HBO restored the faith of its fandom by producing yet another fantastic TV show which prevented the people from ultimately cancelling their HBO subscriptions and the fans were right not to, as then they would have missed out on one of the best TV shows of this era. Chernobyl is a heart-breaking story based on true events which would make your stomach churn at some of the characters’ decisions and the fact that this is what happened in real is even more haunting. The way in which the story is told is spectacular as they really make it feel that you are there present with the characters themselves. The attention to detail is what makes this series stand out as it captivates you leaves a permanent mark on your psyche.
In April 1986, a disaster occurred in the Chernobyl nuclear plant due to blatant negligence and arrogance of some individuals and this series depicts the series of events which ultimately lead to this horrific incident. This show tells us about all the lies and cover-ups which were rampant in the Soviet-era, which ultimately became one of the biggest reason for the downfall of USSR.
We have all heard the story about Chernobyl before and we know how the story ends, which does make the series a bit predictable but even then, it leaves you in disarray as you know what will happen next, but you do not want it to happen. When the Power plant exploded, and the radiation was spreading quickly through the air, we knew what will happen next, we knew what would happen to all those people who were watching the whole thing unfold on the bridge. We were rooting for all of them to get out of that area as soon as possible but that did not happen, which is what makes it so horrifying. It is reported that none of them survived.
One of the best things about this series is the actors which portray the characters especially Jared Harris as Valery and Stellan Skarsgard as Boris. Every time they tried to control the situation, they faced a setback due to the arrogance and unwillingness to admit that something bad can actually happen in the Soviet Union. You feel for those characters as they sacrificed their lives without asking anything in return.
For 33 years, people did not know the names of the real heroes who risked their lives (Some even gave their lives) to save the people from an even bigger catastrophe fighting the corruption and resistance of the Soviet-era officers along the way, which was a bigger feat than most of us can realise and Now what this show has done is that it made those heroes a household name and re-invented their legacies for all the generations to come.
The Soundtrack was amazing and really captured the horror which the characters were going through, making us feel it at the same time as well. The musical score was composed by Icelandic composer Hildur Guðnadóttir, who really hit home-run on this one.
In the span of just 5 episodes, it captures the pain of all the people inflicted with this tragedy and relays that pain straight to you. It gives an amazing visual experience to all the viewers and the viewers, in turn, gave Chernobyl the crown by making it the top rated tv show on IMDB.
For fans who love to watch good content on television, this show is a masterpiece and redefines the standard for quality television series. We are all glad that this show was created but at the same time, we wished the events which transpired never happened.
The only bad thing which came out of this show is the insensitive “influencers”, who after the release of the show flocked to Pripyat to capture pictures in the Chernobyl area in order to share it and get likes on social media. Let’s be honest, we all felt that the radiation would get us too when we were watching the series and we are sure the demand for Iodine tablets must have increased astronomically after the release of the show.
