Chernobyl: 10 Biggest Act of Heroism On The Show

Chernobyl is one of the most acclaimed television series of all time and another massive hit for HBO. The limited series chronicled the devastating nuclear meltdown in Chernobyl, Russian in 1989, the efforts to cover-up the extent of the issue, and attempts to stop it from becoming a bigger catastrophe.

The real-life event is largely looked on as a massive failure of corruption and the series does certainly address that. However, it also highlights the many heroes of the event that helped to save countless lives. Here are the biggest acts of heroism on Chernobyl.

10 Boris Accepts His Fate

Boris Shcherbina (Stellan Skarsgård) is one of the government men put in charge of the recovery effort following the initial incident at Chernobyl. He knows his place and knows not to make waves. But as the extent of the situation is revealed to him, he realizes this cannot be swept under the rug.

Boris’ turning point comes when he realizes that by simply being in Chernobyl, he has been exposed to radiation that will lead to his death in a matter of years. Instead of wallowing in grief, Boris accepts this outcome and continues to work so he may help save as many lives as he can.

9 General Pikalov Takes A Reading

When the officials arrive in Chernobyl to inspect the extent of the situation, they find that the radiation levels that are being reported are not accurate. They need to use high-range dosimeters to get a true reading. However, they will need one of the military officials to take the reading themselves.

Valery Legasov (Jared Harris) warns that even with numerous safety precautions, the man chosen for this job will be in grave danger. Immediately, General Vladimir Pikalov volunteers to do it himself rather than send one of his men.

8 Firefighters

Because of the massive secrecy around the nuclear plant and the government’s desperation to avoid accountability for any incident, no one realizes the seriousness of the explosion at the plant until it is much too late.

This means that the brave firefighters who came to put out the fires had no idea what they were walking into and how they were been sentenced to a painful death. Because of the sheer bravery of their job, they never hesitated to do what was necessary and they paid for it dearly.

7 Ulana Goes To Chernobyl

While most of the heroes of the show find themselves put in this extraordinary situation and rise to the occasion, Ulana Khomyuk bravely puts herself in the situation to help. When she detects unusually high levels of radiation in her town several hours away from Chernobyl, she immediately suspects where the source is coming from.

Though she is not taken seriously by the officials, she sets out on her own to Chernobyl, knowing the danger she is putting herself in by going.

6 Clearing The Roof

In order to limit the amount of radiation coming from the reactor, the roof of the plant must be cleared. The officials first bring in robots to do the work, but they fail almost immediately due to the high radiation.

The officials are forced to use workers to clear the roof. Even with their massive hazmat suits, these men are only able to spend seconds on the roof before it becomes too dangerous. Though the job seems simple, their lives are on the line.

5 Ulana Investigates

Part of Ulana’s mission in Chernobyl is not only to help mitigate the disaster but also to ensure this never happens again. In order to do that, she must understand how something that should have been impossible – the core exploding – managed to happen.

Asking such questions in the Soviet Union is not very welcomed and sure enough, Ulana is quickly arrested for her investigation. However, when she is released, her search for the truth and her pressure for it to be shared never stops.

4 Legasov Testifies

When it comes time to have a trial for the men held accountable for the Chernobyl disaster, Legasov also knows it is an opportunity for the truth to be shared. He knows his testimony will likely be kept from the public and he knows that it will put in a lot of trouble, but he speaks regardless.

As he suspected, the truth has little effect at the time, but he makes sure those who are in power know that blood is on their hands and that their ignorance has damaged their country in untold ways.

3 Legasov’s Sacrifice

The series opens years after the Chernobyl disaster with Legasov living a quiet and reclusive life under intense surveillance from the government. He attempted to let the truth of what happened in Chernobyl be heard but he has been effectively silenced ever since.

He knows that for the same mistakes to avoid being repeated again, the truth must get out. He records his account of the incident and then hangs himself. His suicide is the spark that was needed for his words to be heard and the necessary changes to be made.

2 The Miners

The show gives a lot of emphasis to the government officials at the center of the incident who did what they could to help. However, it also shines a special light on the everyday men and women who sacrificed so much when their skills were needed.

In order the prevent further damage from occurring, a heat exchanger is needed under the plant. For this, the government recruits coal miners to dig under the plant in horrible conditions. Aware of what dangers they face, these men work tirelessly, and in the nude, to get the job done.

1 Draining The Plant

One of the early problems detected when the experts arrive at the disaster area is the threat of a steam explosion if the core makes contact with the water in the flooded basement. In order to prevent this, three of the plant workers must go into the basement and drain start the pumps.

The job is thought to be more or less a death sentence yet three workers volunteer when they are told what is at stake. Remarkably, the three real-life heroes did not die from the radiation as was expected.

About The Author

Colin McCormick
(2027 Articles Published)

Colin McCormick is a Senior Writer with Screen Rant and has been a proud member of the team since 2019. In addition to his work as Screen Rant, Colin is also a writer of News, Feature and Review pieces at Game Rant. Colin has had a long passion and obsession with movies going back to the first time he saw The Lion King in theaters. Along with movies, Colin stays up-to-date on the latest must-see TV shows. While he loves to find interesting projects in any kind of genre, he has a special movie of crime stories that are infused with a little dark humor much like the work of his favorite author, Elmore Leonard.

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