Chernobyl Episode Guide Episodes 001–005 Last episode aired Monday June 03, 2019 www.hbo.com c c 2019 www.tv.com c 2019 www.hbo.com c 2019 www.showsnob.com c 2019 www.wikipedia.org The summaries and recaps of all the Chernobyl episodes were downloaded from http://www.tv.com and http://www. hbo.com and http://www.showsnob.com and http://www.wikipedia.org and processed through a perl program to transform them in a LATEX file, for pretty printing. So, do not blame me for errors in the text ! This booklet was LATEXed on June 10, 2019 by footstep11 with create_eps_guide v0.62 Contents Season 1 1 1 1:23:45 . .3 2 Please Remain Calm . .5 3 Open Wide, O Earth . .9 4 The Happiness of All Mankind . 11 5 Vichnaya Pamyat . 13 Actor Appearances 15 Chernobyl Episode Guide II Season One Chernobyl Episode Guide 1:23:45 Season 1 Episode Number: 1 Season Episode: 1 Originally aired: Monday May 6, 2019 Writer: Craig Mazin Director: Johan Renck Show Stars: Jared Harris (Valery Legasov), Stellan Skarsgard˚ (Boris Shcherbina), Emily Watson (Ulana Khomyuk), Paul Ritter (Anatoly Dyatlov), Jessie Buckley (Lyudmilla Ignatenko), Adam Nagaitis (Vasily Ignatenko), Con O’Neill (Viktor Bryukhanov), Adrian Rawlins (Nikolai Fomin), Sam Troughton (Aleksandr Akimov), Robert Emms (Leonid Top- tunov), David Dencik (Mikhail Gorbachev), Mark Lewis Jones (Vladimir Pikalov), Alan Williams (Viktor Charkov), Alex Ferns (Andrei Glukhov), Ralph Ineson (Nikolai Tarakanov), Barry Keoghan (Pavel Gremov), Fares Fares (Bacho) Guest Stars: Michael Shaeffer (Blond Man), Joshua Leese (Igor Kirschenbaum), Adam Lundgren (Brazhnik), Karl Davies (Viktor Proskuryakov), Paulius Markevicius (Aleksandr Kudryavstev), Jay Simpson (Perevozchenko), Billy Postlethwaite (Boris Stolyarchuk), Ross Arm- strong (Nikolai Gorbachenko), Douggie McMeekin (Yuvchenko), Karolis Kasperavicius (Viktor Degtaryenko), Sam Strike (Misha), Gerard Kearns (Pravik), Sammy Hayman (Titenok), Povilas Jatkevi- cius (Kibenok), Laura Elphinstone (Oksana), Michael Socha (Mikhail), Nadia Clifford (Dr. Svetlana Zinchenko), Ron Cook (Old Maternity Doc- tor), Jan Ricica (Oksana’s Kid), Matas Dirgincius (Vladimir Tishchura), Jamie Sives (Sitnikov), Caolan Byrne (Day Shift Worker), Stephen Bisland (Night Shift Worker), Alex Blake (Petrovich), Donald Sumpter (Zharkov), Roman Listopad (Civilian), Danguole Ragazinskaite (Civil- ian), Zachary Street (Liquidator), Tomas Zaibus (Policeman) Summary: Plant workers and firefighters put their lives on the line to control a catastrophic April 1986 explosion at a Soviet nuclear power plant. The episode begins in Moscow, April 26, 1988. A man is speaking negatively into a tape recorder about Anatoly Dyatlov, calling him an arrogant, unpleasant. We soon learn that Dyatlov was Assistant Chief Engineer at the Chernobyl nuclear power. Also, the man recording himself is Valery Legasov. Legaslov says Dyat- lov doesn’t deserve prison, but death. As Legaslov heads outside to hide his cas- sette tape recordings (and his narrative), it seems a car is outside, spying on him. When Legaslov returns to his apartment, he feeds his cat, then hangs himself. Not far from the Chernobyl plant, Lyudmilla and fireman Vasily Ignatenko hear and see the plant explosion from their home. Meanwhile, at Chernobyl, we get an inkling as to why Legaslov bad-mouthed Dyatlov earlier. Right from the outset, Dyatlov denies the possibility of a core ex- plosion, blaming Toptunov for blowing up the control tank and downplaying the disaster. Still, Perevozchenko insists the core is no longer there. However, Dyatlov doesn’t appear to be so bad, 3 Chernobyl Episode Guide at least not yet. Similarly, Vasily the fireman downplays the explosion, confidently getting ready to face the danger. However, at the facility itself, people are already vomiting blood, and a man named Khodem- chuk is missing (apparently they never find him, at least not in this episode). Another man, Viktor is bloody — often a sign things aren’t going well. Despite how the air tastes like metal, Dyatlov still denies there was a core explosion and acts like things are okay. However, the firefighters, nuclear plant workers, and bloody sores begin to tell another story. Perevozschenko says this, meaning to say there was no core there! However, when assessing the problem, including the injuries around him, Dyatlov tells Akimov that he’s seen worse. On that note, Akimov is told to call in the day shift, to help assist in the situation. Meanwhile, we learn that the nearest hospital doesn’t have iodine pills — although, realistically, such pills offer only minimal protection against radiation, at best. When assessing what happened, Chief Engineer Nikolai Fomin and Director Bryukhanov are told that hydrogen accumulated in a control system tank and ignited. However, Dyatlov still denies a core explosion possibility. Then, in perhaps the bleakest scene of the episode, we see nuclear dust particles in the air, and children playing in it! While this fun is happening, Vasily and other firefighters are directed to address the fire from the roof. As power plant workers head into the non-existent core, those in charge hold a meeting. Director Bryukhanov says the accident is ”well under control.” However, Petrovich says radiation is not limited to the plant itself and notes that ”the air is glowing.” However, in a rousing speech, Zharkov urges the committee to seal off the city, so no one leaves and to ”cut off the spread of misinformation.” Afterward, Dyatlov vomits from radiation exposure. Meanwhile, Sitnikov is sent to look at the core from the vent block roof. He initially refuses, but ultimately goes and sees the disaster for what it is. As truck after truck bring people to the hospital, Valery Legasov gets called in to attend a meeting, to give answers about RBMK reactor questions. However, Boris Shcherbina makes clear that Legaslov is only to answer technical questions, and it’s implied that the range of acceptable topics and answers will be limited. The episode ends with an encroaching, ominous cloud, then a crow falling dead from the sky. 4 Chernobyl Episode Guide Please Remain Calm Season 1 Episode Number: 2 Season Episode: 2 Originally aired: Monday May 13, 2019 Writer: Craig Mazin Director: Johan Renck Show Stars: Jared Harris (Valery Legasov), Stellan Skarsgard˚ (Boris Shcherbina), Emily Watson (Ulana Khomyuk), Paul Ritter (Anatoly Dyatlov), Jessie Buckley (Lyudmilla Ignatenko), Adam Nagaitis (Vasily Ignatenko), Con O’Neill (Viktor Bryukhanov), Adrian Rawlins (Nikolai Fomin), Sam Troughton (Aleksandr Akimov), Robert Emms (Leonid Top- tunov), David Dencik (Mikhail Gorbachev), Mark Lewis Jones (Vladimir Pikalov), Alan Williams (Viktor Charkov), Alex Ferns (Andrei Glukhov), Ralph Ineson (Nikolai Tarakanov), Barry Keoghan (Pavel Gremov), Fares Fares (Bacho) Guest Stars: Sam Troughton (Akimov), Robert Emms (Leonid Toptunov), Matthew Needham (Dmitri), Nadia Clifford (Dr. Svetlana Zinchenko), Rosie Sheehy (Nurse Pripyat), Karl Davies (Viktor Proskuryakov), Ron Cook (Old Maternity Doctor), Tomas Zaibus (Soldier (Hospital)), Amanda Drew (Kremlin Aide Female), Michael Socha (Mikhail), Laura El- phinstone (Oksana), Jan Ricica (Oksana’s Kid), Peter Guinness (Ma- jor Burov), Laurence Spellman (Commission Heli Pilot), Alison Par- geter (BCP HQ Aide Female), Victor McGuire (Garanin), Sakalas Uz- davinys (Ilya Ivanovich Chulkov), Aidas Jurgaitis (Soldier (Shelter)), Aiste Gramantaite (Bartender in Polyissa Hotel), Cait Davis (Local Wife), Darius Petkevicius (Local Husband), Daniel Crossley (Stasiuk), Lucy Russell (Marina Gruzinskaya), Donald Sumpter (Zharkov), Diar- maid Murtagh (Corporal Zukauskas), Natasha Radski (Russian News Reader), Yitzchak Averbuch (General), Joe Tucker (Plant Employee), Baltasar Breki Samper (Ananenko), Philip Barantini (Bezpalov), Oscar Dyekjær Giese (Baranov), Bartas Erminas (Civilian in a Hospital) Summary: With untold millions at risk, Ulana makes a desperate attempt to reach Valery and warn him about the threat of a second explosion. At the Belorussian Institute for Nu- clear energy in Minsk, Dmitri and Ulana Khomyuk immediately analyze a sam- ple of a substance in the air. Although Ulana is a composite character, she ad- equately represents the struggle of Rus- sian nuclear scientists to break through bureaucratic red tape to expose the sim- ple truths of the Chernobyl disaster. Both Ulana and Legasov ultimately take it upon themselves to prove that Chernobyl’s core actually exploded, whereas the Soviet authorities are officially deny- ing it. However, when no one’s answering the phone at the plant, it almost immediately validates certain concerns about the disaster’s scope. 5 Chernobyl Episode Guide Hospitals have already seen the explosion’s effects. Dr. Svetlana Zinchenko is dealing with a patient’s radiation burns and contaminated clothes. Shockingly, no one on the hospital staff seems to be wearing gloves as they handle nuclear-contaminated clothing! Because of the panic (and radioactive particles) in the air, Lyudmilla Ignatenko easily sneaks into the crowded hospital to find her firefighter husband, Vasily. She is told that he was trans- ported to Moscow, and to tell them that Major Burov allows her there. However, will that be enough to get her through a blockade? Legasov soon meets with officials, including Mikhail Gorbachev, the General Secretary of the CPSU. Shcherbina is largely downplaying the disaster. However, Legasov notes how graphite on the ground means the core exploded, adding that dosimeter readings are inaccurate — they are only low because