We made it! This was a powerful series and I was so moved by the ending. What do you think is the best moment of the show?

Showing how the explosion happened at the finale rather than the beginning is absolutely brilliant! This series was such a rollercoaster of emotions and a masterpiece in production design and writing!

A truly stunning series. "Where I once would fear the cost of truth, now I only ask: What is the cost of lies?" God that line is still so relevant......

Afterword: Dyatlov really was like that, according to his surviving colleagues. Not all the time, but enough. He threatened people's jobs. He was lying through his teeth that the blue beam was the Cherenkov effect. That happens when the core is under water. Formin, at a minimum, would have known he was lying. Toward the end of his life, he gave an interview confirming many of the details seen in the show, but he maintained to his dying day that he had been out of the room. Lyudmilla wanted to put it all behind her. She turned down five offers to come on as a consultant. The show made her a celeb, and she had to move out of Kiyev to stop people from showing up on her doorstep. Her sonlived but has multiple medical problems. Fomin broke his glasses and slashed his wrists while awaiting trial. He was released after 4 1/2 years for mental stability. He was later let go of his job at Kalinin for the same reason. No one knows what happened to him after that. Bruykhanov was virtually unemployable, and ended up as a minor paper pusher in the Ukranian ministry of trade. In reality there was no document with missing pages. What happened was this: the designers were aware of the problem, but--planned economy--ran out of time and money to fix it. So they documented it and wrote instructions for the operators. The instructions, of course, surfaced a flaw in the Soviet nuclear program, and the KGB deemed them sensitive to give to the operators. They never made it to Priypat. Legasov wasn't at the trial, but the results were the same. Most of his colleagues shunned him. He was voted down for director of the Kurchatov institute, which he'd expected to get. That broke him. No one knows how the tapes got out. You can hear them on KZfaq, along with Dyatov's last interview, and one that Lyudmila, reluctantly gave to the BBC. Contributing to the problem was the fact that some genius had thought that if AZ-5 cut the power too abrputly, the turbine shafts might tear. So the control rods were built to descend slowly, over an 18 sec. period, which gave the disaster plenty of time to play out.

Diatlov held a position of power he thought he had earned after years of service. He’d also been either the cause of or involved in another accident where he took a large dose of radiation. He could be an unpleasant turd, but he had no idea that AZ5 was a detonator.

One of my favorite scenes is Boris and Legasov on the park bench.....Boris feeling so down on himself and the scientist telling him how valuable he (Boris) had been to the whole process. Great script there and throughout.

That bit about Lyudmilla and her son now living in Kiev really makes me wonder how they've been doing in the Russian invasion.

The best episode for me - but the series as a whole was fantastic. The summary with the red & blue cards was an inspired way of demonstrating why it happened. I was 14 in April 1986 and Chernobyl is still a word that sends chills through me as I remember the fear of the unknown we felt after the precautions we were instructed to take at school when in reality it was probably already too late due to the secrecy of the Soviet bloc. The courtroom episode explained to this now 50+ year old man exactly what happened all those years ago.

One look into Anatoly Dyatlov's history shows he was plagued by another similar incident, one that eventually killed his 9 year old son. He worked at a Nuclear Submarine factory, there was an accident and he received a considerable dose of radiation, his son later died of leukaemia. Being present at 2 nuclear accidents in one lifetime is the sort of record you would hope no one will ever break.

The actor to played Dyatlov is a British Actor called Paul Ritter. Sadly he died in 2021. I highly recommend the series Friday Night Dinner in which he plays the Dad. You can see his versatility as this is a comedic performance and it's brilliant

Thank you Chris. You are one of my favorite reactors, you're so genuine and honest!!

The bravery of those who worked to mitigate this disaster cannot be overstated! If today, we discovered a similar threatening cataclysm in the U.S., & needed volunteers when the cost might be their health or their life, who, I wonder, would step forward??

J. Harris is, by the way, the great Richard Harris' son....sooo glad you reacted to this....now I will recommend miniseries The Looming Tower....you might actually curse on that one.

At times this was an incredibly difficult series to watch as you can't imagine, or more over don't want to imagine what they went through. Of course some terrible mistakes and decisions were made but fortunately there were some amazingly brave souls that gave, or at least were prepared to give their life to save many others. My heart goes out to them, their families and all of the others that suffered so terribly. Thank you for the reaction and for not being afraid to show your emotions.

This was such a powerful series. The real footage and newscasts are haunting. I suggest checking out some of these.

I highly recommend the commentary from the producers and directors that followed each episode. It casts light on the decisions they made to include some content and not other and some of the choices they made in casting and character portrays. As example, the Character of Ulana Khomyuk played by Emily Watson was a mix of all the scientists and technicians that assisted in the diagnosis and investigation of what happened.

The court room scene with the models and the explanations intercut with what lead up to the explosion is so satisfying; I've watched the whole series 2 or 3 times all the way through and it's excellent but I've watched the middle ~20 minutes of *Vichnaya Pamyat* a couple dozen times because it's just one of the most satisfying things ever put on film. Love it!

One ridiculous statement from Diatlov I remember from that episode „..the computer doesn’t know we running a test!“ 🤯 . Okay, we don’t know what the real person said back then but it fit perfectly to frame that character. Therefore, I still hate ‚Percy Witmore‘ from Green Mile the most.

Thank you so much for including your reaction to the information in the epilogue. I've watched a dozen reaction videos to this show, and most of them either left very little of the epilogue or cut it out entirely, and for me, at least, every line of it was a punch to the stomach in one way or another.

If you go back to the beginning of the first episode, you can hear Lagasov talking on the tapes about Dyatlov's personality (and also saying Dyatlov was the perfect villain though there were worse and though Dyatlov deserves death, not prison). The creators of this show paid close attention to getting things (relatively) historically accurate based on the records that exist, and I'm sure that extends to Lagasov's tapes which should exist as part of the record.

The bit with the caterpillar was thrown in on the spot when they found one at the location.

This series was a powerful indictment of the Soviet regime in general. Understandably some in power today (*cough*Putin*cough*) are very nostalgic for the Soviet system and are doing their best to re-institute it, not because it was successful or good for its people, but because of the incredible control they maintained over everything to do with those living in countries under the Soviet regime. Some yearn for that level of control once again. I lived through the '80s in the US and remember the Cold War very well. It's disturbing also to observe that so many who also lived through and are supportive of Putin's regime don't seem to remember the awful things that occurred under the Soviet system he's trying to bring back. Hindsight doesn't appear to be 20/20 with everyone. I loved this show and thought they did an incredible job.

Remember my comment on the first episode. The odds of this reactor exploding like it did were astronomical. A very unlikely sequence of events had to happen in a precise order. And it did.

Hey, Chris. If you're up for another go around with this topic, but from within the time frame that nuclear weapons were a major concern, I highly recommend the 1983 TV movie "The Day After." The movie that arguably changed the direction of international politics relating to nuclear deterrents in the west. Ronald Reagan's perspective on MADD was changed directly as a result of seeing that film. It's a little older, and not as glossy or high budget as Chernobyl, but it is a very sobering look at how such a situation could come to be.

You can hear the real tapes that he made on youtube. they are amazing.

Great episode. Sadly the second half of the courtroom scene was totally fictional. No officials openly discussed the design problems.

Thank you for reacting to this show (I was tearing up alongside you again there at the end). Heavy stuff, but one of the best shows I've ever seen. That final episode in particular is simply perfect. In case you want a palette cleanser, but of equal, if not greater, quality, I would definitely like to recommend Severance to you, starring Adam Scott and directed by Ben Stiller. I think you'd love it (and I know I'd love to see you react to it!)

Welcome to the final episode...well done getting through this show...it is a tough one. I really like the way the makers of the show added the notes at the end to cover some of the things they got wrong, simplified, or made more dramatic...I just wish they had done more of that, or been more honest. For example, they say that "it has been reported" that everyone on the "Bridge of Death" died...but those reports are very much NOT true....so technically, they are being truthful, bur not quite. Other things they do not admit to, I can understand...such as the fact that Legasov was not even at the trial of Dyatlov and company...but it is kind of necessary to turn him into a kind of hero figure and have him do much more than he really did so that the story can be simplified enough for most folks to keep track of. I figure by now you have read the History vs Hollywood article, so you know most of the truth...at least I hope that is the case. ✌

Truth is a debt that is owed. Someone has to pay it.

While Dyatlov may have ignored safety protocol and been pushing due to pressure from up high he supposedly NEVER bad mouthed the actual operators. Supposedly until his death Dyatlov actually praised the other operators for doing what they did and how well they did it in the situation. Like the show does, and the RL USSR, he is a EASY scape goat to paint as being a foul person. Cause I do believe all the workers that COULD have told what had happened had already died by that point.

I think with Dyatlov something that maybe affected his personality in very negative way or at least handling of this situation is that he was in a very serious nuclear accident before and that possibly caused his son to die to leukemia.

Dyatlov was that awful, there are interviews of him that give you a proper taste of what he was like.

Fantastic show, yet also excruciating...thank you for sharing your experience of it with us :)

I loved how it shines a light on the evil of the Soviet Union leadership. Although Gorbachev wasn't as bad as Stalin the cover up was inexcusable.

I don't know if you'll see this comment six months after your reaction to Chernobyl but I thouht I'd let you know. There are still hundreds of dogs still alive in the exclusion zone at Chernobyl. They are mostly in good health unaffected by radiation. There is an organization helping and looking after them the best that they can. Alot of the dogs after being washed have acceptable levels of radiation. Some are even being adopted out to the United States and other countries.

Dyatlov was that much of a jerk. He did help in the immediate aftermath, but he was brutal to his subordinates, and he did not accept responsibility.

Thanks for the reactions man 😎👍

if you wish to know more about Chernobyl, i recomend watching the 2006 documentary: Battle of Chernobyl, it's very informative, you have eye witness accounts and actual footage of the plant after it exploded

One thing I really hate about HBO and this miniseries is how inaccurate it is. It portrays the shift supervisor Anatoly Dyatlov very inaccurately. It shows him in denial even tho he was one of the first people to know that the reactor had exploded, he was never in denial and he knew the dangers and tried to save as many lives as possible. This series shows him as a harsh and angry man and he was never like that, he was very calm that night and he only raised his voice once and it was after the explosion when he demanded workers to leave the 4th block. The series also shows him demanding the operators to raise the power and one of the workers Akimov going against his order, that never happened. Akimov was the one who suggested raising the power and Dyatlov agreed because the reactor power had no effect on the test iself. The series shows him to also threaten the jobs of the workers which also never happened. When Dyatlov arrived at the 4th Reactors Control Room they were preparing for the test and then Dyatlov went to inspect parts of the 4th block which required repairs or maintenance and when he returned to the Control Room the reactor power had dropped as the reactor had been poisoned. Akimov approached and suggested to raise the power to 200 MW and Dyatlov approved as the Reactor Power had no effect on the test itself. Then the deputy head of the Turbine workshop approached and told Dyatlov that the program would have to be aborted if the power was not raised and Dyatlov calmly told him that there was nothing to worry about and that the power was being raised. Dyatlov then went and discussed the program with others and invited more and more people to the control room to observe the test. When they were ready to begin the test Dyatlov joined other in watching the test. He then saw one of the reactor control operators Toptunov pressing the A3-5 or AZ-5 button to end the test at 01:23:39 and 1 second after that the command was registered and a power surge began and multiple bangs were heard at 01:23:48 and then the power went out. Dyatlov had thought that the tanks above had blown and that hot boiling water was about to come down the ceiling and he ordered everyone to the Reserve Control Room but counted the order seconds later when this didn't happen. Everyone was in shock and confused and Dyatlov wasn't aware of the situation at first but later on realised what had happened and tried to save as many people as possible and he wasn't in denial. The HBO Show was mostly based on Medvedev's book which is a very inaccurate book and Medvedev actually hated Dyatlov so the book was mostly against him and the book became so popular and now because of the HBO Show some people hate Dyatlov and his reputation is ruined even tho he was innocent.

I'm back to wrap it up... this was a tough series

8:21 (I find it hard to believe anyone is so spiteful) If you haven't seen the highlights from the Darrell Brooks trial, you should. The way he behaved in court is unbelievably infuriating to watch.

look at oldboy (2003)

The graphite tips on the control rods have a design purpose. They might be cheaper (I don't know), but that's not the reason they are there.

Loved your reactions to this series. Bet you did not recognise the 3 actors from this series that were all in The Batman? 3 British actors....riddle me this....

My biggest takeaway from the event is how close modern civilization came to ending as we know due to rigid and dogmatic thinking. Had it not been for better angels, the corium would've led to the other reactors exploding as well, along with Nuclear contamination making most of Europe inhospitable for centuries and spreading radiation as far as the Eastern seaboard of the USA along with near worldwide radioactive waterfall as rain. Pretty much everyone not living at a pole would have greatly increased rates of cancer and other associated illnesses.

Honestly I’m thinking abt watching this but idk if I want too that much lol. Like it looks it’ll be a great show , but at the same time it looks really depressing. And it’s based true events too so it’ll make it like 10 times sadder . And idk if it’s just me or does anyone else when their watching a movie or show and find out it’s based on true events does it like hit u 10 times harder then it would’ve ?

I suggest you watch Dyatlov's interview about the case, it is on KZfaq, for a different prospective. Nothing is every black and white.

Ironic true fact: Paul Ritter, who played Dyatlov, died of a brain tumour 2 years after this show aired.

Chernobyl is a prime example of NOT to use nuclear power but to use Renewable energy sources

Remember when we hated Boris? :D / This all could have been avoided if Dietlav had watched some of your videos, dude!! 😅 Although you do say it's good to make mistakes, I don't think you mean like this! :D Seriously, though: the ego of it all, it's infuriating. That epilogue is so incredible (as was your reaction to it, we know how you feel!). The silver linings! They get me more than anything!

I just wanted to tell you that this show gets almost all the events in the control room wrong, firstly Dyatlov wasn't stupid or a bad person like shown in the show, most of the mistakes were actually made by Toptunov, however in these days the "safety violations" weren't violations, the documentation allowed the things done on that night. The decision to pull the control rods after the core stalled was made by Toptunov, at 1:23:07 turbine 8 was tripped which was the beginning of the test, at 1:23:37 the test had been completed, there was no power surge like shown in the show, everything was calm at this time, after this to complete the test the AZ-5 button was pushed by Toptunov at 1:23:39, only after AZ-5 was pushed did the power surge, Pereveshenko was not in the reactor hall at the time like shown in the show, and the control rod and fuel channel caps did not "jump up and down", the physics made that physically impossible, finally at 1:23:48 the steam pressure blasted the enormous steel lid off the reactor along with flinging the upper biological shield into the air before it fell back into the core sideways, at 1:23:50 the hydrogen ignited.

Hiiii..... How r u.... Hope u r fine.... Eagerly waiting for... Sardar udham... Since last 4 months

Just remember that this is a dramatization and it changes a lot of stuff and really demonizes Dyatlov

I'm so glad you posted this. I wanted to see the show, but the bad language prohibited that. So glad you had the decency to remove it. Such a shame that TV has declined so badly

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Ironically, the show itself is full of lies...