An absolutely poignant moment in history that people are still reeling from decades later, this show is terrifying in the most incredible way, and what adds to that terror is the fact that it’s real.

Chernobyl looks at the tragic accident where the Chernobyl nuclear power station exploded omitting thousands and thousands of millirems of radiation into the area of Chernobyl as well as surrounding areas too. It is known that many of the people who were in the plant when it exploded and those that went to see what was going on were affected by the fallout and died because of this tragedy, and if it wasn’t for some heroic people in the area at the time, as well as scientists working with them, millions more could’ve been killed or affected for years to come.

This is a terrifying tale of how people’s own greed and uncaring nature can kill thousands when the official death toll was barely over 30. It’s absolutely shocking how the Soviet Union tried to cover up this immense tragedy when it could’ve affected many countries that surrounded them, and how even to this day people are still living and dealing with what happened there, and the area of Chernobyl is still uninhabited because of the amount of radiation.

What I loved about the series was you got to see the viewpoint from many different people that were there when it happened. From the workers at the plant and how they ultimately died from the radiation, to the firefighters that went to the scene to deal with the fire that ultimately died from the radiation, and a very specific woman who was the partner of one of the firefighters who fortunately lived through the horrific incident but was told by doctors she could never have children due to it, but defied the odds and now has a son.

We also see the scientists that are trying to deal with this massive, imminent threat that is the core falling into the Earth and basically desecrating all the areas around Chernobyl, including the plants, the rivers, the wildlife, literally any living organism and the fact that for the people in power the most important thing for them is not the well-being of humanity but keeping the regime of the Soviet Union. It has been said that they believe what happened at Chernobyl is the reason the Soviet Union came to an end.

This is not a show for the fainthearted, it’s very gruesome and its retelling of the story doesn’t hold back on any of the horrific moments. It’s terrifying to think that this isn’t a made up story but actually happened to these people and could easily have happened again if the reason why it happened wasn’t found or was covered up, but if you enjoy history like this and are okay with human mutilation and gore then you could easily watch it, but it will leave you reeling for some time.

I absolutely adored the show and it’s retelling of the tragedy from the cinematography used, the music, the suspense in the build up and the anger you feel towards certain characters for what they do or don’t do, as well as finding out about the actual real people that were part of it all at the end and where they are now. The most fascinating thing for me were three men were chosen to go down into the radioactive waters in the plant to help relieve the water in there to not cause another massive explosion, and they were not expected to live longer than a week after doing this, yet two are still alive to this day! It’s fascinating what we have learnt from this disaster and how it affected so many people so differently.

I highly recommend this show if you want to learn more about the Chernobyl disaster, but you have to be able to watch gore and mutilation and really sad moments including animal death to be able to get through it. It’s incredibly informative and interesting but if you are faint of heart it’s definitely not a show for you, and maybe reading up on Chernobyl without all the visualisation is an easier way to go.

What do you think of Chernobyl?

Until next time.

Published by shonaharding

Media graduate with a passion for reviewing film and TV. View all posts by shonaharding