In the second episode of Chernobyl, we witness Council of Ministers’ deputy chairman Boris Shcherbina’s change in attitude. I think Vivian Shaw summarizes the transformation very well: “he undergoes from lol-no-everything’s-totally-fine to oh-shit-no-it’s-not to one thousand percent determined to do whatever is necessary to deal with an unprecedented and unspeakable situation.” In the beginning, he is evasive about the circumstances at Chernobyl, dismissing the explosion as totally under control and challenging Professor Legasov’s claims. We could see the reluctance on his face when he is asked by Gorbachev to  personally investigate, and his aggressiveness during the trip adds on to his unwillingness to face and to accept the truth. The first major change in his attitude takes place in the hotel where Legasov told him they’d be dead in 5 years due to radiation and a telephone call informed him about Frankfurt’s response to the disaster. Starting to realize the explosion’s significance, Shcherbina supports Legasov’s plan to suppress fire with sand and boron. But what truly impressed me was his attitude near the end of this episode. He and Legasov try to persuade workers to drain water from the flooded plant. Seeing that nobody was willing to accept Legasov’s monetary offer, Shcherbina gives an uplifting and heartfelt speech. He acknowledges the danger, but claims that the operation’s worth the danger as it saves millions of people, and they should do it because “it must be done.” I was sincerely glad to see Shcherbina finally faces the truth and takes responsibility.

Source: https://www.vivianshaw.net/blog/2019/5/20/please-remain-calm-chernobyl-episode-2