Chernobyl (5 Eps)
Being praised as one of the best tv shows of all time Chernobyl quickly made headlines as the newest mainstream must-see piece of tv. Going into this limited series I knew only the basics about the Chernobyl disaster and was excited to see what all the buzz was about while also learning about this world-changing event. In case you are not aware of the Chernobyl disaster in 1986 one of the nuclear reactors at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the Ukrainian SSR had a series of problems during a safety test and ended up blowing up. First being reported as a minor fire it isn't until a scientist speaks up days later that it is realized just how bad the situation is. This is a global emergency that could leave a major portion of Europe uninhabitable for hundreds or even thousands of years. Millions will die if this situation is not handled perfectly yet the pressure from the higher-ups to keep the countries prestige and public image clean makes this hard to do as the truth is so hard to discover and share.
And first I want to mention how this show actually goes about explaining this issue to the audience as it is really interesting. As I mentioned I went in with nearly no knowledge of the specifics of the event and the show clearly knows that a lot of the audience will also be uneducated on its topic so it uses that in some really interesting ways. Especially in the early episodes of the show such as the first episode with radiation specifically, it can be pretty uninviting to an audience that doesn't know what it is talking about in great detail already. It keeps information from the audience and doesn't hold our hand and walk us through everything. Instead, they use are cluelessness to create some really shocking scenes and reveals. Minor spoilers here for the first episode but as I mentioned a great example of this is how it shows us the radiation being measured, the machine maxes out around 3.6ish which everyone brushes off as not that big of a deal. Now we know that the radiation is more but then at the end of the episode when they reveal that even that 3.6 amount is a lot really and extremely deadly it blindsides you with just how bad this situation is and how naive these people are. Though I will say sometimes because of this it can be a bit hard to follow, I feel like it does a good enough job at eventually explaining everything but sometimes it feels like there was a disconnect stopping me from fully engaging with the story due to my lack of knowledge.
The emotions in this show are also incredible, of course, this is a tragic disaster that caused death and destruction that will last for generations and knowing this general bit of the situation if really does hurt to see the innocent people who lived near the factory especially be put in such danger unknowingly. Seeing the kids innocently play in the ash that is filled with radiation and deadly materials absolutely hit hard. Seeing the workers in the factory realize the scale of what they did and regret their choices was also a really interesting dynamic showcased in the first episode especially. Though even past the sadness this show brings there is also a lot of anger, we know that this event was huge so to see people just brush it off and for it to take so long to be seen as what it was is infuriating. This is a great look into this government and just how hard it was when their egos were so high. They wanted to be perfect and was used to being able to lie about their issues to come off that way, yet when something like this happened and all eyes turn to them they can't just brush it off how they would like to.
The emotions in this show are also incredible, of course, this is a tragic disaster that caused death and destruction that will last for generations and knowing this general bit of the situation if really does hurt to see the innocent people who lived near the factory especially be put in such danger unknowingly. Seeing the kids innocently play in the ash that is filled with radiation and deadly materials absolutely hit hard. Seeing the workers in the factory realize the scale of what they did and regret their choices was also a really interesting dynamic showcased in the first episode especially. Though even past the sadness this show brings there is also a lot of anger, we know that this event was huge so to see people just brush it off and for it to take so long to be seen as what it was is infuriating. This is a great look into this government and just how hard it was when their egos were so high. They wanted to be perfect and was used to being able to lie about their issues to come off that way, yet when something like this happened and all eyes turn to them they can't just brush it off how they would like to.
The acting is also fantastic throughout the limited series. Stellan Skarsgård has a really interesting character arc as he personally realizes what is happening and begins to reflect on the nation as a whole that is a great vehicle to bring the audience on that journey also. People like Con O'Neill and Paul Ritter are so good at being so infuriating, you just want to give them a punch across their face to break them from their egotistical bubbles which only goes to show the craft they bring to the table. Though one of my only real issues with the series comes from Jessie Buckley and her role of Lyudmilla Ignatenko. It's not that the performance is bad in any way because it isn't, but it felt so unneeded. There are multiple times where this series feels like it tries to push a bit too hard and this is a perfect example of this, on paper it seems like a good idea to have a character like her to ground the story more but due to the main plot and characters being so interesting and impactful on their own it feels like a distracting side plot. It didn't really add any more emotion due to how big the scale of the rest of the emotion was and whenever we jumped to her I just wanted to go back to the main story.
Still, I found Chernobyl to be a really interesting show that not only got me invested in the events it described but also with its characters and the deeper messages here. From ego to lies, this is going to be a tough pill for so many to swallow but it is important and is good enough that I think everyone should at least give it a try.