For the past year, I have been trying to get myself to watch the Chernobyl HBO Mini-series but have found it so difficult to just sit down and watch something new. I’ve always been interested in learning about what happened at Chernobyl since I was a child. I even used to fall into a rabbit-hole of videos on YouTube. So naturally, when I saw this event on the Rose Scholar email, I knew I had to sign up. I hadn’t watched the first episode with the Rose Scholars group, but I did watch it on my own prior to this event. I really enjoyed being able to unplug and watch something different while learning something new. Throughout the episode, I felt so on edge (in a good way) the entire time and was so captivated with the series. So much so, that I didn’t want to wait for another event and ended up binge-watching the rest of the series that night! I really enjoyed the small discussion after watching the episode because whenever I watch something new, I always want to discuss parts that I enjoyed with friends but most of the time they either haven’t watched it or aren’t interested in discussing it. So, being able to dissect parts of the episode with my peers was interesting! They picked up certain “easter-eggs” that I hadn’t, and it really made me more intrigued with the rest of the series.

I did not get to watch the first episode but it did not influence the fun I had at all. The story was nice of course, but what struck me the most was how I see today resonates with it. The episode started with Humulk (I definitely got the name wrong, the female scientist) finding out stuff is wrong and suggests to evacuate all civilians. And what did the government do? IGNORE HER! It is so unfortunate the saying is true, “Every disaster movie begins with the government ignoring a scientist.” 

Sounds familiar? Does that remind you of something else? Oh hold on, wait a second, isn’t that what exactly was going on today? I do not and will not ever understand why lives are being sacrificed for the fight of politics. I mean, masks shouldn’t be a tool of politics, and wearing masks (or not) should not be a symbol of your political alignment. Look at the person with most power in this country (yes, I refuse to call him the p-word), what an example has he set? This is not about politics nor ideologies, I know republican friends as well, but masks really should’ve been only a tool to save life, not a tool to kidnap politics.

After waiting a couple of weeks, I was thrilled to finally continue the Chernobyl series. Professor Legasov is a primary character of focus in this episode and after determining the seriousness of the situation, he is able to get helicopters to drop sand and boron on the core. However, a strong and powerful female scientist, lyana Khomyk, brings to his attention how the water tanks in the plant are not empty. Thus, recruitment efforts go into place to find 3 brave men who will sacrifice their lives to manually open the tanks to release the water. I thoroughly enjoyed the scene at the end especially, which I can still honestly vividly remember. The loud, obnoxious sounds of the reading device and the gloomy radioactive reactor still come to mind. The brave men who volunteered to sacrifice their lives made me consider the different types of heroic behavior that is brought upon in times like this, scientists and intellectuals like Professor Legasov and lyana Khomyk share their profound knowledge and experience while men like those who emptied the water tanks share their bravery and selflessness, all with the goal to save the lives of others.

After watching the second episode of Chernobyl, I was very intrigued by the parallels between the climate of Ukraine during the nuclear accident and the world today with COVID. During the pandemic there has been a heightened level of anxiety and physical changes to adjust to the outbreak of COVID -19. Since the virus is airborne and is not visible, just like the radiation, people are scared to contract the virus and there is little information towards how and why the virus develops the way it does. One aspect of the film that I was impressed by was the emphasis on women in leadership roles in an era where science was a predominantly male field. Although I enjoyed seeing women in the leadership role, I was surprised to see that there were many women working at the Chernobyl nuclear facility.

Something about Physics has always captivated me. Is it the complexity? Is it the problems it discusses? After seeing episode 2 and understanding the process and dangers of nuclear fission I learnt that it’s ability to explain the world around us and define the universe is what makes it so captivating. The scientists easily showed how much of animals would perish just due to that nuclear disaster through equations and numbers showing the beauty of physics and nuclear physics especially to me.

This was a scary yet empowering episode to watch because of all the parallels it has to our current pandemic. The episode began with people mistrusting the news and not believing that there would be severe health consequences on people’s health even miles apart from the explosion. One of the first scientists to realize that the explosion would negatively effect people for years to come was a female. Unfortunately, people didn’t believe her (mostly because she was a female so they didn’t think her statements were credible), and those who didn’t initially believe later faced the devastating effects afterwards. Similarly, women in STEM continue to face this misogyny in the workforce. This made me reflect about our current state of affairs with COVID-19. I recently read about how a Turkish-Muslim couple found the vaccine, but due to the negative portrayal of Muslims in the media as well as the perception of Muslims in France right now, they haven’t been getting much publicity.

I truly delighted in this part of the film arrangement in light of a solid female character not introduced in the first episode. She is a material science researcher, and comes in to the region to critically mention to the men what is truly going on and what they have been missing. They excuse her from the start, yet then in the wake of revealing to them her data, she is envisioned in the gathering room introducing her decisions to the main individuals in the Soviet Union. I was impressed to see the power of female characters being shown in this second episode.

In comparison to the first episode of the series which was characterized mainly by plot-building, this week’s episode was much more active and filled with action. It was very interesting to see the problem-solving approach to the situation from the perspectives of both the scientists and the government officials. At the beginning of the episode, one of the team’s scientists described the science behind a nuclear reactor using chemical jargon. In my opinion, it was a very interesting scene, since it allowed me to incorporate previous knowledge from my field of study together with the plot of the series. Once again, the increasing disagreements between the scientists and the public reminded me of today’s current climate, in which many Americans still deny the veracity of the scientific research behind the virus. An aspect of this episode that I thoroughly enjoyed was the presence of a powerful female scientist playing a key role in the story, especially in a field and during a time period where women were terribly underrepresented.

The second episode of Chernobyl was very interesting in that we were able to see what the outcomes of the reactor exploding were, and how the Russian government tried to cover the situation up while also look for a solution.

They ended up using sand and boron to cover the plant, which assumed that there was no water in the tanks below, but there was water and if the boron/sand lava hit the tanks it would create a radioactive explosion. That must have been super stressful — dropping the ball twice in that way, with so many people at stake — is crazy.

My favorite aspect of the Chernobyl series is that it explains all these scientific complex situations in language that a layman can understand. The series flawlessly intertwines these scientific explanations like how a nuclear plant works into the movie without taking away from the plot. Specifically, I think that the series uses great analogies like comparing the radiation to a bullet. These analogies allow the audience to focus on the impact of science. I often struggle with explaining scientific concepts to others, so I really admire how the scriptwriters planned every sentence so that people with different background knowledge can understand what’s happening.

Last week, while watching the second episode of the HBO series Chernobyl, I was shocked to see how poorly people in power handled such a disastrous event. As Professor Legasov stated in the episode, the explosion in Chernobyl released two times more radiation than Hiroshima.  Despite the obvious threat this radiation exposure may have on the millions of people living near the site, government officials continuously denied facts and logic to maintain their reputation. While people were dying or unknowingly getting exposed to radiation, the people in power refused to take initiative until other countries caught on to what was happening. It is extremely upsetting knowing that many more lives could have been saved had the government officials listened to the scientists advising them and informed the public about the situation earlier. The episode also made question how many secrets the people in power keep from the public to this day.

I really enjoyed watching Episode 2. The story was fascinating and grew in complexity. So much had to lead up to that point, and the first episode gave a good background. The social component of the Russians finally listening was something I expected. However, the last-minute approach put me on the edge of my seat…

Why was it that the academics had such trouble getting to the governments head? I think this shows the narrow mindedness of the government. They wanted to have control over the situation and therefore believed nothing was wrong, despite the possibly of mass destruction. They should have listened to the experts but instead followed their inner monologue. If many people’s lives were not at risk, I believed they would have done very little far too late.

Seeing the characters progression in the film gave me varying levels of excitement. Yes, I am still very frustrated with some of them, but hopefully that will change as the series continues. The mysterious and anexity-producing cliffhanger at the end of the film drew me in; I cannot wait for the next episode!

The second episode of Chernobyl made me realize how grateful we should be to live in America. Although the ability to speak up and the right to truthful information is taken for granted in America, it was not the same in the Soviet Union. Scientists, knowing the truth about Chernobyl, had to put their lives on the line simply to speak the truth. This seems insane in the world we live in today, but for those scientists, they had to gamble their lives in order to save millions of others. If they did not speak up, the other 3 reactors would have exploded, leaving the majority of Russia and many other European countries contaminated in radiation. Additionally, the film made me realize that no matter where you are in the world, there are always good people. Although the United States commonly painted the Soviet Union as a “villain,” Chernobyl has made me realize that there are good people everywhere in the world. The scientists and many others in the film illustrated this to me.

While watching episode 2 of the Chernobyl series, I was intrigued by the interplay of power dynamics between authority figures and fact-driven scientists and how this might affect organizations and societies at large.

During the episode, scientists Ulana Khomyuk and Valery Legasov repeatedly attempt to incisively convey the severity of the explosion at Chernobyl to authority. However, action is only implemented when there is no other choice. This interplay reminded me of the downsides of rigid organizational structures, a topic I recently covered in my Human Resources class. Namely, these structures can cause poor communication, and individuals often take actions that are inconsistent with benefiting the overarching goals of an organization.

I had a really great time watching the second episode of Chernobyl and look forward to attending the event for the third episode. As someone who did not watch the first episode, I was still able to easily pick up on the plot with the help of my friend (who happened to watch with me and had some background knowledge about the accident). Something that struck with me is the character change of General Boris. In the beginning of the episode, you could see that General Boris is trying to downplay the severity of the explosion, rushing to have the meeting adjourned. However, as the episode progresses, General Boris realizes the severity of the explosion after visiting the site and is informed how many years people are expected to live if they continue to allow the citizens to stay. When General Boris got the call about many neighboring countries finding out about the explosion (from the high levels of radiation), there was nothing General Boris had left to hide. Although I can see why General Boris tried to downplay the explosion (to not only avoid negative media attention to the Soviet Union but to also not make citizens panic), I believe that it is always best to be transparent to the people at the end of the day. More specifically, I was shocked by how Professor Legasov also chose to lie about how the people should not be worried about anything when he went to the bar while he was holding General Boris into account moments before about not evacuating the citizens. Overall, it was good that General Boris and Professor Legasov were on the same page (goal is to save the people and prevent as much radiation from emitting as possible) by the end of the episode, but there delay and lack of quick response might be too late.

I returned to watch the second episode of the HBO series Chernobyl, fully expecting to see further political meddling in public safety. I was instead shocked to see safety being taken seriously and and the word of experts used as guidance. As much as I felt relieved to see government officials taking the advice of experts (something that is still a problem to this day), it became clear that this behavior did not come from a place of genuine care, but instead from one of personal convenience to further selfish goals. It was made abundantly clear that governmental leadership would have preferred to leave the whole situation hushed and move forward with a false perception if possible. The global recognition of the disaster was all that really pushed the government officials to act as they should have initially, seeing as their reputation was at stake. The most depressing realization to come out of watching Chernobyl are the parallels to contemporary events. Still to this day, the lessons from this tragedy are all too readily ignored, and I can’t help but wonder how many more lives could have been spared today, if we listened to the sacrifices of yesterday.

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

Episode 2 of Chernobyl was thrilling, eye-opening, and at times, felt a little familiar. While the Chernobyl explosion was extremely different from the COVID-19 pandemic– different circumstances, different time periods, and an entirely different aftermath– I couldn’t help but notice the parallels between how the situations were influenced and manipulated with politics, in-denial, and pure misinformation. Professor Legasov offered a stark resemblance to Dr. Fauci as he used pure science to warn the officials of the severity of the situation, only to be belittled and accused of creating hysteria. In the end, science leads the way in the investigation of the site and sure enough reveals a catastrophe that is far worse than anyone can imagine. It made me wonder how history has a way of repeating itself. I question why people are so reluctant to face the negative, unsettling realities of the world and turn a blind eye in hopes of everything “feeling normal.” Is it politics? Is it just being misinformed? Either way, I think what both this episode and 2020 has showed us is how integral it is for scientists and health experts to have active roles in governing bodies and for us as the public to listen when the numbers, the atoms, and the viruses talk.

In the first portion of the Chernobyl series, leaders were dismissing any concept of a threat regarding Chernobyl’s core and its integrity. In the second episode, much has changed. The government is listening to top scientists, albeit them forcing their way through barriers, and is trying to take control of the situation. However, the problem keeps becoming more and more complex, and at this point it seems like there will not be a solution found in time. I am excited for the next episode to see how the plot continues to develop.

I really enjoyed this section of the film series because of a strong female character not presented in the past episode. She is a leading physics  scholar, and comes in to the area to urgently tell the men what is really going on and what they have been missing. They dismiss her at first, but then after telling them her information, she is pictured in the meeting room presenting her conclusions to the most important people in the Soviet Union. Seeing a woman display her intelligence and bravery in both a repressive country and time period for women, especially in stem careers, was especially satisfying to watch.