History Awesome / Chernobyl

** And they did it even as their flashlights - in RealLife there was only one - [[OhCrap die on them]] as the radiation fries their batteries. So they released the watergate in ''total darkness''[[note]]The men were able to feel their way using a pipe they knew led to the release valves[[/note]], with their Geiger counter ticking so hard it was a constant screech. The men were later awarded in 2016 for their bravery. Boris had died of a heart attack in 2006, so his [[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments grandson attended the ceremony in his honor]].

* Upon confronting Fomin and Bryukhanov over the graphite (which, keep in mind, ''was only supposed to be in the reactor core itself'', meaning that yes, the core did in fact explode), Shcherbina ''rips'' Fomin's allegation that the graphite was merely "burnt concrete", pointing out that while he may not know anything about nuclear reactors, ''he knows concrete'', and concrete looks nothing like that no matter how much you burn it. Fomin and Bryukhanov are left stunned, and after the true radiation levels[[note]]over 4000 times the number Fomin and Bryukhanov gave Moscow[[/note]] come to light, Shcherbina [[YouHaveFailedMe orders them arrested]]. Also counts as it shows that Shcherbina is ''willing'' to [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure listen and understand that the Chernobyl situation is dire]].
** Not only that, but Shcherbina's never actually ''seen'' the actual graphite, only the reports and Legasov's explanations. He's just trying to [[BluffingTheMurderer catch the two in a lie]] based on what little he knows... meaning that despite his dismissive bureaucrat act, he's been paying attention to Legasov the entire time.

** At the same time, in the first two episodes Fomin distinguishes himself by smugly asking people, including Legasov, to explain how an RBMK reactor core explodes. So there is something satisfying about how Legasov, at Fomin's trial, explains how an RBMK reactor core explodes.

** For context, the Soviet Union was supposedly founded as a worker's paradise, where the lower classes would be treated fairly and respected, unlike the so-called "evil capitalistic" West where money goes above all other concerns. Yet the same state needlessly sacrificed the lives of thousands of the lower-class people it supposedly held at high value by building cheap nuclear reactors with little safety measures, then downplaying the disaster and causing some more needless deaths. And not only does Charkov, a leader of such a state, not even care, he even suppresses anyone who dares to raise such concerns. Legasov implies that the State should advertise their lack of care regarding safety when compared to saving costs by printing it on currency that they don't supposedly value, ''essentially calling out the very purpose of the Soviet Union itself''. '''And he did this in front of the boss of the KGB'''.
* After the EpicFail that was the German robot they attempted to use to clear graphite off the roof, Scherbina gets on the phone with Moscow and, despite the phone call being monitored, lets the person on the other end of the line know just how much of a pack of fucking idiots the government is for refusing to take Chernobyl as seriously as it should be just because they don't want to lose face. He ends it by screaming at the guy to tell every higher-up he wants, ''including Gorbachev'', before smashing the phone to pieces.
-->'''Scherbina:''' ''OF COURSE I KNOW THEY'RE LISTENING!!'' I WANT THEM TO HEAR! I WANT THEM TO HEAR IT ALL! [...] DO YOU KNOW WHAT WE'RE DOING HERE!?!? TELL THOSE GENIUSES WHAT THEY HAVE DONE!! [...] '''I DON'T GIVE A FUCK!!!!''' [...] Rhyzkhov! Go tell them he's a joke!!--'''TELL FUCKING GORBACHEV!!!'''

* At the end of Episode 4, two Liquidators climb up the ventilation stack of Reactor #3 and then unfurl a red flag at the top, symbolizing the "end" of the clean-up operation.[[note]] The flag that was unveiled was not, as commonly believed, the Soviet Flag. In real life three men were requested to post the red flag atop the chimney overlooking the destroyed reactor, which was reached by climbing 78 meters up a spiral staircase. The three were sent despite the dangers posed by heavy radiation, and after a group of liquidators had already made two failed attempts by helicopter. The radiation expert Alexander Yourtchenko carried the pole, followed by Valéri Starodoumov with the flag, and Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Sotnikov with the radio. The whole operation was timed to last only 9 minutes, given the high radiation levels. At the end, the trio were rewarded with a bottle of Pepsi (a luxury in 1986) and a day off.[[/note]]
* General Pikalov, when told that there's a good chance that whoever would take the radiation readings at the fire would still die despite the heaviest shielding possible, tells Legasov this:
-->'''Pikalov''': [[TheMenFirst Then I'll do it myself.]]
** Pikalov's moment is awesome for two reasons: first, he [[AFatherToHisMen refuses to risk his subordinates]], instead putting himself in extreme danger, with only a NBC suit, his [[BrassBalls solid lead balls]] and some lead plates on his truck for protection. Second, he knows that Bryukhanov and Fomin (the highest on the totem pole in Chernobyl and Pripyat) could stall the cleanup efforts by claiming that a simple soldier could've misread or misused the dosimeter's readings in order to save their skin. Pikalov is both the commander of the chemical troops of the Soviet Union, and a veteran of [[UsefulNotes/WorldWar2 the Great Patriotic War]], so even Moscow can't dismiss or ignore him. The man knew the dangers, but also that he had the clout to make things move forward instead of doing things the Soviet way of passing the buck and act as if nothing happened.
* The use of two old Soviet Lunokhod lunar rovers re-purposed as remote-controlled bulldozers to clear debris on the roof is genuinely pretty ingenious. Their design had already been radiation-hardened in order to survive in space, though they break down long before the job is done.

** And they did it even as their flashlights - in RealLife there was only one - [[OhCrap die on them]] as the radiation fries their batteries. So they released the water gate in ''total darkness''[[note]]The men were able to feel their way using a pipe they knew led to the release valves[[/note]], with their Geiger counter ticking so hard it was a constant screech. The men were later awarded in 2016 for their bravery. Boris had died of a heart attack in 2006, so his [[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments grandson attended the ceremony in his honor]].