Official Trailer:

What is the cost of lies is the central question Chernobyl asks in HBO miniseries (5 episodes). What sets this series apart is that it keeps the narration to human-centric, how the scientists, firemen, miners, soldiers, and physicians sacrificed their life, not all of them knew what they are getting in to, to contain the damage and saved lives. Director does show and nail how the political establishment and its chain of command tried to maintain things are fine and under control and believed its own lies. We heave a sigh of relief when Valery Legasov gets the command to investigate and contain the damage. We get to see events which we usually don’t get to see or read or think about – how 3 soldiers braved radiation to drain the water from basement else it would have resulted in steam explosion; how Tula coal miners excavated a tunnel to protect the ground water from contamination racing against time; how civilian draftees go on patrol to shoot and eliminate abandoned animals due to radioactive contamination; how 3800 liquidators take 90 seconds shift to clear the rooftop by hand.

Series is supported by great cast and scores high in all departments. Liked the way each episode kept the focus on a chosen theme. Screen writers have done an excellent job of making the science understandable for everyone. The stretch where Legasov explains the functioning of RBMK reactor and what led to the explosion with his closing line This is RBMK reactor explodes – Lies is a great example. We also get great one-liners like This is how a Ministry of Coal should look.

We feel anger and frustration to know that the whole devastation could have been prevented if information from earlier Leningrad incident wasn’t suppressed and flawed part was not used. The reality is we don’t learn from history since most to all the governments across the world like to suppress dissent and information. It is disheartening to observe that government that is supposed to protect its citizens, instead abuses the faith and trust of the population and puts them in path of destruction. It goes on to show why Freedom of expression and Dissent are critical in our society.