Shit they were lucky they even had him. I honestly thought though that he was going to lie to Legasov and Boris, because i wasn't sure how deep the corruption ran.
@@Darksky1001able military men/women especially those that fought in wars are disciplined and straight to the facts. This scene, in my opinion, shows that. Comrade General Pikalov was given a task, and he executed said task faithfully without failure, excuses and questions.
I love how Boris says "neutron flux moderator" as if he has been studying nuclear physics for decades, not something he first heard ever in his life twenty minutes ago.
When people say Im smart, I usually counter with "Im not that smart, I just know what the big words mean". Honestly, once you wrap your head around a few key phrases, most of science, especially physics, is just different ways of mixing those phrases around. And Legasov, being knowledgeable in nuclear energy, effectively conveyed the relevant concepts to Boris. Fuel throws off bullets, moderator slows them down so they can find more fuel, and make more bullets. Ergo moderator must be in the core near the fuel where the dangerous radiation stuff is. It truly was a mistake to tell Boris of all people 'uh....maybe its concrete' ..... He was basically the construction tsar for that area of Russia. He knows construction material. Period. Hes also a 'party man' (as the real Legasov was, which I like to think also helped him get through to Boris as he would have dropped the 'Party narrative' act and been more 'No! Boris! This is NOT good!'), and as a 'Party Man' he could spot the weaseling around, kicking the problem down the ladder, kind of deflection from a mile away. Legasov wasnt bullshitting him, Legasov was mutherfuckering Boris into 'we need to do something, now! Not in a week when you find someone you like better that will tell you the same thing I am'. Where as the stooges were blatantly talking out their ass as 'Party Men' in over thier heads tend to do. And its not like Boris was 'acting smart', he simply used knowledge he had gained, verified a few assumptions (only used in the core, etc), knowing they wouldnt question him due to his high level Party status. If he started with 'Legasov told me ....' but they could have replied with 'oh did he now tsk tsk' which would not answer the question, throw shade on Legasov, and also weaken Boris' position of authority. It really is a superbly written scene. Also, that fuckin Russian general. A true leader. "Oh, its very dangerous? Then I will go instead of sending a young man, Its the states fuck up, its my responsibility to face it before it is theirs..." (‘-‘*ゞ
This might be one of the funniest scenes in this show. I know there aren't many especially considering this series' subject but you must admit the way he asks then the guy he asks asks Fomin is really funny.
What’s great about the whole show is that it really makes you aware of how people evaluate each other in a society where trust is a huge problem. Each person brings to every conversation their needs and goals and has to be dealt with according to this. You come to respect those who are clear about what they want, like the miners, the soldiers, and the scientists. These are people who do represent the good heart at the core of everyone, where political ambition is distant and indistinct.
Boris executed his "knowledge" of the Graphites purpose perfectly he assumed these party officials would think he was too stupid to know what was going on but now he asserted himself to take charge of the whole operation
Honestly he played off of an earlier scene without knowing it. When they were in the conference room yelling at the lead technician who Dyatlov sent onto the roof to report what he found and he came back saying there was graphite only for them to claim he was in hysterics. They were too shocked to think fast or well (even though they were screwed anyway).
I mean, he didn’t really have to use a trap like that to assert himself. However, he did use it to condemn those two for obviously trying to shame and blame others for their gross negligence. Scherbina was higher ranking than any person in a hundred miles. Remember, he threatened to have Legasov shot and could have done so without consequence. He was remarkably powerful, cunning, and intelligent (though with some stubbornness). He played the game and sacrificed himself in order to win against the hydra of stupidity that was the USSR withholding vitally important safety information on its reactors from its own operators, the operators themselves (Bryukhanov, Fomin, and Dyatlov), and the disaster itself.
@@ShimrraJamaane Very true. Although I believe he was just used to most people he encountered thinking he was "just a career party man" and stupid enough to be easily fooled. He thought Legasov was treating him this way but eventually learned.....and when Legasov came under verbal attack as soon as they reached Chernobyl he was comfortable because he KNEW these men were treating him like he was stupid and he knew exactly how to deal with that.
I like to think that because Valery had the balls to stand up to Boris and tell him how dangerous it is to fly over an open reactor core, Boris acknowledged his courage, and had his back in these scene, and threw it back at Viktor. This, is when their friendship started to build.
I think just "acknowledging the courage" is too simple. But because of that he was convinced that Legasov was dead serious about the problem, as he obviously saw his life on the line.
Not just that. Soviet soldiers were extensively trained to fight in a post-nuclear environment. When the helicopter pilot refused to fly over the plant despite being threatened with death, Boris realized that an ordinary man with a little expert knowledge but no political agenda had just bet his life that Legasov was right and the official story was wrong. If Legasov was a crackpot or this was some political play to make himself more influential, the pilot would never have defied Boris like that. At that moment, Boris realized that Legasov was probably correct. (The coal miners also think this way, later in the series.)
He was a politician, used to dealing with people who manipulate reality to improve their own career prospects. He assumed that Legasov was just trying to make a name for himself by over-reacting to a minor problem, so he figured he could make him shut up by threatening him. When Legasov didn´t back down despite the threats, Scherbina realized that whatever was happening was real.
I love how Boris develops in this series. When we first meet him, he comes across as skeptical, arrogant, and hostile; it seems obvious that he is going to be Legasov's main antagonist. In this scene, you realize how much savvy Boris has in working a dissimulating bureaucratic system: he trusts no one and uses the little fragments of knowledge he hostilely squeezed out of Legaslov to test the plant managers. The minute the managers turn against one another, it's obvious something is wrong. By the middle of the series, it's Boris that is attempting to get Legasov to cheer up and smile over their small and partial victories. What a great way to slowly unveil a character! On a side note, I've often wondered if Boris really did know a lot about concrete. I've always assumed the answer was yes, but I also love the idea that he just fronted like he did, because he could tell the plant managers weren't on the level.
He was a minister for oil and gas industry, overseeing building of a lot of new oil and gas infrastructure in Tjumen oblast. Thus I think he actually had quite a lot of knowledge about concrete.
@@michaelmiller5877 General Pikalov did that in real life. He was in charge of nuclear and chemical weapons defense, he knew full well how dangerous the situation was and was a man of courage. Balls of solid high speed steel. Also, given the state of denial, he knew if a lower-ranked soldier took the reading, the party guys would just say it was a mistake. They wouldn't contradict a general (and certainly wouldn't contradict a high party official like Boris). I feel like this is one of the key scenes in the show, and tend to over-analyze every line, but I missed how the party men turned on each other once Boris said he personally saw the graphite. The moment Boris saw Bryukhanov try to throw Fomin under the bus, he realized that both men were bullshitting him.
That's what I love after rewatching the scene. Shcherbina's never actually seen the graphite on the roof - if he had, they'd all be dead right now - but he knows what it looks like from the report, he knows it shouldn't be outside the core, and he _definitely_ knows concrete looks different... and he puts that all together to bluff the managers into exposing themselves.
I love the moment where the two bureaucrats piss on Lagasov, and for a second Boris just lets it happen. Then he says “then why did I see graphite on the roof?“ And they both realize they’re busted. And then they dig their own hole further when they try the “burnt concrete“ excuse.
I think it also took him a second to get his question right based on the information he had just learned. He only had one opportunity to demonstrate that he actually knew what he was talking about, and fumbling out the wrong explanation and terminology would have killed his credibility.
I like that you can really feel the internal conflict of him compromising one of his character traits to do the right thing. Often, doing the right thing can feel very wrong in the moment.
Lots of things happen, don't remember the 2 stooges names, but the boss immediately betrays his second and you can see Valery sigh in the background when the weasel starts bullshitting. The general would quite literally drive into the Chernobyl power plant than listen to another tirade of bullshit.
Robert Fousch their fates were sealed twice before. First when he lyingly signed the document. And the final one when they proceeded with the test despite the delay in running it.
@@ironcito1101 The cruel irony is that neither Bryukhanov nor Fomin knew anything about nuclear fission; their working backgrounds were in conventional power plants. Dyatlov was actually the most experienced man at the plant at working with nuclear reactors. While he wasn't quite as much an a-hole in real life as he's portrayed in the series, he was still criminally irresponsible for insisting on running the test despite all the warning signs.
@@MichaelLee-tt7gm I look at it as a matter of him being the guy who was told that test was going to be run and to get on board or get out of the way, and continued with the steps of the test because he thought it was impossible for an RBMK reactor to explode. Worst case in his mind, the Xenon kills the reaction, they have a poisoned reactor, and he gets to say he was following orders and his men were incompetent, and life goes on. You could say he was being incompetent, but given how long it took them to figure out just how the reactor blew up, I don't think anyone would expect what happened to happen without the benefit of hindsight.
I love how Pikalov knows if he sends a soldier down there to run the test the plant managers will get him shot for attempting to spread misinformation, so he goes down there himself to make sure, without a doubt, there is a problem
@@matthewriley7826 Those two aren't powerful enough to get an army guy shot, but it was their plant, their mess, their expertise. Pikalov didn't have the authority to take over. It was their mess, not his. Also, the scene opens with Bryukhanov and Fomin complaining that his precautions are wildly over the top, implying that Pikalov already understood what's really happened. Pikalov knew how to handle a radiation disaster, but not what to do about the reactor. The thing about a huge crisis like this is that it's so technical that the government officials need to rely on experts, and those experts are the ones who really run the show. Knowledge is so specialized that sometimes the people put in charge of managing and solving a crisis are partly responsible for having created the crisis in the first place. Who else knows so much about RBMK reactors and is on hand to provide advice? The fact that they're partly to blame just makes them more defensive, more aggressive about eliminating competing experts like Legasov. The moment Boris realized that Legasov knew enough to be a useful replacement, he could and did get rid of Bryukhanov and Fomin. If Legasov hadn't been there, Boris would have had no choice but to rely on the plant managers' expertise.
@@theprogram863 This is exactly why third-party independent examination is required. Of course they'd try to sweep their fuck up under the rug, especially in the USSR, where they knew they would likely be killed, or worse.
@@Zargabaath Yep. It's something I notice happens when a big bureaucracy takes over running things. Management goes from primarily managing real things in the real world to being primarily about managing the conversation _about_ real things. Paperwork and process rather than what people are actually doing. Then things get worse when the people who focus on advancing inside the company start to crowd out the people who are trying to advance the company itself. Put both together, and you have a big organization where everyone is lying to one another for personal advancement, just going through the motions, while the organization itself rots from within and eventually falls apart. Which is exactly what happened in communist russia.
Yeah you're a dumbfuck if you think a civilian nuclear plant manager commanded soldiers at any point in the USSR, much less to kill a high ranked officer in the god damn military
At 1:25, the way Legasov looks at the smoke rising. He knows how deadly it is and is now facing the reality of getting rapidly exposed to high radiation.
Know what's something I noticed about this scene that may or may not be wrong? Where's the blue beam? Why is there no longer a blue beam coming from the plant representing the ionizing air? They literally just saw it as they were approaching in the chopper so why is it not there when he looks at it? Continuity error I think seeing as this takes place before the sand was even begun to be dropped so the core is still very much exposed and spitting out fire and radiation.
"Then I'll do it myself" How does the earth maintain orbit with his giant balls? If he were in a call of duty game, his weapon would be chuck Norris on a leash.
Easily my favorite scene from this show. Up to now, Boris had been an skeptical, arrogant career bureaucrat. He had threatened both Legasov and his pilot and neither flinched BECAUSE of Legasov's conviction. Enter this scene, he does nothing to support Legasov, watching other 'experts' mock him, blame others, and he clearly still stood his ground. Then, using just a bit of the knowledge he metaphorically beat out of Legasov, he thinks he smells a rat and snuffs it out of both the chief engineer and the plant manager. He doesn't need to understand their explanation, he's already starting to trust Legasov's judgement. Then Pikalov, a man whose already seen enough death, decides that he alone wants to venture near the plant. Not just because he doesn't want to endanger soldiers, but because he knows no one would question a finding directly from the top of the chain. I also like that him volunteering is really the first time someone in a position of power knowingly puts themselves in harms way. Up until now, most of the leadership was more than willing to throw away lower level people. He decided in this moment to lead by example. This scene really sets the path for the rest of the show, whether this is how it truly happened or not.
I love how this show set up Boris to seem like something of a crass, simple, brutish, antagonistic figure in juxtaposition to Legasov, but this sequence highlights just how smart he is. Keep in mind at this point Valery has explained to him precisely once how a nuclear reactor works. And yet, you can see the look of shock on his face when he realizes Boris absorbed everything he told him. To the point he was able to fluster the plant workers into turning on each other, thus revealing that something was truly wrong. It also plants the seeds for the conversation between Valery and Boris in episode 5. He may be gruff and imposing, but revealing the lies of the plant workers to Legasov and the general were the actions of a good man.
I like how Bryukhanov immediately threw Fomin under the boss when Shcherbina called them out with his question about the graphite. Typical Soviet pollies
I love how Pikalov believes Lagasov. He’s determined to prove him right, to the point where he makes the decision to drive up to the reactor building himself to secure a reading. He knows the two plant goofs are full of it.
He's no fool. He's no politician. He's a general and a veteran at that. He's also been involved in chemical disposal (or clean up. I don't remember his title exactly only that he's done stuff that no doubt trained him to be the best choice for overseeing this kind of incident as far as military at least). So he is cautious and skeptical of the 2 making excuses rather than the 2 asking the tough questions.
1:12 "We have begun our own inquiry into the cause of the accident and I have a list of individuals who we believe are accountable." You mean a list of individuals to be thrown under the bus right?
*"I'm not prepared to answer that question right now."* They have not a slightest clue that the person stand in front of them actually knew why, but they need him to be silent.
Yes and no. He knew how the reactors work and what danger they were in, but he couldn't give them the play by play of what led to the explosion right this minute like he does in episode 5. Nonetheless, the fact that they supervise and manage a nuclear power plant, yet are so eager to wave off his theory and deny the obvious... Just shows how truly unfit for their positions they were. It also reflects on the utterly horrific environment the Soviet government operates in. More concerned with appearances of a strong state than the safety of not just their citizens but the world as a whole given the stakes of what could have happened if Chernobyl hadn't been cleaned up correctly.
@@Kamina.D.Fierce I actually thought that Legasov knew what happened. As shown in episode 4 he knew about the fatal flaw in RBMK reactors. Yes he said "none of us thought it could happen" but he probably deep down knew already what had happened. He just couldn't say because he did not have the 100% proof and he probably wanted more people to know.
Boris may be least educated , but smart politicians or administrators know how to use and make do with the information and knowledge they have. And how Boris uses his recently acquired knowledge about graphite and his knowledge of concrete is brilliant.
The way Boris turned his unexplainable hatred towards lagasov into an understandable liking with a single sentence related to graphite , is really admirable.
I'd have just had them arrested for incompetence right then and there, but Boris wanted to make sure they KNEW the truth either way. Hence he waited for the General to find the real number and for Legasov to explain it before arresting them. Their negligence in this cost 10s of 1000s and the potential of millions of lives if it had gotten worse because they wasted so much time denying the truth.
And this is the only scene in TV, and perhaps all of Hollywood in general, that gave the Mi-8 Hip the correct sound. In all other series and movies, whenever there's a helicopter, the sounds of the UH-1 Huey and the 206 JetRanger were used.
i love how in the beginning convo folmin and whatever the other dudes name is say pikalov is showing off to make them look bad and when pikalov says that he will take the reading himself it proves that he isnt just showing off because he is clearly 10 times the man these 2 are
I like their reaction when he said that especially Fomin. He is 10 times they man they are and at that moment they were aware he was 10 times they man they are.
Why is there graphite on the roof Bryukhanov? Fomin, why did the deputy chairman see graphite on the roof? Ooooh that isn't graphite, it's concrete. Burnt concrete from the control tank explosion. Mmm burnt concrete.
I didn’t stick up for him. He simply said I have two conflicting theories. How can I determine which one is correct? One was suggested, and agreed that it would answer the question. Exactly how you hope management would deal with any situation
Shcherbina: Why did I see graphite on the roof? Dyatlov: You didn't see graphite. Shcherbina: I did. Dyatlov: You didn't. You DIDN'T, because it's not there!
I don’t understand why anyone needed to drive to the reactor fire itself. Wouldn’t turning that thing on in the area they were standing not also result in a reading of in the hundreds - if not thousands - of roentgen?
In physics there's a concept called the inverse square law. The massive amount of radiation being emitted by the open core is attenuated within a mile or two of air. (I don't have access to the actual numbers at the moment so take distances with a grain of salt). Where you would have a spread of radiation is the tiny air born radioactive particles being blasted away from the core and carried aloft by the heat and smoke. When they fall back to earth that's where we get the term Fallout from and wide spread small pockets of hazardous radiation. Assuming the Soviet NBC division that was sent to the site had the brains to not set up in an area where that smoke cloud coming from the plant overhung there would be little to no risk of radiation so no reading above background levels. At that point in time they were trying to figure out definitively if the lid of the core was off and the scope of the disaster. Since climbing up the rubble to lay eyes on the core itself is a 5 second death sentence (seriously your dead within 5 seconds of core exposure and your body is probably liquid within the next 10 minutes.) the best option to get confirmation from someone alive enough to make the report is lots of heavy shielding and a fast entrance and exit. Which kind of lends itself to plate a truck with as much lead as you can muster, and hope and pray.
"then I do it myself", this is the selfless attitude that socialism demands from EVERYone ALL the time, which is practically impossible to achieve, most of the time.
And here’s the list of people you can hold accountable ….as you can see sir my name is not anywhere on it, that’s what truly struck me about this movie! Communism at its best!
