings reaction, as well as the discussions I saw in the comments of those videos, and then saw these videos, and the comments being toxic and bully like, and felt a desire to defend, leaving me to read into the other comments I read. I hope you understand your clear communication and positive outlook is rare to come by, and hope I haven't caused any negative feelings from our exchange.

[@generichuman_]

6:05 "Look at the kids, the after effects of everything"... damn that kid just got roasted lol!

[@simonO712]

I know right! xD

[@totchi6]

She forgot for a hot second that kids don't need radiation to lose teeth 😂😂😂

[@jacob4920]

I think it's better that poor guy doesn't find out. At his current age (teenager) he's probably got enough girls judging him based on his appearance. lol

[@SpartanandPudgey]

🤣🤣🤣

[@uggggggghhhhh]

Stooopp 💀

[@LadyEmu]

The friendship and the respect between Valery and Boris is heart-shattering perfection. Two brave men! (Also, kudos to the script-writers who managed to write a character who first appears to be an asshat to have me bawling when Valery tells him he was the one who mattered the most.)

[@cristabelleblanc309]

For real man. It really shows how brainwashed even good people were. They had such a hard time facing the truth after decades of ignoring it. His character perfectly demonstrated how a smart, good person can turn into one who appears dumb and bad, when under constant threat of death as well as everyone around you agreeing with the party line.

[@kateawake]

I was 15 at the time. We were not allowed to eat food from the garden or drink milk from the cows. I grew up in the eastern part of germany. I needed to take iodine pills too. You need to know that in communism back then, image of the perfect state, was the most important before the truth. It was a dictatorship. In East Germany was also a rise of Thyroid cancer at the time. 4 of my family got it. But until today there are no statistics. Thank you for your reaction.

[@SonOfBaraki359]

and in france, authorities said "oh, don't worry, the radiactive cloud stopped at the border"....

[@laserpanda94]

I don't think people realise what a big deal it was for other countries to even be issuing warnings and taking steps like that. Governments do not like to acknowledge that things that are happening in other countries that are completely out of their control can be having such a drastic effect on your own people. We had warnings in the UK even, although I think readings over here were extremely minimal. I'm sorry to hear of the effects on your family. It's a harsh reminder of how fragile our existence is and how capable we have become of affecting it on such a huge scale.

[@awhartig5847]

What ever conclusions you draw from the story of the Chernobyl disaster, the indisputable truth is that the liquidators (between 600-800, 000 people) were heroes, the members of the USSR scientific community who worked to bring the truth of the reactor explosion were courageous, and the cost of lies is paid in blood.

[@JacobHimmelhaver-m8g]

I wish I were brave enough to die to expose for eternity the lies of a government working towards utopia. While using falsehood and party loyalty.

[@plyuh1n]

There is an interview on KZbin recorded by Dyatlov himself at home several years before his death, where he tells his version of the causes of the disaster. There is also a video with English subtitles. Dyatlov leaves an impression of himself as an intelligent and calm person. The video is called: "Чернобыльская авария А.С.Дятлов - воспоминания"

[@Hugh-S]

Little bit of trivia for you, when Dyatlov says "You won't work at Kursk or Ignalina or Leningrad or Novo Voronezh", they were actually filming the scenes at the Ignalina Plant, as it was Chernobyl's sister plant, identical.

[@patrikneperfekta7575]

Your discussion after the episode was one of the best ones you ever did.

[@stevenstone307]

This whole story explains sooo much about modern Russia.

[@robertwinfree3197]

Dyatlov knew a lot about nuclear reactors but most of his knowledge came from working on much smaller reactors on nuclear submarines. He had very little experience on reactors the size of the RBMK-1000. It was so big that one had to control different sections of the reactor at the same time. Not even Dyatlov knew about the fact the AZ-5 would trigger an explosion.

[@ChristopherCraven]

Wasn't the point that no one knew except those who redacted the information about the graphite tips?

[@jacob4920]

Nobody knew. Thanks to the Soviet State, that crucial information was probably one of the things "crossed out" in that instruction booklet.

[@ChristopherCraven]

@@jacob4920 right, but their comment was saying dyatlov didn't know AZ-5 was going to trigger an explosion due to them only working prior on submarines. Maybe this is one of those things, that the show got wrong and this person knows the real history of, I have seen a couple of comments saying "they did dyatlov dirty, he wasn't that bad". But none of those comments went into detail explaining why, so that's why we are in the state of confusion we are in now.

[@robertwinfree3197]

@@ChristopherCraven I highly recommend the book Midnight in Chernobyl. It goes in depth regarding the principal people involved. The miniseries got a lot right but there were a lot of Hollywood liberties taken as well.

[@Hal2718]

*Nobody* knew AZ-25 would or could cause an explosion before Chernobyl. Legasov and others knew that it could cause energy production to momentarily spike in the core, but did not know it could lead to something so catastrophic. *Everyone* found out the hard way.

[@Tigermania]

Valery Legasov & Boris Shcherbina not forgotten, they where brave men. Superbly portrayed by Jared Harris and Stellan Skarsgård.

[@jillfromatlanta427]

One of the best scenes in the whole series (to me) was the one where these two are sitting on the park bench together. Boris is thinking he did so little in this whole catastrophe and Legasov contradicting that notion.

[@watchjoy121]

In reality, Legasov was not so heroic, and Dyatlov was not so bad. The series is based on a book by one person who is not entirely respected by nuclear workers and who did not accurately describe the case

[@madluck04]

This series hits hard to some of us. I live in Hungary, approximately 8-900 kilometers (in air) away from Chernobyl and I know many people who was born in 1986-87 and have serious health issues. Even tho Hungary was kinda protected by the mountains of the Carpathian Basin from most of the radioactive cloud, the number of cancer and other radiation related illnesses spiked for those who was born a few years after the disaster. In this region (Central and Eastern Europe) the rate of various types of cancer is way higher than "normal". Many countries and millions of people suffered and learned the cost of Soviet lies... We cannot be grateful enough to all the heroes who risked or even sacrificed their lives to prevent an even bigger disaster.

[@The_Catnip]

Hey, a Hungarian here! I was born 3 months before the accident and now I have 5 autoimmune diseases, nobody else has anything like this in my family. And these kind of diseases are becoming more and more frequent all over Europe (and even around the world) and I think it is because of Chernobyl.

[@madluck04]

@@The_Catnip And there was many disasters like this even in the UK and USA. The Mayak disaster was even worse than Chernobyl. Not to mention all the bomb tests all over the world...

[@The_Catnip]

@@madluck04 I never heard of the Mayak disaster! Thank you for the info!

[@vanessaaves3271]

This episode is pure brilliance. Not only is it educational, the dialog is fire. That conversation between Boris and Valery makes me cry every time. It is so touching.

[@cantabrian1009]

The actor who played Dyatlov was a guy called Paul Ritter. He was a very talented chap. He sadly died of a brain tumour in 2021.

[@GreyMagee74]

This event and 3 mile island really did mess up the nuclear energy movement that could have solved some modern day problems. Its probably the best most reliable renewable energy source, you just have to take the precautions and safety measures or you'll have these types of catastrophes.

[@binkybuns462]

Don't forget Windscale. That one didn't help either 🙏😁

[@shadowdemon2272]

You missed the entire point of the show then. People don't fear using nuclear energy because it isn't safe in-and-of-itself, it's because greedy corporations and/or corrupt, lazy governments run by fallable stupid humans will always be the ones in control of it. It don't fear nuclear power, I fear dumb people...

[@jessbellis9510]

That's the issue with it though - when it goes wrong, it goes _really_ wrong. And when humans are involved, it _will_ eventually go wrong.

[@keanancupido]

0:51 Pudgey: *breathes* Spartan: Wait, is she gonna interrupt me again? 🤣🤣🤣

[@csgXIII]

He wants so bad to be an Alpha male 😂😂😂

[@paddington1670]

i dont think she interrupts

[@TheDerpp]

@@csgXIII ?? what a strange determination to make

[@tilltronje1623]

​@@csgXIIIyou are projecting

[@JFDCamara]

This show is relatively recent, and check out how when it aired many russians (and non-russians) went deposit flowers in the graves of Legasov and Shcherbina as well as the monuments to the workers that died or risked their lives that were built in russia. The show didnt even air in russia at that time but people of course found a way to view it and wanted to show their respect to people that suffered under a regime they experienced. The russian state was very uncomfortable with this as they want to view the soviet union as amazing and tried to remove the flowers as much as they could. In others places like ukraine the monuments were also stacked with flowers but there everyone knows and admits how horrible this all was so there was no controversy.

[@alex_gaimar]

I agree with everything but I want to point out that the show was released at the same time as it did in the US. And I have just checked it now, it's available on like a dozen of services, all official, apparently even on at least two TV channel websites, which probably means they have aired them. After 2022, the TV channels would definitely not air it ofc, but streaming services still maybe would have, but wouldn't have been so enthusiastic perhaps. Speaking of the reaction here, it was kind of a mixed bag. The state propaganda ofc didnt like it, although even there there were some people giving mixed reactions instead of all negative. And I would say overall the people here in general liked the show with some reserved criticism.

[@laserpanda94]

I didn't know about this, that genuinely brought a tear to my eye. Doesn't matter where you are, there will always be humanity and bravery. I often complain about the state of affairs in my own country but I try not to forget how lucky I am to have the freedoms that I do.

[@Markus117d]

You can get arrested just for wearing yellow & blue shoes, In today's Russia apparently 😬

[@soho2409]

​@@Markus117dyou can get arrested for a blank piece of paper. "You protesting, comrade? Looks like you are".

[@NPA1001]

The creators of this series went on to make “The Last of Us”. After the critical success this show received HBO basically asked Craig Mazin, the show runner, what he wanted to do next and they would back it and he said he wanted to adapt The Last of Us video game.

[@cristabelleblanc309]

Oh wow didn’t realize this. Makes sense they’re both so well done

[@bloodaxis]

Jared Harris is an amazing actor, he has a very similar scene towards the end of season 1 of the series The Terror, where he talks to another character who also starts out semi adversarial, where he lays his weaknesses and failings out and Harris character builds him up and gets him to focus on the positives. It's an amazing scene and it's carried entirely on the backs of two amazing actors. Especially seeing as how the landscape they're on is entirely rocks.

[@CyberBeep_kenshi]

in fringe... what a legend:) one of my favourite actors

[@MichaelM-uw3mk]

It is a tremendous credit to the filmmakers and writers that they explained so simply and eloquently how an RBMK reactor could explode that even Spartan and Pudgey understood.

[@mattybob12310]

So, a few things; Dyatlov was made the villain by the show, a story like this needs a villain for it to resonate with audiences. In actuality, after his imprisonment, he worked hard for the rest of his life to clear the names of those who worked under him that night. He was a hard taskmaster, no doubt, but he wasn't the ignorant arsehole they portray him as in the show. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) later put blame on the Soviet government for not properly relaying safety information regarding the Reactor to the operators, how can they know they're doing something so drastically wrong if they are not properly informed? He also wrote letters about the design flaws in the RBMK Reactors that he had learned of while in Prison. He also wrote a letter to Toptunov's family explaining that he had done everything that was asked of him in trying to save the reactor. Also, Legasov wasn't trying to 'Destroy' them in the Trial, he was simply telling the truth. Also, the New Safe Confinement is designed to last 100 years, yes, but it is also a highly sophisticated building site, inside are cranes that run on rails along the roof, the whole thing is negatively pressurized to stop dust from escaping while they dismantle the old Concrete Sarcophagus and eventually, begin to remove the remnants of Reactor No.4. As Legasov said, they are dealing with something which has never occurred on this Planet before. They're basically writing the book on how to clear a Nuclear meltdown. They have also recently overturned thousands of acres of Topsoil which has lowered radioactivity drastically in the surrounding areas. The Russian Army captured Chernobyl and Pripyat during the first weeks of the Russo-Ukraine War and some idiot commander made his unit dig Foxholes and Trenches in the poisoned soil, it was reported that many Soldiers were taken to Hospital with radiation sickness. Also also, RIP Paul Ritter (Dyatlov), Comedic brilliance and all round great actor. He's made me howl with laughter many times watching 'Friday Night Dinner'. SHIT ON ITTTTTT!

[@efricha]

He was pretty rough on his subordinates, which is portrayed here. I don't know how he behaved post-explosion, though.

[@Jigsawn2]

Yeah they really played him up as a complete villain in this, which some have said was a bit harsh and misleading.

[@AJ1987LV]

@@efricha If you search, there is about an hour long interview with Djatlov where he speaks of Chernobyl. It's his last interview. And I must say that he's pretty much the same, saying that it wasn't his fault, it was government fault, etc etc, but not once he takes any responsibility about his decisions and actions at all. I think it does have english subtitles

[@efricha]

@@AJ1987LV I'm not surprised. But what he did do differently from the drama is realize the seriousness of the situation, and say that his underlings did well. Dylatov was not a pleasant person to work with and for.

[@ciaranconlon84]

"Every lie we tell incurs a debt to the truth, sooner or later that debt is paid" One of the most powerful lines ever written or delivered in any medium.

[@MrBellsa61]

"Every lie we tell incurs a debt to the truth. Sooner or later that debt is paid." Amazing line that's stuck with me ever since I watched the show.

[@CyberBeep_kenshi]

still relevant today in russia....

[@nuskenasken4997]

Even now during the war in Ukraine, because Russia would never admit to any mistakes, Russian soldiers had no clue as to why they were getting sick after digging trenches in Chernobyl

[@markjamesrodgers]

There’s a reason why they were able to just walk in to the exclusion zone and the Ukrainians didn’t defend it…

[@mayapilkey3577]

​@@markjamesrodgersthey did resist, but they couldn't disturb the trees or ground. The moment the tanks rolled in all of the buried nuclear waste was released, they had to evacuate right then for their survival

[@davidbaca7853]

That has been debunked as propaganda by mainstream media. Any trenchs dug were outside the zone.

[@praktisktro]

Love your reaction

[@TheNismo777]

I'm one of those who donated money for the current safety structure over the plant :)

[@barbaraludwiczak6798]

I was one of the children playing outside during the sunny days after Chernobyl disaster. I was six years old and we live 800 km west from Chernobyl. I remember my grandpa asking me and my friend if we were afraid. And we responded: "We are not, we have sunglasses and sun hats!" Because, indeed, our mothers gave us these as the means of protection. The main problem with Chernobyl was the initial lack of the official communication. Then, when people started to talk, there was chaos. On one hand the government tried to minimize the effects of the disaster, on the other, they told us not to drink milk or eat the vegetables. The result was panic and distrust among the Polish people. The government made us drink Lugol's liquid (iodium), the one the nurse talked about in the first episode. The point is you drink clear iodium so that you wouldn't absord the radioactive one. The problem was they gave us this about one week after the disaster when this was probably too late. As for the health effects - well, I have some problems with thyroid. Basically, it's not functioning. And I have no idea is it because of the radiation or beacuse I absorbed too much iodium. There is indeed quite dramatic increase in thyroid diseases in Poland especially, in the South.

[@scarlett.23]

I’m from Ukraine and at that time in USSR the May 1st was labor day, huge holiday and the parades were organised all across Ukraine. My grandpa and mother (she was 13) went on such parade just 5 days after the explosion. Not a single parade was cancelled. My grandpa and mom also have dysfunctional thyroids

[@barbaraludwiczak6798]

@@scarlett.23 Yes! Very true! In Poland it was the same - the 1st May parades were not cancelled, some even say they were bigger and longer than usual.

[@entity22]

As a east european I always tell westerners that Chernobyl(the show and the tragedy itself) is the USSR/Soviet communism in a nutshell, this disaster could only have happened in this type of regime with this type of work culture, it's such a soviet thing, everything about it is basically all the bad characteristics of that system coming together to create this perfect storm. You have the cheapness and cutting corners, the apparatchik culture that had even real intellectuals and professionals often become more concerned with fulfilling quotas and getting praise and promotions from the state cause that was their only source of power, worth and fulfillment + the way they often tended to treat everyone under them with great arrogance. Then there's one of the main things about soviet communism: it's all about projected image, about perception and that was the nr 1 thing, to project wealth, plenitude, prosperity and utopia to the outside world(in my country, Romania, this for example was one reason why in the 1980s things started really collapsing, the communist rule was concerned with export and production quotas in industry and resources, which meant too much industry and not enough food for the people and they paid all the country's debt also), that's why they were principally concerned with hiding the real level of the catastrophe, even if it meant people dying. Lastly you have all these "regular" people who, as always, try to do their best and end up paying with their lives or health, people forced in situations. Boris btw was also sent to deal with the aftermath of an earthquake in Armenia in 1988. This episode is one of the best ever, I think it was brilliant how they used the trial to create a courtroom drama as a means to explain the science of what and why it happened, which was also a good call in that understanding I think makes the conclusion hit harder. Legasov didn't give a testimony in real life but the trial did happen and there's some footage from it that u can see a bit off also at the end, there's some more online, it looks so similar. Also great idea to take all the other scientists and make one character that represents them and thus instead of a bunch of characters who get a minute of screentime, you have one character that gets much more and that the viewer can become attached to.

[@Haplo-san]

Soviets can't change the number 31 death toll anymore because there isn't Soviets since 1991; and before that the communist system was at it's peak corruption for long years, that's why it is dissolved into many countries and capitalism took over. There is also interesting report on wiki for Shcherbina I just saw: "Shcherbina died in Moscow in 1990, aged 70. It is speculated that his death resulted from a radiation-induced cancer caused by his work at the Chernobyl disaster site. Officially, however, it is unknown whether his death was related to radiation, as a 1988 decree that he drafted prevented Soviet doctors from citing radiation as a cause of death or illness." So he is also responsible for the number of death toll being stuck on 31 because he issued such a decree himself and he cannot be added into death toll bylaw. Also "On 20 September 1996, Russian president Boris Yeltsin posthumously conferred on Legasov the honorary title of Hero of the Russian Federation, the country's highest honorary title, for the "courage and heroism" shown in his investigation of the disaster." So the KGB dude was wrong, he officially given the hero title after his death and will be forever remembered.

[@Markus117d]

Technically it didn't desolve into so many countries, It desolved back into those countries. The Soviet union was a Union between those nations. Some willingly other not so willingly..

[@AJ1987LV]

Actually the official death toll is 31, because it counts people who were first responders, plant workers, the ones that were first and most directly hit by radiation right after initial explosion. The actual death count would never be estimated correctly, because many of liquidators' diseases and health issues were forbidden to be diagnosed as result of exposure from Chernobyl.

[@ElProf]

I love that you recognized Bolton! 😂

[@viziontrex]

Hard not to, man has such a unique voice.

[@keanancupido]

but they didn't recognise Maester Luwin in the earlier episodes xP

[@Craplatte]

@@viziontrex One of the best voices ever. Alongside Ralph Ineson, who also appeared in Chernobyl.

[@melissavukelic4138]

​@@keanancupidoOr Jeor Mormont, the miner that patted the Minister of Coal on the cheek. Or Pip, the soldier who shot the cow.

[@keanancupido]

@@melissavukelic4138 omgg was Jora Mormont there???!!!

[@angelagerrand9446]

I’ve watched the full series twice but I’ve seen this episode a few times more, just they way everything was explained so clearly

[@richardfeynman4452]

And even after all this suffering the zone is at war again, Man I feel for this people they can't catch a break.

[@Sir_AlexxTv]

The ambition, the thirst for a better position, the greed for a career caused all this, and a lot of good people worked their asses off and died to save the USSR and part of Europe, bless them

[@FloridatedH2O]

That scene between the KGB head and Legasov in that shower or bathroom after the trial is so chilling. Just showing how much of a power imbalance there is between an individual and the state, and how much bravery it takes to stand up to the deceit and tyranny of such a state.

[@55tranquility]

Every lie owes a debt to the truth, eventually that debt has to be paid

[@cristabelleblanc309]

Best line of the series.

[@mrb2349]

I'm from blacksea region of Turkey, across the pond from Ukraine. My grandfather, as well as lot of people from his generation have all passed away from cancer. The minister of trade at the time, drank tea on national tv to prove the tea harvested in blacksea region was harmless! He did not die of cancer though, and lived until 2011.

[@iclalemine]

Bizim başkanların rahatlık seviyesi gldlvidbşdivşfiv

[@clarkmichaels822]

The theme of the show (to me) is that it shows how people will make terrible mistakes for the sake of money or power, and it's up to regular people to fix those mistakes. While the ones responsible often walk away completely unharmed.

[@laserpanda94]

I think that's true but it also goes beyond money and power. Regardless of whether any of the people involved stood to gain anything (e.g. promotions), they were also trapped in a system where they had little choice but to do what they were told even if they knew it was extremely risky. Like Legasov says in the first scenes, it's easy to point the finger of blame at Dyatlov (and he's certainly at fault) but he's also stuck in the same system that means his subordinates will obey his insane commands, even though they know how dangerous they are. The difference between Dyatlov and them is that he stands to gain something from it and doesn't have any illusions about what will happen if he defies his orders. Pretty much every antagonist in the show is acting out of self-preservation rather than greed. Some have more power than others but ultimately they are all desperately trying to maintain control and not be seen to be going against the system.

[@o.b.7217]

(6:04) That's no "after effects", Pudgey - that's s milk teeth. XD

[@kateawake]

😂

[@KnightYellow]

It should be noted that the part during the summary where they mention that cancer rates spiked in the years following Chernobyl is somewhat deceptive as the implication from the program is that Chernobyl was responsible, in reality the spike is almost entirely due to better detection methods that were brought into Eastern Europe after the fall of the USSR and when the individual countries started to improve their own health services for things like cancer screening etc. If you compare the rates of cancer in Ukraine against Western nations of that time the "spike" brought them in line with what most other countries that were not exposed to the effects of Chernobyl observe in their own populations. It's like how during the Pandemic if you tested more people you saw more people with covid, they were infected with or without the testing, the testing just gave you a clearer picture of what the situation really was.

[@sariip6987]

I was studying engineering and I was 20 years old when I saw the last episode, it was impossible not to feel a little identified with the 25-year-old nuclear engineer who was forced to do a procedure he had never done before, he really followed all the steps his superiors gave him and died without knowing why, it's so sad.

[@hebijirik]

The cost issue with the graphite on the control rods is not an issue of cheap vs expensive material. The reactor designed like this with its very low uranium enrichment would not be controlable without it. When you take the boron rod (the "car brake") out water flows into the space left by it and acts like a weaker control rod (weaker car brake). So keeping the reactor running when you only have the choice between weak brake and strong brake is difficult. You would have to build in some always-on "throttle" to be able to control the "speed of the car" by just changing the strength of the always-on "brakes". So instead they made it so that as the boron rod goes up out of the reactor it pulls in a graphite rod from below. This graphite then fills the space that would be water otherwise. So this control rod can switch between being the brake and being an accelerator. With 211 rods that can do this you get good controll of the reactor without the need to build the rest of the reactor in a way that makes it want to accelerate on its own. But you also make it possible for this scenario to happen - incompetent management forces the thing into a state with all rods fully out (with the graphite parts at the top of the reactor), then other things that were keeping their own brakes on it start going away, someone pushes the AZ5 and all the graphite rods start moving down into the lower portion of the reactor where there was less graphite until now. And you have this runaway disaster condition. So where does the "it's cheaper" happen? Natural uranium only has 0.7% off the lighter isotope 235 that works as fuel, the rest is 238 that does not want to work as fuel. To make it uranium fuel you need to separate the very slightly heavier 238 atoms from the 235 atoms somehow and throw them away. If you throw away enough of the heavier ones the resulting uranium mix will have higher percentage of the lighter 235 and can work in a reactor. But this process is expensive. So there is motivation to design a reactor that can run with as low percentage as possible. RBMK was such a design, capable of running on just 4% U235. One of the modifications made later to make them safer was to use more expensive 5.5% U235 fuel. There is another aspect to it: the U238 does not work as fuel but it sits in the reactor being bombarded by neutrons from the fissioning U235 atoms. Sometimes this turns the atom of U238 into a plutonium atom. So when the fuel is spent and no longer has enough U235 in it it is not just wildly radioactive but also has plutonium in it. Plutonium that you can make nuclear warheads out of. So here the Soviets killed two birds with one stone. The RBMK reactors would run on cheaper fuel because they need less U235 and they would produce more plutonium for weapons because they had more U238. So less need for specialized facilities manufacturing plutonium in other ways, just chemically separate it from the reactor waste. Cheaper reactor, cheaper weapons.

[@laserpanda94]

That's incredible. Thank you for the info (I think I understood it!). Does that mean in countries where they are prohibited from developing nuclear weapons they are not allowed to use U238 in nuclear reactors? Or is the production of plutonium alone not really an issue?

[@Xartah]

@@laserpanda94 Production of plutonium itself is not an issue. Normal operation of a reactor will produce both Pu239 and Pu240, which needs to be separated from the rest of the fuel. Then the two isotopes need to be separated due to too much Pu240 making it unusable for nuclear weapons. This is really difficult and expensive. Pu240 production can be minimized by making a reactor to specialized to produce Pu239, but hiding that would be difficult. Civilian reactors do use U238 in their fuel, about 95% of it in fact, with only 5% being U235. Not allowing U238 would require running reactors with weapons grade uranium which would obviously not be a good idea when trying to stop nuclear proliferation.

[@efricha]

The "cheaper" came in because they used very low enriched uranium. Non-Russian reactors use more refined uranium as fuel.

[@vhatuma]

What you write is I think the darkest lie of the series. It wants to present the soviets would risk nuclear explosion with 1-2% building cost reduction. In actuality, it was a much more significant cut from the running cost, and they hoped nobody would try to force a reactor to that extreme state. What I read about this was more focused on that the graphite rods were shorter and there was water in the lowest part of the reactor between the fuel rods. Trying to shut the reactor down lowered the rods, and graphite replaced the water, increasing the reaction on the bottom so high that it deformed the rods, sticking them in place, fixing the rods in a configuration the reactor was not designed for. What happened is hard to tell, because it happened only once on Earth. Most of the reasonings about what happened are educated guesses based on some evidence, trying to explain the events as much as possible. Usually, the edge of the reactors are less reactive, as from one side it does not have control rods or fuel rods. Maybe because it was less reactive, it had less Xenone present when the reactor worked on half power? And it dissolved faster, increasing reactivity in that location without the sensors noticing it? It is possible the bottom of the reactor was much more reactive in that moment when they tried to shut it down than any other part, and it got increased reactivity when the graphite rod appeared. Most of the scientists agree that there was no nuclear explosion in Chernobyl, that the explosions where thermal and chemical in nature, fueled by a melting reactor core. Some others think it was a failed nuclear explosion (it is hard for atomic bombs to keep the reaction fuel in place while the chain reaction increase the pressure higher and higher, usually with a chemical explosion around the nuclear fuel. Without it, the nuclear explosion would only use up a small portion of the fuel, creating a much smaller explosion, a size that is comparable with the thermal explosion opening up the reactor)

[@bobdonda]

thank you for the information, but please break things up into paragraphs instead of making a hard to read wall of text like that

[@mariekeho]

I visited Chernobyl half a year before this series came out, and it was like a ghost town. Very impressive.

[@laserpanda94]

That must have been amazing to have recently visited and then this came out! Did you know this show was in production when you went or was it a surprise?

[@cogline]

Imagine volunteering to submit to the worst suffering and death possible Dmitri is Matthew Needham who plays Lord Larys 'The Clubfoot' Strong

[@wysiwyg2006]

i visited the exclusion zone in 2008 before the new safe containment was built, before the russian invasion of Ukraine a company called Tour Kiev did day tours to the zone and allowed you to see Pripyat and get near the Reactor number 4 building that exploded. our geiger counters went highest going through the red forest than near other places. we didnt wear any PPE, but i binned the clothes i wore on that day

[@DavidMacDowellBlue]

About a year later, Boris was put in charge of disaster relief after an Earthquake. He personally accepted help offered from outside the Soviet Bloc, saving thousands of lives. He also was a hero, one among hundreds of thousands. Hard labor in the Soviet Union was horrific. That meant the Gulag in Siberia, hundreds of miles from the nearest settlement, with inadequate food or shelter, having to chop down enough trees each day to keep your hut above freezing. Lots of people did not survive. At teh worst (during Stalin) one camp was reduced to cannibalism.

[@RoboSteave]

Chernobyl is the best docu-drama in my opinion and True Detective (Season 1) is the best fictional series, in my opinion. Glad you're doing that. Overall, great reactions. Weird accents but great reactions LOL.

[@Yora21]

The new containment building is not just build to contain the ruin of the reactor. On it's inside are also remote controlled robots that very slowly and carefully take apart the ruin and put the radioactive waste into safe storage containers. The biggest hazard with the site is always radioactive dust. This is why they can't tear down the ruin normally, as that would cause huge clouds of dust. With the new containment building, all the dust that is created by the demolition will remain contained inside and now blown away by the wind. Instead they can sweep up the dust with robot and bury it properly.

[@agidotexe7167]

Theres a memorial at Chernobyl now that says ”Dedicated to those who saved the world.” Which is bone chilling especially after u learn the disaster could have reached apocalyptic levels for most of europe…

[@cristabelleblanc309]

Yeah… heroes all. As bad as it was it could have been a million times worse if not for the bravery of the people who helped fix the problem. The personal toll of that work, I can’t even imagine. The men who had to kill the dogs… 😩😩😩

[@zanderC5953]

Thank you guys for sharing this journey through this remarkable historical drama❤ I loved the "Dyatlov Union" comment from Spartan. This was one of the best tv series to come out in a long while in my opinion. I hope there will be similar series in your future reactions^^

[@strongbox232]

The constant surprise at how the soviets acted is infuriating, Its like they have never been taught any history at all

[@PBRatLord]

Yeah, I was really hoping the way this series spells it out that they would have understood by the finale, at least... very frustrating to watch them be so thoroughly confused when the show literally gives you almost all the information you need. Not knowing the way the USSR operated in ANY sort of way is WILD. We live in an age of infinite information, yet more people than ever chose to stick their heads into the dirt; to remain ignorant.

[@paddington1670]

@@PBRatLord There are other people who know things you dont, and things you know that other people dont.

[@jerryt87]

And this is one of the reasons so many young today are actually advocating for a socialist/communist system of govt. They have never been taught how evil these systems are. The commies are running the so called "education" system in the US, and this is the result.

[@skinny_fingers4511]

HBO did Dyatlov dirty. I knew it was from a narrative sense, but this portrayal will be the only picture of Dyatlov for a lot of people.

[@Markus117d]

True, Can never encapsulate someones entire personality in a short docu-drama, But enough people have said he could be like that at times to make it a not entirely unfair portrayal..

[@TS84NO]

@@Markus117d Well, it is kinda unfair, espesially when these were real people after all.. And yes, some people said he could be harsh towards those who wasn't good at their job, but not like they made him look in this show. (Unfortunally tho, HBO, just like quite a few documentaries, based a lot of their "facts" on a book, written by a guy who personally didn't like Dayatlov)

[@GdzieJestNemo]

they could stick to the reality with Dyatlov and stuff like effects of radiation and series would hit just as hard.

[@TS84NO]

@@GdzieJestNemo Yeah, that's a good point!

[@bobdonda]

Dyatlov was largely at fault and denied it all of his life, blaming everything on the design flaws of the reactor and nothing on himself, and certainly nothing on the authorities who demanded to get these test results on time without regard for safety regulations. The show might have made him more of an asshole and a buffoon than he was, but he arguably deserves it. Maybe they should have shown more of his point of view, show the pressure he was under to deliver whatever results were demanded of him by uninformed authority figures.

[@atikzimmerman]

My relative was a miner liquidator. He lived a long live, but I never saw him sober. He was telling that only those who drink ever since survived

[@Vvassago]

Yaaaay thanks for another great show friends. I really loved Chernobyl the first time i watched it. Was really nice to revisit with you. See you on another journey 💙

[@Victoratify]

10-13 Here in Pripyat there was already a sense of alarm, we immediately drove up to the building of the city party committee, located on the central square of the city. In short, a hotel, quite decent, was nearby and here we were met by the heads of local authorities. MAYORES was already here, he had flown there earlier than the government commission. There was also a group of specialists who had arrived there in response to the initial alarm signal. The first meeting of the Government Commission was immediately arranged.

[@Helion_Prime]

They really did poor Dyatlov dirty in this show. It's a very good show, but goddamn.....

[@vplusah]

Thank you so much. I waited for you to watch the last episode, and it was a great pleasure - and empathy - to rewatch it with you. It is one of the best series I have ever seen - but it is not easy to watch it again.

[@bigsarge8795]

No matter how many times I watch this series , the part with Boris and Valeri in the garden always makes me cry. It's such a great scene.

[@federicomaestri6026]

I have always found it extraordinary how the series manages to explain how a reactor works. Directors were exceptional in doing something that many popularizers and teachers struggle to do: taking the most complex topics and giving them to those who don't deal with them, explaining them with perfect simplicity. There are some inaccuracies in the final data or, better said, some facts not reported completely to increase the dramatic weight of the story: - Boris is dead, yes, but it is known that he was a heavy smoker. There is no doubt that being present at Chernobyl was harmful, but there is a tendency to exclude that he died from cancer due to radiation as he died too soon after, while mutations triggered by radiation do produce tumors but tend to take many years After. - Miners also died young, but it was not an unusual age for the category. As the head of the miners says in the series, he has breathed poisonous dust for 20 years and we are talking about coal, extracting coal is among the most harmful and carcinogenic activities that exist and it is therefore unlikely that, in decades of coal dust, it was the service to Chernobyl to kill them. - Regarding the "bridge of death", in reality no such unusual deaths were detected in those who had been there: they were at a fair distance and did not remain exposed as much as they could have, so yes, naturally over time they died and perhaps some of them developed radiation sickness, but the way the show tells it, it seems like they died like flies when that's not the case and probably many of them didn't die from that. - Dyatlov is portrayed as completely incompetent when in reality this was not the case. He knew well how a reactor worked (despite not having worked in similar plants before) and this makes his position even more serious: he was not unaware, he took a risk he knew very well (except for the graphite tips) and caused a tragedy. In any case, the series explains perfectly what led to the disaster, both on the technical side and, above all, on the political one. Regimes and corruption are structures of convenience for a few but which, precisely due to the total absence of merit and skills, can cause disasters (and generally do). This is why this story must be known and this is why I will never thank this show enough for having reconstructed it in such an emotional and painful way.

[@AbyssIsOwO]

The only sad thing is that the mini series paints Dyatlov has a horrible person when in reality it was the opposite

[@Big_Bag_of_Pus]

What's your source for saying that? Because I've read a number of books and the nicest I've seen him described as is "difficult".

[@dsz2448]

After the series I watched the hour and a half interview he gave just before he passed. You could tell he was a broken man. I wish they hadn’t cast him as an evil antagonist. The series was so good, it didn’t need that.

[@euchrideucrow6969]

from all the info i could gather, he was quite a dick that no one wanted to work with and denied any accountability until the end; he was, however, not the villain they depicted him as in the show, trying his best to help after the explosion and actually defending his subordinates instead of trying to shift the blame on them. so not a monster, but also not exactly the opposite. but as i said, from what i could gather, so take that as you will.

[@themask8221]

@@dsz2448Yeah. This is my minor complaint on this fantastic drama too. Did the creators think the viewers wouldn’t love the show as much if it didn’t have a clear unlikeable villain figure?

[@bobdonda]

He wasn't an aggressive ignorant asshole, but he prioritized following orders to the point where he ignored important safety regulations, he didn't know the flaws of the nuclear plant he was in charge of, and he lied and denied all responsibility for the rest of his life. He may have been a well intentioned man but he made foolish decisions that got thousands of people killed, then refused to take any responsibility and put all the blame on the plant designers. I'm not going to be upset that they portrayed someone like that to be a disgusting person.

[@baka9466]

There is another show called The Days about the Fukushima nuclear disaster and it's interesting because they do look back at what happened at Chernobyl

[@lumpyfishgravy]

I recommend Chernobyl: The Lost Tapes, which feature interviews with Lyudmilla and lots of contemporary footage.

[@williamhuebler68]

There r “subjective truths” in the world. To some degree morality human culture etc (we can debate how much). But anything that connects to physical world has an objective truth. The laws of physics do what they r going to do. Events that happened - happened. Objective truth can be hard to find and hard to face. But it’s there nonetheless. “It will lie in wait for us for all time”. “Every lie we tell is a debt to the truth. Sooner or later that debt is paid”. I’m glad u picked up on that message so strongly. This is why we have to hunt for truths. Especially the painful ones. Cause the truths we like are not hard to hunt.

[@tiddlesthecat1141]

I am once again commenting to let people know that this shoe villainised Dyatlov. He wasn't a dickhead like the show made him out.

[@EricJacobson1990]

RBMK Reactors are still in use, in fact Reactors 1, 2 and 3 at Chernobyl were still into the late 90's, and Reactors 1 and 3 were only formally decommissioned in 2015.

[@not0228]

Its unreal, and so recent! I remember my mom casually saying "oh yeah I remember when the chernobyl fallout came over us, damn I should have taken that vacation abroad" so the aftermath is technically still not over.

[@dipi71]

Anatoly Dyatlov as the main villain was one of the major artistic licenses writer Craig Mazin took. Dyatlov was little more than just one more victim of Soviet institutionalized lies.

[@misterG2006]

When management over-rule the workers, bad things happen. And when the management don't have all the facts, disaster waiting to happen :-\ With the Space Shuttle disasters the engineers raise concerns and the management over-ruled or failed to act, so human issues exposed design flaws same as Chernobyl. They say the remaining reactors are safe.... I really hope so! Don't know if they're still using RBMK reactors though. Hopefully all been decommissioned by now. I hope other countries who are developing reactors, like Iran, don't fall foul of design issues and have their own incident. Iran is long way away but an accident can still have global implications :-\

[@EG_Soul_Reaver]

There are still 7 RBMK reactors running, all of which are in Russia. Those will eventually be phased out for VVER reactors which is what Iran is using for their reactors and were built by Russia.

[@pavelslama5543]

For a show with a basic premise of the difference between truth and lies, it spreads way too many lies. The most important: 1) The bridge of death was named before the accident, because it caused way too many vehicular accidents due to its shape. 2) Pressing the AZ-5 was a part of the test. They always planned to do it, and it would always cause explosion no matter what. 3) Dyatlov wasnt negligent. He wasnt concerned with the initial power of the reactor because it really had no effect on the test itself. The power value was an arbitrary value decided by him and the powerplant management just for the sake of clarifying the starting parameters of the test, not to influence the test itself. 4) There was no argument in the control room. Dyatlov was described as a very bossy dude, but absolutely not as such an a-hole as he was depicted there. After the accident, he was amongst the first ones who came to see the damage. He went through half a meter of highly radioactive water in order to find his missing colleagues. That´s why he´s seen at 42:13 with the whole lower half of his legs so badly damaged. He was also the first one who defended the honor and competence of his dead colleagues (something what is disgustingly misrepresented in the miniseries). When USSR officials sent letters to the family members of the dead powerplant workers, saying that the only reason why their family members werent jailed is because they are dead, Dyatlov was the first one who wrote to all the families, stating that their family members were innocent and died a heroic death in order to contain the accident. Dyatlov was thus the most prominent person who painted a target on his back, which the KGB used and abused ad infinitum. Even today, the KGB ret-con propaganda still lives on, even in a British miniseries. 5) Radiation sickness isnt an illness, it a physical effect of particles emitting ionizing radiation. When a person is cleaned properly, he can´t spread the radiation around like some Fallout 4 ghoul. 6) The divers had complete diving suits, they didnt come into contact with the radioactive water, so they were only slightly endangered by the beta radiation from the water, but were completely protected from the much more destructive effects of the alpha radiation. The one diver that died did so some 12 years ago in a car accident, not as a result of the dive. The two remaining ones are much more affected by the typical daily stuff (like, you know, being bombed almost daily by a nation that kept wrecking their own nation for literal centuries). 7) Bryukhanov did lie about the completion of the tests, but he was hardly to blame for that, considering that the test were physically impossible to complete, and no other reactor in the USSR ever completed them. Its also worth mentioning that it was mostly his skills and contacts what allowed the powerplant to be built in the first place, considering that the government just ordered him to build it, but never actually delivered any of the necessary materials. 8) Fomin had practically nothing to do with the accident. He was jailed because he was a person in charge of that section, so he was naturally a target for the KGB and the kangaroo courts. ... SUMMARY The worst kind of lies is from those who position themselves to the place of moral authority, like for example the makers of this show, who either willingly spread nasty lies, or couldnt be bothered to find specific information about that accident, so they went with "common knowledge" and KGB propaganda instead.

[@corvus1970]

5) Radiation sickness IS an illness by the very definition of the word "illness." What you mean to say here is that it's not a communicable disease.

[@sorde21]

In a crisis this is what happens to truth tellers. Not just in the USSR. Look back upon the recent pandemic & how government political pressure was exerted upon the few medical professionals not tethered to state/corporate employers.

[@squamose_serpent]

Btw if you were wondering what happened to these 3 workers who went in the water to empty the water tanks. They actually survived, one of them died in 2005 at the age of 64, and the other two are still alive!

[@starfigterdan6559]

My father told me he was 21 when it happened, serving in the Red Army in a construction unit. He got away lucky, many he knew were sent there and came back like the firefighter... or worse... to think my family was so close to be a part of this tragedy... i cant describe it...

[@madsimusnuo]

Even today you are not recommended by the state to eat too many mushrooms and berries in the mountains of Norway because of the fallout from 1986. You are a great couple btw ❤ Loving your reactions

[@alishaharper5860]

I love how whenever we see GOT characters in other series, we call them by their house name.

[@vampdan]

To understand the current state Russia is in you just need to remember that Putin was KGB and a deputy of the guy punishing Lagazov. Putin learned nothing from the events around Chernobyl, in fact he sent soldiers into the exclusion zone and ordered them to dig trenches in the forest. They had to be evacuated from radiation poisoning. The FSB is currently holding the nuclear plant in Zaporesia hostage and have wired the reactors to cause a disaster on the scale of Chernobyl.

[@cristabelleblanc309]

The more things change the more they stay the same, right? Disgusting to never learn from such a horrific mistake. Just shows the mindset of the party- you just grow up learning how to ignore the truth in front of your face. As George Orwell wrote "Whatever the Party holds to be the truth, is truth. It is impossible to see reality except by looking through the eyes of the Party."

[@Victoratify]

11-13 To our surprise, or at least to my surprise, the Government Commission was not informed of the exact situation that had developed both at the station itself and in the city. It was only reported that it had happened at the 4th block of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant during an emergency test of the 4th block's turbogenerator in free-run mode. During this experiment, two explosions occurred in succession and the reactor building was destroyed. A significant number of personnel were injured. The number was not yet exact, but it was clear that hundreds of people had suffered radiation damage. It was also reported that two people had already died, the rest were in city hospitals and that the radiation situation at the 4th block was quite difficult. The radiation situation in Pripyat was significantly different from normal, but did not yet pose any significant danger of radiation damage to people in Pripyat.

[@CrazyLife2112]

This is what happens when the alternative facts people are calling the shots.

[@mercb3ast]

When the truth offends, lie. Explains MAGA to a t in the United States. Or perhaps "When the truth offends, change the truth".

[@cristabelleblanc309]

Exactly. If someone wants to live their life in lies, it usually only affects them. At a national level, a government needs to inform itself of the truth or people suffer and die.

[@PacificEgg]

Really enjoyed the series you guys! Even though there were moments you guys frustrated me, It was a fun journey

[@Victoratify]

4-13 It would seem that this is the most difficult situation, but at the same time he told me that a team had been determined in advance by the relevant orders, which, depending on the type of accident, should immediately assemble, either remain on site, direct the actions of the personnel at the facility, or fly to the site. That the relevant team was assembled at night and flew to the scene of the incident within three to four hours. But while they were flying there, signals began to come from the station that the reactor, and this was the reactor of the 4th block of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, was generally controllable. The operators were trying to cool it down, although it was already known that one or two people had already died.

[@jacob4920]

Regarding the official Soviet Death Toll being permanently stuck at 31. There are two reasons why that number has not been changed since 1986: 1) The Soviet Government no longer exists, and they alone have the power to change the official death toll. Since no one from the USSR is still living, this is impossible. Also... 2) What number do we change it to? No one to this day knows the EXACT totality of death and suffering from the Chernobyl disaster. So it is statistically impossible to change the number, as any number they change it to would be closer to the truth, but still not accurate! It would be just another falsehood on top of the one that already exists. So it's better that the number doesn't change. Because everyone with half a brain cell knows that 31 is utter bullsh**. So the false totality is actually more valuable, in that regard.

[@InfoRanker]

10/10 show, short but amazingly well done.

[@equinsuocha5397]

Love the confusion at the start thinking it was way after the explosion and Pudgey saying "oh yeah, look at that kid"! hahaha poor kid

[@Destroyer94100]

The way they explained how a nuclear reactor works in such an effective way was the highlight of the show for me. Masterful.