History NightmareFuel / Chernobyl

** And once AZ-5 was pressed, the power shot up from 200 megawatts to ''33,000'' (over ''ten times'' the output the reactor was designed for) and led to the core exploding, but not before we see the lid covers start jumping and clanging randomly due to the pressure buildup, only for it to ''immediately explode upwards'', opening the core. And it becomes worse as Legasov describes oxygen entering the core, ending the chain reaction with causing a '''bigger''' explosion, all while the scene shows the graphite control rods flying out of Chernobyl and the eerie radioactive blue light rising out of the burning crater.

** The worst part? The Foot has a "little brother" in the form of a pile of discarded uniforms from the firemen who arrived after the explosion (which is briefly seen in the series). That pile of clothes is ''still'' sitting in the basement of the Pripyat hospital and is still highly radioactive (it is, in fact, the most radioactive thing in the Zone save for the Foot). Standing near it for extended periods of time will make you sick. [[TooDumbToLive Putting these clothes on]] will irradiate you enough to contract [=ARS=] in a few minutes... and the firemen were wearing these for ''hours'', immediately after they were irradiated, 33 years before the series aired.

** The announcement itself has a calm, detached tone to the speaker's voice, as though making an announcement that the cafeteria will be serving carrots instead of peas for dinner. Granted, it's being done to keep the citizens from panicking, but the severity of the disaster makes the voice seem... inhuman, like a vocal UncannyValley.

* The dispatch calls made to the surrounding firefighting departments. The horrifying thing is that's the RealLife [[https://youtu.be/Qpg3io2rU4Y calls made the night of the explosion]].[[note]]It's why, during an English-made production, the dialogue switches to actual Russian.[[/note]] What you're listening to ''is the actual terrified panic'' in the dispatcher's voice...

* There's something very unsettling during the funeral of Vasily and the other ARS victims. Their bodies are so irradiated that a traditional burial or cremation isn't possible due to contamination risks. Instead, the bodies, still in plastic mortician bags as they're basically ''skeletons holding human sludge'' at this point, are put in lead-lined wooden coffins nailed shut, which are then put in steel coffins welded shut, which are ''then'' put in a mass grave filled with several feet of concrete. Knowing that even in death, these people are still a danger to everybody for ''centuries at least'' due to all the radiation they soaked up, to the point that they can't even have a proper burial and must be disposed of like toxic waste... Radiation is the gift that keeps on giving.

** Who ever decided to give the radiation a damn {{Leitmotif}} deserves an Academy Award.[[note]]Which she actually got for the same year's ''Film/{{Joker}}''.[[/note]] It is nothing more than scratchy noise, and you first hear it when the plant workers look into the exposed core for the first time, but any time after it, it is haunting, and usually plays over the regular score when characters on screen are getting exposed to dangerous levels of radiation.

** The worst part? The Foot has a "little brother" in the form of a pile of discarded uniforms from the firemen who arrived after the explosion. That pile of clothes is ''still'' sitting in the basement of the Pripyat hospital and is still highly radioactive (it is, in fact, the most radioactive thing in the Zone save for the Foot). Standing near it for extended periods of time will make you sick. [[TooDumbToLive Putting these clothes on]] will irradiate you enough to contract [=ARS=] in a few minutes... and the firemen were wearing these for ''hours'', immediately after they were irradiated, 33 years before the series aired.

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* Arguably the biggest NF of the entire show isn't ''just'' the fallout of Chernobyl, it's the fact ''[[HeadInTheSandManagement everyone refused to acknowledge or accept how fucked up the situation was]]''. Dyatlov is obviously a big example of someone who was in heavy denial over the disaster and refusing to see that yes, the core exploded, but you also have Fomin, Bryukhanov, and arguably ''all of the Soviet government'', who would rather hide and play off the idea that there was ''no way'' the reactor would have exploded. It becomes more clear that the true horror of Chernobyl's disaster wasn't just that, but also [[HeadInTheSandManagement those who wanted to lie and cover their own asses]].

* Arguably the biggest NF of the entire show isn't ''just'' the fallout of Chernobyl, it's the fact ''[[IRejectYourReality everyone refused to acknowledge or accept how fucked up the situation was]]''. Dyatlov is obviously a big example of someone who was in heavy denial over the disaster and refusing to see that yes, the core exploded, but you also have Fomin, Bryukhanov, and arguably ''all of the Soviet government'', who would rather hide and play off the idea that there was ''no way'' the reactor would have exploded. It becomes more clear that the true horror of Chernobyl's disaster wasn't just that, but also [[HeadInTheSandManagement those who wanted to lie and cover their own asses]].

** Just ''Legasov's tone'' as they see the smoke coming from Chernobyl is unsettling. A simple but horrified "What have they done..?".

Despite the fact it's a drama miniseries about a real life event, ''Chernobyl'' is never the less described as a horror series, in terms ''because'' of [[TruthInTelevision said real life events]]. And ''by god'', does it warrant this page.

* Some residents of Pripyat, including children, gather along a bridge to watch the distant fire, unaware that the thing burning is an ''exploded reactor core''. And then, the wind picks up and all these flakes of ash begin falling like snow, collecting onto their hair and clothing, while their children start to play in that ash. To the viewers, fully aware of what's happening, this seemingly innocent scene is more terrifying than most slasher films. The next we see of them, they're all in the overflowing hospital, all with radiation burns. ''Including the same man and his infant son from the earlier scenes''. He even ''begs'' Lyudmilla to take his son away from him, but she has no response and is instead horrified as she walks away to find her husband.

[[quoteright:350:"What will happen to our boys?" ''This.'']]

* Vasily's condition deteriorates as the episode goes on, going from a little sunburnt at most, to blistered all over, until finally we see him in his last hours. Every inch of his skin is just a wet patchwork of yellow, black, blue, and red. His mouth, eyes, and nose are black. Open wounds are bleeding all over his body. He's essentially a long-dead corpse that's ''still breathing.''

** The tangled-up mess of control rods, pictured above, lit up by the eerie glow of the core as it begins to burn up, looks like nothing less than [[EldritchAbomination the birth of a dark god]] or the opening of the gates of Hell. Or, considering the insane amount of radiation at this moment, '''Death itself'''. You thought the inside of Reactor #4 was scary in ''VideoGame/{{STALKER}}''? ''Reality was scarier''.

->You are dealing with something that has ''never occurred'' on this planet before.

'''As a Moments subpage, all spoilers are unmarked [[Administrivia/SpoilersOff as per policy.]] Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned.'''

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/chernobyl_core.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350: '''Open Wide, O Earth.''']]

[[foldercontrol]]

** And once AZ-5 was pressed, the power shot up from 200 megawatts to ''33,000'' (over ''ten times'' the output the reactor was designed for) and led to the core exploding, but not before we see the lid covers start jumping and clanging randomly due to the pressure build up, only for it to ''immediately explode upwards'', opening the core. And it becomes worse as Legasov describes oxygen entering the core, ending the chain reaction with causing a '''bigger''' explosion, all while the scene shows the graphite control rods flying out of Chernobyl and the eerie radioactive blue light rising out of the burning crater.

** Not a nuclear bomb in the conventional sense, mind -- rather, the water inside the reactor boiled to produce steam, and when the pressure grew too high, it blew apart the core, lifting the massive Upper Biological Shield with it. To elaborate further, the AZ-5 button was an effectively the impromptu bomb's detonator because the boron control rods (which absorb neutrons, and slow the reaction) had tips made of graphite, which moderates neutrons and thus ''increases'' reactivity, and therefore the power output (when they were inserted, the high pressure inside the core damaged the rod channels and jammed them in place, with only their graphite tips actually inserted. One guess as to what happened next...) When a prosecutor asks the reason, Legasov gives a small tirade ending in a simple answer:

* As the helicopter carrying Shcherbina and Legasov approaches Chernobyl, the former orders that they fly over the reactor to get a good look at the damage. The latter tries to warn about the intense radiation that they will be subjected to if they do. Shcherbina tells the pilot to obey him or he'll be shot. Legasov retorts that if he does, [[CruelAndUnusualDeath he'll be ''begging'' to be shot within a day]].

* As the helicopter carrying Shcherbina and Legasov approaches Chernobyl, the former orders that they fly over the reactor to get a good look at the damage. The latter tries to warn about the intense radiation that they will be subjected to if they do. Shcherbina tells the pilot to obey him or he'll be shot, finally, Legasov retorts that if he does, he'll be ''begging'' to be shot within a day.
** Just by ''Legasov's tone'' as they see the smoke coming from Chernobyl is unsettling. A simple but horrified "What have they done..?".

** The crash itself is depicted rather less like a standard low velocity crash from that height and more like a ''splash'' when the copter hits the ground. That's the radiation-induced metal fatigue doing its work, rather than, say, terminal velocity. Now, imagine the crew inside basically also having all the structural integrity of water balloons care of the intense gamma exposure. [[UnluckilyLucky They died fast, thankfully.]]

** When Legasov announces that the reactor hit 33,000 megawatts before exploding, the entire room is completely and utterly [[StunnedSilence silent.]] It's as if you can see the exact moment that everyone, even Dyatlov, realizes that yes, RMBK reactors ''do'' explode. In reality, much like the 3.6 roentgen initially reported as the radiation level, this was merely [[ReadingsAreOffTheScale the highest amount of power that the meter could display]]; indeed, Legasov acknowledges that 33,000 megawatts couldn't have been the actual power output given how far the deadly combination of terrible reactor design and a tyrannical PointyHairedBoss calling the shots had caused things to spiral out of control. Estimates done in the years since indicate that at the moment of actual explosion, the power inside the reactor was on the order of ''300,000,000'' megawatts - in other words, 300 '''''terawatts'''''.

* Everybody with a somewhat advanced knowledge of Chernobyl knows about the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephant%27s_Foot_(Chernobyl) Elephant's Foot]], a mass of corium located in the basement beneath Reactor #4 and the most radioactive part of the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. At the time of its discovery, six months after the explosion, the Foot was emitting 10.000 roentgens per hour, enough to give you fatal radiation poisoning (as in ''you drop dead'') in 300 seconds. So radioactive was the Foot that the person who took [[https://digitalcollections.lib.washington.edu/digital/collection/chernobyl/id/233/ this photo]] in 1990 reportedly died not long afterwards. While its radioactivity has significantly decayed over time to the point that it can be approached for a few minutes with proper protection... Just imagine how much radioactivity this thing was emitting immediately after the explosion. Estimations vary, but the consensus is that exposure was fatal in less than 30 seconds. For a few weeks at least, this mass of nuclear lava was '''the absolute deadliest thing on Earth'''. The worst part? The Foot has a "little brother" in the form of a pile of discarded uniforms from the firemen who arrived after the explosion. That pile of clothes is ''still'' sitting in the basement of the Pripyat hospital and is still highly radioactive (it is, in fact, the most radioactive thing in the Zone save for the Foot). Standing near it for extended periods of time will make you sick. [[TooDumbToLive Putting these clothes on]] will irradiate you enough to contract [=ARS=] in a few minutes... and the firemen were wearing these for ''hours'', immediately after they were irradiated, 33 years before the series aired.

** Note one thing too after the lid is thrown off: Dyatlov [[TooSpicyForYogSothoth is shown to be terrified]] the minute the first explosion is felt, the complete sense of dread and realization that shit ''did'' go wrong...and then when the second explosion happens, he's shown with his head hung low, arguably unable to process the disaster and the eventual lead to him sending others to their deaths due to ''his own refusal'' to accept the reactor exploded.

--->When you're staring into the fire [[BrownNote that just killed you]].

* As of 17 May 2021, 35 years after the explosion, there are apparently credible reports that the radiation level inside the remains of Reactor 4 are ''rising'', and another explosion could possibly occur.

* Everybody with a somewhat advanced knowledge of Chernobyl knows about the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephant%27s_Foot_(Chernobyl) Elephant's Foot]], a mass of corium located in the basement beneath Reactor #4 and the most radioactive part of the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. At the time of its discovery, six months after the explosion, the Foot was emitting 10.000 roentgens per hour, enough to give you fatal radiation poisoning (as in ''you drop dead'') in 300 seconds. So radioactive was the Foot that the person who took [[https://digitalcollections.lib.washington.edu/digital/collection/chernobyl/id/233/ this photo]] in 1990 reportedly died not long afterwards. While its radioactivity has significantly decayed over time to the point that it can be approached for a few minutes with proper protection... Just imagine how much radioactivity this thing was emitting immediately after the explosion. Estimations vary, but the consensus it that exposure was fatal in less than 30 seconds. For a few weeks at least, this mass of nuclear lava was '''the absolute deadliest thing on Earth'''. The worst part? The Foot has a "little brother" in the form of a pile of discarded uniforms from the firemen who arrived after the explosion. That pile of clothes is ''still'' sitting in the basement of the Pripyat hospital and is still highly radioactive (it is, in fact, the most radioactive thing in the Zone save for the Foot). Standing near it for extended periods of time will make you sick. [[TooDumbToLive Putting these clothes on]] will irradiate you enough to contract [=ARS=] in a few minutes... and the firemen were wearing these for ''hours'', immediately after they were irradiated, 33 years before the series aired.

** Not a nuclear bomb in the conventional sense, mind -- rather, the water inside the reactor boiled to produce steam, and when the pressure grew too high, it blew apart the core, lifting the massive Upper Biological Shield with it. To elaborate further, the AZ-5 button was an effectively the impromptu bomb's detonator because the boron control rods (which absorb neutrons, and slow the reaction) had tips made of graphite, which moderates neutrons and thus ''increases'' reactivity, and therefore the power output (when they were inserted, the high pressure inside the core damaged the rod channels and jammed them in place, with only their boron tips actually inserted. One guess as to what happened next...) When a prosecutor asks the reason, Legasov gives a small tirade ending in a simple answer:

* Everybody with a somewhat advanced knowledge of Chernobyl knows about the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephant%27s_Foot_(Chernobyl) Elephant's Foot]], a mass of corium located in the basement beneath Reactor #4 and the most radioactive part of the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. At the time of its discovery, six months after the explosion, the Foot was emitting 10.000 roentgens per hour, enough to give you fatal radiation poisoning (as in ''you drop dead'') in 300 seconds. So radioactive was the Foot that the person who took [[https://digitalcollections.lib.washington.edu/digital/collection/chernobyl/id/233/ this photo]] in 1990 reportedly died not long afterwards. While its radioactivity has significantly decayed over time to the point that it can be approached for a few minutes with proper protection... Just imagine how much radioactivity this thing was emitting after the explosion. Estimations vary, but the consensus it that exposure was fatal in less than 30 seconds. For a few weeks at least, this block of dried nuclear lava was '''the absolute deadliest thing on Earth'''. The worst part? The Foot has a "little brother" in the form of a pile of discarded uniforms from the firemen who arrived after the explosion. That pile of clothes is ''still'' sitting in the basement of the Pripyat hospital and is still highly radioactive (it is, in fact, the most radioactive thing in the Zone save for the Foot). Standing near it for extended periods of time will make you sick. [[TooDumbToLive Putting these clothes on]] will irradiate you enough to contract [=ARS=] in a few minutes... and the firemen were wearing these for ''hours'', immediately after they were irradiated, 33 years before the series aired.

* Everybody with a somewhat advanced knowledge of Chernobyl knows about the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephant%27s_Foot_(Chernobyl) Elephant's Foot]], a mass of corium located in the basement beneath Reactor #4 and the most radioactive part of the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. At the time of its discovery, six months after the explosion, the Foot was emitting 10.000 roentgens per hour, enough to give you fatal radiation poisoning (as in ''you drop dead'') in 300 seconds. So radioactive was the Foot that the person who took [[https://digitalcollections.lib.washington.edu/digital/collection/chernobyl/id/233/ this photo]] in 1990 reportedly died not long afterwards. While its radioactivity has significantly decayed over time to the point that it could be photographed in person in 1996 (the liquidators in 1986 took pictures of it using a jury-rigged "selfie stick") and, nowadays, can be approached for a few minutes with proper protection... Just imagine how much radioactivity this thing was emitting after the explosion. Estimations vary, but the consensus it that exposure was fatal in less than 30 seconds. For a few weeks at least, this block of dried nuclear lava was '''the absolute deadliest thing on Earth'''. The worst part? The Foot has a "little brother" in the form of a pile of discarded uniforms from the firemen who arrived after the explosion. That pile of clothes is ''still'' sitting in the basement of the Pripyat hospital and is still highly radioactive (it is, in fact, the most radioactive thing in the Zone save for the Foot). Standing near it for extended periods of time will make you sick. [[TooDumbToLive Putting these clothes on]] will irradiate you enough to contract [=ARS=] in a few minutes... and the firemen were wearing these for ''hours'', immediately after they were irradiated, 33 years before the series aired.

* Everybody with a somewhat advanced knowledge of Chernobyl knows about the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephant%27s_Foot_(Chernobyl) Elephant's Foot]], a mass of corium located in the basement beneath Reactor #4 and the most radioactive part of the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. At the time of its discovery, six months after the explosion, the Foot was emitting 10.000 roentgens per hour, enough to give you fatal radiation poisoning (as in ''you drop dead'') in 300 seconds. So radioactive was the Foot that the person who took [[https://digitalcollections.lib.washington.edu/digital/collection/chernobyl/id/233/ this photo]] in person in 1990 reportedly died not long after taking it. While its radioactivity has significantly decayed over time to the point that it could be photographed in person in 1996 (the liquidators in 1986 took pictures of it using a jury-rigged "selfie stick") and, nowadays, can be approached for a few minutes with proper protection... Just imagine how much radioactivity this thing was emitting after the explosion. Estimations vary, but the consensus it that exposure was fatal in less than 30 seconds. For a few weeks at least, this block of dried nuclear lava was '''the absolute deadliest thing on Earth'''. The worst part? The Foot has a "little brother" in the form of a pile of discarded uniforms from the firemen who arrived after the explosion. That pile of clothes is ''still'' sitting in the basement of the Pripyat hospital and is still highly radioactive (it is, in fact, the most radioactive thing in the Zone save for the Foot). Standing near it for extended periods of time will make you sick. [[TooDumbToLive Putting these clothes on]] will irradiate you enough to contract [=ARS=] in a few minutes... and the firemen were wearing these for ''hours'', immediately after they were irradiated, 33 years before the series aired.