Chernobyl is a five episode mini series based upon the true events of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster and its cleanup efforts. Each episode is around an hour long. It has a slow start and the show main follows an ensemble cast, dropping in and out when needed. It starts off at the point in time where the explosion of the nuclear reactor happened and the events that flowed on from that. Thus, it would first show off the nuclear plant’s engineers and management as they grappled with what is happening. A key theme to the show is how the higher management are in denial. They are always playing events down and saying that everything is okay. They do not dare to even entertain the possibility that something serious has happened.
Next, the show then deals with the initial aftermath where the first responders arrive to provide aid. It is unfortunate because we see these people unknowingly arrive to their deaths. When the radiation sickness hits and they get burns or starts to vomit, it’s touch to watch how they had wandered into a death sentence. It hits home what a horrible event and disaster that this was. The show then moves onto the containment and disaster resolution aspect. Given that this disaster took place when the Soviet Union still existed, it honed in on the weaknesses of that regime that made the events even worse. There are layers and layers of bureaucracy, with each layer having that same tendency of denial as no one wants to take any blame. They spend more time stating things are in control than they do acknowledging that there even is a situation, which can make it quite frustrating.
Despite most characters being hard to get behind, there are a few that stand out as being more honorable and humane. Legasov is the one that comes to mind, being the one that stands up and reveals the true extent of the disaster. He’s the closest the show has to a main character, and he was the one to kickstart the containment and recovery efforts. He seemed like a genuine character rather than another bureaucrat. The show creates opportunities to explain some of the concepts of nuclear power. It explains and provides context to viewers without making it too obvious or cringy. One thing to note is that we have the benefit of hindsight, so it can be a tad unfair to judge some of the decisions that the characters made, given how things worked back in the day.
By the time the third episode comes around, the situation and repercussions are so bleak and the atmosphere so heavy, that it can be stifling. You feel the despair and cannot see the situation ever improving as the gravity of the events come to light. Legasov is a beacon of hope and he is carrying such a heavy burden on his shoulders. Every decision he makes, he makes with a heavy heart knowing the amount of deaths or sickness that it may cause. Despite the negativity, there are some moments of hope and characters who take admirable action. There are the workers that while usually have no choice, but still knowingly with gusto and courage, to go in to do what is right. They pretty much guarantee themselves a slow and painful death, but their decision gives you faith back in humanity.
Another neat aspect of the show is how it also depicts what happened after the initial disaster was averted. Normally, you’d only think about the fire, the collapsed core, and the radiation that was rapidly pouring out. However, the show gives us glimpses of the long term recovery efforts that took place weeks after the explosion. We see the toll it takes on the people, the sacrifices that they have to make, and the difficulties that they encountered. It opens up your eyes to just how many normal everyday people were affected, and how just overnight, they will leave and never see their homes again.
If you had wondered why the first episode only quickly went through the lead up to the disaster, it was because it made the decision to go through the aftermath first. Once all the horrible consequences had been shown, the lead up and cause of the disaster was explained in detail. This was definitely worth the wait as it was riveting. It broek down the science into something easily understandable, giving it a lot of impact as it recounted each mistake that built upon the previous one, until the disaster was inevitable. It ended the mini series on a high note and gave us a rare glimpse of hope in an otherwise despair dominating season.
Overall, Chernobyl is a fantastic mini series that yes, while it does dramatize the events, it stuck to a lot of the facts as well. It perfectly communicated the gravity and serious consequences of the situation by showing us that not only the most immediate people surrounding the nuclear reactor were affected, but also a lot of other innocent bystanders. While the mini series has a slow pacing, this also allowed the viewer to soak it all in. It can be overly heavy, bleak and full of hopelessness, but the disaster wasn’t a light thing, so this tone was appropriate.
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